Barkell competed in pair skating during the 1980s, in partnership with
Melanie Gaylor. The pair won three international competitions — the
1986 Fujifilm Trophy, 1986
Nebelhorn Trophy and 1986
Grand Prix International St. Gervais. The duo received two Canadian national medals in the
fours discipline — bronze in 1987 with
Cynthia Coull /
Mark Rowsom and silver in 1988 with
Michelle Menzies / Kevin Wheeler. After retiring from competition, Barkell began a coaching career in
Barrie,
Ontario, at the
Mariposa School of Skating, where he was the director of pair skating. In the summer of 2014, Barkell moved to
Toronto and started coaching at the
Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club. In the summer of 2019, Barkell moved to the
Granite Club in Toronto. His current students include: •
David Bondar •
Stephen Gogolev •
Ava Kemp /
Yohnatan Elizarov •
Kim Chae-yeon •
Minsol Kwon •
Megan Woodley •
Kara Yun His former students have included: •
Jeffrey Buttle (2008 World champion and 2006 Olympic bronze medalist) •
Liubov Ilyushechkina /
Dylan Moscovitch (2017 Four Continents bronze medalists) •
Jacinthe Larivière /
Lenny Faustino •
Alysa Liu • Carolyn MacCuish / Andrew Evans •
Satoko Miyahara •
Joey Russell •
Roman Sadovsky •
Vincent Zhou ==Competitive highlights==