NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A Nashville skating club is hosting its largest-ever skate competition this weekend. While it's all about celebrating their talented athletes, it's also about remembering their own.
Over 700 athletes and coaches from across the South are taking part in the Skate Nashville competition at Centennial Sportsplex.
While the Nashville Figure Skating Club has hosted the event for over 30 years, this year feels a little different.
It's been two months since an American Airlines jet collided with a Black Hawk helicopter in DC. The crash killed everyone on board, including more than a dozen who were members of the figure-skating community.
"I think everybody views us a little differently, honestly," said Nashville Skating Academy owner Laura Sanders. "It will never be forgotten. I have several skaters that have said this year that's what they're training for, is the memorial of their friends."
While time may heal, Sanders says this is something the community will always carry with them.
"Everybody's trying to move on, but it will be always be huge in the figure skating world," she explained. "We're trying to be about the warmth and the wealth of the community here, and of course we'll always be thinking of those who lost their lives."
Sanders says the Association continues to provide counseling to anyone who needs it.
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