Big-Time Honor / Local speed skate club earns national recognition

Quinn Derheimer, left, and Brooke Derheimer practice with the Full Throttle Speed Skating team at the Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, June 19, 2019. The team was recently named the 2019 National Club of the Year in the small club category. Mike Wolanin | The Republic

Taylor (Wentz) Burdekin has had a skating background most of her life, and is now she is sharing her teachings with the community.

Burdekin, a 2011 Columbus East graduate, recently retired from speed skating and has continued on her passion for the sport by forming a speed skating club that she coaches here in Columbus just last year, and so far, the results have been excellent.

In its first season, the Full Throttle Speed Skating Team was recognized by US Speedskating as the National Club of the Year in the small club category.

“It was a huge honor and a big surprise, especially since it is our first year as a team,” Burdekin said. “All of the outreach we’ve done, and all of the work we’ve done to establish ourselves as key players for the future of speed skating (has paid off).”

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Burdekin is excited to pass along her acknowledge to a new generation of speed skaters.

“It’s really fun getting to see the sport from a different side, getting to become a part of that small community in a more impactful way, and that our contribution will go to impact the sport instead of just being an athlete and doing the daily grind,” Burdekin said. “We are now out promoting the sport in general.”

Burdekin was a figure skater since the day she learned how to walk, but took on speed skating as a senior project when she was a student at East. From that point forward, she was introduced to a whole new world.

Burdekin decided to pursue that dream and pack her bags to train in Salt Lake City, Utah, where she trained for almost seven years. It was there where she met her husband Michael, who also was a speed skater, and the couple have been married since September 2016. Taylor competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Michael originally is from New York state and won a speed skating competition when he was 13-years-old and moved to Salt Lake City after high school. He skated the Olympic Trials for the 2014 Winter Olympics.

The coupled moved to Columbus in April 2018, and they both are coaches for the speed skate clubs locally.

There are two different programs for speed skating, the The Full Throttle Speed Skating Team, which is for individuals ready for competition, and the Learn to Speed Skate program for beginners and anyone new to speed skating.

“Speed skating is not a huge sport, and the clubs that exists tend to be legacy-type clubs that have been around for a very long time,” Michael said. “Besides us, there weren’t any new clubs in the last year or two. For us to quickly get that acknowledgement and the award from US Speedskating is very honoring.”

Most skaters in the program travel from Indianapolis, Bloomington, Muncie and even as far as Columbus, Ohio.

There hasn’t been a ton of interest in speed skating locally in Columbus, Indiana, but Taylor hopes that will eventually change. She hopes it becomes a major hub for speed skating in the Midwest.

“We are kind of right in the middle of all the big Midwest clubs in Chicago and Milwaukee and Cleveland and St. Louis. We hope to have a destination for those skating participants and hope to have a race that can draw people in,” Taylor said.

Each program practices year-round. Learn to Speed Skate practices at 4 or 4:45 p.m. Tuesdays and at noon or 12:45 p.m. on Saturdays, and Full Throttle practices at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays and at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays. The practices are held at the Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena.

“It really speaks to the community. We have a wonderful ice rink, and everyone wants to help us and our Learn to Skate program is part of the Columbus Parks and Rec department,” Michael said. “The community is accepting of us and willing to help us grow.”

The competition racing season begins back up in September and runs through March. Among the cities they’ll travel to compete are Buffalo, Green Bay and St. Louis.

For more information or if interested in joining, visit fullthrottlesst.com, or email [email protected] or contact Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena at 812-376-2686 to register for the Learn to Speed Skate programs.

Taylor also will be be one of the coaches for Full Throttle’s 2019 summer training camp that will run July 22 to 26, with an option for July 27. It is designed for all skaters who desire to become well rounded, dynamic athletes. It will provide 17 hours of ice time as well as specialized off the ice training including technique, mental training, nutrition and physical conditioning. For more information, visit fullthrottlesst.com/2019-camp or email [email protected].

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What: Full Throttle Speed Skating and Learn to Speed Skate

Where: Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena

Coaches: Michael and Taylor Burdekin

How to Join: visit fullthrottlesst.com, or email [email protected] or contact Hamilton Community Center and Ice Arena at 812-376-2686 to register for the Learn to Speed Skate programs.

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