Two headed for U.S. speedskating nationals

Beth Gier

Fourteen-year-olds Beth Gier and Ian Quinn will compete this month in the U.S. Speedskating Short-Track Nationals in Milwaukee. They hope to improve on their good showings a year ago.

Last year, competing in the midget division, each finished in third place overall. In this year's meet, they'll be in the novice division.

Beth, who lives in Sunset Hills, started skating when she was three and started racing a year later. Now, she's an 8th grader at St. Catherine Labourne School.

She said her father, Joe, "started skating early so he started me the same way."

Ian Quinn

Ian got a later start at age nine. He said, "A friend of my dad told us about the Kirkwood rink so I tried it out and liked it." He was racing a year later.

Ian lives in an unicorporated area of South St. Louis County and is an 8th grader at Christ Community Lutheran Church.

Although they practice skating a lot, both are active in other sports.

Beth competes in volleyball, basketball and soccer while Ian plays basketball, baseball and track. That makes for aan active sports life year-around for both of them.

But, during the skating season of September through March, they spend a lot of time on the ice at the Kirkwood Rink. Both of them belong to two speedskating clubs.

Beth said she practices about four days a week. Sunday practices are two hours and then there are one-hour sessions three other evenings during the school week.

On a typical evening, the indoor rink is filled with kids practicing either speedskating or hockey. Because of the crush of kids, practices have to be scheduled well in advance.

(For more about speedskating, visit www.gatewayspeedskating.org.)

Most of the speedskating in St. Louis is done on a shorttrack, where a lap is 111 meters. But, the races can extend to 1,800 meters or more by adding laps.

One reason for the lack of long-course skating is the lack of facilities with bigger rinks. Ian said the closest long-course rinks are in Milwaukee.

Beth and Ian will be there during this year's national short-track meet, set for March 7-9.

Ian said last year's nationals was his best skating experience. "I finished with a gold in the 777-meter race," he said. His overall third place ranking came when all his race totals were added together.

Beth in competition

Beth said her standings in the nationals two years ago were her best and most-surprising skating experience. That also showed her the value of completing each race, regardless of how you are doing.

"I finished second overall even though I hardly got any points in two of the races. I got a total of five points in the 333-meter and 500-meter races. But I won second overall by just two points over the girl in third," she said.

Because the short-track courses have lots of turns and the speeds are fast, the kids said falls are pretty common.

Beth and Ian said falls figured in their worst skating experiences.

Ian in competition

Ian said he was competing two years ago in Champaign, IL, when he fell and got jabbed in the stomach by the skate of another racer. But, he said the wound didn't require any stitches.

However, because cuts can happen, many of the kids' racing costumes now have Kevlar patches covering some vulnerable places. In Canada, such protective costumes are mandatory.

Beth said her worst skating experience also involved a fall. She said she was competing in her first nationals and needed a first in the final race to take first place overall.

"I was in the last lap and tried to pass on the inside. I clicked skates with the girl I had to beat and we both fell. But, I fell sideways into the boards. She fell forward, finishing first and winning," she said.

Mrs. Gier said, "That's why they call short-track skating 'NASCAR on ice'. Many people come just to watch the falls."

Despite the falls, both Beth and Ian said they really enjoy skating.

Beth said, "I like the fitness that comes from skating. And, I have friends all over the country because of skating."

Ian said, "I like the traveling and seeing new places." His farthest skating trip was to Saratoga Springs, in upper New York State.