Sarah Nyberg earns two medals

Congratulations to Sarah Nyberg on her performance in the November 14 Autumn Classic competition in Fremont. Sarah, the only skater representing the Star City Figure Skating Club, earned a silver medal in Basic 6 compulsory and a bronze medal for her free skating program. Sarah's coach is Linda Loker of Lincoln. (Thanks to David Nguyen for this pretty photo of Sarah with her medals.)

Change in Schedule and Off Ice Training

Change in Schedule
We are giving up our Tuesday, November 16th time slot from 7:10 to 8:10 in order to promote good fellowship among our skating friends, the Junior Stars. What do we gain? We get an extra half hour of skating on Thursday, December 9th from 6:00 to 7:30. So take advantage and schedule a private lesson or get some good practice in. Spread the word and let’s make good use out of this extra half hour.


Reminder

Do you have trouble holding a check position after a jump or a three turn? Do you need more bend of the knee to make your stroking look like Sasha Cohen? Do you need to build more ankle and core strength? Do you want to maintain or lose weight before those terrible holidays set in. If you have answered “yes” to any of these questions……it’s time to sign up for Linda Loker’s Off Ice Class. You can come to all or come to some. No skater should get on the ice without some type of warm-up or strength building program. Ask any accomplished skater and they will tell you they have specific warm-ups they do before getting on the ice. So let’s improve our skills and stamina. Once you see and perform many of the exercises, you can build your own individualized warm-up.

OFF-ICE TRAINING with Linda Loker seven sessions on Tuesdays 6:15 - 6:55 p.m. at The Ice Box November 9 through December 21
What you’ll do:
• a variety of warm-up routines
• core strengthening exercises
• stretching exercises
• exercises to improve specific on-ice elements such as jumps, spins and spirals

What you’ll learn:
• why to warm up
• how to improve strength, endurance, balance and flexibility
• proper technique to reduce the risk of injury

What you need:
• running shoes or cross-trainers
• yoga mat or large towel

You may register for this class if you are age 10 or older, or have passed Basic Skills Level 5 registration fee $50 for all seven weeks walk-ins $10 per class Make checks payable to the Star City Figure Skating Club

Get a discount for passing your U.S. Figure Skating tests
U.S. Figure Skating is giving you an incentive to start taking figure skating tests. You'll get a coupon code for a discount to shop the U.S. Figure Skating Online Store. Here's how it works:
1. Make sure you have an e-mail address on file in U.S. Figure Skating's membership system.
2. Pass your test (the tests for Moves in the Field, Free Skating, etc.--the tests that start after Basic Skills.)
3. You'll get a message inviting you to complete a short, online survey.
4. Complete the survey and get your coupon code to shop. The higher the test level passed, the better the discount.
Sweet.

In the countdown
Just 27 days until the "Welcome back to the Ice Box" session from 8 - 10 a.m. for $7! Win prizes. Take mini-lessons. Bring a friend who you think would enjoy learning to skate. Looking forward to seeing everyone back on the ice in Lincoln.

News! News! News!

Fund Raisers

It’s been awhile since I have posted on the BLOG. It is not because of lack of material. There’s a lot to write about and share.
First of all I want the club to know what a fabulous job you have done on all the fundraisers. We have all worked hard on one or more projects, and all your hard work makes a difference.
Here are the sales figures for the different projects:
Apple Toss $370.00
Rada knives $790.24
Wreaths $568.98
Coffee/Hot Chocolate $444.00
Jackets and Pants $104.79
Winning Edge commission $108.00
Glove sales $56.27
Stars Tickets Unknown
Total $ 2442.28 This number represents the profit.

Sales tax was paid on certain items listed above.
All in all I think we have done a fabulous job.

The Show

This year’s show will feature an Olympic theme. The title, “Wishes, Hopes and Dreams”, has proven to be a very broad theme. The group music is nearly chosen and will be cut soon in order for the coaches to begin choreographing. The solo and LTS group registrations will be available this week. The behind the scenes work is being assigned and laid out. We will be asking for volunteers for specific tasks. We will need sewers, flower sales people, ticket takers, guys to get the skater seating area ready and the curtain up, volunteers to keep all the skaters in order and quiet. Please be ready to respond to the board when asked with, “Of course I can help. It sounds fun!” There is still so much to do so don’t sit back, just jump in and volunteer if you see something on the list that you feel would suit you.

Also we are asking for prizes to give away in our raffle. We have a beautiful quilt made by Kathy Phillip and quilted by Linda Loker that will be the envy of anyone who enters the raffle. The quilt is a machine pieced scrappy collection of pinks, corals, and browns. It is machine quilted with an all over daisy/floral design with feathers on the borders. This is a real keepsake for anyone. We do need other items in the raffle to attract all interests. If you know of someone who can donate something of value for the raffle please contact any board member. We will have raffle tickets to sell soon. These are nice prizes so be bold in asking your friends and family to buy a raffle ticket.

Pennies for Costumes!
We will place a jar on the check-in table for Learn to Skate. If you and your skaters are carrying around too many heavy pennies and you would like to dump them, we've got just the place! Too many pennies stretch and ruin billfolds an purses. Get ride of them now and send them to the "jar". They will be used to purchase fabric and other props for the show.

The Haymarket Event Center

Wow! Things are really moving and shaking as far as the campaign for the new event center. This is what is happening.
“The City Council will hold a hearing on the proposed ballot language related to the Lincoln Haymarket Arena for the May 11th election this Monday, February 8th at 3:00 p.m. The hearing will take place in the City-County Building, 555 S 10th St, in the Council Chambers. Different interest groups will show up in strong numbers to emphasize our support for the arena project. If you are able to attend the hearing on Monday to register your support, we would greatly appreciate it.” Jennifer Brinkman
I will represent the club and read a statement in support of the Haymarket Event Center.
Jennifer Brinkman heads up the campaign for the Haymarket Event Center. Jennifer’s daughter is in the Learn to Skate program. Cynthia Woods and I are members of the committee to encourage awareness and the need for the event center. We will be attending a meeting on Thursday, February. 11th to learn how to give presentations to groups who wish to be informed on the proposal.
After the council hearing and vote, the NU Board of Regents is scheduled to vote on the agreement between the City and the Athletic Department at a meeting on Thursday, February 12th.
Other ways you can help –
· Writing your council member today to encourage them to support the Lincoln Haymarket Arena project. You can send an e-mail to: council@lincoln.ne.gov or write them at 555 S 10th St, Lincoln, NE 68508.
· Writing a Letter to the Editor at the Lincoln Journal Star. You can send a letter to the editor by submitting it here: https://journalstar-dot-com.bloxcms.com/app/forms/services_forms/editorial/letter_to_editor/ Lincoln voters need to know that there is great support for this project.

The club is supporting this project from many different viewpoints. Without the passage of this bond issue, the future of the money set aside by Mr. Breslow may be in jeopardy of being lost. We do not wish to see this opportunity slip through our fingers. Please become educated on this issue so when you vote, you vote with all the available information.

I hope you had a chance to see the great coverage in the Journal Star this past weekend: http://www.journalstar.com/news/local/article_6ecf11c2-0dfa-11df-9025-001cc4c03286.htmlThis will show you the traffic patterns, parking, and the funding for the project.

Just in! The City Council voted unanimously to put the funding issue on the ballot!


Last But Not Least Congratulations To:

Ashley Rexroth has passed Pre-Preliminary Move in the Field and Pre-Preliminary Freestyle in Omaha on January 22, 2010.
Ashley started figure skating in 2003 when she was 5 years old. She started with Learn to Skate, then took both private lessons and Learn to Skate lessons until last year when she passed Basic 8. Ashley's favorite jump is the flip jump.
Brad Newman coaches Ashley. When you see Ashley please congratulate her on her recent achievements.

once again lincoln skaters test in omaha

Lindy Pearson tested and passed Preliminary Moves in the Field and Preliminary Freestyle on December, 11th. Lindy is coached by Brad Newman. Other Lincoln Skaters attempted to pass their levels but Lindy was given the nod from at least two out of the three judges.

Lindy Pearson started figure skating in 2005 when she was in 5th grade. In August of this year she passed her Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field and Pre Preliminary Free Skate and in December passed the Preliminary Moves in the Field and Preliminary Free Skate. Her favorite skaters are Michelle Kwan and Sasha Cohen and her favorite jump is a Lutz. Now at age 14 she enjoys helping on Saturday morning with Learn to Skate and plans to compete for the 1st time in the 2010 Winterfest competition in Omaha in February.

Perfecting skating skills level in order to test in front of a panel of USFS judges is the ultimate goal of most skaters. It requires hours of practice and attention to the tiniest details. Most judges would agree that a skater must train beyond what they feel would be a passing score, because a skater will lose about 10% of their skill when testing. This is due to the nerves and stress of the testing.

Please congratulate Lindy next time you see her at the rink.

Don't miss out!

We are very excited to announce that the Winning Edge will be bringing the Traveling Store right into the Ice Box . This will be your chance to Christmas shop for your special skater.

On December 12th, Phil from the Winning Edge will set up his Traveling Store in the lobby of the Ice Box for your Christmas shopping. For those of you who have never shopped at the Traveling Store, Phil brings many products, such as skating dresses, gloves, soakers, skate guards, tights, and even some skates. If you need something in particular, I would suggest you e-mail the Winning Edge and ask Phil to bring it down. The e-mail address is winingedge@aol.com

Or visit the web site to look at their many products.
The website is: http://www.skatewear.com/

The following Saturday, December 19th, Phil has agreed to come back and sharpen skates. So keep that date in mind for skate sharpening.

I would also like to ask that the parents and skaters check out our own fancy “gloves “ for sale. These have stoned by a couple of very creative board members. Think of stocking stuffers when you see them.
These are reasonably priced and are going fast. Prices vary due to complexity of design and glass crystals compared to Swarovski crystals. This last Saturday I noticed the pair I was admiring showed up on one of the Learn to Skate skaters. So I missed out.

Our fundraisers have been a huge success. The wreaths have turned out to be excellent quality and will certainly be easy to market next year. Rada knife sales are brisk and we should have delivery of those soon. The Apple Toss was very successful and lots of fun. Thank you to all the Linder family, the Pearson family, the entire Adamczyk family, two of the Casper boys, and my sister for selling all those apples. See a picture of one of our top apple sellers.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all.