Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 4, 1993 TAG: 9302040447
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETSY BIESENBACH STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
NEVER TOO LATE TO SKATE
For most of her life, Ruth Lanum had dreamed of learning to ice skate. "It's something I'd always wanted to do," she said.Three years ago, at the age of 29, she took her first lesson, and has been hooked ever since. Lanum knows she'll never be another Kristi Yamaguchi, but she's having a good time, anyway.
Lanum, a licensed practical nurse and a student at Radford University, is president of the Roanoke Valley Figure Skating Association. The club was started late last year to promote figure skating and to give members practice time on the ice at the LancerLot Sports Complex rink. The club has more than a dozen members and includes both adults and children.
"We're growing and we're getting more organized," Lanum said.
Unlike ice hockey, which has been a popular youth activity for years, figure skating is relatively new to the Roanoke Valley, and it took a group of non-natives to get it started.
Four years ago, Susan Kivisto, 32, who is from Michigan and has been skating since she was 3 years old, went to a public skating session at the LancerLot. Afterward, she sat at a table, holding a sign saying she was looking for other people interested in teaching figure skating.
There she met Jennifer Davison, who is from Pennsylvania and skated competitively until she finished high school. They were later joined by two more teachers: Alicia Jensen from Denver; and Rebecca Boyden, a Virginia Tech student from Canada.
The instructors teach basic figures, freestyle skating and ice dancing and offer private lessons, as well. Each of them is well-grounded in the sport. Kivisto belonged to a skating club in her native Flint, Mich., and skated competitively in both the United States and Canada. She also taught skating in Finland, while she worked au pair.
Because no rinks are open year-round in the Roanoke Valley, the area is not exactly a hotbed for Olympic contenders, but "we can teach [students] the good basics," Kivisto said. Although someone could go on to competition levels, she added, "they have to really love it."
It's never too late to start, Kivisto said. In fact, her oldest student so far was a 70-year-old. The adults in the classes "are quick to learn," she said, and most prefer figures and ice dancing to the more athletic jumps and spins. Class members can earn patches as they progress through various levels set by the U.S. Figure Skating Association.
Most of all, Kivisto said, ice skating is "good exercise and good clean fun."
During practice sessions, the instructors try to get in as much skating as they can for themselves, but they still are willing to help their students, if needed.
"I love teaching people about my sport," Davison said. When she executes a difficult jump, she said, "I feel like I'm flying."
Skating is "relaxing and it puts me in a good mood."
For the students, "It's a challenging thing. It's a chance to try something they've never done before."
Davison said she hopes the sport will become more popular. Although interest seems to surge after each Winter Olympics, and the classes are usually full, "people just don't know about it," she said. The club should help the program grow, however.
Davison even recommends figure-skating lessons for youngsters who play hockey. They can learn important skating techniques the coaches may not have time to teach during practices.
The figure-skating classes are open to adults and children over 5, and cost $65 for each 10-week session. Each class is an hour long, with the children's class beginning at 4 p.m. and the adult class at 5 p.m. Each group is divided according to skill level, and classes are offered twice a year, on Monday and Tuesday nights, beginning in September and January. This year's winter session started Jan. 11. Thursday night is reserved for practice time, where students can stake out their own patch of ice and work on their skills.
The club meets once a month. Dues are $45 for six sessions, and are pro-rated according to when a skater joins. The dues pay for ice time, membership in the U.S. Figure Skating Association, and a subscription to Skating Magazine. The remainder of the dues are used to purchase dance and music tapes and to cover the cost of the club's newsletter.
This year, the club's skating time is open to members and their friends, to "let people try it," Lanum said, but next year, it will be for members only.
Last year, Lanum said, club members put on a show after classes ended. In the future, she hopes to organize more shows, to enter the club in competitions in other states and perhaps start a precision skating team.
Regardless of what happens next, Lanum already has been rewarded for her three years of work.
"I can see so much improvement in myself," she said. "It's such a feeling of accomplishment."
930203 SKATE STORY #21614 TOPIC KEYWORDCUTS DESK AUTHOR:HANDLEY02/03/93 sub cutline for nabors E-1 photo photo
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