Dozens display skating prowess
The lithe 6-year-old glided across the ice with the grace of a girl twice her age.
Lilly Hannah Pierce was nervous, she confessed, but no one could tell as she twirled and turned, impressing the crowd Saturday at Riverfront Park’s Ice Palace.
Lilly, a first-grader at Hutton Elementary in Spokane, was one of nearly 60 people who competed at the “Skate at the Park” Figure Skating Competition, an event that drew skaters and fans from as far as Boise and Whitefish, Mont.
Although Lilly has been skating since she was 2 years old, Saturday’s event was only her third competition. And she was determined to skate well, even though she had been sick with strep throat earlier in the week. “Nothing was going to stop her,” said her stepmom, Julie Wilson.
Like other young skaters, Lilly spent her warm-up heeding the advice of her coach. “Let’s see some speed,” coaxed Karin Kunzle-Watson, standing outside the rink. “You’re looking good. … Now, push!”
When she finally skated before the judges, the little girl exuded an aura of confidence. With sparkly stars in her hair to match the shiny sequins on her pink costume, Lilly performed a one-minute routine that included a mazurka, waltz jump and other basic elements.
“Maybe I wasn’t as scared as I thought,” she later said, clutching a bouquet of flowers from her parents.
Sponsored by the Spokane Figure Skating Club, Saturday’s event provided skaters with a chance to show off in front of a crowd. Some of the participants will eventually take part in the qualifying competitions leading up to the next U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
“Competition is a way to show all your hard work,” said Kunzle-Watson, a former Olympian and coach of the Inland Northwest Figure Skating Club based in Coeur d’Alene. “You have to put yourself out there and meet the challenge. … Figure skating isn’t for sissies. It’s hard to fall on the ice.”
Figure skating has experienced a resurgence in the area, thanks in part to the Winter Olympics and the fact that Spokane will host the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
Kids as young as 2 are taking lessons and competing by the time they’re 4, according to Dean Wiles, vice president of the Spokane Figure Skating Club. Even adults who never skated in their youth are giving it a try.
“It’s never too late to learn,” said Barbara Ingermann, 46 and a member of the Palouse Hills Skating Club in Moscow, Idaho.
Ingermann first tried ice skating about four winters ago, and she was quickly hooked. Before long, she decided to join competitions so that she would quickly improve.
“It’s not just for kids,” said Ingermann, who on Saturday also did a showcase performance with her 16-year-old daughter, Briana. “It’s a lifelong sport. And it’s just so much fun.”
Wiles, a skater for nearly four decades, described the thrill of being on the ice, the feeling of freedom he gets each time he glides across the rink. Regardless of age, figure skating is a good way to exercise, he said, as well as gain confidence.
Lilly, who competed twice Saturday, was all smiles after her brief performance in the morning. The little girl spends at least six hours a week on the ice, practicing with Kunzle-Watson three times a week at Spokane Valley’s Planet Ice.
“She has worked really hard,” said her stepmom, who had tears in her eyes after Lilly’s performance. “Watching her makes my heart soar.”