CMARRIED WITH SKATING ouples value time together on the ice By Lexi Rohner
DAVE AND DEBORAH GAULTIER, 53, 49 SHAFTSBURG, MICH., DETROIT SKATING CLUB
ADULT GOLD, CHAMPIONSHIP DANCE Competing and
testing keep Dave and Deborah Gault- ier deeply rooted in the sport of figure skating. The married ice dancing couple has racked up an impressive 11 U.S. Adult Championships medals. They are the only team to have won at each level (bronze, silver, gold, pre-gold and gold); they have placed twice in championship dance. “It was a big dream for us starting as
adults,” Deborah said. “Reaching it impact- ed our motivation so we decided to ex- plore our theatrical side.” Training 12 hours weekly, their theat-
rical foray has improved their competitive ice dance efforts and led them to join Har- mony Theater Company; they even partici- pated in a Central Park skating flash mob. “Testing and competing are justi-
fiable excuses for practice time and ex- pense,” Dave said. “They create deadlines for improvement.” The couple came to skating from dif-
ferent places. A ballet dancer and high-lev- el gymnast, Deborah was in a car accident at 17 and required extensive physical ther- apy to rebuild her athleticism. At 31 she tried skating. “After the accident I truly never
thought I’d find an outlet for this expres- sive quality of movement to music,” Deb- orah said. “I am grateful to have won back the part of me that needs to dance.” Dave took a skating class in college and picked it up again 21 years ago. When Dave needed a new partner in the summer of 1996, his first private coach suggested he and Deborah skate together. They have been married for 11 years. The Gaultiers are coached by Natalia
Deller, Richard Brown and Massimo Scali at the Detroit Skating Club. Outside of skating, Dave is a depart-
ment manager at Home Depot and part- time skating coach. He built most of the couple’s current home, which included cutting down trees and doing a lot of the carpentry work. They enjoy their 11 pets.
30 APRIL 2013
JIM AND DEBBIE MARLOWE, 67, 70 GENOA, OHIO, BOWLING GREEN SC ADULT GOLD PAIRS
The love story
for Jim and Deb- bie Marlowe began in the fall of 1969 with skating lessons at the rink in Park Ridge, Ill., where they met. “We learned a
few pairs elements and when Jim lift- ed me, I got butter- flies in my stomach,” Debbie said. “It wasn’t the height. We were falling in love.” By the summer of 1970, they were
married. The couple have spent their lives to-
gether, enjoying time on the ice as singles and pairs skaters. “We skate twice weekly and intend to
continue as long as our bodies allow,” Deb- bie said. Celebrating each other’s successes,
they cite Jim’s free skate gold medal and Debbie’s artistic gold medal at the 2001 and 2006 U.S. Adult Championships, re- spectively.
They count their greatest
achievement as earning a medal in cen- tennial pairs at the 2012 U.S. Adult Cham- pionships. “It was our first medal after compet- ing in gold pairs for more than a decade,” Jim said. The Marlowes have been members
of the Bowling Green SC since 1989 and have had only one coach, Marianne-Mazur Stewart. “Marianne has encouraged us since
the beginning,” Jim said. “She’s like family.” Now retired, the Marlowes assist in
learn-to-skate classes and have designed and painted several ice show backdrops. They also have skated in the productions. “It was a lot of work but worth it,” Jim
said. Off ice the couple built a hangar for
their co-owned Cessna 150 and a Cessna 172, and designed their home, where Deb- bie has an art studio and teaches watercol- or classes. “We both enjoy flying and golfing;
and I enjoy synchronized swimming, div- ing and watercolor painting,” she said.
JACK AND BEVERLY (BEV) RIENKS, 76, 77 ENGLEWOOD, FLA., SOUTHWEST FLORIDA FSC
ADULT PRE-BRONZE DANCE Bev and
Jack Rienks met in 1982 at a Con- necticut tennis club. It was there where the divor- cees began to share their lives, which for Bev meant introducing Jack to skating. They became the “Skating Rienks” in 1984. In 1996, the couple retired early to
Florida, and skating became their favorite activity. “We love the concentration, de- tails, repetition, music and fun we have to- gether and with our friends,” Bev said. “For- tunately, neither of us is so obsessed with perfection that we can’t enjoy the process.” They practice three days weekly,
traveling two hours roundtrip. Bev’s syn- chronized coach Kelly Paige oversees their progress with support from Lyndon John- ston.
“Our goals are to improve technique,
flow and bravery with higher-level danc- es,” said Jack, who relies on Bev to set their rhythm. At the 2003 Florida State Games,
they boldly entered juvenile free dance and placed fifth out of five teams. Aside from the Rienks, the oldest team in the field was 12 years old and included reigning two-time U.S. junior ice dance champion Daniel Eaton. “We had a ball and one judge placed
us fourth,” Jack said. Their first national competition was
the 2011 U.S. Adult Championships, which coincided with Jack’s 75th birthday. They won a bronze medal. Despite their best efforts, completing the required three Wil- low Waltz patterns to music was elusive until that competition. “That medal means a lot to us and
whet our appetite for future competition,” Bev said. Off the ice, Jack installs and sharpens
blades for many adult skaters. They also enjoy bungee jumping, skydiving, para- gliding, hang-gliding, Pilates, walking and bicycling. The couple’s Sea Wind 24-foot catamaran sailboat is aptly named Adren- alin.
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