Athabasca skaters pulled some moves dancing with Beyoncé, Taylor Swift and David Guetta music at the Athabasca Skating Club’s Gala on Ice showcase at the Athabasca Regional Multiplex March 20.
Tamara Jackson, skating club coach, said this year’s showcase event featured dance, which is sort of unusual for a skate club gala.
“If you go to a show usually you see the jumps and the spins and the big stuff,” she said. “This year, because this is something we spent a lot of time on, it was kind of good to showcase that aspect.”
There were about 60 skaters that took to the ice, Tamara said, with a mother-daughter duo from Smoky Lake joining the ranks of Athabasca skaters.
The Athabasca Skating Club holds a community-showing event annually, but Jackson said this year’s Gala on Ice was a scaled down version of the Carnival the club usually puts on.
“This year, we didn’t have any volunteers to step up for the Carnival, so we went with kind of a scaled down version on Monday night instead of the weekend,” she said.
Jackson spoke about one of the athletes, who also coaches with the club, and how the Gala was her last time skating with the group, because she’s graduating this year.
“This is Kelsey’s last year, and she’s been with us as long as I’ve been coaching, so that’s kind of a highlight or a sad moment, depending on how you look at it,” she said.
Kelsey Haggerty finished off the Gala on Ice with a junior silver free skate, impressing the audience with her twirls and jumps.
Haggerty admitted the Gala on Ice was a bit emotional for her, and that she’ll miss the club.
“I absolutely loved it, just the atmosphere of everyone kind of being around and looking at you … And performing not only for myself, but for a crowd. It’s absolutely incredible,” she sad.
Haggerty also gave a shout out to her mom, for encouraging her to skate.
“I love how my mom pushed me to skate … and step outside my comfort zone, and how much it’s made me a well-rounded person. I love skating,” she said.
Overall, Jackson said the club’s season “went really well,” and skaters just finished their testing. The skaters had three test days this season, where skaters are adjudicated and given the chance to advance to higher levels in their disciplines.
“Everybody’s passed a lot of tests this year, so we were pretty proud about that,” Jackson said.
