East Logan could become the home of artistic skating in the Pacific region, with Mount Warrent Park hosting two major competitions in the last month that saw five nations battle it out for top spot.
There are two artistic skating clubs in Logan, one based in Mount Warren Park (Logan City Skate Around) and the other based in Brown Plains (Skate Nation).
Technical chair of Skate Queensland, Helen Lloyd-Jones, submits a request every year to hold the championships at Mount Warren Park Sports & Fitness Centre in Logan.
“We have been skating there for 10 years, locally we hold all our local competitions there, which is every couple of weeks,” Ms Lloyd-Jones said.
“It’s a fantastic venue, with the quality of the building, the floor, and the staff who are very supportive.”
The two competitions were held back-to-back in a jam-packed week from 25 to 31 August.
The first, from Monday 25 August to Wednesday 27 August, was the Oceania Championships, where skaters from Australia and New Zealand competed individually and in ‘quartets’, teams of four.
Logan hosts the Oceania Championships every second year, sharing hosting duties with fellow competitor New Zealand.
In the second half of the week, skaters from Nepal, India, Japan, Taiwan, New Zealand, and Australia competed in the Pacific Cup, which was also held in New Zealand last year.
The sport, which is like ice-skating on wheels, is popular, Ms Lloyd Jones said, drawing consistent numbers of crowds and skaters.
At Australia’s national championships this July, the Mount Warren Park skating team came home with three gold, two silver, and five bronze medals.
Ms Lloyd-Jones said she is not a skater, but found the sport when her daughter was little and restless.
“When my daughter was fairly small and did not sleep, it was one of the sports or activities that would take kids two or under,” Ms Lloyd-Jones said.
“She coaches the Mount Warren Park team now, and her son also skates now.”
Ensuring Logan continues to host artistic skating competitions on behalf of Australia is an important part of her role as technical chair, Ms Lloyd-Jones said.
“I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for Logan, because it brings people from all around Australia,” she said.
“And you’ve got the officials who come in for the Pacific Cup from all around Asia as well. So it’s showing Logan in a very good light and supporting the activities in Logan.”
