El Paso Figure Skating wins world championship in Boston

Posted: Sep 4, 2023 / 04:29 PM MDT

Updated: Sep 4, 2023 / 04:29 PM MDT

EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) – El Paso Figure Skating isn’t going down without a fight. While the club lost about 74% of its members during the Covid-19 pandemic, the team won a world championship in Boston last month.

“I think that Covid, in general, was extremely detrimental to our organization. We got to the point where we lost so many of our skaters because, unfortunately, figure skating is not a sport you can practice at home. It’s not a sport that you can go out to the park. You have to be here in the facility,” said figure skating instructor and coach Ally Ye.

But the aftermath of the pandemic didn’t stop the team from reaching its goal of winning a world championship.

“We started training for this competition in January. So originally, we started with 12 people committing to this Boston competition. So from January to February, we were able to grow that number to 36. So we practice two hours a week, and then we start to practice more,” coach Sarah Sanca said.

Although spring and summer are the times to sign up for the team, Ye says it is not too late to join the team in time for WinterFest, which is just around the corner.

“The reason for that is: Those are when we have our biggest competition. So, that is when our skaters are on the ice the most. That’s when our skaters are practicing three to four hours a day,” Ye said.

El Paso Figure Skating coaches say the club is open to a wide range of people — their oldest member is 79 and the youngest is 2.

“I think the fun fact for me is that I was able to coach this team and continue skating while I’ve been pregnant. I have had a lot of support from the parents here — the moms, skaters, coaches that also had kids and continued skating,” Sanca said.

If you’re interested in participating in the El Paso Figure Skating club, it is located at the Events Center at 4100 Paisano Dr.