Moose Jaw's Ryann Handley will be able to cross one thing off her life dream list later this month.

The local figure skater has qualified for the 2019 Canada Winter Games in Red Deer. Handley will be joined on Team Saskatchewan by Raine Eberl.

"I'm so excited and I'm super grateful to have made it, it's a lifelong goal of mine and I'm just so happy that I'm going," said Handley during a recent practice at the Kinsmen Arena.

Handley has put together a strong 2018-19 season, which is what helped her secure a spot at the Games.

Handley finished second in the Novice Women division at the Skate Canada Saskatchewan Sectionals and then followed that up with a 37th place finish at the Skate Canada Challenge in Edmonton in December.

"I felt pretty confident after provincials and Challenge, but it was really nerve-racking at that competitions because I knew they meant so much to qualify," said Handley.

The Moose Jaw Skating Club skater found out that she had cracked Team Saskatchewan during class at Vanier Collegiate.

"It was actually an email and was in class, they were teaching, but I was so excited inside, I was losing my mind inside, I was so happy," said Handley.

The Canada Winter Games will be a payoff of a lot of hard work for Handley, who has worked to improve across the board over the past year.

"I train almost every day, I've done so many other things to help my skating, like exercising and eating well, and doing other sports to help my skating, mental training, I fell like I’ve done everything possible," she said.

"I feel super confident, my training has only got better since my last competition so I hope that I'll have my best skate in Red Deer, that's the goal."

The Canada Winter Games will open next Friday in Red Deer, but the figure skating competition won't open until the second week of the games on Feb. 25.

Handley said she can hardly contain her excitement, "We had a press conference in Regina [last week] and we got all our gear and it really made the Canada Games start to feel like it's real and I feel like the atmosphere is going to add to the experience," she said.

Moose Jaw will also be represented at the Games by Kirk Mullen in men's hockey, the Skylar Ackerman women's curling rink -- which includes lead Samantha McLaren, second Chantel Hoag and third Madison Johnson -- and Marc-Andre Doyon in long track speed skating.