PITTSFIELD, Mass. — As the fourth anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic nears, one of its first casualties is celebrating a return to normality.

 

The Pittsfield Figure Skating Club will hold its annual skating exhibition, titled "Skating Up a Storm," on Saturday, March 16, at 1 and 6 p.m. at the Boys and Girls Club.

 

It is not the first time the club has held a show since the pandemic, but it is the first time the show and club are approaching the strength they had in mid-March 2020.

 

"In 2020, we were supposed to have our show on Saturday, and they closed us down on Thursday," coach Tracy Fancher recalled recently. "That was devastating.

 

"I'm a school teacher, and I was coming out of school on Thursday afternoon and got a call to say we're not having the show."

 

Actually, it did have something resembling a show that year, but it was a decidedly toned-down version of what skaters and their families had come to expect.

 

"The Boys and Girls Club was wonderful," Fancher said. "Joe [McGovern], the director, allowed the seniors to do their little thing. Because it was heart-breaking, especially for the seniors who worked so hard, and it was their senior show.

 

"Seniors were allowed to bring their family members — with distancing. At least they got to perform their skate, and we put it on Facebook as well. We were very grateful to Joe from the Boys and Girls Club."

 

This year, expect the stands at the club to be packed with family members and well-wishers to watch nearly 100 youngsters as young as 4 years old demonstrate their skills, ranging from recent grads of the PFSC "Snow Plow Sam" Level 1 program, to two graduating seniors, Carly Lyon and Taryn Bannon, up to one adult skater.

 

"The kids doing group lessons all year will get a chance to perform in groups and show off what they've learned," said Jamie Bannon, president of the PFSC board.

 

"Last year, we only had about 50 kids in the show. This year we have 100. Last year, it was only one show, and this year it's two. It's nice to see things come back to the way they used to be."

 

The show also again will feature a guest skater, Will Annis of the Skating Club of Boston.

 

Annis won a 2022 silver medal as a junior man at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. After a year to recover from an injury incurred just after nationals that year, he is back on the competition circuit, most recently competing in the senior division at the U.S. Championships nationals in Columbus, Ohio.

 

Competition is one opportunity offered by the Pittsfield Figure Skating Club, which offers a learn-to-skate program, group skating, semi-private and private lessons and synchronized skating.

 

This year, for the first time since 2020, the PFSC held a competition for its younger skaters against skaters from the North County-based Christmas Brook Figure Skating Club. And in January, three PFSC skaters, Bailey Jones, Avery Moore and Sophia Robbins, competed at the Bay State games, with Jones taking home a silver medal.

 

Those are all signs of a successful rebuild for the Pittsfield club, which lost a significant number of skaters who did not return to the sport after the initial COVID shutdown.

 

In addition to the 97 skaters performing in the March 16 show, the club has more than 20 more figure skaters who participated throughout the season.

 

"We're excited with enrollment this year," Fancher said. "There was a great turnout for learn-to-skate. We hope they continue.

 

"I think the show is one positive because they get to see what other skaters are doing and get excited about it."