The sound of blades scraping the ice floats through the ARC while every girl on the rink is doing flips and spins, trying to get ready for this year’s show. Although Aspen High School does not have their own skating team, many dedicated students from AHS participate in the sport and participated in this year’s skating show along with guest Olympic skaters December 14th at eight o’ clock.

The skaters from AHS included: Talitha Jones, Hannah Clauss, Sari Behr, Kate Howard and Carlyn Langley. They skated along side Olympic skaters such as Ashley Clark, Kimberly Navarro, Brent Bommentre, Alissa Czisny, and Jeremy Abbott.

The show was for the holidays and had a holiday theme. Although the majority of the show showcased the talent of the Olympic skaters, the AHS girls got to enjoy the spotlight as well. They were buzzing with excitement before the show.

“There are several numbers that we are featured in: The opening, closing and a special high school performance. But the show is mainly meant to feature the professionals,” sophomore figure skater Talitha Jones said.

The Olympic skaters came from all around the country to participate in the show. The skaters were only there for the one show because of their busy schedules, and it was an honor for the Revolutions Skating Club to have them join.

“We got the skaters to come for different reasons. Aspen is Jeremy Abbott’s home town. Abbott is also a former student of my coach. Others are coming from all over the country excited to participate,” Jones said.

Everyone was encouraged to come and enjoy the show; it cost $35 for adults and $20 for students. But if you wanted a close up look at all the action, you could’ve sat on the ice for $100 dollars.

“The majority of the proceeds go towards the Revolution Skating Club to improve the quality of the club,” sophomore figure skater Hannah Clauss said.

The girls have been practicing very hard in preparation for this show, and for the sport in general.

Even though it is not an AHS sport, the skaters can get a club varsity letter for their hard work, but they have to meet some requirements in order to receive that letter.

“To get a Varsity letter you have to help out with your club, compete once, be in a show once, and give a younger kid a few lessons from time to time,” Clauss said.

The girls have plenty of time to meet those requirements since skating can be a year-long sport if chosen. Most skaters exceed the requirements throughout the year, putting in hundreds of hours of practice and dedication.

“Our practice schedule is fairly consistent. We skate Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday for about 1-2 hours. There are other sessions we can also attend if we need some extra practice,” Jones said.

Throughout the year the skaters benefit from all of that practice through competitions. Who they compete against depends on what level they are in and the type of skating they will be doing. There are a variety of different types of skating and each girl can do however many events they wish per competition depending on how much they can handle.

“There are many different events; there is the short program, long program, free skate, compulsory, jumps, spins, and artistic,” Clauss said.

Although the girls travel to competitions all over Colorado, Aspen gets to be the proud host of several, including the Aspen Invitational.

Skating is a sport that not many people know about, but it is never too late to start. You never know, you might end up loving it and joining these girls every week at the rink. And if you just like to watch, come and enjoy their skating show.

“My favorite part of skating is just working towards your own goals. There aren’t words to describe the feeling of mastering something, or winning a competition. It’s like no other …and the dresses. I like the dresses too,” Jones said.