For the Takacs Family of Portsmouth, Figure Skating Seems to Run in the Blood

Ice seems to run in the blood of the girls in the Takacs family in Portsmouth.

Kera, 17, and Kristen, 15, both racked up yet more accolades at the ISI District 1 Figure Skating Championships held in Concord, Mass, last weekend.

Kara won her event, the Open Freestyle Silver, which pits 16- to 18-year olds against each other.

Meanwhile Kristen won two events: the Open Freestyle Silver for 15-year-olds and the Artistic Freestyle 4, for 15-year-olds.

And with 11-year-old Nicole skating on their heels, these girls have made figure skating a core part of their lives, quite successfully to boot.

All girls started skating at age 4, with the elder two at the Portsmouth Abby Rink. They call the Driscoll Arena in Fall River, Mass., their home rink where they practice with a coach once per week. They also practice on their own once or twice per week, and all three have been successful in competitions.

"My wife Maria and I are extremely proud of our girls and all those hours spent shivering in a rink watching them practice was well worth it," said their father, Sandy Takacs.

Last summer, they qualified for and competed in Harrisburg/Hershey, Penn., at the "2013 State Games of America" held bi-annually in different locations throughout the country.  

"This is a United States Figure Skating (USFS) National-Level Competition which skaters must qualify to attend by placing in the top three of their skill/age-level at their regional sponsored Games (in our case the Bay State Games held in Williamstown, MA every winter)." Takacs said in an e-mail. "At the State Games of America Kera (17) won the Bronze Medal in her division of 13 girls,  Kristen won the Silver Medal in her division of 13 girls and Nicole placed Fourth (losing a tiebreaker for the Bronze Medal) in her division of 12 girls.  Their competitors were from all around the country from places such as California, Colorado, Florida, etc...a very competitive field so our girls represented Rhode Island proudly!! I believe 46 states were represented."

They've also put in time performing in skating shows to benefit the Make-A-Wish Foundation and the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

All three girls will be competing in July in Marlborough, Mass., for the ISI World Recreational Team Championships. The last time the Worlds competition was in the area was four years ago and as you might expect, Kera and Kristen won gold in their respective divisions. And Nicole, at 7 at the time, won a silver. 

Four years before that, in 2006, Kera, aged 9, won a gold in her event, too.

If you want to catch them locally, consider heading to the Providence Open held at the Schneider Arena on Providence College's campus in early September.

And based on their success, even if you don't make it to that event, you might be seeing more of the Takacs girls as they skate their way to the top.