BISMARCK -- Becky Gallion gained insight into what it takes to have a first-class synchronized skating team during the seven years that she was on the coaching staff with the Magic City Figure Skating Club in Minot.
She eventually took that knowledge to Bismarck, where she coached a synchronized skating team to a sixth-place finish at the national finals, held this year in Los Angeles March 2 to 5. The team's appearance was the first-ever for the synchronized skating program, which Gallion started in 2003.
Gallion is a Bismarck native who attended Bismarck State College and Minot State University. She chose MSU in part because she has several family members in the area but also because of the opportunity to become involved with Minot's national caliber skating club.
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Submitted Photo - - Members of the Bismarck synchronized skating team perform their routine on ice.
In Minot she worked with a pair of skaters who competed nationally in ice dancing. She also worked with the synchronized skating teams, coaching the youngest Magic Kicks team, during her tenure from August 1996 to August 2002. After marrying and spending a year in Washington state, she returned to Bismarck.
The national competition included four teams from each the Midwest and East and West coasts. The winner, as well as three of the other top six finishers, came from the Midwest.
"We were happy with our first showing, and to get to the top half of the group, that was a good surprise for us," Gallion said.
The team will give its final performance of the season this weekend at its annual ice show in Bismarck today, Saturday and Sunday.