With autumn in full swing here in the Yukon capital, thoughts are already turning to the winter sports season.

While locals may not yet be ready for summer to conclude in August, it appears inevitable.

Last weekend, many of the community’s sport organizations gathered at the Canada Games Centre last Saturday to showcase themselves.

Held annually, the community registration fair sees sports clubs, non-profit groups and others gather for a sign-up extravaganza.

The Whitehorse Rapids Speed Skating Club added a unique twist to its booth this season, booking the Northwestel ice for a “Try it, you’ll love it” speedskating test session.

The group booked the ice for one hour Saturday morning to give newcomers to the sport a chance to give speedskating a try.

“Once you’ve tried speedskating and you love it, then you can sign up for the upcoming season at the registration fair,” longtime head coach Phil Hoffman said prior to the event.

Rapids club president Malcolm Taggart said eight newcomers strapped on the blades for a trial run.

“That doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you have to kit everyone out in skates ... it was pretty fun,” Taggart told the Star. “That was all people who hadn’t skated before.”

Last year, the club consisted of 20 young skaters alongside a handful of adults.

Taggart noted three new skaters also filed their registration papers with the club on Saturday. “For us, that starts to become significant,” he said.

Interested skaters can continue to register for the season by visiting the club’s website: shorttrack06.com.

The next event on the speedskating schedule is set for Sept. 25 to 27.

International instructor Debby Fisher is once again expected to lead skaters through a fundamentals camp.