The Winter Club of Indianapolis hosted its fourth Indiana showcase at Holliday Park's ice rink on Jan. 17 from 3-5 p.m. The event offered public skating sessions and featured on-ice demonstrations by talented skaters from across Indiana throughout the afternoon. The showcase aimed to build excitement for the upcoming Winter Olympics, which will take place from Feb. 6-22 in Milano Cortina, Italy.
Established in 1941, the Winter Club of Indianapolis is an ice skating club based at the Indiana State Fairgrounds that is devoted to developing the potential of each club member. There are opportunities to compete at all levels, from beginners to international competitors. Over the years, skaters have represented the Winter Club in local, state, national and international competitions. They also host the Indiana State Figure Skating Competition on a rotating basis along with other skating clubs in the state.
“We decided to take this time and come to central Indiana, bring north and south parts of the state together in the middle to a beautiful location…we invite the state champions to come and skate and recognize their effort,” said Andrea Yovanovich, the Holliday Park Learn to Skate Director.
The ice rink at Holliday Park was chosen due to its outdoor setting and because the Indiana Showcase has been held at this location before. Chris Clyne, the rink manager at Holliday Park, said they offer skate programs because they create a positive effect that leads skaters to other skating opportunities. The rink aims to enhance recognition of the sport and generate interest from the public, particularly among young children.
“The city has been on an interesting roller coaster of what the interests of skating have been over the last 10 to 15 years…so we utilize these moments to get the kids interested and hopefully move forward into things,” said Clyne.
Their goal is supported by the number of performances that occurred at the event. There were 15 skaters who performed that night, among them was former Ukraine figure skater Oleksii Oliinyk.
Vivianne Bemas, current Indiana Figure Skating Adult High Beginner State Champion, also performed that afternoon.
“It takes a lot of detailed work. You do see a lot of pretty moves but there’s a lot of strategic things that you have to do as well as specific moves,” said Bermas. “The more you progress, the more those small things become important.”
For those looking to develop these skills, Holliday Park will continue to offer skating lessons and public skating sessions until March 1. When the Winter Olympics begin, the park will project the games on an inflatable screen during skate sessions.
Citlali Sanchez is a senior majoring in sports journalism, with a minor in sport marketing. She enjoys going out for boba and watching soccer and anime. She can also be found volunteering at sporting events in town or out at coffee shops.
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