OXBOW - It was tough finding a place to sit in Oxbow’s arena on the afternoon of March 16, as it hosted Broadway on Ice, the season finale of the Oxbow Skating Club.
Annie Morrow, the club’s president, indicated that it was “the skaters’ time to shine”.
Forty-five skaters, ranging in age from three to 18, skated to music from nine Broadway shows such as Annie Get Your Gun, The Lion King, The Wizard of Oz and the grand finale, Wicked. In between, there were many ‘solo skates’ showcasing the talents of several of the club’s skaters.
The Oxbow Skating Club is affiliated with Skate Canada. They have five coaches that, along with helping young skaters get comfortable on skates, teach more experienced skaters the skills and dancing techniques that are essential in competitions. The coaches are also very busy in choreographing routines for the skaters to skate to.
This year’s production of Broadway on Ice was all internally produced. The concept was developed back in December and, since that time, the routines were developed, costumes were designed and created, and decorations and the order of events were finalized. No thought was given to buying a pre-designed program.
Included in the program was a special guest from Regina – Gemma Pipko. She is a Grade 10 student who has been skating since she was three and has moved up the skating ranks during those years. She currently skates at the pre-novice level, which is three notches below the top tier.
She is the second-ranked skater overall in Saskatchewan at that level, which led to an invitation to skate this past February at nationals in Edmonton for the Skate Canada Trophy. Of the 44 skaters that competed, Gemma was in the top 22.
Her skating success comes as the result of hard work. She spends 2 1/2 hours per day on the ice and another two to four hours weekly training off-ice.
She was invited to Broadway on Ice to demonstrate to the skaters what is possible when one makes the commitment to skate. Her mother, Jody, was in attendance to watch her daughter’s performance, and said: “It is wonderful that Clubs like Oxbow reach out to skaters like Gemma to show the club skaters what can be done at the higher levels.”
