Members of the Sun Bowl Skating Club who participated in the recent regional competition in Penticton include, Back row (left to right) Kyra Koepke, Laura Devries, Shelby Condon, Emily Stewart, Lindsey Koepke, Riley Condon, Jordan Brunner and Naomi Alaric. Front row (left to right) are Stella Chen, Willow Logan, Kaila Banks and Agampreet Aujla. Missing is Micah Rodrigues. (Contributed photo)
All 51 members of the Sun Bowl Skating Club will hit the ice as another long skating season comes to an end with the club’s annual season-ending public performance.
This year’s performance will take place on Thursday, March 9 at the Sun Bowl Arena, beginning at 6 p.m.
Head coach Andrea Umstaetter said the club’s 44 girls, who range in age from three to 19, and seven boys, are all looking forward to the season-ending show.
“They get more excited the closer we get to the show,” she said. “They all have a million questions for me every day as we get closer, so that’s when I know they are excited.”
The theme for this year’s show is ‘Can’t Stop the Feeling’, the No. 1 hit by pop superstar Justin Timberlake that was written for the hit movie Trolls.
“Most of the kids just love music and every single time that song has come on, they go crazy and start dancing and singing, so we thought it would be the perfect song and perfect theme for this year’s show,” said Umstaetter.
There is usually a solid crowd in the stands for the year-end show as parents, grandparents, siblings and friends show up to cheer the skaters on, she said.
Once again, there will not be any admission price, but the skating club will accept donations at the door, she said.
Umstaetter, who is wrapping up her sixth year as head coach, said the skaters really put a lot of time and effort into preparing for the season-ending show.
“We try and show off all the skills they have been working on all season and basically everything they’ve done throughout the year is showcased at this show,” she said. A total of 13 skaters from the Sun Bowl Skating Club skaters took part in the Okanagan Regional Championships on Feb. 17 – 19 in Penticton.
Meanwhile, club members came home with a total of five gold medals, five silvers, and seven bronzes from the big competition in Penticton.
Two of the skaters, Willow Logan, 8, and Riley Condon, 15, came home double gold winners.
The club’s Junior STARSkaters took to the ice to perform their STAR 2 solos.
For Stella Chen, 8, and Agampreet Aujla, 9, this was their first time performing their solo in competition. Their performances earned Chen a silver and Aujla a bronze.
Willow Logan, also a Junior STARSkater in the club, earned a gold medal for her performance.
Two of the club’s Intermediate STARSkaters, Jordan Brunner and Naomi Alaric, also competed with both earning silver for their efforts.
The final event on the first day of competition was in the STAR 2 and STAR 3 elements where Willow Logan competed at the STAR 2 level and Laura Devries competed at STAR 3.
After taking a fall during warmups, Logan left the ice and came back just as she was called, and went on to claim a gold for her elements.
Devries earned a silver for her STAR 3 elements.
On Saturday, the Senior STARSkaters took to the ice, along with two of our beginners in the STAR 1 division.
This was the first competition for both Kaila Banks, 10, and Micah Rodrigues, 9. Banks earned a silver and Rodrigues a bronze. Riley Condon and Laura Devries competed their STAR 4 solos.
For Devries, this was the first time after moving up to the more challenging STAR 4 level. Condon came away with a gold and Devries with a bronze.
This was followed up by Kyra Koepke in the STAR 5 under 13 division and Lindsey Koepke in the STAR 5 13 and over category.
In large challenging divisions, Kyra placed seventh, while Lindsey placed eighth.
Next up for the club was Emily Stewart performing her STAR 9 short program. Her performance earned her a gold medal. Later in the day, Lindsey Koepke and Riley Condon were back on the ice to perform their Bronze Interpretive Programs.
Once again Condon came up golden, winning a gold for her performance while Koepke took bronze.
Another bronze was won by Shelby Condon for her Silver Interpretive program. Emily Stewart performed in the STAR 8 program, earning a bronze to go with her gold from the previous day. Lindsey Koepke competed her STAR 5 elements, placing sixth and later in the day, Emily competed her STAR 9/10 elements, winning a bronze.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
