The black-clad choir, in the middle of the ice, stood in stark contrast to the colorful and sequined figure skating costumes. The song number concluded an emotional ceremony that opened the Figure Skating World Championship, a tribute to the tens of figure skaters who perished in the serious plane crash in January when they were on their way home from a training camp.
Six of the people who perished belonged to a club located just a half-hour drive from the TD Garden arena in Boston, where the World Championship is taking place.
Their spirit remains in every track that is etched in this ice, in every moment of triumph and every heart that beats for this sport, said Ben Agosto, former OS silver medalist.
Lost son and wife
The names and home clubs of the deceased figure skaters were displayed on scoreboards along with videos and images of them on the ice.
Their legacy will continue to shine, inspire young figure skaters around the world, fuel dreams, and remind us that this sport is so much more than what happens on the ice, said Kim Jae-Yeol, chairman of the International Figure Skating Federation.
The final speaker, Doug Lane, lost his wife and son in the crash. He asked the figure skating community to provide extra support to the young figure skaters who are left, as they are still mourning their deceased friends.
I hope that we can support them in their figure skating journeys, but also that we can help them find happiness outside the ice, he said.
"Systematic failures"
He concluded with a hope that similar plane crashes can be prevented in the future.
Even a layman like me can easily identify the systematic failures that made this possible. But instead of looking for someone to blame, I hope that we can work with our elected officials to make air travel safer for everyone and for our families.
In total, 67 people died at the end of January when a passenger plane collided with a military helicopter in Washington DC.
