Photo courtesy Bruce Fuhr- nelsondaily.com

On the cusp of competition season, the Nelson Figure Skating Club has  launched the Community Performance Series. To kick off the series 11 year-old Charly DeFouw skated to a medley of songs from “Grease” during the first period intermission at the January 14th game between the Nelson Leafs and the Fernie Ghostriders.

The club began featuring solo figure skaters during intermissions at playoff games last season.  The performances were a hit so the club decided to try and make it an ongoing series.

Intended to help skaters prepare for upcoming competitions, Community Performance gives skaters a taste of what the “performance” part of figure skating is all about. “Skating in front of judges makes a lot of skaters nervous,” says publicity chair Murray Kimber. “If our skaters can perform their routine in front of a big crowd at a hockey game, we feel that experience will help them with their focus and confidence for competition.”

More performances are scheduled throughout the remaining regular season games, then into the play-offs.

Hey, why the long faces? The January to March sessions of CanSkate and Tiny Tots might be full, but if you weren’t able to register your child for our winter session you can still reserve a spot for them in our spring session, which starts March 26 2012. Simply contacting our registrar Jane Macleod.

Thanks to everyone for registering for our winter 2012 programs. Now Let’s Skate!

The annual Christmas party attracted lots of CanSkaters and parents along with a bounty of treats and hot chocolate on Wednesday, December 14th. Santa and his helper entertained the kids and made sure everyone went home with a goody bag.

This marks the end of the Fall session. Winter registration for Tinty Tots, CanSkate, Junior Academy, and StarSkate, sessions beginning in January, closes on Dec. 19th.

You can view the compete Christmas 2011 gallery here. Special thanks to J.J. Beitel and Nik Newman of the Nelson Maple Leafs.