Skating club gearing up for spring showcase

Skaters in the CanSkate Stage 3 program hit the ice during the Christmas Showcase earlier this year. These skaters will be part of the Tillsonburg Skating Club’s Spring Showcase on March 29. (Jeff Helsdon Photo)

Jeff Helsdon, Editor

Tillsonburg Skating Club skaters are readying to show what they have learned through the year in the club’s spring showcase.

With the theme of Music Through the Decades, the skaters will take to the ice at 6 p.m. on March 29 at the Tillsonburg Arena. Admission is $10 for adults, $8 for youth ages six to 17 and $5 for those three to five. Payment is by cash only at the door.

Skaters will be performing to music that will start with Rockin’ Robin from the 1950s, and advance through the years to include My Girl, Queen, Back Street Boys, Britney Spears and close with Black Eyed Peas.

The show involves all skaters, from the three-year-olds that elicit laughter of how they cute they are to provincial competitors that will awe the crowd with their jumps. The club has eight soloists competing in the provincials this year.

The spring showcase differs slightly from the ice show, which is a larger production. President Karla Moyer explained the two are similar but the showcase doesn’t have as many lights and as elaborate a background as the ice show. It also doesn’t need as many volunteers. The club started the concept of alternating between an ice show and spring showcase two years before the pandemic.

“It’s a lot of work for the volunteers so we scale it back every other year,” Moyer explained.

She emphasized the show still has the same choreography and skating skills on display.

“It’s going to be top-notch at all times,” Moyer said.

After being shut down during Covid, the club came back with two ice shows to let people know they were still active and to gain attention.

The shutdown did come with a price for the club though as they lost many senior skaters who went off to post-secondary education while there weren’t new skaters coming on because there was no ice availability. Moyer said the good news is the club is slowly coming back with programs from CanSkate at age three to 16.

The club is also looking for volunteers to assist with its programs. Anyone interested can email skating@live.ca.