Skaters Compete In East Grand Forks

Skating through life is a commonly used expression for many, but some are doing just that.

Jenna Goecke is a skater for team North Dakota.
The team is made up of college students and they showed off their skills in an exhibition portion of the Northern Star International Skating Competition.

“It’s really really exciting, our levels like our skating skills have improved so much from last year so hopefully we can keep building on that,” said Jenna Goecke of Grand Forks.

Goecke used to be part of the Haydenettes synchronized skating team out of Massachusetts.
They have won national and international competitions.

“I just love it so much,” said Goecke.

Ice skating may look easy but competitors spend hours practicing on the ice so they can take home the top prize.

Madi Estad and Sara Gregoire are part of the Metallites.
A skating team from the Northern Lights Figure Skating Club out of East Grand Forks.

“It’s just like have fun and like feel the music and show everyone what we can do and have people enjoy it,” said Metallites Captain Gregoire.

Synchronized skating is on the rise in popularity and organizers say they hope it keeps getting bigger.

“The sport is growing as some people may know that it is on the tables with the Olympic Committee for it to become a sport in 2018,” said Coach/Synchro Chairperson Katie Boespflug.

Like many others skating in the competition, Estad and Gregoire have been skating for a long time.

“We didn’t really know each other but we started when we were like three, she’s a year older than me,” said Estad.

No matter how they place these competitors will keep trying to work together in perfect harmony.

Congratulations to the Metallites who took gold in the Open Juvenile Teams Division.