“Now there’s a plaque hanging there that these renovations were to honor them and their dedication to the sport and their inspiration that they gave to Nathan,” Thomson said. “One thing about Nathan is that he never claims to have done it all on his own. He goes out there and he skates, and it is all Nathan, but he always gives credits to those who are around him, whether they be skating friends, whether they be coaches or the skating club. Nathan always gives credit to those who helped him, and I’ve always been so impressed by that.”
Salt Lake Figure Skating puts a large emphasis on giving back, last year hosting Skate to Eliminate Cancer with Scott Hamilton. When Chen was 10, the club created a skater recognition fund to pay for tests and offer competition assistance to skaters. In order to qualify, you have to put in volunteer hours.
“We’ve been supporting Nathan through a lot of tests and a lot of competitions,” Thomson said with a laugh. “Nathan left us about six, seven years ago, but he was still a member of our club. He’s always called Salt Lake home. And his mom or his dad – usually his dad, and his sister – would always come put in those volunteer hours so Nathan could be a recipient of those funds. They never took for granted that they were part of the club, they were part of the team, and they did their service.”
Now, Chen is giving back to his skating club in a big way.
“He’s always giving,” Thomson said. “He truly is a gift to the skating community and to us here in Salt Lake City. For him to honor his coaches and his mom and the community by saying, ‘Yeah, I’d like to do something to give back to the rink where I started skating’ was just an honor.”
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