It’s been almost 70 years since a 10 year old girl sang about hippopotamuses on The Ed Sullivan Show and that gleeful tune and energy took centre ice at the Shawville Figure Skating Club’s (SFSC) Christmas Show on Saturday morning.

Absent these last two years, the show returned to a full house. The parking lot was jammed, the stands were complete, the vestibule was teeming and, most importantly, the ice and ready rooms were full of hippopotamuses, reindeer, mini-Elvises, a collection of princesses, elves, skirts and blazers.

The program now boasts its most members ever with 101 registered skaters in the club. If that number seemed difficult to visualize when announced over the PA system, it became readily apparent soon after as skater after skater took to the ice.

The first official skating number was accorded to the program assistants. These club members, while developing skaters in their own right, also dedicate up to two hours per week to assist in the CanSkate learn-to-skate program where they help other members aged three and up lace up and figure things out. Many of these assistants have themselves evolved through the Star program, developed and administered by Skate Canada and Patinage Quebec, thanks to the club.

In a nutshell, skaters start in pre-CanSkate learning the basics of movement, advance to CanSkate and advanced CanSkate for skill development, and then take the Pre-Star bridge where they learn the likes of edges, spins and jumps. They finally arrive at the upper tiers and join the Star program of levels 1 – 5 where they learn fundamentals of free-skate, ice-dance and interpretive skating.

So, by the time a group of enthusiastic hippopotamuses arrived on the ice, accompanied by their assistants, we had already seen and been entertained by various demonstrations of the successes of the program from mini-groups, pre-CanSkate numbers, and Star skaters Madison Lemay and Logan Long.

Kayla Savard, the SFSC coach and winner of Coach Of The Year 2021 recognition from Excellence in Sports Outaouais for the MRC Pontiac, is broadly recognized as an integral part of the program’s success. It was stated during the show by the announcer, “she puts her whole heart into teaching our children to skate and her passion for skating shines through.”

Several of the program’s Star-level skaters took to the ice and glided through wonderfully diverse choreographed displays. Kaleigh Milford, Marissa Lang, Zoe Lafontaine, McKenna Kluke, Brayleigh Barr, Molly Dowe, Keira Lewis, Ryker Long, Kenzie Smith and Lea Asselin all took turns delighting the crowd and carving their place in the program.

Generally speaking, the contingent of skaters is made up of more girls than boys and this becomes even more apparent at the Star-levels. It is understood that the CanSkate program helps develop the basic ice-skating skills required for other ice-activities like hockey, and many parents opt to take advantage of this. Diane Carmichael’s grandson, Ozzie, is enjoying things for the moment but “he wants to be a goalie.” Many of the boys were sporting hockey skates rather than the variety with the picks up front.

Ryker Long’s time on the ice was particularly enjoyable as the choreography of his number kept pace with the two Elvis songs backing him and he was able to have fun with his own interpretation. He was wearing a blue sequined blazer and channeled Elvis’ swagger from Blue Suede Shoe to A Little Less Conversation, ending with a sky-pointing slide on his knees. The King of Rock and Roll would have been proud.

While the on-ice display was entertaining, the off-ice display was no less important. Crowding the arena in all corners were moms and dads, grandmas and grandpas, sisters and brothers. Flowers and roses were held proudly and nervously both, ready to hand to loved ones and flames coming off the ice. The canteen was busy and the air was full of laughter and joy. Skaters were ebbing to and fro and the sense of community was palpable. This was a festival in a season of festivities, and it succeeded on every level.

Participants in the Shawville Figure Skating Club’s Christmas Show on Dec. 17, left to right, Carson McGuire, Harrison Greer, Griffin Fraser and Raymie Duquette skate around with duct-taped hippopotamus ear adorned helmets.

Madison Lemay dazzled with her Star 3 competition program.

The Shawville Figure Skating Club Takes A final bow.

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