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N o matter what Kerry Murphy tried, she could- n't increase the enroll- ment at the Figure Skating School of Skokie, Ill. "Our numbers held around 850 [stu- dents] for the past six or seven years," said Murphy, the school's director. Until 15 months ago, that is. Since adopting the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program curriculum, enrollment at the skating school has skyrocketed, recently topping the 1,000-stu- dent mark, and the retention rate is up more than 20 percent. "For us, the numbers aren't as important as the participa- tion from the community," Murphy said. While the Figure Skating School of Skokie had always done well attracting and retaining young skaters, it had problems keeping upper-ele- mentary and middle-school-age kids interested. "Once children turn nine, they have more options in the schools, with soccer, cheerlead- ing, softball and a dozen other activities," Murphy said. "The Basic Skills Program introduces more exciting and 'fun' skills for skaters." With her skating school participants now learning under the new curriculum, Murphy said she has seen a more natural progression of skaters moving from the Basic Skills Program to join a U.S. Figure Skating club. Approximately 70 of the skaters enrolled in her program are full members of a club in DuPage, Chicago or Skokie Valley. Out of the 25 or so rinks in the Chicago area, 17 now use the Basic Skills curriculum, and several have seen noticeable growth in participation since adopting the program. One of those is Skate with Highland Park at Centennial Ice Arena which, under former coordina- tor Sharyn Weiss, transitioned to the program in the 2007-08 skating season. The school's curriculum committee coaches agreed to implement the Basic Skills curriculum for the winter 2008 session while observing the students, their reac- tions to the classes and their overall progress. The school saw the fruits of its efforts last March, when the Centennial Ice Arena held its first Basic Skills competition. Additionally, Skate with Highland Park also host- ed an open house event to celebrate National Skating Month in January. "It was a huge success, with about 500 people attending," said Inga Lukstaite, the school's current skating school coordinator. With the program curriculum set, the sup- porting materials ordered and the skaters ready to take the ice, the biggest obstacle to over- come for the 23 coaches and five junior pros on staff was to familiarize themselves with the new class structure. "As skat- ing coordinator, my impression at the end of the season was more overall power and much better edge quality, along with students having fun in class," said Lukskaite. Although it took a little research, Winnetka Figure Skating Director Lara Kuechel said the change to Basic Skills for her program was necessary to avoid getting stuck in a rut. "During my first year as director here, I began to look for ways to energize our program," she said. ■ A real program for others in the industry to consider following. real programs 38 R INK MAGAZ INE july/august 2010 STARrinks.com For this Illinois rink, membership grew after adopting the U.S. Figure Skating Basic Skills Program A Recipe For Success by ERIC PRINGLE U.S. FIGURE SKATING

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