Bay Area Clubs Unite to Promote Worthy Causes
by Kama Korvela, special to U.S. Figure Skating Online |
In early January, three figure skating clubs in the San Francisco area came together to celebrate three causes: National Skating Month, the release of the cinematic feature RISE and a send-off to the clubs' U.S. Championships competitors. The event, "A Celebration of Bay Area Skating," featured performances by 35 skaters from the St. Moritz ISC, Peninsula Skating Club and Skating Club of San Francisco.
Susan Bonn, director of the St. Moritz ISC, was instrumental in planning the event, working closely with U.S. Figure Skating Pacific Coast Vice President Jessica Gaynor and former Athletes Advisory Committee Chair Justin Dillon.
"In November 2009, I created an event that served as a fundraiser for the Destination Vancouver campaign (to raise money for our Olympic athletes)," she said. "With the premiere of RISE this year, I felt we could do another event similar to last year's, but I wanted more input and participation by the other Bay Area clubs."
The event served several purposes.
"The Bay Area had a very successful 2010-11 season, and we thought a showcase of our best skaters would be a fun event," she said. "Our goal for this event was to not only showcase our success but to cross-promote RISE and increase public awareness."
The Safeway Holiday Ice Rink in San Francisco--located in the popular Union Square shopping center--served as the venue. Bonn went to the rink owners and famed skating event producer Willy Bietak to inquire about ice time.
"They were generous enough to give us 90 minutes on a Monday evening just before the rink closed for the season," Bonn said.
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"Each club provided skaters for the event, and we augmented it with some others that we thought the public would like to see," she said. "We had singles, pairs and ice dance teams as well as the Redwood City Ice Theater and (seven-time U.S. adult gold ice dancing champions) Julie Keith and Mike Ricigliano."
In addition, several up-and-coming skaters participated in the event, including 2011 U.S. intermediate ladies and men's champions, Karen Chen and Vincent Zhou; U.S. juvenile dance bronze medalists Sara Feng and Anthony Ponomarenko; and 2011 U.S. novice pairs competitors Janelle Unger and Robert Przepioski.
"The highlight of the event for me was providing a performance platform for young skaters in the San Francisco Bay area," Gaynor said.
While the audience surely enjoyed the exhibitions, the athletes had just as much fun staging them.
"I really enjoyed performing in an outdoor rink to promote the premiere of RISE," said Kevin Shum, the 2008 U.S. juvenile champion who took part in the celebration. "It was a great event, and I'm looking forward to watching the movie soon."
Bonn hopes the three clubs can work together to plan future events.
She said, "An event like this is proof-positive that even though we are competitors in many ways, when it comes to celebrating our successes, we can come together with true camaraderie."
Watch a highlight video from "A Celebration of Bay Area Skating."
