Weekend event draws some Olympic figure skating hopefuls

Some of the top figure skaters in the country are converging on Twin Rinks Ice Pavilion in Buffalo Grove this weekend, including contenders for the 2010 Olympic team.

At stake is medaling in the DuPage Open, sponsored by the DuPage Figure Skating Club and held for the sixth year in Buffalo Grove.

Skating officials describe the four-day competition as one of the largest non-qualifying events in the Midwest, drawing more than 500 skaters from 40 clubs in 10 states, who will compete before top officials and judges.

Included are three of the top four men from last winter's U.S. Figure Skating Association championships, including gold medalist Jeremy Abbott and silver medalist Brandon Mroz, and Ryan Bradley, who finished fourth.

Naperville native Evan Lycacek, who placed third in January at nationals, but went on to win the world championship, will not compete.

"For me, it's not about who's there, but about getting out the program and having experience with it," said Mroz, who trains with Bradley in Colorado Springs. "It's basically our first competition, so it's about starting the season."

Abbott recently left the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado and now trains at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., where he is being coached by Yuka Sato, herself a world champion and two-time Olympian.

Skating with the sport's top competitors will be some 25 local skaters trying to earn points and catch judges' attention.

Among them will be Jason Brown, 14, of Highland Park, one of three Twin Rink skaters who qualified for nationals this year, and ultimately finished third in the novice division.

"It's such a great atmosphere to train in," Brown says of this weekend. "Everyone's so good."

Laura Kaplan, Twin Rinks skating director, says that while the competition has become an annual tradition, it hasn't always drawn top, Olympic-bound skaters.

"I'm encouraging everyone to come out, even my learn-to-skate kids," Kaplan says. "This is a chance to see the sport at its highest level."

Best of all, she adds, it's free.

Competition begins at 7 a.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday, with continuous rounds of skating on both sheets of ice. Skating concludes at 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 5 p.m. on Sunday.

Thursday's preliminary rounds opened with the juvenile girls competition. Subsequent rounds will feature intermediate, novice, junior and senior ladies and men's competition, as well as some pairs and ice dancing.

Rounds will build in complexity, leading up to the senior ladies at 8:30 p.m., followed by the junior men at 10 p.m., both Friday. Senior men compete at 9 p.m. Saturday, and all three elite groups will compete beginning at 1:45 p.m. on Sunday.

For more information, call Twin Rinks, (847) 821-7465, or visit the DuPage Figure Skating Club's Web site, www.DuPageFSC.org.