2024 Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships Award Decided in Final Event
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ELLENTON – Determining the Dorothy Dodson Award for Figure Skating Excellence came down to the last two events of the three-day Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships.
The award is presented to the Intermediate Ladies Skater with the highest combined score in the Short Program, held Friday morning, and the Free Skate, held Sunday afternoon.
Once the scores were tabulated for the more than a dozen eligible skaters for the prestigious award that dates back to 2009, the winner was Katie Kusner, of the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. (Pictured in photo: SSG Figure Skating Sport Director, Bonnie Boaz; Katie Kusner; OJ Hill, Florida Sports Foundation Director of Amateur Sports)
Her combined score of 97.93 included a Gold Medal in the Free Skate, with a score of 64.88 and a Bronze Medal in the Short Program, with a score of 33.05. The score score narrowly edged Penelope Ogorelkoff, of the Palm Beach Figure Skating Club, who tallied a 97.49. Ogorelkoff won a gold medal in the Short Program and the Bronze Medal in the Free Skate.
Also coming down to the last few events was the total number of medals won by the 28 clubs who competed in the 36th Annual Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships.
At the beginning of Sunday’s events, the Palm Beach Figure Skating Club and Tampa Bay Skating Club were tied with 27 combined medals apiece. Over the final 15 events, Palm Beach won three medals while Tampa Bay won two, to finish with 30 medals, one ahead of Tampa Bay.
The Palm Beach Figure Skating Club earned 12 gold, five silver and 13 bronze medals. The Tampa Bay Skating Club won 10 gold, eight silver and 11 bronze medals. Rounding out the top five were the Sunshine State Figure Skating Club (24), Space Coast Ice Plex Figure Skating Club (23) and the host club Southwest Florida Figure Skating Club and City of Palms Skating Club (22).
A total of 385 figure skaters were on the ice competing in 616 total events, over three days. The final event came to a close just after 5:00 p.m., when Angelina Coronado, of the Tampa Bay Skating Club came off the ice in the Intermediate Women’s Free Skate event.
After taking the Memorial Day weekend off, Sunshine State Games events return for competition every weekend in June. Registration is open for the full calendar of events 2024 Sunshine State Games events including:
Swimming
May 31-June 2, Dwight Hunter Northeast Park, Gainesville – Entry deadline is May 22. Registration is capped at 450 swimmers.
Canoe/Kayak Sprints and Marathon Races
June 1-2, Paddling Paradise, Palm Bay – Online registration deadline is May 27
Pickleball
June 7-9, Pickleplex, Punta Gorda – Online Registration Deadline is May 24.
Artistic Swimming
June 7-9, FAST (Florida Aquatics Swimming and Training (FAST), Ocala, Registration deadline is June 3.
Powerlifting
June 8, Lift District Fitness, Margate – Registration Deadline is June 1.
Archery
June 8-9, Gator Bowmen, Gainesville – Online registration deadline is June 5.
Fencing
June 8-9, Miami Airport Conference Center – Registration deadline is June 6.
Ultimate
June 15-16, Clay County Regional Sports Complex – Registration Deadline is June 8
Taekwondo
June 15-16, Wiregrass Sports Campus, Wesley Chapel – Registration periods vary with price increases. Early registration deadline is May 18. Final Online Registration Deadline is June 12. Onsite registration is available.
Table Tennis
June 15-16, Legacy Park Multipurpose Center, Alachua. Registration deadline is June 8.
Water Polo, June 21-23, Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Center – Registration Deadline is June 10.
The 45th Annual Sunshine State Games is a program of the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization of the State of Florida. Since 1980, the Games provide amateur sports opportunities for athletes of all ages in an Olympic-style Sports Festival. The Sunshine State Games are the longest continually-running State Games in the U.S.