Tracy Parker, a Sunshine Coast Skating Club member and competitive adult skater, recently received an invitation to compete in an international competition, the Kristal Cup in Ghent, Belgium.
Tracy has attended several international competitions, the latest being the Winter World Masters Games held in Innsbruck in 2020, bringing home a bronze medal. It was her goal to return to Europe in late May to compete at the prestigious ISU International Adult Competition at Oberstdorf, Germany, after having no competitions for the past two years due to COVID restrictions.
After training hard all season and booking accommodations and arranging travel, the SCRD decided to remove all ice from the two ice arenas by April 8, leaving no ice to practice on for a very long time prior to that competition.
There is no denying that if you can’t practice/train properly in figure skating, you cannot go to a competition. Tracy had to cancel her trip plans.
The invitation to compete in Ghent, Belgium is set for April 24. This earlier competition, and the fact that year-round ice in Belgium will allow her to continue training both before and after, has allowed Tracy to rearrange her travel plans to attend both competitions!
We wish Tracy all the luck in the world and safe travels.
