US Figure Skating to host tribute show benefitting families of victims of D.C. plane crash
The event, fueled by in-kind donations by the groups involved, will benefit the individual families, the Greater Washington Community Foundation's 'DCA Together Relief Fund,' and the DC Fire & EMS Foundation.
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'We are grateful for the groups and people involved for getting this off the ground,' US Figure Skating interim CEO Samuel Auxier said in a media call on Wednesday morning. 'Our skaters immediately responded, because they've been looking for ways to raise money for those impacted.'
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The tribute will be hosted by 1988 Olympic men's gold medalist Brian Boitano. The event will feature eight American skaters from a variety of eras, including 1984 Olympic men's champion Scott Hamilton, 1992 Olympic women's gold medalist Kristi Yamaguchi, and 1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski. Today's era of skaters will also participate, with reigning World men's champion Ilia Malinin (who trains in the DC metro area), two-time U.S. champion Amber Glenn, and two-time World ice dance champions and six-time U.S. champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates.
Skaters from The Skating Club of Boston will also participate in the show, honoring six from the club who were on Flight 5342: 1994 World pairs champions and club coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, skater Jinna Han and her mother Jin, and skater Spencer Lane and his mother Christine.
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Auxier said that while all of their families will be contacted about the tribute, they anticipate not all will participate.
'We will not pressure the families to participate,' said Auxier. 'We have one [Maxim Naumov, son of Shishkova and Naumov] who lost both parents. It'll be about where they all are in the recovery process.'
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It's the first foray back into the skating world for Burg in some time, who was one of the sports' major promoters during its 1990s heyday.
'The outpouring of support to be involved in this is something like I've never seen,' said Burg. 'The figure skating community comes together. We are going to show that community is a common theme, through skating, speaking to the victims' families, to celebrating first responders.'
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Auxier had a conference call Tuesday evening with the group of US Olympic figure skating gold medalists, including
'They were pleased,' said Auxier, who expects most of them to attend the March 2nd event. 'They all have been looking for ways to help.'
Members of several professional sports franchises in the DC area will take part, including the NFL's Washington Commanders, NHL's Washington Capitals, NBA's Washington Wizards, and WNBA's Washington Mystics, among others.
'(In addition to Boston), this has struck the people of Washington, DC in a significant way,' said Ted Leonsis, chairman and CEO of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, who owns the Capitals, Wizards and Mystics, as well as several ice arenas in the D.C. Metro area. 'We are going to be reminded of this tragedy every day.'
Kat Cornetta can be reached at
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