THE NASHVILLE FIGURE SKATING CLUB
THE BLADE
Summer, 2016
Volume Seven
Summer Camp: That’s a Wrap!
As we wrap up another season of Summer skating, NFSC would like to thank everyone
who participated in our Advanced Summer Program. As we all became accustomed to
our new home at Centennial Sportsplex, the program was a great success. Thank you
to all our coaches, parents, the staff at Centennial, and most of all to our wonderful
skaters.
Barb Pagano, NFSC PRESIDENT:
Greetings and Happy New Skating Year! A big thank you to all who renewed their NFSC membership last
month and welcome to our many new members. Heading into my ninth year with the Club, I am honored to
serve as the President this year, and wanted to introduce myself to those who may not yet know me. I
have two children who skate with NFSC. Jake started as a Beginner at age 8 and now as a dedicated 17
year old competitive skater pretty much lives at the rink (thank goodness for that Driver’s License), and
Marissa at 11 has been skating recreationally for 5 years and loves all her skating friends. After
experiencing a few in-house competitions and a Holiday Show, I began volunteering at Jake’s first Skate
Nashville and received a crash course in all things skating. Some of the fun roles I’ve learned through
since that first competition include Runners, Practice Ice, Registration, Volunteer Coordination,
Communications, and as Board member the past two years, Secretary and Membership Chair.
Like many of you (and millions around the world), I have been closely following all the events in Rio De
Janeiro the past two weeks, and have been awed and inspired by the skill, determination, and
sportsmanship the Olympic athletes display in the face of fierce competition. But I have been no less
inspired by the NFSC skaters and their supporters I have had the pleasure to observe this year. Whether
competing, testing, learning new skills, trying out different classes, performing in shows, training early
morning or late into the evening, singing with friends on long carpool rides, cheering teammates,
volunteering, or welcoming new skaters, the spirit and love of our sport comes shining through our skaters.
And the dedication and sacrifice of the family and friends that support our skaters so they can achieve their
goals are the stuff of Olympic spotlights (and those tear jerking commercials!)
I am looking forward to working closely with the Board and our entire membership to continue to expand
the opportunities for skating in the Nashville area. As a non-profit open to anyone interested in the sport of
figure skating, we strive to provide a warm and welcoming community where each skater can discover the
joy and love of skating and pursue their dreams. We are always looking for new ways to support this
mission and I personally invite everyone to contact myself or any Board member with suggestions or
questions!
Special Welcome to our New
NFSC Members 2016
NFSCAnnualMee-ngandBoardofDirectorsElec-ons
NFSC held its annual meeting at the Kloosters’ home in Brentwood on June 12th.
We enjoyed a bountiful snack and dessert buffet thanks to the creative cooking
talents and generosity of our members, and the kids had a fabulous afternoon in
the pool while the adult members shared in a recap of the year, celebrated our
skaters’ accomplishments, and voted on by-law amendments and new Board of
Directors.
The Club approved the addition of 2 Directors, bringing our total to 11,
to accommodate our growing club and ensure sufficient involvement in the
numerous NFSC committees that support our skating community. This resulted
in 5 open Board seats, which were filled by Kenneth Anderson (collegiate skater),
Gretchen Fan (parent of Ching Ching Zhang), Tim Nix (parent of Brooksie), Lisa
Sheehan-Smith (adult skater), and Sherry Tull (outgoing President and parent of
Shelby and Cassie). Please welcome these new members to our Board, who will
be joining current members Ivy Gabele (parent of Piper), Barb Pagano (parent of
Jake and Marissa), Laura Sanders (founding member and coach), Andrea Vickers
(coach), Barb Wood (parent of Hayden), and Thom Yzaguirre (coach).
At their first meeting of the 2016-2017 year, the NFSC Board of Directors elected
the following officers for the upcoming year:
President – Barb Pagano [email protected]
Elizabeth Hinton Elle Stanley Gabrielle and Emmanuelle
Yuan Anna Sgarbi Qunilan and Luca Cyr Emily Wykuff
Sophia Li Julia Hetrick
Alyssa Brady
Molly McDonald
Jay Wheeler
Claire Zhang
Nicole Reimer
Bill Fauver (coach)
Ginger Friedenberger (coach)
Vice President – Barb Wood [email protected]
Treasurer – Gretchen Fan [email protected]
Secretary – Lisa Sheehan-Smith [email protected]
Barb Wood was re-affirmed as Test Chair and Ivy Gabele assumed the role of
Membership Chair.
NFSC extends a huge thank you and debt of gratitude to our outgoing Board
members K.C. Haugh (our Treasurer for the past 4 years and guru of Skate
Nashville Equipment Setup) and Nicole Klooster (our fundraising lead and tireless
Hospitality Chair) for all their hard work on the Club’s behalf.
Planning has already begun for our Fall Party and Regional Send-Off to be held
on Sunday September 18th. We will be soliciting volunteers for all our standing
NFSC Committees at that meeting, so please consider volunteering your time and
talents to support our NFSC skaters and the sport of figure skating!
Lockers at Centennial
Anyone interested in an NFSC locker, please stop by the Skate School office
so we can compile a complete list of requests and issue locker space
accordingly. Our locker fee for 2016/2017 is $10 per season - issued in Fall
(Sep - Dec), Spring (Jan - Apr), and Summer (May - Aug), or $30 for the
entire year, cash or check payable to NFSC. Congratulations! USFS Tests Passed
ChingChingZhang IntermediateFS
Pre-BronzeDanceTest
(WillowWaltz,HickoryHoedown,
SwingDance)
HaydenWood
Pre-PreliminaryFS Pre-JuvenilePairsTest
PreliminaryDanceTest
(RhythmBlues,CanastaTango,
DutchWaltz) HaleyAnniston
Pre-PreliminaryFS
PreliminaryMITF
ElisePierce IntermediateFS
PiperGabele
Pre-JuvenileMITF
DavidRaskin
Pre-JuvenileMITF
ShelbyTull
NoviceMITF
ValeriaOlano
PreliminaryDanceTest
(DutchWaltz,RhythmBlues,Canasta
Tango)
Pre-BronzeDanceTest
(FiestaTango,ChaCha,SwingDance)
ZoeVillanueva
IntermediatePairsTest
IntermediateMITF
JakePagano JuniorMITF EsmeOtter JuniorMITF AnnaSgarbi
Pre-PreliminaryMITF
LillianHodges
Pre-JuvenilePairsTest
Pre-PreliminaryFS
Pre-JuvenileMITF
TorreyRussell
IntermediateFS
SophiaLi
Pre-PreliminaryMITF
ElaineLou
Pre-JuvenileMITF
New Test Session
The next test
session is
scheduled for
August 31st at
8:00 a.m.
Please see your
coach or any
board member
for details.
Summer Camp, Competitions, and Fun!
Skater Spotlight - Kaitlyn Paine
Kaitlynn turned 9 in June and currently
skates at the no test level. She started
skating recreationally in 2012 in Wichita,
Kansas, and worked up to Basic 2.
When we moved to Nashville, she started
over in the Basic Skills program in June
2014 and has been actively skating ever
since.
Kaitlynn is starting to do travel competitions
this year and enjoys the added time on the
ice. She is very independent and artistic
and likes the individuality and creativity of
skating.
Kaitlynn’s coach is Meagan SudickyCording. Meagan says Kaitlyn loves doing
the splits on the ice and has a beautiful
spiral. Keep up the great work Kaitlyn!
UPCOMING EVENTS & COMPETITIONS
Saturday, August 27 - Nashville Skating Academy Summer Sizzle (11 - 1pm)
Sunday, August 28 - NFSC Club: Funday at Nashville Shores (1-4PM) (Reserve tickets by
Saturday, Aug 20) See enclosed announcement
Wednesday, August 31 - NFSC Test Session (Registration Deadline Wednesday Aug 24)
Saturday, Sep 10 - 2016 - Skate Evansville
Sunday, Sep 18 - NFSC Fall Party and Regionals Send-Off - Time / Location TBD
Sep 25 - Oct 1 - 2017 - Eastern Great Lakes Regional Championship (Registration
Deadline Thursday, September 1, 11:59pm)
COACHES CORNER
Meagan Sudicky-Cording
Layback 101!
The layback spin, the quintessential beauty of figure skating!
From the classical position to fun variations, it is the most
recognizable move in figure skating. A sequence of
progressions is much needed to understand the fine balance
on a blade.
A common misconception is to "just lay back". It starts far
before a skater arcs their back into a backwards bend.
Simple progressions to learning a layback starts with being able to center a simple one foot spin into
a "star" position. Rotating away from the free-leg while hands come to the base of the neck then
pressing arms up to the ceiling develops strong foundations for the next to follow. The hardest to
concur is to look up at the ceiling. When hands move from base of the neck to a stretched position to
the ceiling I ask skaters to keep their eyes on their hands, it's the one object that they don't see
moving therefore it keeps stronger balance.
When I was working with World Champion Coach Doug Leigh, he gave me the exercise of gliding
backwards on the ball of the blade to understand and experience the shift of balance within the body
starting with the hips moving forwards. Then relating the similar feeling to the spin in sequence with
past instruction.
Although a layback spin can be difficult to learn, there is a reason that when you watch any
international competition you will never see a skater fall on or out of a layback because with practice it
becomes just that easy.
BLADE NEWSLETTER
Volume Seven
a
Nashville Figure Skating Club
Centennial Sportsplex
222 25th Ave, North
Nashville, TN 37203
615/928-7977
www.nashvillefsc.org
Summer, 2016
Twitter@NashFigureSk8 Facebook Nashville Figure Skating Club