Fighting for a Skater, One Skater at a Time

Fighting for a Skater, One Skater at a Time, By Jimmie Santee

Originally published in the Nov/Dec 2014 PS Magazine 

In last January’s PS magazine, I wrote my editorial regarding the participation of girls playing hockey in comparison to figure skating. Participation in girl’s hockey has increased close to 40% over the previous 10 years. In Rochester, Minnesota, home of the PSA, I wrote there are currently 145 members of the Rochester Figure Skating Club which includes both boys and girls. The Rochester Youth Hockey Association has 226 registered girls on 14 teams; a difference of 36% in comparison to the RFSC.

Fortunately, RFSC has plenty of ice. If that were not the case, it would most likely be insurmountable to overcome. While there is no open warfare between the figure skaters and hockey in Rochester, I wondered if this was an issue anywhere else and if there was what are the consequences?

Unfortunately, it is happening elsewhere. While the fight over the same pool of kids in itself is quite important, the consequences fighting over ice time is even more disturbing. The Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club has produced 60 national champions and skated in Edina’s city run Braemar Arena for almost 50 years. Regardless of their impressive track record, the club is in for the fight of its life with the Edina Hockey Association. The city wants the club to give up 33% of its prime-time ice to the hockey group, because there are fewer Edina residents in the figure skating club as there are residents in the Hockey program. Under an agreement made with the city last year the clubs ice was supposed to be secure for the next 20 years. Additionally, the club agreed to pay $20 per year per member to help pay for new hockey locker rooms.

In the bigger picture, the hockey association has 1,323 members, comparatively to the FSC’s 196. Reducing their ice will severely limit the clubs exposure to potential new members while the hockey group strengthens their position and visibility.

This is happening north of the boarder as well. One of Canada’s most distinguished clubs, the North Shore Winter Club of Vancouver has been eliminated. Just like the Braemar City of Lakes Figure Skating Club, the North Shore Winter Club has been producing champions for over 50 years; Karen Magnusson and Tracey Wilson among them. The private club began cutting hours a few years ago and this season has no figure skating at all, giving all the ice to the hockey program.

The fight for ice time between figure skating and hockey is not new. But what is new is the popularity of girl’s hockey. The US Girls Hockey team is the reigning World Champions and is favored to win the Gold in Sochi. Comparatively, will our ladies make the medal stand at the Olympics? Which skating discipline will get the post-Olympic bump in membership? Unfortunately, my gut is telling me hockey.

So what do we do? … Market, market, market. Make figure skating the obvious choice. Encourage your club to participate in US Figure Skating’s Destination Sochi, participate in the National Skating months of January and February. Promote the sport everywhere you go and everyone you talk to. We have to fight for each skater, one skater at a time. As coaches we can help our clubs make a difference. Be a volunteer! Yes, volunteer…for free! Offer to host a class for girl scouts or lead a class on a public session. We understand that most rinks rarely have excess money to spend on marketing. Helping them helps us. We all have to do our part. There can be no spectators in this fight.