SKATING OFFERS IDEAL RELEASE FOR LIFE’S TRIALS


By Lexi Rohner


OVERLAND PARK, KAN., CREVE COEUR FSC PRELIMINARY FREE SKATE,


JOCELYN CHALQUIST, 51 FIRST FIGURE, ADULT PRE-GOLD DANCE


Jocelyn Chalquist de-


PROOF#: 3 OPERATOR: Joseph Roy DATE: 6/25/12 - 4:44 PM


scribes her profession as a nurse and clinical educator for a tertia- ry trauma center as straightforward. “It’s either one way


or the other,” Chalquist said. “Skating has allowed me to develop some fl exibility.” Twenty-fi ve years ago when she and


JOB#: STFR-A4210 DESC: Campus Cus- tom Ad PUB: US Skating PUBDATE: August 2012 LIVE: 7.875 x 10.375 TRIM: 8.375 x 10.875 BLEED: 8.625 x 11.125 GUTTER: GCD: CD: AD: CW: AE: Theresa Wright TRAFFIC: PROOF:


her sister fi rst took an adult skating class at a local university, adult skating class- es were mainly off ered by universities, in cooperation with local rinks, as part of community outreach. Since then, the evolution of the Basic Skills Program has off ered more opportunity for learning. Chalquist’s progression from group


to private lessons led her to fi gures. “I had no interest in jumping,”


Chalquist said. “I switched to ice dance when fi gures met their demise.” Her interest in skating reignited a


few years ago with an eight-week on- line sports participation class required to fi nish her degree. Despite compressor problems that closed the rink for half the classes, she worked around the issue and completed the course. Chalquist considers skating her ther-


apy, though testing and lessons have been challenging. “I’ve had to travel up to 13 hours from


home and test with an unfamiliar partner, many times to new places,” Chalquist said. “It’s a journey I never could have imag- ined.”


Despite a silver tango test that was


canceled twice, she practiced with a part- ner for less than an hour and passed. At more than 6-feet tall on skates,


Chalquist feels pressure practicing gold and international dances at freestyle ses- sions. “I don’t want my head turned the


wrong direction or to run into anyone,” Chalquist said. “Physics intervenes.” Chalquist practices six days a week


and counts herself fortunate to work with several coaches who understand adult skating.


“I like to say it takes a village to raise an adult ice dancer,” she said.


GREG GARVIN, 50 OXFORD, MICH.


DETROIT SKATING CLUB ADULT SILVER FREE SKATE


In the two decades Greg Garvin has


been skating, he has learned to manage the pressure of competition. “At fi rst I was nervous about how it


would go and what people would think,” Garvin said. “Now I know we all make mistakes and it’s the exceptional routine that has none. I think too many folks let pressure ruin skating events for them. I am glad to have gotten past the issue.” A physician specializing in occupa-


tional medicine, Garvin began skating after completing his medical training. With parents who were competitive roller skaters, Garvin had always desired to do freestyle as a child but there was no free- style coach at their rink. “My parents met on ice and married,”


Garvin said. “Skating was what we did, but I had to do dance and fi gures.” Garvin now performs freestyle rou-


tines, and his participation has taken him to France for the Adult Mountain Cup and to Cologne, Germany, for Gay Games. “It was incredible!” Garvin said. “I saw


Paris, the French countryside on the train, and then competed in the French Alps with people from all over the world.” Taking gold in the bronze men cat-


egory at the 1999 U.S. Adult Champion- ships, Garvin continues to train several times weekly with the intent to skate in Australia and elsewhere globally. Travel also has introduced Garvin to his coach Sandy Kulaszewski-Moss. Garvin was wearing a Detroit Red Wings shirt on a fl ight to Lake Placid, N.Y., and he began chatting with Kulaszewski-Moss, a die- hard fan. Now, Garvin drives more than an hour each way to take lessons from Kulaszewski-Moss.


DAVE BAKKE, 59, AND SUE BAKKE, 56 MIDLAND, MICH.


BRONZE DANCE AND PRE-BRONZE DANCE Skating is a


big part of Sue and Dave Bak- ke’s life togeth- er.


They each


have been skating for more than two decades and today are fully rooted in the skater lifestyle. “Once Dave took lessons, the whole family did the Basic Skills Program,” Sue said. “It’s a way to de-stress from work and exercise together.” Sue is a teacher and Dave is an engi-


neer. Dave practices three to fi ve times a


week. He wants to pass the adult silver moves-in-the-fi eld test and win a medal in solo dance at the U.S. Adult Champi- onships. Sue’s goals are to complete the bronze dances and overcome the fear of performing three-turns. “Our focus is on walking through the


steps together,” Dave said. “We work with a local coach and a travel coach for the diff erent aspects of ice dancing and skill development.” The Bakkes’ skating commitment


goes beyond the ice surface. Dave, who also skated 14 years with the Turning Points synchronized skating team, is pur- suing a music appointment and volun- teers as a competition announcer, and both teach Basic Skills classes. Sue is a lo- cal organizing committee volunteer and has served on their club’s board. “Our daughter skated growing up


and continued synchronized skating through college,” Sue said. “Hopefully she’ll return to ice dancing as an adult and may even compete.” In 2011, Sue and Dave entered their


second U.S. Adult Championships in Salt Lake City and took gold in the pre-bronze dance category. They fi nished sixth in 2010. When they are not skating, the


couple like to ride bikes and Dave plays soccer and leads his boyhood Boy Scout troop.


SKATING 49 MIDLAND FSC


B:11.125 in T:10.875 in S:10.375 in


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76