|
|
Latest Images
Top Affiliates
|
|
Press - 2006
Giving Ice-Skating a Whirl
Growing up in the Valley of the Sun, Heather Ross had few opportunities to
ice-skate.
While kids in Minnesota or Michigan were flooding their back yards to make
instant ice rinks, Ross could only watch skaters on TV and dream of gliding on
the ice. That was before the boom in indoor ice arenas.
While away at college, Ross finally got the chance to skate. Not exactly the
Kristi Yamaguchi dream come true: "It was cold and bumpy," Ross, now 30, says
with a laugh. advertisement
Today, the Paradise Valley resident has a figure-skating coach and takes lessons
five days a week at the Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale after she drops her
children off at school. In the four levels of adult achievement, she has
finished pre-bronze and feels confident she will reach adult gold.
"I have a great time," Ross says. "I get exercise. It's more fun and more
rewarding than going on a long run."
Ross is one of the estimated 5.1 million Americans who ice-skate - whether at an
ice rink or on a frozen pond, according to the National Sporting Goods
Association.
The numbers are growing, especially in the South and Southwest, says Peter
Martell, executive director of the Dallas-based Ice Skating Institute.
"There's no doubt that over the last 10 years, participation in skating and
(ice) hockey has increased," Martell says. While the greatest participation is
up north, the largest increase is in warm climates, he says, thanks to
state-of-the-art indoor facilities.
Interest also has been boosted by pop culture, such as last year's film Ice
Princess, starring Michelle Trachtenberg as a teen training to become a champion
figure skater.
Early this year, two events are expected to heat up the ice. On Jan. 18, the Fox
network debuts Skating With Celebrities, which teams such non-skaters as Bruce
Jenner and Deborah Gibson with such figure-skating champs as Nancy Kerrigan and
Kurt Browning in a knock-off of last year's hit Dancing With the Stars.
Then the Winter Olympics begin Feb. 10 with all eyes on the U.S. figure-skating
and ice hockey teams.
|
