Photo Courtesy of the Great River Figure Skating Club
By: Joanne Vassallo Jamrosz
When Great River Figure Skating Club president Anna Kirkness meets with her board each month, she is constantly in awe of how much their new little club has already accomplished.
“We are a team of doers, and it is so special to see the commitment from each board member to getting this club off the ground,” Kirkness said.
The Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota club was formed in April 2021 and granted U.S. Figure Skating interim status nine months ago in March.
“The process of identifying a name and logo was taken quite seriously by our founding board,” Kirkness said. “In fact, it took months of research and iterations until we came up with exactly what we wanted.”
They knew they wanted something geographical, but they also wanted a professional-sounding name with a deeper meaning that resonated with the club’s mission.
“Our mission focuses on inclusivity and providing support and programming to help our skaters take the steering wheel or helm of their figure skating journey and navigate a course to their own version of greatness,” Kirkness said.
Just as the Great River (the Mississippi) and its tributaries connect much of Minnesota, the club values the connection to its community.
“We are housed in a community center (The Veteran’s Memorial Community Center Rink) for Inver Grove Heights. We have already begun to connect with other clubs in the area and the Twin Cities Figure Skating Association,” Kirkness said.
Photo Courtesy of Great River Figure Skating Club
In October, many club skaters attended a clinic hosted by the Twin Cities FSA at the Veterans Memorial Community Center featuring Peter Cain, Darlene Cain and Ashley Cain.
“Our skaters raved about this experience and learned so much,” Kirkness said.
The club also emphasizes the importance of “team” support.
“We love having events to bring our skaters together on and off the ice,” Kirkness said. “We attend Stars on Ice as a group, have team dinners at our of town competitions, pool parties at the indoor water park at the VMCC, member meet and greet sessions and an annual banquet.”
Kirkness noticed the skaters like the support aspect the club offers.
“Our skaters love to skate together,” she said. “Summer becomes a time when that is more possible, and we have day-long skating camps running for much of the summer and do many exhibitions then as well. The more they can skate together, the more improvements you can see across individuals. While figure skating appears to be a solitary endeavor, it helps to have a club support system and a peer support system.”
Since becoming a club, Kirkness also noticed skaters are more intentional about really wanting to support one another in their events, making sure to show up and cheer each other on.
New club skating jackets with the club’s skating logo were also on the agenda, and finally, in March, after interim approval, jackets were a go. Receiving and wearing them was huge for the club and the skaters.
“Then to have our skaters representing our club at competitions this year and our name being announced as each skater took the ice was a dream come true,” Kirkness said. “There was a lot of pride among our skaters as we unveiled our jackets on the ice and during practices as well as at these first competitions as a club.”
The club also publishes a monthly newsletter, The Helm, with skater test and competition results, photos from the previous month’s events and a Meet the Member corner where board members, the skating director, coaches and others in the club introduce themselves to everyone.
As a parent and former skater, Kirkness is honored to be a part of this new and growing club.
“While we are still a relatively new club,” Kirness said. “I’d love to get the word out to our community more about who we are and the great things our skaters are doing while continuing to welcome new skaters and families into our club. In simple terms, we’d love to grow.”
