Sharing the spotlight

From the time they first laced up skates, Natasha Osmond and Alyssa Crosbie rarely missed a televised performance by Canadian figure skating stars like Kurt Browning, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz.

Tonight, Crosbie and Osmond will share the ice and the spotlight with their idols.

The two are among a handful of local skaters who will perform with a renowned group of Canadian and international figure skating stars at the Ice Galaxie show at Mile One Stadium.

Other locals set to perform at the event in St. John's are Joey Russell, Whitney Young/Shawn Verasammy, Corey Sutherland, Kaitlin Greening/Neal Thorne, Allison Noseworthy/Ryan Sutherland and the Mount Pearl Starlites synchronized team.

Browning, a four-time world champion and the first athlete ever to complete a quadruple jump in world competition, will highlight the event, along with Bourne and Kraatz, the 2003 world ice dance champions and 10-time Canadian champions.

The lineup also includes such well-known performers as Annabelle Langlois and Patrice Archetto, the 2003 Canadian pairs silver medallists and fifth in the world; 2003 United States silver ice dance medallists and seventh-ranked world duo Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the 2002 world junior champions; 2003 Canadian ladies' silver medallist Joannie Rochette; and 2003 Canadian men's bronze medallist Fedor Andreev.

Getting the opportunity to perform shoulder-to-shoulder with such accomplished skaters has Crosbie and Osmond excited.

"I can't wait," said Marystown's Osmond, who was one of just 18 10-year-olds chosen to attend a national youth camp in Ottawa last May. "When my dad told me I was chosen to perform, I was so surprised."

A big night

Osmond, who has won numerous pre-juvenile and juvenile provincial titles and was one of the youngest in the province to receive a pre-novice competitive test, noted this will be her biggest performance ever.

"I'm not nervous, though," said Osmond, who trains in Montreal in early summer and in St. John's in late summer. "I'm just really looking forward to meeting them all."

This will also be Crosbie's biggest show. The 14-year-old from St. John's is thrilled to be coming home to take part in the event. She relocated to Montreal last year to acquire more experience and trains at that province's training centre with Rochette.

"These are skaters I've watched all my life. I'm really excited to be a part of something with them," said Crosbie.

"I'm excited, though, just to be coming home to see all my family and friends again."

Locals who performed in Corner Brook Thursday night were Jessica Oake, Jordan Kent, Alexandra Young/Matthew Young, Russell, Young/Verasammy, along with the Silver Blades Silver Shadows synchronized team.