VIC EVORA, the father of Fil-Am Winter Olympian pairs skater Amanda Evora, is all smiles these days. Since hearing the news that his youngest daughter made it to the Winter Olympic games in Vancouver representing the US last month, the chemical engineer and the rest of the Evora family have been busy making arrangements to see Amanda and her partner perform.
They’ll be the ones wearing "Amanda & Mark" t-shirts in the stands.
"Yes, my wife and I, my two older kids (Astrophel and Andrea) and Amanda’s best friend in high school are all flying to Vancouver," he said.
"We are very excited! You could say we are still in Cloud Nine, and will stay there for the duration. This is almost like winning the lottery – well not quite, but close."
Vic said that no one is happier and more excited about Amanda making it to the Olympics than her 91-year-old grandfather, Pedro Mamuri.
"He is a figure skating fanatic and he has been following Amanda’s skating ever since. He is one happy camper," said Vic.
Amanda making it to the Olympics was never his or his wife’s intentions for her when she put on her older sister’s skates and began skating at the age of 6.
Vic admits that he turned into "the skating dad," who got hooked in the sport.
At first, he explains having Amanda skate during the weekends was their father-daughter time. It was their way of bonding.
But by the time she turned 8, Amanda began to take the sport more seriously so he hired a personal coach.
That’s when real love began to kick in.
"We had to wake up at four o’clock every morning, so that she could be on the ice from 5 to 8am before she went to school," he said. "We did that routine for eight years (even after we moved to Houston in 1995) until she was sixteen years old."
Amanda then moved with her mother to Florida where she would continue her training at the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex.
Vic said he doesn’t really care where Amanda places in the Olympic competition. To him, Amanda has already achieved her goal.
"Amanda and Mark are currently not ranked in the top twenty in the world," he said. "We have no expectations that they will medal. We are hoping, but not expecting, a top ten finish. And of course, we are keeping our fingers crossed that they will perform two mistake-free programs – that’s really what skaters aim for.
"Amanda’s lifelong goal is to go to the Olympics; in one sense, she has already realized her dream. Anything else will be gravy."
( Published February 13, 2010 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A6 )
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