Most people are familiar with the Yankton Area Ice Association’s hockey program, but Sue Zavadil wants everyone to know that there are other skaters at the local seasonal rink – figure skaters.

The Yankton Area Figure Skaters are part of the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) that focus on recreational skating.

“The focus is more on fun than, say, U.S. Figure Skating, which focuses on competition,” Zavadil said. “Although the program focuses on fun there are still several levels for the skaters to progress through and when they get to the higher levels there are competitions if the skaters are interested.”

Zavadil said last year the program had about 60 skaters participating and the group is currently taking applications for this winter’s programs.

“Our main goal is to get kids on the ice and introduce them to figure skating,” she said.

“Figure skating is definitely a sport. As a skater progresses and learns the different maneuvers and elements they get progressively harder.”

There are four levels of Learn to Skate (Tots 1-4), then skaters move through levels:

Pre-Alpha, Alpha, Beta, Gamma and Delta. Once these levels are completed, skaters move through the 10 Freestyle levels.

“The Freestyle levels are when they start doing the things you see on TV,” Zavadil said. “Levels 9 and 10 are Olympic-level skaters. We do have some level 4 and 5 skaters, here in Yankton, which is very good for a program that is only eight years old.”

The program will have four coaches this year and they are all freestyle level skaters and have all been competitors.

“This year we have one coach, who is a student at Mount Marty College and three go to the University of South Dakota,” Zavadil said.

Figure skating is a great activity because it’s very much an individual sport, Zavadil said.

“You’re really competing against yourself, trying to do better than you did before each time you skate,” she said. “In order to keep progressing you have to practice. You can put in as little or as much as you want to but either way you’ll be having fun.”

Zavadil said the typical Learn to Skate program meets twice a week for 30 minutes, while some of the other classes meet three times a week for 30 minutes. Private lessons are also offered for advanced skaters.

“We are starting a new program this year for kids in the middle school and high school age groups that haven’t done the Learn to Skate programs before,” Zavadil said. “Intro to Skate will meet for 30 minutes every Saturday morning. It’s a class for those beginner skaters who are older and don’t want to take a class with the younger kids. After the fall session we will test those kids and mainstream them into the appropriate level class for their abilities.”

The Yankton Area Ice Association’s season runs from October-March, which does make competition a little more difficult for Yankton’s skaters.

“We have a lot of competitions that we can’t make it to because we don’t have ice to practice on for the majority of the year,” Zavadil said. “Some of our group does go to Sioux City once-a-week in our off-season to keep in practice.”

Although the competition window is narrow, Zavadil said local skaters are encouraged to compete in as many or as few competitions as they want and they do try to go to one or two events as a team.

“We go to Brookings and Blaine, MN, which is really fun at the Super Rink. (In Blaine) they have eight sheets of ice and it’s a three-day competition,” she said. “At Blaine last year we brought home the Percentage Trophy as a team. We are pretty proud, we usually come with a trophy.”

Because fun is a priority for Yankton Figure Skating, the group hosts a performance once a year, in the spring before the ice rink is closed for the season.

“Each class performs a routine to a song to showcase the skills they have learned throughout the year,” Zavadil said. “Each of the Freestyle-level skaters can do a solo program. It’s a lot of fun. We have a great group of kids and parents and we are very proud of them.”

If you are interested in the Yankton Figure Skating program visit, www.yanktonice.org for more details.

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