Everett skating club seeks community’s help with regional competition

Published 10:32 am Friday, May 2, 2008

EVERETT — It’s not Skate America, but the Pacific Northwest Interclub Skating Championships also are coming to Hewitt Avenue this year.

The Everett Figure Skating Club hopes the regional event will help put the small club on the map when it hosts the championships Aug. 1-3 at the Comcast Community Ice Rink at the Everett Events Center. The event is free to the public.

Trouble is, unlike the Skate America, which is expected to draw some of the world’s best, ­Olympics-bound figure skaters in October, there’s no budget for the regional competition.

The fledgling nonprofit club has few financial resources, and it expects close to 200 skaters and their families to travel to Everett from several states and British Columbia.

Club member Clarissa Huot said the ice skating group is hoping for community support to make it all happen.

“We want our competitors to have a great time in Everett. It could be a great practice run for Skate America,” Huot said. “It’s a huge undertaking.”

The city of Everett encourages organizations such as the figure skating club to host events here, city spokeswoman Kate Reardon said.

“The people who are coming to this ­competition are likely staying, shopping and eating here, and all of that translates into tourism dollars and positive impacts for our local businesses,” Reardon said. “The figure skating club is the type of organization that means a great deal to local children who are just now taking up skating and making use of the community ice rink.”

The Everett Figure Skating Club is seeking sponsorships and advertisers, along with donations of items such as refillable water bottles, bottled water, clipboards and pencils, copy paper, goody bags, raffle baskets, program printing and food for volunteers and judges. Donations are being accepted now for the summer event.

“We want to shine so the club can have the opportunity to host other competitions in the future,” Huot said. “Skating is an expensive sport, and the parents of club members are doing their best.”

Sanctioned by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, the Everett club includes members of all ages.

Huot’s son and daughter play ice hockey in Everett. She’s a former competitive figure skater. As a young woman, she trained with Olympic champion figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi’s coach in the San Francisco Bay area. Huot, who now teaches figure skating at the community rink, said she got involved in the club because of the opportunity to contribute to the sport.

“We’re lucky to be a club with a great ice rink and we would like to share it at the competition,” Huot said.

Reporter Gale Fiege: 425-339-3427 or gfiege@heraldnet.com.