Linda Ogawa knows from experience how lucky Evan Bates and Emily Samuelson, two ice dancers who train at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club, have been.

Bates and Samuelson, who compete in the original dance round of the Olympics this afternoon, have been skating together since they were small children and grew up in the same small town.

Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates perform their compulsory dance during the ice dance figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday.

The Associated Press

Ogawa, now an office manager at the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club, moved to Ann Arbor from California a few years ago so her daughter could be matched with a skating partner. The partner later decided to drop the sport to focus on college.

“It is so rare to be able to find a partner and stay in one place, close to home, while still being able to compete at a high level,” Ogawa said. “They had to find partners and coaches and enough ice time.”

Bates and Samuelson will need that chemistry they’ve built over the years more than ever as they vie for a medal in the Olympics. This year’s ice dancing field is considered to be the deepest in years.

While another pair of homegrown competitors, University of Michigan students Charlie White and Meryl Davis, is expected to reach the podium in Vancouver, Bates and Samuelson have their work cut out for them.

After Friday’s compulsory round, the duo sits in 14th place.

Bates, 20, and Samuelson, 19, are in their first Olympics and are still relatively young in the sport. Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club President Robert Sacks said they could come back for the 2014 games and be the favorites for gold.

From 7-11 p.m. tonight, the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club will host a viewing party to watch the original dance round at Buffalo Wild Wings on South State Street in Ann Arbor.

Sacks, now in his 10th year as a member of the Ann Arbor Figure Skating Club’s board of directors, said he’s thrilled for the two skaters and for his club. Local interest in the club has skyrocket in the past few weeks, he said.

“We’re finally starting to get some recognition, and that’s been very nice,” Sacks said from his office overlooking an Olympic-sized sheet of ice in the Ann Arbor Ice Cube. “We’ve had some high-level skating going on here for some time, but nothing piques interest quite like the Olympics. I think it’s particularly nice for Ann Arbor, because Emily and Evan are really hometown people.”

Meryl Davis and Charlie White perform their compulsory dance during the ice dance figure skating competition at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia, Friday.

The Associated Press

The club, which recently celebrated its 70th anniversary, has put its stamp on the international skating community. It’s the club where synchronized skating was invented.

Sacks has watched the club grow in the last few years with the addition of top-notch training.

The club has a vast array of skaters — ranging in age from 4 to well into their 70s - with varying skill levels. Even Sacks and vice president Alice Rolfes-Curl take regular lessons with the club.

The club also has also put an emphasis on hosting high-profile tournaments and events, like next November’s Regional championships.

But nothing beats the excitement of Olympics season.

“We had a send-off party for them, and those bleachers were completely packed,” Sacks said. “People around here are just really getting into it.”