Luverne’s Erika Egdorf poses for this picture with her custom-made skates, some of her skating medals and the Team USA jacket she wore during the 2001 Special Olympic World Games in Anchorage, Alaska. Egdorf will perform a solo number and with the Junior Synchronized Skating Team during the Blue Mound Figure Skating Club’s annual Ice Show at the Blue Mound Ice Arena Saturday.
By John Rittenhouse
Many of the approximately 130 skaters participating in Saturday’s 12th annual Ice Show have been through the routine before.
They started practice in late October to prepare for different skating events the club participates in around the Twin Cities area from November through March.
When February rolls around, the local skaters switch their focus to the Blue Mound Figure Skating Club’s annual program, which serves as the grand finale to the club’s winter season.
There will, however, be at least one skater making her first appearance in BMFSC’s Ice Show, "Skating Through TV-Land."
Erika Egdorf, 23, will perform a solo number along with taking the ice with the Junior Synchronized Skating Team.
It will be the first time Egdorf has performed at the Blue Mound Ice Arena, and she’s looking forward to the opportunity to entertain a local crowd.
"I’m excited about the show," Egdorf said. "Today (Monday) is my last day of practice before the show, and I like to skate. I just like everything about skating."
Egdorf shares the same passion for the sport as many skaters in the club, but she is a unique member.
With Downs Syndrome, she will be the first skater with the disability to participate in the annual Ice Show.
"She skates very well," said Mary Tilstra, director of the BMFSC. "Erika will show more than just the basic skills in our show. She skates with our JSST, and she does her own program with jumps and spins."
"She does well," added Jolene Henning, a coach for the BMFSC. "She takes lessons at the Freestyle 2 level, and she’s always smiling. She really hams it up on the ice."
Egdorf is an experienced skater with a successful background in the sport.
Erika’s mother, Signe Underwood, a nurse at the Worthington Hospital who moved to Luverne with her daughter in September, said Egdorf has been skating for 10 years.
Egdorf took up skating while in school in Wenatchee, Wash., where she eventually joined a club much like Luverne’s BMFSC.
When she won a Gold Medal at the Minnesota 2003 Special Olympic Winter Games in Chaska for her performance Feb. 28, it was Egdorf’s latest of many triumphs on the ice.
"Erika has won many, many, many medals," said Underwood, who was born and raised in Worthington. "She absolutely loves skating, and she has won medals every year since she started skating 10 years ago. She has competed against non-disabled kids and has taken home first-place trophies."
While past success has fueled Egdorf’s passion for skating, Underwood feels the sport has helped her daughter overcome insecurities that can limit people with Downs Syndrome.
"A person with Downs Syndrome can have a wide range of disabilities. Erika’s is considered to be mild. She’s very high functioning, and she lives with two other girls in their own apartment. They do have a helper who comes in to check on them, but they live independently," Underwood said.
"Skating has been a big part of her life, and it has helped her tremendously. Skating has absolutely transformed her personality and confidence over the years."
Skating will be a big part of her future, too.
Egdorf received a taste of national competition when she skated at the Special Olympic 2001 Winter World Games in Anchorage, Alaska, placing fifth at the event.
Next year will be a qualifying year for the 2005 Games in Nagano, Japan.
"That’s the one we’ll be working on next," Underwood said.
