Okotoks Skating Club members have found a colourful way to end their season.
And it will make figure skating fans happier than a toddler finding a pack of Skittles or Smarties.
The club — with 55 skaters performing — presents its Colour Your World Showcase April 14 at the Pason Centennial Arena.
“This is a final, exciting event for the skaters to showcase all of the things they have accomplished in a season,” said Okotoks Figure Skating coach Lisa Hilbert. “It’s important too because it brings the skaters together as a team in what is an individual sport.”
The key component in “showcase” is “show.”
The showcase will feature an assortment of group dances as well as individual performances for the club’s top skaters, including Tim Pomares, Milara Okabe, Jocelynn McGee and others.
“This is a fun finale to the season,” Hilbert said. “They have costumes and props which the skaters don’t usually have.”
It ends a long season — the skaters competed in Lethbridge just last weekend. The showcase is a chance for skaters to get on the ice and show the rewards of their hard work to friends and family.
“I am going to be adding a bunch of jumps and spins,” McGee said. “It is definitely a lot of fun.”
She is also looking forward to the choreography and skating with her teammates in the group performances.
“I’m in the senior group so I will be doing red-and-black, because we are the older group we will incorporating a larger variety of moves,” McGee said. “I especially like it because we do a lot of individual work [during the season]and this shows how we can come together as a team.”
The younger skaters also get a chance to shine.
Anouk Swienink, a Grade 5 student at Big Rock School, is looking forward to Colour Your World.
She’s hoping her friends will be there.
“One of my friends is coming over for a sleepover and I’m trying to convince her to go to the gala (showcase),” she said.
“I’m also trying to convince my friends at school to come too.”
The skaters will perform to such colourful hits as Purple-People Eater, Blue Suede Shoes, 99 Red Balloons and others.
Although the 55 skaters participating are going to enjoy the fun, the event is plenty of work.
The showcase is held about once every three years in order to not burn out coaches, volunteers and athletes after a long season.
Also making a guest appearance is Alberta champions in pre-novice dance Mia Saunders and William Saunders.
The showcase starts at 1:30 p.m. April 14 at the Pason. Admission is $5.
