Skate show celebrates hard work, commitment

There is something uniquely adorable about small children who are new to ice skating.

Attending a show, the audience members watch as the young skaters hold hands, spin in circles and form chains in their colorful costumes. The skaters' faces beam with bright smiles that don’t fade even when they take a tumble and quickly scramble back onto their feet.

These young skaters are a reminder that we all fall down at times. The mark of a true champion is getting back up and continuing with the routine and not allowing it to faze you.

When it comes to skating, and life, falling is a natural part of learning and every new skill and routine mastered is earned with bumps and bruises.

Last weekend, Medford Area Figure Skating hosted its annual showcase event. This year’s show was called “Lights, Camera, Skate” and highlighted routines inspired by movies, television and even video games.

The event showcased the skaters from those in the very beginning of their skating journeys, to those who have a decade or more of time spent on ice skates gliding, leaping, swizzling and spinning. For the seniors who will be graduating this year, the show marks the ending of one phase of their skating life and the transition to another.

The show highlighted the skill of the skaters as soloists, pairs and as parts of groups. They used the ice as a stage and the choreography to tell stories from the frenetic fun of “Hakuna Matata,” “Mario” and “Wobble” to more traditional pieces highlighting the grace and beauty of the skaters' routines.

Each skater was met with thunderous applause as they were introduced with the other skaters shouting out affirmations to those taking the ice. Each routine likewise finished with applause and more shout-outs from teammates, friends and family.

Skating is not easy and neither is going out and pushing your limits in front of a crowd of hundreds of family, friends and strangers — knowing that you might fall, but also having the confidence to get back up and keep on going. This is a level of resiliency that is sadly missing in many other areas of modern life, where even the smallest of setbacks can be seen as earth shattering.

As with many things, the mark of excellence is making something look easy.

Those involved, either as athletes, parents or friends, know the work and practice that went into mastering each skill and building those skills into challenging routines. The few minutes of ice time during a competition or performance are the culmination of many long hours of practice, planning and hard work. They are the end results of late nights and early mornings and choices made to practice in place of goofing off.

All the skaters in last weekend’s show deserve a hearty round of applause and ovation, not only for their talents and achievements on the ice, but for serving as a continual inspiration for those in the stands. The skaters inspire all of us, from the youngsters who dream of being on center ice some day to older people, to remember that it is not the times we fall that define us, but getting back up and finishing with a smile on our face.