Twenty Theater on Ice skaters from IceWorks Skating Club in Aston made club history this year by competing for the first time in the 2024 Nation’s Cup Theater on Ice competition April 25 to April 28 in Bordeaux, France, writes Eva Anderson for CBS Philadelphia.

The group took fourth place overall.

It’s the first time the team competed internationally, representing the nation as Team USA.  The Nation’s Cup hosted 47 teams and over 900 skaters.

The Theater on Ice part of the competition focuses more on group performance than solo and pair skating.

“I feel like whenever you talk about figure skating, everyone brings up the Olympics, and this is the next closest thing,” said team member Vinnie DiNatale from Wilmington, Delaware, who has been skating for 18 years.

Another team skater, Emma Bryan, said very few people make it to the international level.

“So it’s huge for our little rink in Aston to be representing our entire country.”

The team’s director, Richard Sharpe, admired the skaters, ages 12 to 18 for being brave enough to take on a new challenge. 

“I’m so, so proud of these kids,” Sharpe said.

The club’s annual ice show is scheduled for May 10-12.

Read more about this Aston IceWorks Skating Club at CBS Philadelphia.