3 Major U.S. Figure Skating Events Coming to Pasadena

 

Three major skating competitions featuring Olympians, international competitors and top skaters from the Southwest Pacific region will be happening in Pasadena this September and October, the Pasadena Figure Skating Club announced Friday.

The Club is hosting the major events at the Pasadena Ice Skating Rink at 300 Green Street in Old Town Pasadena.

Next week, September 17 to 20, more than 530 skaters representing skating clubs from California, Arizona, Texas, Utah, and the Japan and Singapore national teams will compete at The Pasadena Open, which features events from basic skills/beginners to senior levels.

The Open is the final club competition in the Southern California Interclub Championship Series. Skaters are not only skating for competition medals but also to qualify for the SCICA Series Invitational to be held on September 26 to 27, 2015 at Paramount Iceland.

U.S. Women’s National Champion and Olympic medalist Gracie Gold and 2014 NHK Trophy Champion, Daisuke Murakami of Japan are coming in as competitors in The Open.

On October 7 to 8, the 2016 Skate SWP (Southwest Pacific) Non-Qualifying Championships will be held at Pasadena Ice Skating Center. Skate SWP is the culminating championship for competitors from the pre-preliminary to open juvenile level in the Southwest Pacific Region, which covers Southern California and Arizona.

On October 10 to 13, Pasadena FSC will present the 2016 SWP Regional Championships. The SWP Regionals is the first leg in the Race to Nationals culminating in the 2016 U.S. Figure Skating Championships to be held in St. Paul, Minnesota in January 2017.

During the SWP Regionals, skaters at the juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior and senior divisions will compete for medals and a chance to qualify for the second leg towards nationals. The top four skaters in each division will move on to Pacific Coast Sectionals in November to skate for a spot at the US Championships.

For junior and senior competitors, SWP Regionals is also the first step towards Team USA and competing internationally.

Local skaters competing at SWP Regionals will include 2015 National Championship medalists Daniil Shamis and Gia Kokotakis (All Year FSC), Henry Privett-Mendoza (Pasadena FSC), and pairs medalists Joshua Fendi & Jasmine Fendi (Los Angeles FSC).

Because of the three major events, Pasadena FSC is calling on all Club members – coaches, parents, skaters, and friends of PFSC – to sign up and volunteer at least five hours for each competition, or donate supplies or consider a charitable donation.

Donations will be used towards purchasing food, supplies, and necessary materials for all three competitions.

Pasadena Figure Skating Club is a 501c(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to promote and develop the sport of figure skating locally by stimulating interest in and fostering participation and achievement in figure skating.

For more information, visit the club’s website, www.pasadenafsc.com.