The United States Figure Skating Nationals have been taking place all week. As an avid fan of figure skating, I have been watching every moment I can. Thursday night, the ladies skated their short program and it took almost 4 hours.
As I was watching, I couldn’t help but think about Clay Aiken and his escapades on the ice.
The first time we heard about Clay on the ice was on December 21, 2003. Called Skate With Clay, the Bubel/Aiken Foundation and the Carolina Hurricanes sponsored a great afternoon of skating. Clay spent the afternoon at the RBC Center, ice-skating with 100 children from the local area. The purpose of the event was to mingle children with and without special needs together. It gave them the opportunity to learn from each other and make new friends.
According to Dawn Graham, a volunteer from the foundation:
“Clay spoke and skated with each of the children, asking their names, where they went to school, etc. He looked to have as much fun as they did! They were each outfitted with a specially made Bubel/Aiken Foundation jersey, and Clay was sporting a ‘Canes jersey with ‘Aiken 03’ on the back. Some of the children were not physically able to skate, so some of them were pushed across the ice on metal chairs…”
The next evening, Clay performed at the Carolina Hurricanes/Dallas Stars Hockey game. After singing the Star Spangled Banner, Clay entertained the crowd with a short concert. The highlight of the evening occurred during the first intermission. Seemingly without any concern, Clay took to the ice and sang “I Will Carry You” as he skated around the arena. Besides sounding wonderful, Clay skated with confidence and got a huge round of applause.
Clay made a quick appearance on ice at Rockefeller Center. When he was in town for the Christmas Tree Lighting, Clay tried to get in a short skate. He probably hoped he wouldn’t get caught, but……he did and we got some cute pictures!
The next time we saw Clay on the ice was in Las Vegas on November 6, 2007. Clay was tapped to be the exclusive musical guest on “Capital One Holiday Celebration on Ice.” Clay was joined by many World and National champions as they celebrated the holiday season.
The program was broadcast on TV on Christmas Day. At that time, the audience got to see some back stage film of Clay getting a skating lesson from Olympian Sasha Cohen. The program ended with Clay joining the skaters as they took their bows by skating around the arena. It looked like Clay was having a great time.
I wonder if Clay has been skating recently. He seemed so at ease on the ice and seemed to have a good time.
Are you watching the US Figure Skating Nationals?? You can catch the ladies on NBC on Saturday night at 9pm (Eastern Time). The girls are skating for placement on the Olympic team.
The following videos show Clay as he makes his way around the ice.
IWCY on Ice
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24EvM-0fa_M
Holiday On Ice
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XabZ1Wu26QQ