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

A while back, former senior men's competitor Ryan Jahnke was looking in his closet and noticed a plethora of figure skating costumes. Jahnke's father also looked into the closet and suggested to Jahnke that there should be a web site to sell such skating items.

The seed for the Myskatingmall.com web site was planted.

"The site will have several main features," Jahnke said. "First, it will allow skaters to start their own web stores and sell gently used items like skating outfits, boots and blades; everything skating related that still holds value is permissible."

The site will also allow for the sale of new items through partner stores. These businesses will either link their web site to myskatingmall.com or create their own storefront directly on Myskatingmall.com.

For all purchases on Myskatingmall.com, 5 percent of the purchase price will be funded directly to skating clubs.

"My hope is that, just like a good bricks-and-mortar mall, Myskatingmall.com will eventually have everything that a skating shopper would want," Jahnke said. "The site will be completely customized to figure skating and will have an extensive search capability so that skaters will be able to find exactly what they are looking for.

"For example, if a mother wanted to find a red, Spanish-themed dress for her 12-year-old daughter, the site would be that specific."

Ryan Jahnke (Photo by Paul Harvath)

The only supplies needed to buy and sell items will be access to a digital camera and the Internet. For the first year, the site will be completely free for skaters to start their web stores and list items. When the site goes live, skaters or parents will be able to go to Myskatingmall.com and create an account to open a web store.

Myskatingmall.com is created with the vision of supporting the entire skating community.

"I chose skating clubs to benefit because they are the key to supporting grass-roots skating," Jahnke said. "It's pretty much that simple. If there hadn't been a local skating club, I wouldn't have had ice to train on as a young skater."

Jahnke, currently a full-time coach at the World Arena Ice Hall in Colorado Springs, Colo., has been coaching since retiring from competitive skating in 2006. He is also active in U.S. Figure Skating through the Athletes Advisory Committee and Events Advisory Board as well as the Ethics, Coaches, Singles, Membership and Sports Science committees. Jahnke will graduate in December from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs with a degree in finance.

Presently, Jahnke is overseeing the Myskatingmall.com beta forum and receiving feedback from the 30 volunteers he enlisted whose opinions will shape the policies and features of the site. He is looking forward to a March 2010 launch and encourages everyone to check out the site to learn more about it.

"I truly want Myskatingmall.com to serve the needs of the skating community," Jahnke said.