By Kathryn Gentile
Hometown Weekly Correspondent
Alyssia Liu, fresh off her historic Olympic gold medal victory, graced the ice in Norwood this past weekend for the 2026 Ice Chips event at the Skating Club of Boston.
On Feb. 28 and March 1, Liu, other Olympians, and skaters from Massachusetts and around the world skated in this year’s Ice Chips, which was themed after the different nations of the world. It was also Liu’s first performance in the United States after the conclusion of the Olympic Games.
Five of the performers in this year’s Ice Chips were locals; Elise Rogers, age 10, Estelle Rogers, age 8, and Gabbie Han-Garrote, age 10, from Medfield and Mia Ci, age 15, and Adeline Lowder, age 10, from Sherborn all participated in the show.
It was Elise and Mia’s third time performing in the annual event, while this year was Estelle, Adeline, and Gabbie’s first chance to participate. Each of the girls adore Ice Chips and the Skating Club of Boston, though they drew attention to different parts of it. Gabbie said that her favorite part of Ice Chips was the new challenge it presented her, while Mia said that her favorite part was that “skaters from all levels participate”, giving her new role models and a great community.
As for what it was like to skate with Olympians like Liu, each of them said it was a new level of excitement.
It was the first time Estelle had ever seen an Olympian in real life, and she marveled at how different it was to see them skate in person versus on the screen. Up close like this, each of the girls had the opportunity to see the things they know and love about skating, from the challenge to the artistry to the costumes, reflected back at them on the highest level performers there are. It wasn’t just exciting but inspiring to share the ice with these talented performers. Adeline said that performing alongside them helped her feel better motivated to do her best and learn from the performance.
Alongside performances like Ice Chips, each of the girls performs in different competitive parts of the skating world through the Skating Club of Boston. Elise and Adeline both compete with Team Excel, an organization that hosts synchronized skating teams at multiple levels. Elise made sure to proudly mention that Team Excel has been Eastern Sectional Champions for three years in a row. There’s also Theatre on Ice, which merges the technical skills of skating with choreography, synchronized skating, and theater to tell a story on the ice.
The Skating Club of Boston hosts a team which Mia Ci skates for. Her team won the Nations’ Cup two years ago in France and are looking to take the title again this April. While something like the Olympics are a ways away from what the girls do now, they each expressed their own level of excitement at the idea of getting to compete in the games themselves.
Each of the girls has been skating for many years now. Gabbie got started when she was 4, when she stumbled on the first rink she’d ever seen shortly after her family moved to Massachusetts from Orlando, Florida. She fell in love with the sport immediately, and has been at it ever since.
Elise started when she was 5 and her sister Estelle started when she was 4. Elise said she found skates in their basement one day and asked to try. When she got to the rink, she fell immediately and was at first discouraged, but her mom encouraged her to try again because she could tell Elise loved it, and she was right. Estelle came to the rink to watch her sister skate, and this encouraged her to try it for herself, where she fell in love as well.
Mia started when she was 4 after her mom signed her up while they were trying many new sports. Mia remembers seeing the older girls skate at the rink and deciding she wanted to be like them. Adeline started skating when she was 5 at another rink, where she found her fun in learning all the leaps and tricks.
While most of the girls did not start at the Skating Club of Boston, each of them is grateful that they found their way to it. All of the girls have said that not only does the Skating Club of Boston offer great facilities and coaches, but that they foster an amazing community. Hundreds of skaters work through the club, and they all come together to make events like Ice Chips not only great to watch but fun to perform in. Each of the girls hopes to continue skating for years to come, and we look forward to seeing them in next year’s Ice Chips.
