(Jan. 12, 2001) Megan McDermott is the most advanced Special Olympics figure skater in the city, but she's no prima donna. If anything, she's the anti-diva.

''Smile!'' she says from the sideline as a skater stands on the ice waiting for the music to begin. ''Way to go!'' she says after another completes a program and leaves the ice.

She's the dispenser of high-fives, hugs and encouraging words. And as warm as she is off the ice, she appears to have ice in her veins when she is competing. She looks relaxed and assured, even when she's reaching behind her back to catch her free leg while executing a spiral sequence.

All of this puts McDermott, 26, right where she should be with only six weeks to go before the 2001 Special Olympics World Winter Games come to Anchorage.

Her skating is going well, but she knows she needs to keep practicing hard to be in top form

come March. What needs work? ''Everything,'' she says.

Even after winning a blue ribbon Saturday morning at the Dimond Ice Chalet, she still had business to take care of later in the day. She and her mother Toni had a date to shop for fabric and meet with the seamstress who will make McDermott's costume for the World Games.

''I'm excited that I got chosen,'' McDermott says. ''I'm happy.''

Four Anchorage skaters are on Alaska's figure skating team for the World Games. McDermott will compete at Level III, Ginny Steele at Level II and Travis Clontz and Ernie Barker at Level I.

Steele, 24, came to Saturday's competition decked out in blue, from her long-sleeved dress to the glitter on her cheeks.

She preferred her costume to the one worn by bagpiper Richard Oswald, an Anchorage man who treated the Special Olympians to a brief concert at the end of the competition. He wore traditional regalia -- the kilt, the knee socks, the voluminous feather bonnet.

How about that for a World Games costume, Ginny?

''I don't think so,'' she said with a big laugh.

Barker, 11, might think otherwise. ''You look outrageous, man!'' he told Oswald.

Clontz, 26, had to compromise on his choice of costume. He skated to the theme song from ''Independence Day'' and his program had a military theme, complete with salutes.

''I thought I should look like a pilot,'' he said.

He decided he should wear a jump suit, so his mother, Jerri, went to Value Village and bought one. Then he reconsidered.

''It looked kind of drab,'' Clontz said. He opted instead for a more classical look -- black pants, white shirt, black and white vest, bow tie.

The skaters got lucky this weekend. Because they compete indoors, they actually got to compete.

Of the eight events planned for the local games, five had to be cancelled -- Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, snowboarding and two Alpine skiing events. That left figure skating at the Dimond Center, speedskating at the McDonald Center in Eagle River and floor hockey at the Fairview Recreation Center.

In six weeks, thousands of athletes from across the globe -- many of them skiers, boarders and snowshoers -- will arrive expecting snow. And if there is none?

''There isn't any contingency plan at this point,'' 2001 Winter World Games spokeswoman Kathy Day said. ''We've got some comfort room at this point. Three weeks is when you start to worry.''

Organizers remain optimistic that eventually it will snow or, barring that, get cold enough for snow-making.

Day theorized that Alpine skiing, now scheduled to take place on Alyeska's lower mountain, could move to the upper mountain, which has a good snow pack. But the Games happen during spring break, so the upper mountain could be crowded with citizen skiers.

The city has agreed to loan trucks and loaders to haul snow to Kincaid Park to create trails for some 300 cross-country skiers, but the problem is there's no snow to haul. Snowboarding is supposed to take place at Hilltop, but conditions there are marginal at best.

The snowshoers, who number about 100, are in the best position among the outdoor athletes.

''We can do it right now in the parking lot in the mud,'' Day said. ''It doesn't matter. A lot of the people who are training have never trained on snow, so it'll be an advantage to them.''