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One-on-one help gives young skaters confidence.

By Rose Snyder

The U.S. Figure Skating Association hosted its second National Skating Week Jan. 18–26. More than 250 USFSA clubs and Basic Skills programs hosted "It's Great to Skate" clinics and other events to celebrate this exciting week.

Drawing attention to skating

National Skating Week was created as a marketing tool to help USFSA clubs promote skating and boost their membership. We built on a successful first year during which more than 110 clinics were held across the country. Our goal for 2003 was to double the number of clinics held in 2002. We did that and more with nearly 260 clinics held.

The centerpiece of National Skating Week is the "It's Great to Skate" recruiting clinic. This brief clinic gives kids who have never been on the ice the confidence to skate while having fun. This year the curriculum was expanded to include a more advanced track for skaters who have a bit more experience. We also added an off-ice parents' education track.

All clubs or Basic Skills programs that applied were supplied with a clinic box and a promotional packet. The promo packet armed hosts with a variety of tools on how to not only promote their program, but how to get press coverage as well. The clinic box included more than $150 worth of goodies to hand out to up to 50 participants. Materials were supplied by the USFSA free of charge to those who applied. Look for more details on the 2004 National Skating Week to come later this summer.

Many clubs took advantage of the fact that the 2003 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships were televised the preceding week. Using the press packet provided by the USFSA, clubs created public relations campaigns designed to expose more potential skaters in their area to the sport.

In fact, results from a survey sent out to participating clubs/programs show that the ones that hosted a clinic had more than 25 percent of the participants sign up for either the USFSA club or Basic Skills learn to skate program.

Highlights from 2003 activities

Here are a few of the highlights from this year's National Skating Week that were reported to USFSA Headquarters.

Tulsa Figure Skating Club: One of the most touching stories from this year is about a girl named Brittany Guevara who did an exhibition for the "It's Great to Skate" clinic hosted by the Tulsa FSC.

You might be thinking, What's so special about a kid doing an exhibition? It happens all the time. True enough, but what makes this one so special is the fact that Guevara was one of 88 skaters at last year's NSW events who had never been on the ice and decided to give skating a try.

Less than a year later, she is on the ice showing her stuff. Guevara is one of thousands of children who decided to join a Basic Skills program to learn to skate as a result of National Skating Week.

Tulsa had a total of 103 participants in 2003. Gretchen Bashforth, training and education chairperson of the Tulsa FSC, said she was delighted the clinic was again a success.

"Of course, we could not do this event without the support of the USFSA or the Tulsa Ice Arena," she said. "The materials provided by the USFSA were helpful in publicizing the event and the Tulsa Ice Arena's donation of free skate rental made the clinic attractive to families with multiple skaters."

Richmond Ice Zone: The Richmond Ice Zone in Richmond, Va., held its "It's Great to Skate" classes for the second year with much success. Former pairs skater Danielle Hartsell was a featured speaker and helped teach the skaters on the ice. Hartsell brought a video showing her skating at one of her first competitions as well as videos of her skating at the U.S. Championships. Parents and children alike enjoyed seeing how a skater can progress.

Wichita Figure Skating Club: The Wichita FSC nearly doubled its participation this year with 112 skaters taking part in the "It's Great to Skate" clinic. During the clinic the Canlan Ice Sports mascot, Pierre the Polar Bear, made an appearance and was a huge hit.

This year the club took advantage of having a parent education seminar. The USFSA provided a brief outline to follow and gave clubs a nice star magnet to pass on to the parent attendees. The seminar included information on the facility, the learn to skate program, the River Festival ice show, staff coaches, the club and the USFSA. It also featured a presentation by the Pro Shop manager who discussed various skating products and how to properly fit children with skates.

Brenda Marie Glidewell, skating director for Ice Sports-Wichita, said she was thankful for the opportunities that National Skating Week provided for the club and the facility.

"I am grateful to have had the opportunity to share such an amazing sport with the community at a great facility," she said. "As a result, we hope to get more people involved in the rewarding activity of ice skating."

Get ready for next year

Mark your calendars now for National Skating Week 2004. The dates have been set for Jan. 10–18. Feel free to send us any great ideas or suggestions that you've seen work for your club. We might feature them in the "ideas that really work" section of next year's manual.

If your club or Basic Skills program would like to receive information about the 2004 National Skating Week, contact Jenny Plattenberger, club development coordinator, at jennyp@usfsa.org.