U.S. figure skaters whirled and twirled their way to $1.2 million. That’s the amount organizers of a figure skating benefit event say they’ve received in donations . . . so far. The funds will go to families of victims of the January 29 plane-helicopter crash, first responders, and U.S. Figure Skating.
Besides stellar skating, Sunday’s “Legacy on Ice” tribute show featured tributes to those who died when an Army helicopter collided with an American Airlines flight on January 29. The two aircraft fell into the Potomac River. The tragedy claimed the lives of 67 people. Of those, 28 were associated with the figure skating community.
Monumental Sports & Entertainment says the show in Washington, D.C., drew a sellout crowd of over 15,000 people. Organizers believe more money will come in over the next several weeks. For those who missed the event, NBC will air an encore performance on March 30.
“Being here in this region and knowing everyone on that flight in our [skating] community, it was a very traumatic experience for me,” says reigning world men’s champion Ilia Malinin. He launched the idea for the event. “I really wanted to have something that everyone could remember as a family, as a whole community.”
The star-studded cast featured some of U.S. figure skating’s best of the past and present. They included Olympic champions Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Kristi Yamaguchi, and Nathan Chen. Retired U.S. national champion Johnny Weir and back-to-back U.S. women’s champion Amber Glenn also took to the ice.
The two-plus-hour event was full of raw emotion. At 13 years old, Isabella Aparicio skated in memory of her brother, Franco, and father, Luciano. Both were on the flight. She wept on her knees at the end of her skate. Maxim Naumov lost his parents in the crash. He performed in their honor. Naumov wiped away tears as he left the ice, holding up an electric candle to thunderous applause.
“It really put me to tears, and it put a lot of us to tears,” Malinin says of Naumov’s routine. “I was really just proud of him for being able to kind of wrap his mind around this and really just get on that ice and perform with everything he’s got.”
Monumental officials said nearly 500 first responders and about 150 family members of victims attended. The money raised will be split among the 67 families affected, first responders, and U.S. Figure Skating.
“We’ve heard from the families about things like college tuition for young children . . . but also things like therapy and health care that they need,” Monumental executive Monica Dixon says. “Every family will choose how to use those funds in the best way.”
“We continue to be in awe of and grateful to this community, whose compassion and support was out in full force for the ‘Legacy on Ice’ event,” Monumental chairman Ted Leonsis wrote in a statement.
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. — Galatians 6:2
