grievance On May 9, 2013, a Grievance Statement was filed, File No. 2013-04, by Jaclyn Ward Vargo, chair of the Ethics Committee, on behalf of U.S. Figure
Skating as Grievant against Renee Velasquez. The grievance alleged violations of the U.S. Figure Skating Harassment Policy, GR 1.01 and GR 1.03. A Reply to the Grievance Statement was filed by the Respondent Renee Velazquez dated June 4, 2013. Renee Velasquez was suspended from membership in U.S. Figure Skating on May 9, 2013.
The Hearing Panel considered documentary evidence and heard testimony on July 15, 2013. On July 22, 2013, a Statement of Decision was issued
in favor of U.S. Figure Skating and against Renee Velasquez. The sanction imposed for the violations found by the Hearing Panel provided that Renee Velasquez be permanently banned from U.S. Figure Skating.
No appeal was taken from the decision of the Hearing Panel and therefore the decision of the Hearing Panel is now final. obituaries
MUCCIO Team Image
coach and founder Sylvia Muccio lost her battle to liver cancer on Aug. 7, 2013, at the age of 55. The day after her funeral on Aug. 10, Team Image, of Yonkers Figure Skating Club, cel- ebrated 25 years and remembered its passionate founder. The celebration was originally sched-
uled for the end of September, but organiz- ers scrambled to move the date up in the hope that Muccio would be able to attend. Since this celebration was a dream of Muc- cio’s, the family insisted that the party con- tinue despite her passing. More than 160 guests, composed of
athletes, parents and coaches from the present and the past, attended this elegant brunch at Marina del Rey in Throgs Neck, N.Y.
Team Image, which currently has five
lines and 67 skaters, has fielded teams at every level, from beginner through se- nior. They won the gold medal in the in- termediate division at the 2009 U.S. Syn- chronized Skating Championships, one of Muccio’s proudest moments, though she had to watch the event from home on
icenetwork.com, since she was undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the time. Muccio relocated from Chicago to New
York with her husband, Stephen, in 1983. At the Murray Skating Center in Yonkers, she directed and choreographed elaborate annual ice shows and taught a precision skating group class in 1988, which eventu- ally became Team Image. This is also where Muccio partnered with former pairs skater Robert Davenport in order to pass all of her U.S. Figure Skating pairs tests. At the 25th anniversary party, Daven-
port gave an emotional tribute to Muccio, noting that she was an energetic and passionate force. Muccio’s daughter Nicole, 22, also gave a rousing tribute to her mother. Nicole had skated for Team Image since she was a little girl and is now studying to become a nurse. Fiona Curry shared a message
from Lynn Benson, former coach of the Haydenettes. Benson, who considered Muccio a dear friend, also highlighted her passion for the sport. She was especially
impressed that Muccio earned her group instructor master rating at the PSA Confer- ence this past spring, while knowing that she had been diagnosed with a new and aggressive type of cancer. It was a surprise to most in the audi-
ence when an official from the City of Yon- kers presented Muccio’s family with a proc- lamation to Team Image and Sylvia Muccio for years of service to the community. He also declared Aug. 11 to be Team Image Day in the City of Yonkers. The party ended with everyone in the
room coming together on the dance floor and dancing to “We are Family.” This was at Muccio’s request and a testament to the close-knit community she created. Muccio is survived by her husband, Ste- phen Muccio; children, Anthony and Nicole; parents, Eugene and Patricia Taglialavore; siblings, Antoni and Joseph Taglialavore; sister, Stella Carmasine; and five nieces and nephews. Information about the Sylvia J. Muccio
Scholarship Fund can be found at
http://www.shop.teamimagesynchro.com/ Sylvia-J-Muccio-Scholarship-Fund-Fund. htm.
Memorial donations can also be made
to Team Image, PO Box 548, New Rochelle, NY 10802. Make checks payable to Team Image and put in the memo section: Sylvia J. Muc- cio Scholarship Fund. As Sylvia requested,
contributions will go toward liver cancer research and educational and synchronized skating scholarships. See
skatingmagazineblog.com in early
October for more on Sylvia’s life and contri- butions to the skating community. — Jocelyn Jane Cox
WALSTON Mary Maroney Walston, 71, passed
away on June 3 after a two-year battle with pancreatic cancer, the day after her 49th wedding anniversary. Born in Summit, N.J., she could skate
down the street and right up to a frozen lake that served as her ice rink. She didn’t start taking lessons and skating indoors until she was 12, and kept skating throughout her teen years, until she went to college. Mary finished a degree in psychology
at Colorado College in Colorado Springs, Colo., where the rink wasn’t finished until her senior year. The only other rink in town was the Broadmoor, which was somewhat inaccessible since she did not have a car to get there. Later, after moving to Albuquerque,
N.M., she became a gold medalist in dance and began her coaching career. Mary taught dance for more than 25 years in Al- buquerque, with several of her students be- ing awarded their gold medals in dance and many others having passed various moves- in-the-field tests. During these years, she or- ganized ice dance sessions, provided clinics and choreographed for many Albuquerque figure skating ice shows. She is survived by her husband, Robert;
son, Sean; daughter, Sharon; and grand- daughters Elizabeth and Patricia. Sharon continues the skating legacy as a gold dance and moves-in-the-field medalist, a high-test judge and the mother of a 3-year- old skater, Elizabeth. Contributions in Mary’s memory may
be made to the U.S. Figure Skating Memori- al Fund at 20 First St., Colorado Springs, CO 80906.
SKATING 67
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