by Joanne Vassallo Jamrosz, special to U.S. Figure Skating Online

Champions Camp attendees with coach Marni Halasa
(Photo courtesy of Marni Halasa)

For eight skaters from the Chelsea Piers rink in New York City, the hard work they put into summer Champions Figure Skating Camp paid off: the team won the pre-preliminary trophy at the Mid-Atlantic Championships in September.

Chelsea Piers is part of the Skating Club of New York. The eight team members each performed a program of 1:30 in duration, plus single jumps, spins, footwork and spirals.

i "Skating Club of New York has the majority of members in Mids, but the kids may skate at a number of different rinks," said Kenny Moir, director of skating at Chelsea Piers. "So this was very important to see that our rink, which has the fewest of the Skating Club of New York competitive members, won a trophy for the pre-preliminary level."

Coach Marni Halasa credits the hard work team members put in while attending Champions Camp during the summer. While most kids were off swimming, bike riding and hanging out with their friends as part of their summer vacation, Champions Camp attendees were focusing on perfecting various skating maneuvers.

Champions Camp is a fun but rigorous summer training camp that also includes private lessons, ensemble theatrical skating, hip-hop dance classes, off-ice conditioning, stroking, synchronized skating and even yoga.

"The fact that many of the skaters that placed fairly high did a lot of summer camp speaks volumes about keeping your training up during the summer months as opposed to going to a sleep-away camp," Moir said.

The Champions Camp program is for all competitive Chelsea Piers skaters who are training on junior prep ice and working with a private instructor. All must test and compete on a regular basis.

Moir admits, however, he was "stunned" by the team win "mainly because we are up against rinks from the suburbs, where there are an unlimited number of kids at that level, unlike New York City kids, who have many other interests and alternatives to skating," Mor said.

The fact that the winning team took part in the summer Champions Camp also speaks volumes for recognizing the sport year-round.

Skaters from Chelsea Piers in full costume
(Photo courtesy of Marni Halasa)

"What should be pointed out is that skating is a great sport in spring and summer," Moir said. "So many people think when the seasonal rinks close in March that skating ends, but actually it is when the progress really happens and the learning curve is at its greatest."

"It's a great program, and the kids really enjoy it, do well in competitions and pass their tests," Halasa said. "When figure skating is down all over the country, we are actually keeping our business thriving and seeing the kids commit more to the sport of figure skating."

Although winning the team trophy may mean an increase in novice, junior and senior skaters down the line, Moir feels it is not as important as getting young skaters out of groups and letting them explore performing and competing at lower levels. It is also important to keep the summer camp fun so skaters will return.

"I think the coaches at Chelsea Piers have really tried to strike that balance between pushing the kids and still keeping it fun and interesting. You have to have that balance for the kids to keep coming back," Halasa said.

To learn more about Marni Halasa, visit her web site at www.marnihalasa.com.