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(5 October 2014) Skating's popularity seems to be on
a major upward trajectory these days in review of the media stats
that have come out this past year.
In January, more than 4.12 million viewers
tuned in to watch the U.S. ladies final free skate live at the TD
Garden in Boston, according to Nielsen ratings, representing an
increase of nearly 40 percent in the age 18 to 49 category compared
to 2013.
According to U.S. Figure Skating executives,
these numbers were telling and important.
“The experience of our athletes, coaches,
officials, staff and most of all, our fans, had in Boston was
overwhelmingly positive,” said David Raith, U.S. Figure Skating
Executive Director.
In the weeks leading up to the Sochi Olympics,
U.S. Figure Skating Olympic team members were constantly being
looked up on major Internet search engines, including Gracie Gold,
who ranked as one of the top-three most Googled names in early
February, according to the New York Post.
In addition, attendance at the 2014 U.S.
Championships also hit its biggest high in years, with more than
14,000 people showing up to watch Gracie Gold clinch the U.S. title
at the TD Garden in Boston, representing the largest single-session
crowd on record at a U.S. Championships since 2002.
According to the sport’s directors, the recent
surge in the sport’s popularity is largely due to the superior
standard of the skaters and Herculean efforts of the figure skating
community, including the coaches, parents, executives, managers,
officials, volunteers and fans.
“The skating of the [U.S.] competitors reflects
the efforts of so many people who have been committed to making
American figure skating the best it can be,” said Jimmie Santee,
Executive Director of the Professional Skaters Association, the
national coaches’ organization and sport’s educational arm based in
Rochester, Minnesota.
This year, Jason Brown, the U.S. silver
medalist, also played a major role in helping put the sport back in
the public spotlight with his electrifying (and winning)
‘Riverdance’ free skate he performed at the TD Garden in January.
To date, his performance has generated more
than 4.8 million YouTube views, making it one of the most watched
figure skating performances ever on the Internet.
“I love to perform and bring skating to people,
that’s what drives me,” said Brown, who clinched gold at the
Nebelhorn Trophy in Obersdorf, Germany last week.
Ice Dreams attracts sell-out crowd to brand-new
Long Island facility
The good times for the sport appear to be
continuing, as more than 2,600 people showed up on Saturday,
September 20, to watch America’s top contenders perform in ‘Ice
Dreams,’ a kick-off event celebrating the opening of the new
state-of-the-art Twin Rinks complex in East Meadow, New York.
Headliners included the venerable Brown, as
well as Caydee Denney and John Coughlin, 2012 U.S. pairs titlists,
Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim, 2013 U.S pairs silver medalists,
Mariah Bell, U.S. junior silver medalist, Jimmy Ma, U.S. junior
bronze medalist and Samantha Cesario, a New York-based competitor
who was sixth at the U.S. Championships.
Tara Modlin, the show’s producer, attributed
the show’s success to the sell-out crowd, saying their unbridled
energy and enthusiasm helped fuel the skaters’ performances.
“There’s something that happens when skaters
perform in a venue that’s filled to capacity,” she said. “When I
went into the locker room to tell the skaters there was a
standing-room only crowd, they lit up.”
On this night, electricity seemed to permeate
throughout the building, that’s for sure.
At the show’s start, Sarah Hughes, the 2002
U.S. Olympic champion who grew up and trained for many years in Long
Island, cited the impact shows and events such as this one have on
the sport.
“This is where it all starts,” she said,
holding the hand of her three-year old niece, Charlotte, dressed in
a sparkling costume and helmet.
This show certainly seemed to hit the mark on
every front, which seemed appropriate as it was the official opening
of this 165,000 square-foot facility, a privately funded 15
million-dollar venue located near Jones Beach state park in Long
Island. It features two NHL-sized rinks, an outdoor arena, an
expansive lobby with a fireplace and several workout and locker
rooms.
“The owners are incredible,” said Mary Lynn
Gelderman, the reputable New York-based Olympic and World team coach
who is the skating director. “They are people with vision.”
Brown brings it home
Brown was much of the reason for the show’s
success, wowing the crowd with his short program to Walter Mitty’s
‘Juke’ and ‘Cotton-Eyed Joe,’ a show routine he used in Stars on Ice
last spring.
In both performances, he executed high,
beautifully rotated triple Lutzes, flips and toe loops an did some
soaring Russian split jumps, rubber band-like spins and a low hydro
that generated deafening applause.
“I love being here in New York and have had
such a great time,” said Brown, who trains with Kori Ade in
Monument, Colorado. “The people were incredible and the rink is
amazing.”
Scimeca and Knierim, who scored bronze in
Obersdorf, agreed.
“It has been great being here in New York, it’s
one of my favorite states,” said Scimeca, who trains with Knierim
under Delilah Sappenfield in Colorado Springs. “I love it every time
we get to come here.”
Other performers included senior and
pre-juvenile teams from the Skyliners, a nationally ranked New
York-area based synchronized organization and more than 120 young
up-and-coming contenders, including Emelia Murdock, a standout 11
year-old juvenile contender who trains with Gelderman at Twin Rinks.
“I think it (the show) represents a means of
introducing skating to the people and this was a way of really
bringing it home,” said Gelderman, who coached Elaine Zayak, the
1982 World champion with Peter Burrows, who had passed away last
April. “Over the next few years, I see limitless possibility here.”
Josh Babb, head coach of the Skyliners, was
thrilled to have his teams perform.
“I’m so glad that synchro has been part of the
show,” he said. “It has been a fantastic opportunity for the Long
Island community to see a skating display of this type.”
At the same time, coaches were excited about
the impact of the show on the younger generation.
“This has been an extraordinary opportunity for
young skaters to watch and admire some of U.S. Figure Skating’s top
talent,” said Dawn Wagner, a Twin Rinks staff coach who has taught
skaters through the national level. “It’s exciting to be part of
this experience, because it’s all about helping to build the sport
to its biggest possible extent.”
No doubt, this statement, along with the
aforementioned stats seem to indicate that figure skating is growing
as fast as ever and certainly securing its place as a main event in
every way.
“I think the U.S. has a wealth of talent and I
would like to do everything I can to help make the sport grow and
help athletes reach their full potential,” said Gelderman. “I think
this [show] was a way of really bringing it home.”
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