MARQUETTE, Mich. (WZMQ) – A cherished favorite throughout time, figure skating did not disappoint anyone at the Meijer State Games of Michigan.
Northern Michigan University hosted the event at the Barry Event Center, where 107 contestants between ages 4 to 18 had quite the rink to perform on.
Julie Shields, Event Coordinator for Michigan State Games, couldn’t be happier with how well everything was going. She said, “This is such a beautiful arena and I think anyone from a little tikes figure skating to the older ones. It’s so exciting and it’s so novel and it’s breathtaking and so high class, world class, facilities here, that they love to come to and compete in.”
Skaters arrived early for one last practice before it was their time to perform for the judges. Scheduling orchestrated down to the minute kept the constant flow of performances and in turn gave entrants similar conditions to compete in. Excitement and jitters filled the air as each skater took the ice.
Ela, a figure skating competitor said,” It’s really fun and it’s also kind of nerve-racking.”
Evalyn, another figure skater said, “I was shaking a lot. I just had to remember it’s just about having fun.”
Also in the competition, Kylee said, “Once the music starts playing, you kind of, just forget the audience is there, until people start clapping.”
Like clockwork each participant stepped on the ice, awaiting the announcer’s cue to begin. And each one by one left it out on the ice for the judges to determine a winner. Using standardized scoring judges determine the overall standings for each contestant revealing every earned place.
Hopeful competitors made their way to the awards table to find their results.
Ela showed us her medal and said, “I got first in Emotional showcase.”
Evalyn also earn her medal in emotional and said “Second.”
And Kylee chimed in and said, “I got third.”
With no formal award distribution winners retrieved their medals as they were made available.
At the completion of the 2023 figure skating competition winning a medal or not, many personal best and first were achieved and some are already preparing for next year’s games.
Michelle Duder WZMQ 19 News Marquette
