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KEARNS — Watching the Olympic trials at local facilities is inspiring Utah children to try the sports for themselves.
Short track speed skating is like a rock and roll concert and a NASCAR event smashed into one — there's lots of action that builds up to a dramatic finish.
No matter how many times skaters go around the track, there is only one finish, and it's the lap or two before the finish that you don't want to miss.
Short track is skated on a track about the same size as a hockey rink, and the pace of the trial race was enough to get some Utah kids excited about the upcoming Sochi Olympics. Some said that they might train to be Olympians someday.
"I would like to try that some time," said 11-year-old Hanna Dial.
She said can't believe how those skaters crash into each other, get back up and finish. Hannah admits it looks like fun, but she doesn't know if she would want to compete.
"No … I don't know. I don't like all that pressure and stuff," Hanna said.
"I just love the Olympics!" said 5-year-old Isabelle George.
She said that she can't wait to try ice skating since she has "fun out there watching them."
That's the beauty of having a facility like the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns and events like the Olympic trials so close to home. Seeing a preview of what will happen at the Olympics can inspire a child to try a sport themselves.
"This sparks an interest and maybe (Hanna) will want to do it," said Magna resident Vern Dial.
Simply seeing a sporting event is sometimes enough to inspire children to dream big. How else would a child ever get into a sport like short track speed skating if they never see it?
"Just seeing the athletes go out there and seeing them go makes people understand, ‘I can possibly do this, too,' " said Kaysville resident Dennis George. "And that's a great opportunity to give children the opportunity to see this and possibly decide to do it themselves."
Michael George, 11, now thinks being in the Olympics would be cool. "I'd probably do something on the ice," he said.
Even Hanna, who said earlier she wouldn't like the pressure, admitted she just might be good at it if she tried.
"Then I would probably try to go to the Olympics … maybe," she said.
Short track speedskating trails will continue Saturday and Sunday at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, starting at 10 a.m. both days.
Tickets and a list of public events, camps and classes can be found at the Utah Olympic Legacy Foundation's website.
