Gwen Dudik, the president of the Figure Skating Club of Park City, has a reason to smile.
Her club of skaters, ages 5 to 18, recently returned from a Western Regional competition in Fort Collins, Colo., the Fort Collins Classic, where the Park City skaters tore up the ice in a good way.
“I have to attribute the strength of our coaches and their expertise,” Dudik said. “We have very high standards, as well as having skaters who have a very strong work ethic toward their sport.”
Several members of the club placed in the top three of various competitions such as freeskate, preliminary, juvenile and short program.
The club traditionally takes travels to four competitive events a year two in-state and two out-of-state and this year the club shined on the largest of stages.
“The skaters skated well, there was great sportsmanship, as well as ability, strengths and poise,” Dudik said. “Our coaches are extremely pleased with the results.”
Park City skaters bested some of the better clubs from states such as Montana, Idaho, Colorado, as well as a large skating club based in Salt Lake City.
In this, the club’s fourth season, the growth of the sport in Summit County has been astounding, according to Dudik, growing from 12 skaters in the club’s inaugural year to more than 60 right now.
Figure skating is a sport which relies on dedication, something Dudik says she sees more and more from the members.
“Two mornings a week before school, we have kids at the rink at 6 a.m.,” she said.
As of now, the club is strictly based around individual skaters. Dudik said the club would eventually like to start a team skating program, and said the club would like to offer synchronized skating and dance skating in the near future.
She added that the club is hoping to host a skating competition by 2013 at the Park City Ice Arena.
A personal goal of hers, Dudik admits, is seeing a local skater make it onto the biggest of stages.
“I hope to produce an Olympian someday out of the Park City Ice Arena. That’s my goal,” she said. “It’s not going to happen next year, but it’s definitely an aspiration of the club.”
The club has ice time three times a week and will be offering three different summer camps come June for three different levels of skaters.
When asked if she’s worried about losing numbers once the snow starts to melt, Dudik said, “Skating is a year-round sport; it’s not just when the snow falls.”
For more information on the Figure Skating Club of Park City, go to www.parkcityfigureskating.com . For complete results from the Fort Collins Classic, see results on the scoreboard section on page B-6.