by TROY SCHWINDT
Click it. Post it. Share it. And don’t for- get the hashtag. T ose were the marching orders given
to National Skating Month participants, who shared their love of skating and selfi es over Instagram, Twitter and Facebook by tagging their posts with #NSM2015. Skating fanatics from locales as cold as Alaska to as warm as Arizona and as far away as Sweden joined in on U.S. Figure Skating’s #NSM2015 campaign, which reached more than 200,000 viewers. “We received an overwhelming re-
sponse,” said Michael Terry, U.S. Figure Skating’s digital communications coordi- nator. “It’s evident through all of our social media channels that our skaters, parents, coaches and new recruits had a blast from coast to coast.” National Skating Month, celebrated
each January, received some high-octane power from Team USA and even NFL star Tyrann Mathieu of the Arizona Cardinals. Mathieu spotted a free SkateFest being of- fered in suburban Phoenix and tweeted it out to his 240,000 followers. “It was great,” Mathieu said after the
event. “Hopefully one day I can come skate with you guys.” In honor of National Skating Month,
U.S. Figure Skating hosted SkateFests in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Greensboro, North Carolina; Gilbert, Arizona; and Nashville, Tennessee. More than 600 peo- ple enjoyed free ice time, skates and lessons. Each SkateFest had its own unique fl a-
vor. In Colorado Springs, training home to more than a dozen Team USA athletes, the public skated outdoors alongside Olympi- ans Jeremy Abbott, Jason Brown and Ra- chael Flatt, just to name a few. “I had a wonderful time teaching alongside some of my former training mates, as well as working with all the en- thusiastic aspiring skaters,” said 2010 Olympian and U.S. champion Flatt, who was home for the holidays. “T e event was such a tremendous success, and I hope to make this an annual tradition at the out- door rink at Acacia Park.” Watching from the boards, it was diffi - cult to say who was having more fun — the children or their Olympic bronze-medalist instructor, Jason Brown. “What a great event for the communi- ty and I was so happy to participate in it,” Brown said. “T ere’s nothing more joyful than helping little kids learn to skate. T ey inspire me and remind me every day how much I love skating.” In Greensboro, host of last month’s
2015 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, an unseasonably cool but sunny day enticed more than 100 South- erners to try the outdoor ice. “Every single person was a brand new
skater,” said Erin Schopf, U.S. Figure Skat- ing’s Basic Skills manager. “We had people who have never been exposed to skating come up and enjoy the opportunity. We had tons of media covering the event, too.” U.S. Figure Skating member coaches
and skaters from the Greensboro area helped Schopf instruct the eager new skaters. “I can’t say enough about the enthusi- asm and energy that the kids brought with them to the SkateFest,” she said. In Arizona, both SkateFest sessions
quickly fi lled to their 100-skater capacity. “We basically put it out there for free lessons for anybody who wanted to come,” said Mark Fitzgerald, the skating director of AZ ICE Gilbert. “When Tyrann Mathieu tweeted the event, it went out to even more people over social media. We had no idea what to expect. Now we hope people will sign up for Basic Skills classes after this. Sometimes, it just takes a little help to get them through the door.” Finding her way “through the door”
was Jessica Schooley, who brought daugh- ters Milla, 8, and Teagan, 6, to the rink for
SKATING 23
Team USA’s Douglas Razzano shows the way in sunny Arizona.
First-time skaters enjoy their experience in Greensboro, North Carolina.
PHOTO BY KAREN FARER
PHOTO BY SCOTT MUTHERSBAUGH
PHOTO COURTESY OF COLLEEN THOMAS
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