It is with great pleasure that the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club renames the annual Ann Arbor Springtime Invitational Competition to The Margaret Faulkner Springtime Invitational hosted by the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. This year's event will be held May 20-23, 2021 at the Ann Arbor Ice Cube.

In 1985, "Peg," as she is known to her friends, was instrumental in the founding of the Springtime Invitational as a low-level competition for the ‘itty-bitties' as she likes to call the young beginning skaters. The competition grew from fewer than 100 local skaters to over 1,000 skaters 15 years later and now has at least 500 skaters every year. It includes free skating of all levels, pairs and dance, but still hasn't forgotten the ‘itty-bitties'. Peg has also been sure to include solo dance events since long before the National Solo Dance Series ever started.

Most importantly, Margaret Faulkner has served as the Chief Referee of the competition every single year, from 1985 until 2018 – a total of 34 years. While she may have relinquished the "Chief" title, she did not stop judging or refereeing events. Springtime would not be the same without her presence.

Margaret has served on the local, national and international scene for over 50 years as a US Figure Skating judge and referee, including many assignments at the National and International level, including ISU World Championships, Skate Canada, Cup of Russia, U.S. Precision (now Synchronized) Championships, and U.S. Championships. She was assigned by the USFSA to judge ice dancing at the 1998 Nagano Olympics but was unable to accept the assignment.

Peg has received many awards in her career including the Professional Skaters Association Distinguished Officials Award in 2009; the Jimmy Disbrow Award presented at the US Championships in 2012 in recognition of her outstanding spirit of dedication, reliability, integrity and volunteerism to the sport of figure skating; and her 50-year Judge Award at U.S. Figure Skating Governing Council in 2018.

Throughout her outstanding adventure with figure skating, she has never forgotten her home of 60 years – the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club. She has judged hundreds of test sessions locally. Ice dance coaches in the area called her regularly to critique their teams. It is our honor to name our annual event after her: The Margaret Faulkner Springtime Invitational hosted by the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club.

For further information please contact Ann Dougherty, AAFSC Competition Chair, apdoug829@gmail.com.