Yahoo Lifestyle Skating Clubs and Rinks Across U.S. Hold Moment of Silence for D.C. Plane Crash Victims: ‘May Their Memory Be a Blessing’
Twenty-eight members of the figure skating community perished in the Jan. 29 tragedy
Among the 67 lives lost in the Jan. 29 collision between an American Airlines plane and a U.S. Army helicopter, 28 were members of the figure skating community
A moment of silence was observed on Monday, Feb. 3, by U.S. skating clubs and rinks to remember the victims
“I don’t know of anybody within my community that hasn’t somehow been touched by this tragedy," said Yana Ginburg of Tidewater Figure Skating Club
Following the Wednesday, Jan. 29, American Airlines plane crash in Washington, D.C., that claimed 67 lives – including more than two dozen members of the figure skating community – skating clubs and rinks across the country took part in a five-minute moment of silence to remember the victims of the disaster.
As previously reported by MassLive, the event was scheduled to take place on Monday, Feb. 3, from 3:35 p.m. to 3:40 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, according to an online flyer.
“We will face the Live Barn [a camera that airs live sporting events] in hopes that those who mourn know they are not alone as we stand with them to remember their loved ones,” read the flyer.
“Our goal is that other rinks participate,” the flyer added. “Our hopes that grieving families turn to Live Barn and see overwhelming love from all rinks.”
In an earlier statement from Samuel Auxier , the interim CEO of U.S. Figure Skating, 28 members of the skating community were on board Flight 5342 when it collided with a U.S. Army helicopter in Washington last Wednesday. Eleven of the victims were young skaters from five different clubs, according to a tribute video posted on the U.S. Figure Skating Instagram page.
“They were beloved members of our global skating community, and we mourn their loss together,” Auxier said in a news release from Sunday, Feb. 2.
At the time, several athletes, coaches and family members were returning home from the National Development Camp held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas, said U.S. Figure Skating in a previous statement to PEOPLE.
Related: The Figure Skaters in the American Airlines Plane Crash Remembered: What to Know About the Victims
"We are devastated by this unspeakable tragedy and hold the victims’ families closely in our hearts,” said the governing body.
Among the ice rinks that observed Monday’s moment of silence included the Wichita Ice Center, located in the city where the doomed American Airlines flight originated from.
“It’s still surreal knowing that we were just here a week ago with these skaters, watching them go through their training and skate on the ice,” Wichita Figure Skating Club president Jolene Taylor said, NBC affiliate KSN reported. “It’s very touching to see how everyone in Wichita has supported all of us going through this tragedy together,”
Virginia’s Tidewater Figure Skating Club also remembered the victims at the Chilled Ponds Ice Sports Complex in Chesapeake, NBC affiliate WAVY reported.
“We’re just trying to lend support to those who are suffering the most right now,” Yana Ginburg, vice president of Tidewater Figure Skating Club, told the outlet. “I don’t know of anybody within my community that hasn’t somehow been touched by this tragedy.”
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
The victims were paid tribute to at rinks in West Hartford and Simsbury, Connecticut, according to ABC affiliate WTNH.
Additionally, Vadim Naumov and Evgenia Shishkova, the 1994 World Figure Skating champions, started training figure skaters at the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury prior to moving to Boston in 2017. Naumov and Shishkova were among the victims on Flight 5342.
“I had a close relationship with them for seven years of my life,” Rachel Caley, a student of the couple who attended the vigil in Simsbury, told WTNH. “Whenever we’re out there, I could still… I could see Evgenia sitting at the boards, wrapped up in her blanket, coaching us. Vadim skating around hitting play, making us do double run-throughs. I can’t believe that they’re gone.”
Meanwhile, skaters with flowers and candles in hand gathered on the ice for a vigil at the Ice House in Hackensack, New Jersey, local outlet NorthJersey reported. Prior to the moment of silence, Craig Maurizi, the director of figure skating at the Ice House, addressed the attendees.
"As skaters, we are all choreographers, we are all planners,” he said. "However, we are all trained to know how to react when we fall down. It is the ability get up and keep going with the support of our coaches, family, friends and teammates that we all have in common. May their memory be a blessing,"
In the wake of the tragedy, U.S. Figure Skating established a fundraiser to support the families directly impacted by the tragedy.
Read the original article on People
