rinkside Wyandotte FSC brings out the superstars in all its skaters
Cinderella, Snow White, Elphaba, Har-
ry Potter, Dumbo and Lady Gaga all share something. They have all been impacted by bullying and faced struggles that others placed on them. The Wyandotte Figure Skating Club,
located 20 minutes south of Detroit, em- barked on an anti-bullying campaign in late March for its annual ice show titled Ice Travaganza: Upon a Star. The theme was the brainchild of Kristie Vincent Gheysens, the show’s director and lifelong member of WFSC. WFSC has honored one skater each year at its annual award ceremony with the Kathy Vincent Award, named after Gheysens’ mother, given to a club skater that strives to support, assist and cheer on peers and urges everyone to “just get along.” “In creating a theme for the show,
Upon A Star, I wanted to tell a story using popular music of today,” Gheysens said. “The popularity of anti-bullying anthems sung by today’s pop stars kept coming to mind but didn’t seem to be a fi t for an entertain- ing show, nor was I confi dent it would be well-received. Then I thought of all the ‘hap-
pily ever after’ stories that had bullies as part of the storyline, and many of those stories were a part of past ice shows. I thought it would be a nice twist to bring some themes of past ice shows back to Ice Travaganza and conclude the show with popular music of today related to this theme.” The result of the show was an explicit
message felt by all skaters who participated — be kind. Backstage and on the ice, skaters mingled with each other, made new friends, helped younger skaters and even partici- pated in numbers that mixed skating levels. This fusion of skating levels resulted in hav- ing younger skaters work harder, and the more experienced skaters found great fun in helping the little ones soar. New skaters to the show raved about how in just a few weeks, they felt like they had become a part of a great skating family and had created a memory that would last them a lifetime. Just like Lady Gaga’s anthem, everyone
who was a part of WFSC’s Ice Travaganza left the fi nal performance of the season know- ing they are all “Superstars!”
— Julie O’Connor
Program grant deadline slated for May 31
U.S. Figure Skating is awarding six
grants for the 2013-14 membership year. The purpose of these grants is to pro- vide money to selected member clubs, Basic Skills programs and STAR member facilities to develop community-based programs/events to attract, involve and inspire new generations of fi gure skaters. Six $2,000 grants will be allocated to
the member clubs, Basic Skills programs and STAR member facilities that most ef- fectively demonstrate how they will use the grant to develop these initiatives. To apply for the grants, email a concise plan to U.S. Figure Skating in care of Susi Wehrli, senior director of membership, at swehrli@usfi
gureskating.org. It must con- tain the following information: 1. Complete contact information 2. Brief history or mission of your organi- zation requesting the grant
3. Concise statement outlining your pro- gram/event plan
4. How this will benefi t your community and U.S. Figure Skating
5. Who is your target audience? What is the anticipated number of participants?
6. Describe the marketing strategies and tactics to be used
7. How will you measure your suc- cess?
8. Timeline of your program/event The application deadline is May 31,
2013. Grants will be awarded after July 1, 2013.
Only applications submitted by email
will be considered. Plans received by the application deadline will be forwarded to a selection committee. All applicants will be notifi ed of the results. Late applications will not be considered.
Be friends with Snowplow Sam on Facebook! Follow him on his adventures and check out all the exciting things Basic Skills programs are doing across the United States.
www.facebook.com/SnowplowSamSkates
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