The Skating Club of Nevada, one of the valley's only ice skating organizations, will be hosting its annual competition, Desert Ice 2007, on Saturday and Sunday using both rinks at the Las Vegas Ice Center, 9295 W. Flamingo Road.
Between 200 and 250 skaters from California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Utah will be traveling to Las Vegas to compete in the local skating club's major annual event.
"It's become a pretty big undertaking," said Skating Club president Kelly Kogut. "It hasn't been overwhelming, though. It's great to be having it at our own rink, and this year we have so many skaters coming that we're going to be using both rinks."
The two-day event is one of the only competitions that the local skaters in the club get to participate in together, since most of the time they compete individually or travel to other cities.
The club has been around for about 10 years, and this is the seventh year of the Desert Ice competition. There are approximately 60 to 70 kids from all over the Las Vegas Valley involved in the club, mostly girls, and many of them work with their own personal coaches and travel to national and regional figure skating competitions all across the country.
Kogut and the club's vice president, Pamela Crader-Rodriguez, both got involved in recent years when their children took up the sport.
"When we started we didn't really know what we were getting into. We just thought it was a hot September day and the ice rink would be a nice, cool place to go," Kogut said. "I guess one thing leads to another."
"Last year, we went to California four different times, and Arizona," Crader-Rodriguez said. "It's important to try to make it to the competitions that suit each skater's needs. It's different for each kid. But it requires a lot of dedication from the child and the parent, and we're kind of like a big family because we all support each other."
The club gets plenty of support from other parents and the surrounding community, which makes it easier for organizers to pull off a big event like Desert Ice.
"We're very proud to be hosting it here," Crader-Rodriguez said. "The owner of the Ice Center has been great in supporting us, and we have a great group of parents and volunteers helping out."
No one is more excited about this weekend than the young figure skaters themselves.
Delainey Groberg, an 11-year-old who's been skating for about two years and names Michelle Kwan as her inspiration, is looking forward to it.
"I love skating, especially competition," she said. "It's going to be nice to be skating at our own rink."
Like most of the club members, she wakes up early to hit the rink for practice before school, then returns in the afternoon for another practice session.
Emily Weinschreider, 10, has been skating with the club for the past five years. Despite the endless hours of practice, she said she never gets tired.
"I really like competitions the best because I get to hang out with my friends," said Weinschreider, who placed well at last year's Desert Ice. "Sometimes I get a little nervous when I have to compete against my friends, but I still try my best. I just hope we tie."
The public is welcome to come to the Ice Center for the event, which will be stretched out over Saturday and Sunday. For more information about the club, visit www.skatingclub nvlv.com.
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