From June 13 to 18, an international field laced up for the International Adult Figure Skating competition in Oberstdorf, Germany. Canada was one of the 32 attending countries and Fernie born Teresa Rambold was one of the more than 500 registered skaters. The 28-person Canadian team brought back 18 medals, two silvers were from Rambold. The event was about more than medals for the 58-year-old skater.
“I was born and raised in Fernie and that is where I began skating. I never did get to skate internationally, so this was my opportunity to do that. Oh my, I had fun. I will remember it always,” she said. “I am 58 years old, my age category for this competition was 48 to 58 years old, I missed the next age-group by a month. I was the oldest in my category and there is a big difference between a 20-something, 30-something, and 40-something. Our fitness changes, people deal with health issues differently, most of us have had children - I’ll call it healthy aging for me.”
For Rambold, the best part about the Canadian team was speaking with others from around the country and representing her nation.
“We had some in their late twenties and sixties in this competition. It was an honour to be with these skaters in the competition,” she said. “Their attitudes were just filled with fun, delight and wonderment. What an honour to represent Canada at an international event. It is fun but it is still a sport, we still have skill.”
Rambold’s biggest hurdle for the competition was the amount of training she underwent. Prior to training, her skates were shelved for over two decades.
“In my case I had to get my skills back. My skates were not pulled off a shelf in over 20 years,” she said. “I went through three months of training where I trained four days a week and one day of dry land training. I was sore and wondering what I got myself into, jumping in feet first.”
It all started with an invitation to the Olympia Club, she said.
“In February, I made the decision to try it. I really liked the club and the coach is a former Olympic coach. Everything about the club was interesting. In February when I joined, some of the members were going to Germany to this adult figure skating competition,” she said. “The three members that were going were talking about it and I said, ‘so how do I go?’ This was before I really started to get back into skating. I had to get registered that month and made the decision before I could know if I could really skate again.”
The event was at the Olympic training facility where some of the world’s best figure skaters go to train. According to Rambold, it was more than just the facility that made the experience.
“It was done up really well, opening ceremonies, you wear your uniform, the podium, they do it up. It is like the Olympics or something. It was an honour and experience to go do that,” she said. “At 58 I get to compete around the world in my childhood sport, I am still excited about it.”