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The USFSA's first annual National Skating Week (NSW) was nothing short of a huge success. Clubs across the country were excited to participate, and rave reviews of the week's events keep coming in.

While there were 110 "It's Great to Skate" clinics held during NSW, hundreds more clubs, programs and rinks participated and benefited from the week's activities.

Dozens of clubs have reported a 10 percent or greater increase in club size as a result of the membership drive, and many clubs offered free skating sessions that were so successful that this idea will become a regular quarterly program.

These kids learned that "It's Great to Skate" at Mentor FSC in Ohio.

The new "Friends of Figure Skating" fan-based membership was so successful that it has been made a regular membership category. There were more people who joined the USFSA as a "Friends of Figure Skating" member at the 2002 U.S. Championships than signed up for the supportive membership for the entire 2000–01 season. In fact, there are almost 300 "Friends of Figure Skating" members, and hopefully this program will be significantly expanded in the future. This new category has allowed the USFSA to reach out to its fan base and has provided an avenue to not only recognize fans but give them the opportunity to feel connected to the USFSA in a meaningful way. To become a "Friends of Figure Skating" member, contact Susan Strauss, Member Services Coordinator, at sstrauss@usfsa.org or call 719.635.5200.

Although the "It's Great to Skate" clinics were free for National Skating Week, they will be available for purchase in order to be used for fall recruiting programs or any time of the year. If you would like to purchase one of these clinics, contact Jenny Plattenberger, assistant to the Senior Director of Member Services, at jennyp@usfsa.org or call 719.635.5200.

The success of the "It's Great to Skate" clinics sparked the upcoming series of six Chevy "It's Great to Skate" Festivals. The festivals, which will be held in conjunction with the USFSA, will feature Todd Eldredge this summer and fall. Read more about how to sign up to be a part of these special "It's Great to Skate" Festivals.

The following are just a few highlights from clubs that had a great NSW experience.

Tulsa Figure Skating Club

Despite the 6–8 inches of snow that fell the day before the event, Tulsa FSC in Tulsa, Okla., had 88 students attend its "It's Great to Skate" clinic, and almost 100% of its club members showed up to help out.

The club's NSW director, Ellen Jackson, said the highlight of the week was seeing the increased interest in figure skating and having 14 new members join the club as a result of NSW.

"The new members are eager to become active in skating and supportive of our club," Jackson said. "The materials we received as part of this program made the event happen, and every item was used."

One of the smartest things the club did was to enlist the leadership of clinic director Lisa Swenning-Jones, who "designed a well-rounded and balanced program that met the needs of all the participants," Jackson said.

Other things the club did right included presenting exhibitions by club skaters while clinic participants put on their skates, and making it a completely free event.

High Ridge Figure Skating Club

The High Ridge Ice Arena and Figure Skating Club in Gibbsboro, N.J., added 120 new Basic Skills memberships due to the promotion of NSW, and the club has benefited by 16 new members. The club also featured special guests former U.S. bronze medalists Debbie Koegel and Oleg Fediukov, who did an ice dancing demonstration.

Basic Skills program director Diane Hextall said the greatest thing they did during NSW was have something for everyone.

The club offered a refresher clinic for Basic Skills teachers, monitors and volunteers, a CPR/First Aid certification for non-skaters, a learn-to-skate clinic specifically for adults, a team skating clinic, and the "It's Great to Skate" clinic for the beginners and strong skaters alike.

"The best idea was the coaches using the public skating sessions to do mock lessons and races with giveaways," Hextall said. "This was the greatest way to network with the public and promote skating to a different clientele."

Hextall said the club definitely looks forward to participating in NSW next year.

Cleveland Skating Office

The Cleveland Skating Office, which opened in November 2001, is an interclub association that serves member clubs in the Cleveland, Ohio, area and makes a centralized effort to have the clubs work together. When NSW came up, the office had just formed a learn-to-skate committee to try and jump start skating in the area — perfect timing for a week-long national skating promotion!

Out of the 13 Cleveland-area facilities, 12 participated in the event by donating free ice time and giving free skating lessons. Some of the "It's Great to Skate" clinics in the area had as many as 250–300 skaters at the sessions, and one of the clubs had 12 new members sign up.

Diane Murphy, office director of the Cleveland Skating Office, said the biggest factor in NSW's success in the area was having the new skating office.

"The clubs have found that it is very convenient to have one place to go for questions or information," she said.

Murphy was on three different early morning TV shows to promote NSW, and the office publicized it in all of the local newspapers.

"The best thing about NSW was that it brought in huge numbers to our facilities, and a lot of them were people who had never skated before but were excited to try it after watching the Olympics," she said. "The fact that it was "National" Skating Week helped also. If it had just been local, the media may not have given it as much attention. Having the USFSA behind it was really a plus."

Murphy said they definitely plan on participating in NSW next year, and they hope to do a better job now that they know what to expect.

Here's what some kids who participated in an "It's Great to Skate" clinic had to say:

"I wish I could be in the Olympics, too!" — Rika Beck

"[The clinic] showed me that everything in ice skating is fun." — Elizabeth Dooher

"It showed me the skaters better than me and motivated me to do better than them." — Jessica Eno

"It made me want to come skate and learn everyday." — Haleigh O'Sullivan

"They made me want to come back again and again so that maybe one day I might become a professional skater." — Brittney Nelson

Here's what some of the coaches and staff thought of the NSW events:

"The 'It's Great to Skate' clinic is a wonderful idea. The timing (post-Olympic) was perfect. Education about the USFSA teamed with the free lessons made for a great event! Growth in our club is inevitable." — Sarah Shuller Brewer

"The variety of levels catered to help reach a broad audience by drawing in both the recreational skater and the already serious skater and enhancing the skating experience for both." — Kate Messenthaler

"From the responses on the evaluations, I think our skaters really enjoyed the clinic (especially the door prizes and goodies!)." — Lucretia Krudys

"Thanks to you and all of the USFSA staff for your support in this program." — Patrick McNamara

Featuring many clubs' stories and pictures on U.S. Figure Skating Online during NSW was very successful, and in that same vein the USFSA Membership Department would like to feature new, exciting things that clubs are doing on the clubs home page, which is soon to be revamped.

Obviously, everything cannot be posted on the web site, but the idea is to feature extraordinary things clubs are doing that interest all of the USFSA and appeal to a broad audience. If you have something exceptional happening at your club, if you have fantastic recruiting ideas, or if you simply have a noteworthy announcement, e-mail Jenny Plattenberger at jennyp@usfsa.org or call 719.635.5200, and we might feature you in the clubs area of U.S. Figure Skating Online!

Mark your calendars for next year's National Skating Week!
January 18–26, 2003

We are happy to announce next year's National Skating Week. Clubs were really the ones that helped determine these dates for the following reasons.

Skating is attractive to the public when it's colder outside. This is when we have a better opportunity to attract the public and bring them into our rinks. This time also coincides with our U.S. Championships, and it gives us the chance to capitalize on the public attention we receive because this event is televised. The other notable change is that the week has actually been extended to include two weekends. Many clubs did this in March, and it worked very well. They hosted an "open house" or "free skate" on the first weekend and then invited those participants to activities all week long that culminated with the "It's Great to Skate" clinic that next weekend.

The success of the first annual National Skating Week can be directly attributed to our clubs and programs that took full advantage of the program materials and ideas. By setting and announcing the dates for next year further in advance, we hope to more than double the participation for next year and give many more people the opportunity to find out that it is indeed "great to skate!"

— Rose Snyder
Senior Director of Member Services