Skaters keep Gleichen club open

Justin Seward
Times Reporter

 

The Gleichen Figure Skating and Canskate programs saw a decrease in participation this season with many skaters going to Strathmore to skate in a bigger club.
“I think that’s something we got to work on, this year has probably been the first we’ve had dwindling numbers, ” said Brown.
The skaters who are still participating in Gleichen are the ones that have kept the club running this season.
“We have quite a few young Starskaters coming up, so we’d like to keep the club going,” said Denise Brown, the club’s treasurer.
She admits the fundraiser efforts throughout the year at their events have helped the club’s operation immensely.
“We did casino, cash calendars (and) just little bits like raffle prizes at our competitions and fundraising through the club,” said Brown.
One event that has helped financially is the annual carnival; the skaters put on quite the performance in the production of Frozen on March 14.
“It’s probably a month of practicing once a week, the kids practice for a couple of hours,” said Brown. “They each have a solo they’re usually assigned when you’re doing the StarSkate programs. We usually incorporate the carnival so they’re not learning too many new moves in their solos.”