Skate-to-Learn Exhibition This Weekend

If you are a skater like me, you probably have a vividly happy memory of the moment you first fell in love with figure skating. That was a great feeling, right? This weekend, you can help hundreds of kids get the chance to experience that same joy.

How? Just come to the second annual Skate-to-Learn exhibition this Sunday, April, 29th at 3 p.m. at Sport-O-Rama in Monsey, NY. This SCNY-sponsored show's proceeds benefit Brooklyn Ice, a program that has provided free figure skating lessons and enrichment classes to children living near Prospect Park in Brooklyn since 2005. Proceeds from the show will also benefit the Boys and Girls Clubs of Hackensack and Lodi. 

Last year, the show raised over $17,000 for charity. This year's show will feature Russian champion Ksenia Makarova, accomplished pairs teams Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff and Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir, and performers from Ice Theater of New York, and many other SCNY skaters.

This week, I had the chance to chat briefly with two of the founders of this very successful show--accomplished skaters Christine Mozer and David Cruikshank. These two teens came up with the idea for the show and fundraiser in 2010, after they heard about Brooklyn Ice needing funds to continue at a new rink. With the help of some dedicated fellow skaters, they put together a show called CitySkate that year, which raised over $15,000, and then in 2011, started the Skate-to-Learn exhibition. 

Christine, who represents SCNY, says she's very excited about the show this year, and proud of the SCNY members who have chipped in to help produce it. "In watching the shows from year to year, it is great to see how cast members of previous shows continue to improve and share their love for the sport," she said.

Looking back on the last two years, David (who represents the Hickory Hill FSC) is floored by the success. "We decided to put on a show because we thought we could get our friends to help out by skating in the show and helping with the day-of-show logistics and things like that," he said. "We never imagined the shows would be this successful."  

Both Christine and David are heading off to college next year, but they've no doubt that the show will go on and continue to be a great success. Show coordinators are always looking for volunteers to skate or help out backstage, so if you're interested, email skatetolearn2011@gmail.com. If you'd like to attend the show, you can buy tickets at the door or send an email to that address. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for kids and seniors. 

If you can't make the show this weekend, but still want to help out, you can send donations to Courtney Taylor c/o Figure Skating Office, Sport-O-Rama, 20 College Road, Monsey, NY 10953.

SCNY's Adam Rippon Helps Team USA Win Silver at ISU World Team Trophy

USFSA.org

Team USA scored big at this year's ISU World Team Trophy in Tokyo this weekend, thanks in large part to Adam Rippon's great skates. Rippon added six points to the team's 53-point tally with his season's best scores in both short and long programs, placing seventh overall in the men's event. Congrats to Adam! 

Team Japan won the event and Team Canada came in third. This is only the second time the ISU has held a team competition—the last one was held in 2009, when Team USA took home the gold. There was to have been another last year, but the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March of 2011 put a hold on things. From here on out it looks like this competition will be held every two years. 

Skaters on a recreational level are no strangers to team competitions, especially if they've ever participated in ISI-sanctioned events. SCNY has been incorporating a team event at Mid Atlantics for the No-Test through Pre-Juvenile events for a few years now, using a scoring method similar to that used in the World Team Trophy competitions.

To participate in the Mids team competition, all you have to do is indicate your home rink on your entry form—that will be the team that you skate for. Many skaters skate at multiple rinks, so the choice as to which rink you represent is yours. That is all you need to do and there are no additional events or fees. The winning team will be awarded a trophy to take home to their rink.

Sochi 2014 is slated to make Olympic history by featuring a team competition for the first time. I'm a huge fan of watching figure skating's summer cousin, gymnastics, which seems to place more emphasis on the overall team aspect of competitions than the individual's performance. I always wondered why figure skating events on a world scale didn't have a similar team competition. I feel like it amps up the spirit and collegiality of a skating competition when you're not just in it for yourself. 

What do you think? Should there be more team competitions in the higher echelons of figure skating? Let us know in the comments section below!

SCNY Rink Closes for the Season, Looking Forward to Next Year

Since Wollman Rink closed at the beginning of this month, I've been going through a bit of outdoor skating withdrawal. 

Until I first set my blades on the iconic rink in Central Park two years ago, I had never skated outside. All my practice and competition and recreational skating was within the confines of a refrigerated building. When I took my first lap around Wollman, it felt truly like flying. 

Feeling nostalgic for this past season, I found this quick photo I snapped with my phone as I was leaving the rink last November. I think it really captures the essence of what makes Wollman so special. 

Wollman is affiliated with SCNY and is home to both the largest basic skills program and the largest basic skills competition in the country (the Wollman Open). Skating at Wollman will open back up in October of this year. To keep us all tided over until then, please share your favorite Wollman experience in the comments below!

SCNY Team to Have Adult Synchro Tryouts

Attention adult skaters! Are you new to skating and looking for a fun challenge? Or are you a seasoned competitor looking to stay involved in the sport?

Gotham City Synchro is looking for new skaters, ages 25 and up, to join the synchronized skating team for the 2012-2013 competitive season. 

Tryouts are Thursday, May 3 from 6:00-7:20 a.m. at City Ice Pavilion. There's a $20 fee for ice time, cash or check payable to the Skating Club of New York. No synchro experience necessary. Visit the Gotham City Synchro website for more information. 

GCS is coming off a successful season that included two bronze medal-winning performances in a challenging competitive field. This coming season, the team will skate in the Masters division and will compete at the Eastern Sectionals in Lake Placid and the National Synchro Championships in Plymouth, Michigan. 

Gotham City Synchro is a skater-run organization founded in 2007. They represent SCNY, and the team's average age is over 35.

SCNY Members Boost Hopes for Sochi in Nice

The 2012 World Figure Skating Championships were disappointing for U.S. athletes, yet despite troubled performances and low finishes, two SCNY members helped ensure multiple berths for U.S. Figure Skating on next year's World Team, increasing the nation's qualifying prospects for the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

Two-time U.S. silver medalist, 2011 World bronze medalist and SCNY member Maia Shibutani dropped to 8th place overall in the ice dance event this year. Skating with her brother Alex, the pair's top-10 finish, combined with a silver medal earned by Meryl Davis and Charlie White, was enough to ensure three spots for U.S. ice dancers in next year's World Championships in London, Ontario.

SCNY member and U.S. silver medalist Adam Rippon had a disappointing 13th place finish in his second time competing at Worlds. His result, combined with U.S. men's champion Jeremy Abbott's 8th place finish, secured two spots for U.S. men at next year's competition. Though both Rippon's short and free skate weren't his best, he attempted a quad salchow and he completed one of his trademark Rippon lutzes—a variation of the 'Tano lutz with both arms up during rotation—and turned in energetic finishes despite the technical bobbles.

Also competing in the ice dance event, SCNY member Isabella Tobias placed 18th overall with her partner Deividas Stagniunas. The pair represented Lithuania.