By Joanne Jamrosz, special to U.S. Figure Skating
Like many clubs throughout the country, the Spokane Figure Skating Club was looking forward to a spring competition. Their Lake City Classic, a popular club event was scheduled for Memorial Day weekend.
When rinks closed and the competition canceled, coach John Saitta came up with the idea of holding a “virtual” competition and suggested the idea to skating director Moe Herr.
“On March 24, Moe tossed out the idea to me while we were discussing having to cancel our Memorial Day competition,” club president Sandra Clark said. “Things really started to take shape when our local officials referee Michael Otis, judge Molly Zammitt and accountant Marilyn Anders agreed to participate.”
The group gathered together for their first Zoom meeting, where they formed ideas and talked about how it would look. Clark created a simple Google form for entries, with registration open for four days. The Lake City Lawn Classic was born.
“We informed our club skaters and area clubs who come to our competitions via email. We posted it on our Facebook page, and coaches tagged and shared it with each other,” Clark said. “We didn’t want this to feel like a real competition since the idea was just to have fun. When we put events together, we didn’t separate them from technical or showcase since they all were being judged at 6.0 with one mark, focusing on musical interpretation and choreography,” Clark said.
The competition format was simple. Skaters performed their current programs on dry land. For Clark, the reactions from skaters were surprising.
“I was not expecting to receive as many entries as we did,” Clark said. “We heard it was mentioned during a PSA phone call. We quickly discovered many skaters from around the U.S. and Canada missed the ice. By the deadline, we had 102 skaters.”
With so many schools closing and Zoom being a live platform, the club decided to go with a live event.
“On April 4 at 8:30 a.m. while sitting at my kitchen table in Loon Lake and our officials poised in their living rooms and kitchens in many other states, it was time to go,” Clark said.
The skaters or “landscapers” took their place. Virtual referee Otis made sure everyone stayed on time. Anders built the competition, organized the events and collected the scores from officials. Dean Wiles was able to get the Zoom meeting on Facebook Live while Herr served as media contact.
“Our officials, 12 in all, had their judging criteria and were ready. I was the Zoom host, registration desk, “ice” monitor and announcer,” Clark said.
The competition took place between 8:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. and featured all levels ranging from basic to senior and adult. Results were posted on the club’s website, and participants received a certificate “award” via email.
“This event served so many different things,” Herr said. “It was a great performance outlet to give to our skaters who were feeling let down and antsy because of sheltering in place. It brought together skaters from across the country and Canada who would normally not compete with one another in a novel event.”
Clark highly encourages other clubs to take this idea and run with it.
“Every skater said they had fun and are excited for the next time,” Clark said. “During these times, remember that just because your skates are collecting dust, your skills should not be.”
Clark suggests staying active, Zoom with coaches for off-ice jump classes, join in on free dance classes on Facebook, continue with daily stretching and never let this time away from the ice take away skating dreams.
“For me, the best part of hosting this event was to hear the thank yous from the skaters themselves and seeing their smiles when they were done with their programs,” Clark said. “It was about connecting and bringing together the skating community.”
For Herr, the entire event brought a special unity among everyone involved.
“My favorite part of this event was the creativity that stemmed out of a crisis, and how it brought us all together. Even though it wasn’t an official U.S. Figure Skating event, it has been embraced wholeheartedly by officials, club coaches, skaters, and U.S. Figure Skating and PSA personnel. It really helped connect the skating community in a time when distancing is the new norm,” Herr said.
