The moment Becca Hemingway pitched her brain-child “Battle of the Blades: Ice… It’s Hard!” to the Sun Valley Figure Skating Club’s Board of directors, everybody thought we had a winner. When creative geniuses Gia Guddat and Lisa-Marie Allen signed on to work together as Co-Artistic Directors, and veteran ice show skater and producer Nick Maricich agreed to be Production Manager, everybody knew we had a winner. Once the ball started rolling, there was no stopping it. Trina Peters joined Becca as Co- Chair, nine talented professional skaters offered to donate their time to choreograph programs and teach contestants (some of whom could count the number of times they had put on skates before on one hand), and nine of the most fun, fearless, and well-loved “local celebrities” in the valley agreed to be the contestants. Soon, members of the Sun Valley Ice Show Ensemble cast jumped on board, and, to everyone’s delight, popular Sun Valley Ice Show star “Spin Doctor” Craig Heath and breathtaking Pairs team Elena Leonova and Andrei Kvalko joined the cast. What more could you possibly need? Tyia Wilson, that’s what. The voice of an angel on ice!
The show exceeded the expectations of even seasoned ice show fans. Speaking to a sold-out crowd with extra bleachers brought in to boost capacity, Becca Hemingway opened by explaining its’ purpose—to fund a new, comprehensive skating program at Sun Valley that makes the expensive sport of figure skating affordable, thus, accessible, to all Blaine County kids. After the award of cash prizes to the winning contestants’ non-profit choices, all profits from Battle of the Blades and related parties, raffle ticket, stuffy, program ad and T Shirt sales will subsidize a brand new series of affordable classes offering quality figure skating instruction in fun a group setting. The classes, offered by Sun Valley Skating Center in partnership with the Sun Valley Figure Skating Club, will provide an affordable way to bridge the gap between the long-standing Friday “Skate with Us” program offered to beginning skaters and more expensive private lessons. The new classes will teach solid skating skills beyond the beginner level. For only $7.50, the skater will receive an hour of instruction from two rotating coaches. Many of the coaches participating in the program are former Olympians or National Champions. Some have coached skaters to these higher levels of competition. Just try to find a better price for any sport!
Event sponsors get some major credit for this, too, especially "triple axel" level sponsors 5B Garage, Bex Wilkinson & Caleb Baukol, Richard & Kimberly Selby, and Sun Valley Resort, as does talented skater and top raffle ticket seller Isabella Bourret and all of the skaters who helped sell tickets... and, of course, the legion of tireless volunteers who are always the key to any successful event.
If crowd response was any indication, Battle of the Blades was a mega hit! Inspired by “Dancing with the Stars,” the winners were chosen by a panel of judges (Linda Fratianne, Kipp Nelson and Chanel DaSilva) and by audience applause. It’s a good thing the event was outdoors, or the crowd response to every competing pair would have brought the house down! In the end, three pairs walked away with cash prizes for their favorite non-profits: Champions Langely McNeal and Kelly Smith, Runners Up Muffy Ritz and Eddie Gornik, and third place winners Mathew Gershater and Kim Selby. All contestants were winners, however. They mastered a brand new skill-- the art and sport of figure skating!
2011 Battle of the Blades contestants, Liz Brown, Ron Fairfax, Mathew Gershater, Don Haisley, David Holmes, Doran Key, Langely McNeal, Nappy Neiman, and Muffy Ritz are now the newest members of one of the oldest, most active athletic clubs in the nation, the Sun Valley Figure Skating Club! For more information on the new figure skating classes and the Friday “Skate With Us” beginning program, and more information on Sun Valley Figure Skating Club membership, please visit www.sunvalleyfsc.com or call 622-8020.
Used once. Touring Kayak, great condition. Comes with paddle and cradle-style Thule car rack.
