The Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships have something for everyone on skates.
There’s skaters from five years old to those well into their 60s. There’s Showcase Events with skaters in costumes ranging from the Tin Man, to Captain Hook, to American Revolution era patriots.
There’s events for skaters just beginning their journey to the traditional Olympic events, the Free Skate and the Short Program.
On the opening day of three days at Advent Health Center Ice, in Wesley Chapel, there were also the Emotional Showcase events.
These events allowed skaters to pair their music with emotions from their life translated onto the ice.
Angelina Yepes, of Miami (pictured at right), skated to the song “Healing,” and explained how it affects her emotionally.
“As athletes we express healing through our movements on the ice,” she said after her gold medal winning performance in the Senior Emotional Performance event. “You put yourself out there on the ice while dealing with the stresses of life.”
During Yepes Emotional Performance, she fell to her knees on the ice with her arms outstretched.
“It’s a very emotional love song,” she explained. “But it’s disastrous.”
Tiana Young, of Cocoa (pictured at left), skated to Prince’s “Purple Rain,” while wearing a purple costume.
“It’s a song that expresses pain, joy and happiness, all at once,” she said.
Young also skated the Lyrical Pop event to Donna Summer’s “Last Dance.”
“It’s the music my mother raised me on,” said the 16-year old Young.
While there were the traditional figure skating events on Friday, there were plenty of opportunities for Sunshine State Games athletes to express themselves and have some fun.
The 38th Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships continue on Saturday with events beginning at 8:15 a.m. and the final event beginning at 6:40 p.m. Sunday’s events begin at 8:15 a.m. and the final event begins at 12:15 p.m. Over 300 skaters are registered to compete in the 2026 Figure Skating Championships.
On Saturday morning, the Junior and Intermediate Ladies Short Program will be contested. These events are the first of two events to determine the annual Betty Stark Award for Junor Level skaters and the Dorothy Dodson Award for Intermediate Level skaters.
The winners of the two awards will be determined on Sunday morning in the Free Skate program for both levels.
For more information on the Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships, please visit www.sunshinestategames.com/figure-skating.
The 38th Sunshine State Games Figure Skating Championships are a program of the Florida Sports Foundation, the official sports promotion and development organization of the State of Florida, presented in conjunction with Florida’s Sports Coast.