KINGSTON, Ont. (June 22, 2023) – Sharon Nixon has been named Queen's Figure Skating Head Coach after long-time Head Coach Johnny Yap decided to move to a different role.

Yap will remain with the program, returning to his previous position as Assistant Coach and Mental Health Coach with Queen's Figure Skating.

A former professional figure skater, Nixon has served as assistant coach with the program.

Nixon has coached figure skating in Kingston for more than 20 years. A Level 4 NCCP National High Performance Coach, Nixon has coached Provincial and National level figure skaters, some of whom have competed internationally.

In 2018, Nixon opened The Kingston Skating Academy (KSA), a private skating school that offers on- and off-ice training for figure skaters and a CanSkate program that has received the Advanced Status Accreditation from Skate Ontario.

Nixon is also a Regional Coach Developer/Evaluator, Club Resource Member, and CanSkate Specialist with Skate Ontario.

Yap has been with Queen's Figure Skating for more than 40 years and was one of the longest-serving coaches in both Queen's Varsity Sports history and figure skating at the OUA level.

Yap was named the Michael J. Rodden award recipient at the 2022-23 Varsity Clubs Colour Awards. The Rodden Award was first presented in 1978 by the Queen's University Council on Athletics, and is awarded to an individual for their generous support and goodwill towards the Queen's University Athletics Programs.