Numb
I normally try to stay positive and upbeat in my little corner of the interwebs. However, tragedy hit our tight-knit community this week, and I wanted to share my thoughts.
On January 29 around 9pm, a plane traveling from Wichita, Kansas to Reagan National Airport in DC crashed into the Potomac. It carried many members of the figure skating community, including skaters, their parents, their coaches, and their friends. These skaters recently took part in a National Development Camp, which is an invite-only opportunity for up-and-coming skaters.
While I didn’t personally know any of the skaters whose names have been released (as I fear there are others who have not been named yet), I have good friends who knew them well. When I checked in with my jump coach, who teaches at Fairfax Ice Arena, he shared that he lost students, friends, and colleagues on that flight. I cannot even put into words how this has impacted our community. Devastated. Numb. Those don’t even accurately describe the sense of loss that we’re feeling at the moment.
Sadly, US Figure Skating is no stranger to tragedies such as this. In February of 1961, the entire US Figure Skating team perished during a plane accident while en route to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague. So yes, our sports has had to experience two horrific plane crashes in its history.
All throughout the day, I felt unfocused, as I was constantly receiving messages of concern and support from friends and family. Even coworkers reached out to check in on me. I was, and continue to be, extremely grateful for those around me.
Although I still can’t quite wrap my head around what happened, I know that this has reinforced the need to hold loved ones tight and to constantly tell them how much we love them.
So if you’re reading this, thank you for giving me the space to express my thoughts. To my skating family near and far, I love you all dearly. Let’s continue to lift each other up, despite the dark days ahead. My heart breaks for those directly impacted by this tragedy, and I hope we can find ways to honor their legacies.