| Salt Lake City |
 |
 |
| GER |
12 |
16 |
7 |
35 |
 |
| USA |
10 |
13 |
11 |
34 |
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| NOR |
11 |
7 |
6 |
24 |
|
| CAN |
6 |
3 |
8 |
17 |
|
| RUS |
6 |
6 |
4 |
16 |
|
| AUT |
2 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
|
| ITA |
4 |
4 |
4 |
12 |
|
| FRA |
4 |
5 |
2 |
11 |
|
| SUI |
3 |
2 |
6 |
11 |
|
| NED |
3 |
5 |
0 |
8 |
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Flower girls take to the ice to keep it clean and safe
By Maria Titze
Deseret News Olympic specialist
Kelsey Stone takes her Olympic responsibilities as seriously as any security officer or IOC judge.
"Even a bobby pin on the ice could make (a skater) fall," explained the 12-year-old from Orem, one of 35 flower sweepers who work at the Salt Lake Ice Center in shifts during the Winter Games. "I have to go out and pick up all the flowers for the athletes and make sure the ice is all clean, so the next skater can do her performance."
If it were only flowers, hair pins and stuffed animals.
"It's actually been kind of slow" for those things, said Katie Head, a coach at the Timpanogos Figure Skating Club in Provo who manages the flower children.
For security reasons, "people don't want to bring stuff in," Head said. But that doesn't stop some from throwing what's available in the arena.
"The other night we had a couple of beer mugs, which is pretty uncouth," she said. "And a couple of straws, which is really dangerous, because they're hard for the kids to see to pick up."
So far the ice sweeping crew has been spared the worst catastrophe in their line of work: the unraveling of a beaded costume.
Stone, who hopes to be an Olympic figure skater herself one day, has no delusions of grandeur about being on TV for a moment as the cameras capture the competitors' bows.
"When I've watched (skating on television), they don't really show the flower sweepers," she dryly remarked. "But lots of people (in the crowd) will be watching, and if I mess up, I'll feel really dumb."
The children, who range in age from 8 to 12, have just two minutes to clear the ice. Head said it takes solid skating skills (the children had to pass a certain United States Figure Skating Association test level before they were even allowed to apply) and an ability to pay attention and follow directions.
Oh, and resist being a ham. You can get in big trouble for doing "tricks" for your parents watching in the stands.
Not much of a chance of that happening in the Stone family — they're all pros. Dad, Bruce, is at his post in the Zamboni pit at SLIC as a volunteer on the nights Kelsey skates. Brother, Shea, 10, and sisters Ashlyn, 8, and Eryn, 6, skated in the opening ceremonies and will skate again in the closing ceremonies. Mom, Shawna, is one of the parent chaperones at Rice-Eccles Stadium.
The Stones say they wanted to build an Olympic memory for their children — something more than neatly packaged television images. And if their children go on to do something great in the world of figure skating later in life, well, that's just a bonus.
Bruce was pleased when at the conclusion of the opening ceremonies, the children received sold copper medals as a reward for their participation.
"I said, 'Well, kids. Here's your first Olympic medal.' "
E-MAIL: mtitze@desnews.com
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February 18, 2002
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