Lustig sisters join forces to fi ght pancreatic cancer through Camp


Curious After losing her grandmother and great-grandmother to pancreatic cancer, Shoshanna Lustig, who skates with the University of Delaware’s collegiate synchronized skating team, took matters into her own hands.


(l-r) Shoshanna Lustig, Zachary Milestone, Rebecca Lustig


(Back row, l-r) Hayden, Parker, Abby, Mason and (front row) Maxsen show support for their sister, Taylor.


Capital Ice honors late


teammate, coach Members of the Capital Ice synchronized skating program in Bismarck, North Dakota, are working to bring hope out of tragedy following the death of their teammate and coach, Taylor Goven, 21, who was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver on June 27.


On July 1, Goven’s coach, Becky Gallion, worked with Goven’s parents to establish the Taylor Goven Synchronized Skating Scholarship, created to hon- or Goven and assist synchronized skaters within the Capital Ice program.


“I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time,” Gallion said. “I see skaters struggling fi nan- cially and it breaks my heart. This was the perfect means to assist our skaters and honor Taylor, be- cause she would have been the perfect candidate for something like this.”


Gallion, who coached Goven for eight years before coaching with her for two, originally hoped to off - set costs such as ice time, competition fees and les- sons for one or two synchronized skaters per year.


“We made these T-shirts to sell and we thought we’d sell maybe 100 of them,” Gallion said. “We nev- er thought we’d sell four times that many. Now we have local businesses who want to donate every year on Taylor’s birthday, and we are coming up with ideas for an annual fundraiser. It’s been amaz- ing.”


Having raised $12,000 so far, the goal has expand- ed to fund a season for fi ve to six synchronized skaters. Goven’s parents will award the scholarship to the year’s recipients at the program’s annual ice show each March.


“Taylor was hardworking; she had a great attitude and a great work ethic,” Gallion said. “We want to honor who she was, beautiful inside and out, and give her love back to the synchronized skating community.”


Goven skated with Capital Ice and coached all fi ve of its teams with Gallion. She relocated to Grand Forks, North Dakota, to skate with Team North Dakota’s collegiate team for two years while she fi nished her education at the University of North Dakota. For more information, go to the website skateforTaylor.com.


— Mimi McKinnis 48 OCTOBER 2015


Now she and her sister Rebecca, who is the U.S. novice ice dance pewter medalist with partner Zachary Milestone, have raised more than $26,000 for pancreatic can- cer research through their creation of Camp Curious, a summer camp run by the pair each year for the last decade.


“Shoshanna started running the camp when she was 9 years old,” the girls’ mother, Nancy Lustig, said. “The fi rst year she ran it out of a neighbor’s basement and raised about $350 for the American Cancer Society. The next year they raised just under $1,000. Rebecca helped out and worked as a counselor when she was old enough, so when Shoshanna went to college two years ago, Rebecca took it over as Camp Curious 2.0.”


Since Rebecca’s tenure began, Camp Curious 2.0 has included ice skating as one of its featured activities, with ice and rental skates donated by the University of Delaware and lessons and demonstrations provided by the Lustig sisters and Milestone.


Proceeds from Camp Curious are donated annually to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. To learn more or to donate, visit www.pancan.org.


Harris teaching hockey players


some of the fi ner points of skating Lee Harris, the 2002 U.S. junior pairs champion with Colette Appel, stays busy these days helping a group of NHL hopefuls improve their quickness and agility.


In 2014, Harris was hired by the Columbus (Ohio) Blue Jackets as their skating coach. The slightly built 5-foot-7-inch Harris assists the big and burly Blue Jackets players and the team’s American Hockey League affi liate with their skating skills and edge technique.


“I have felt very privileged to work with some of the best hockey players in the world,” Harris said. “With both my fi gure skating and hockey backgrounds, it’s allowed me to bridge the gap of what an elite hockey player and fi gure skater can accomplish together. I’ve seen some big changes in a lot of the players I’ve worked with and I’m excited to see where this all leads.”


A former junior hockey player in his teens, Harris transitioned into the role by work- ing as a consultant on “Battle of the Blades,” a Canadian reality television show that paired fi gure skaters with former NHL players.


In a story written this summer by Shawn Mitchell in The Columbus Dispatch, Harris talked about helping players gain an advantage on the ice.


“Hockey players need a jump, and they need the edge-work,” Harris said in the story. “The quickness of the feet, the turning of the body, it’s using body kinetics to their advantage. In fi gure skating, we’re taught that stuff from the ground up.”


PHOTO BY JAMIE SABAU


Harris’ impact has been considerable, according to members of the team.


“A lot of skating coaches have the same ideas,” for- ward Oliver Bjorkstrand said. “His stuff is diff erent. You see a lot of guys have a hard time doing it, but hopefully we can work with him a lot more. I’m re- ally enjoying it.”


When he’s not working with hockey players, Harris, 33, coaches at the Chiller Skating Rinks in Colum- bus.


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