Band Members Beau and Lennox Callahan, Small Town Girls with Big Dreams
Beau and Lennox Callahan, aged 12 and 10, are small town girls from the west coast of Newfoundland who are making a big impact in figure skating on the provincial and national stage!
The sisters each started skating when they were just two years old at their hometown skating program at the Siki Bennett Memorial Stadium in St. George’s. Getting on the ice at such an early age is something their parents, Shantelle Lasaga of Flat Bay, and DJ Callahan of St. George’s, believe helped them recognize their talent early on and to begin building their athletic skills.
Shantelle said, “The skating program was very well organized, it allowed the girls to get on the ice at such a young age. Honestly, we could see immediately that they both had something special. They seemed like they were born to skate.”
The girls also joined the Canskate program in Stephenville once they were old enough, and even played hockey for a while. The eldest, Beau, caught the eye of Josée Picard at a skating seminar in Corner Brook. Picard noted that Beau was remarkable for such a young age and encouraged Shantelle and DJ to put both girls into figure skating.
The girls then joined the Silver Blades skating club in Corner Brook to focus on figure skating. They spent six years there, training and competing.
“They did amazingly well” reported Dad DJ, “during their last season both of them did all five competitions in the province and won them all. We knew it was time to take them to the next level.”
Over the years, DJ and Shantelle had invested in additional training in Quebec and knew that the people and coaching there were great. In June 2020, just after the pandemic hit, the family made the difficult decision to move to Quebec where Beau and Lennox could be enrolled in Ecole Patinage Julie Marcotte, an elite figure skating school in Sainte Julie, Quebec.
A few weeks ago, Beau competed in the 2023 Canada Winter games in singles and earned a personal best score and 5th place overall. At 12 years old, competing against athletes as old as 16, there’s nowhere to go but up and both girls are dreaming big.
“Both girls share the goal of being at the top in Nationals some day, to compete in the worlds and possibly even the Olympics.” Reports Shantelle.
Shantelle added, “Figure skating is one of the toughest sports in the world and this has been an amazing journey for our family with many highs and lows. They love to skate, and that love drives them to where they are today. They work so hard. As parents, we could not be prouder.”
We’re all proud of you Beau and Lennox, keep up the great work and good luck on your incredible journey.
