The University of Utah’s figure skating team and local drag performers hosted a pride parade, “Pride on Ice” at the Salt Lake City Sports Complex on June 13.
Saturday’s event was the figure skating team’s first performance dedicated to celebrating gay pride. They worked with drag performers Diana Lone and Rosa Rica. “Growing up in Utah, gay was not okay, and it took me some time to realize that it’s not just okay, it’s great [and] it’s fabulous,” Lone said. “Pride is a yearly reminder that people are gay and should be proud of it [and] never ashamed.”
Pride in skating
Andee Lyons, who has been skating for 16 years, is the president of the University of Utah figure skating team. She founded the club in 2024 and wanted to showcase the pride within Utah’s figure skating community.
“As a queer woman myself, I was noticing a lack of pride within the figure skating community in Utah, especially because figure skating is a very prideful sport,” Lyons said. “We put it together trying to bring more pride and more attention to our team and have the space to have pride within ice skating.”
The show featured skaters from the U figure skating team and other local skating clubs. “The show is important for the skating club itself, but it also helps people know that they’re not alone,” said Sophia Domonoske, one of the skaters. “There’s always going to be somebody there to support them.”
Allies, anthems, queens and queers
The first act was titled “Allies and Anthems.” Rica and Lone explained that although the performers were not part of the LGBTQ+ community, they strongly supported it. They said their music has become anthemic for the community. Notable allies in this list were Beyonce and Sabrina Carpenter.
The second act was titled “Queens and Queers,” and featured songs from openly queer musicians. These included Chappell Roan, Troye Sivan and Renee Rapp. After the show concluded, there was an open skate for anyone to join in and skate alongside the performers.
“In the skating world, there’s a lot of us queer people,” said Kate Jones, secretary of the figure skating team. “And we just want to have a safe space for everyone to do their thing and feel like they can perform without being judged.”
