BENEFIT HELD FOR BELOVED COACH rinkside
Several of the country’s top skaters performed in a benefi t ice show on Aug. 12 for longtime
coach Colleen Mickey, who may soon require a bone marrow transplant. Mickey was diagnosed in 2004 with incurable stage IV non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Escondido FSC hosted the event at Iceoplex Escondido in Escondido, Calif. Audience members enjoyed performances by Ashley Wagner, Mary Beth Marley and Rockne
Brubaker, Chelsea Liu and Devin Perini, Philippines men’s champion Chris Caluza, Leah Keiser, Richard Dornbush, Jonathan Cassar and others. “I’m humbled by the love and support and fi lled with gratitude,” said Mickey, who was so
inspired by what was done for her that she is creating a foundation to assist other skaters with cancer. “The diffi culty cancer creates and the fi nancial burden can be overwhelming. I’m ready to start paying this forward.” Choreographer David Wilson, a close friend of Mickey’s, choreographed the opening and closing numbers of the show. “Colleen is a true friend,” said Lexie Fernandez, Iceoplex skating director. “She is an invalu- able mentor and consummate skating professional.”
— Lexi Rohner
ELECTRIC SHOWS HELP CELEBRATE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF NOBLE ICE ARENA
A skating spectacular celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Alice No-
ble Ice Arena in Wooster, Ohio, took place on the last weekend in August. Under the direction of arena director Mark Cockerell, two special
shows were held. The fi rst was a formal aff air in which guests, dressed in their best and served a gourmet dinner by The Wooster Inn, enjoyed priori- ty on-ice seating to watch the night’s entertainment. The second show was more casual, drawing a crowd of family and friends. Cockerell, a member of the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team, compiled an im-
pressive list of guest stars to perform, including 2012 U.S. competitor Al- exander Aiken and former U.S. World Junior team member Jenna Pittman Bracone. Hollywood and Las Vegas singer Nick Costa, along with professional
ballroom dancer Slava Polubnev, performed on a special on-ice staging area. Polubnev danced with Elena Kvitchenko Cockerell, a former member of the Russian World Team. Local skaters also shared the spotlight. Learn-to-skate members
dressed as stewardesses and pilots skated through runway lights to “Fly Me to the Moon” sung by Costa. The newly developed Noblettes synchronized skating team entertained as well. Members of the Wooster Figure Skating Club performed lively solos
and were featured in opening and closing group numbers. In 2002, the Alice Noble Ice Arena was built thanks to a generous do-
nation on the part of the Donald and Alice Noble Foundation. Though they have since passed on, both Nobles lived to see the grand opening and enjoyed a ceremonial trip around the ice arena in a beautiful custom-built sleigh. The couple, who went ice skating on their fi rst date on Jan. 24, 1934, later married and hatched a dream of building an indoor skating facility in their hometown of Wooster. “We think Donald and Alice Noble
David Noble, president of the Noble Foundation and son of Alice and Donald Noble, addresses the audience prior to the rink’s 10th anniversary celebration show. Rink general manager Seth Greenberg and skating director Mark Cockerell joined Noble to welcome the audience on the special occasion.
42 NOVEMBER 2012
would have been thrilled with the event and especially pleased to know that all proceeds went toward skater scholarships,” Cockerell said. “Hope- fully the next 10 years bring many more special moments to come.”
Gabrielle Gorman and Lizzie Chaconas
ICE MARATHON HELPS CAROLINA KIDS
Carolinas Figure Skating Club teen skaters Lizzie
Chaconas and Gabrielle Gorman organized an ice mara- thon and raised $1,500 for a learn-to-skate program that benefi ts local children who show academic commitment and would like to skate, but can’t aff ord to do so. They got the idea from former U.S. ice dancer Jennifer
Wester, who organized a frozen marathon last year as a fundraiser for the Skin Cancer Foundation. She helped the teens organize their version of the frozen marathon. The girls worked with their rink, Extreme Ice of Indi-
an Trail, to organize the event. They advertised, acquired sponsors and made T-shirts. They collected donations through entry fees, and skaters could complete as many laps as they wanted in two hours. One of the teams fi n- ished a full marathon — 253 laps. The teens’ desire to help area youth came from the
girls’ work with the local YWCA after-school program for high-risk kids. If the children received an A or B in math and reading, Chaconas and Gorman gave them a skating lesson and pizza party. The program with the YWCA had been in place for more than a year and the girls wanted to expand the skating opportunities for the children who showed commitment to their academics.
Colleen Mickey helps a student at a rehearsal for a Christmas show at the Iceoplex Escondido.
PHOTO BY JULIE LYKINS
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