Northfield Skating School

On Monday, March 10th, NSS held our annual end-of-season dessert potluck at St. John’s Lutheran Church. The evening was filled with food, trivia, coloring, a photo slideshow, words from the director, and a raffle. Thanks for coming to help us celebrate a great season!
Congrats to our trivia and raffle winners:

Trivia Winners
Katie Jo Kayoum and Kailey Wiskus tied with 9 correct answers out of 12

Raffle Winners
Subscription to Skating Magazine: Clark Family
NSS Sweatshirt: Noah Goodwin
NSS Skating Bag: Gonzalez Family
FREE Set of Lessons: Katie Jo Kayoum

Special thanks to Shelley Keske for reserving the space, Noah Goodwin for his help with the raffle drawing, and Aaron Schomburg for the use of his projector.
      
      

Sunday, March 9th marked the second Northfield Skating School Bring-A-Friend event of the 2007-08 season. Bring-a-Friend day takes place during the final lesson of every session and gives our skaters a chance to share their lesson with their buddies and help them learn new skills and games. Over 70 friends, moms, dads, uncles, aunts, neighbors, brothers, and sisters joined us for the event – our biggest one yet! In addition to regular classes and practice time, the event wrapped up with a set of group games and a display of skills by Northfield Skating School coaches and the director.

For more photos, see our photo page

Skaters, please feel free to share this link with your friends! If you came to Bring-A-Friend Day and would like more information or registration materials, please contact us and we’ll add you to our email list.

On Sunday, Feb 10, our first Off-Ice Workshop took place at the Carleton College Cowling Recreation Center. The goals of the event were to introduce skaters to the benefits (and fun!) of off-ice training and teach all age and ability groups exercises to help them prevent injuries and improve on-ice skills. Activities included warm-up drills, skating-specific skill exercises, and flexibility stretches. Skaters and their instructors could be seen running, turning, jumping, spinning, balancing, and stretching all over our workshop area (with the help of partners, walls, foam balls, and even balloons!) Skaters received an official stretching and warm-up packet from US Figure Skating so they can continue practicing at home or teach their families and friends what they learned. The off-ice workshop was such a success that we’ve decided to hold one during every session in the future. For more photos of the event, look under “Special events 2007-08″ on our Photos Page

Last Sunday, four Northfield Skating School staff members volunteered as coaches for the 2008 Winterskate event at the Landmark Center in St. Paul. The event, organized by US Figure Skating Headquarters and presented in conjunction with the 2008 US Figure Skating Championships and National Skating Month, drew over 50 skaters from the twin cities area. Skaters received free 30-minute lessons and a chance to learn from professional, enthusiastic instructors.

According to Susi Wehrli, Senior Membership Director of US Figure Skating, coaches for the event were, “Personally selected to help with this promotion based upon [their] excellent teaching methods and enthusiasm for the sport of figure skating. The Winter Skate is designed to help generate excitement about skating in the Saint Paul and Minneapolis area and encourage people of all ages to take to the ice for fun, have a chance to meet skating celebrities and learn about ways to get more involved with local programs.”

Northfield Skating School coaches who participated were: Sofie Jokela, NSS Skating Assistant and Advanced Skater; Hattie Ryan, NSS Skating Assisant and Advanced Skater; Liz Bonawitz, NSS Assisant Director; and Carey Tinkelenberg, NSS Founder/Executive Director. Highlights of the morning included a visit from Basic Skills mascot Snowplow Sam and an exhibition by the World Silver Medallist University of Miami Synchronized Skating Team.

What an eventful week it has been for the Northfield Skating School! In addition to attending the US Figure Skating Nationals at the Xcel Energy Center, volunteering at the St. Paul Winterskate, and of course holding lessons at the Northfield Arena, yet another honor came our way straight from our friends at US Figure Skating Headquarters.

Jill Hare, Basic Skills Program Director, and Susi Wehrli, Senior Membership Director, both of whom work at US Figure Skating Headquarters, were so impressed with the NSS website that they invited Carey Tinkelenberg, NSS Founder/Director, and Gene Uenishi, Webmaster/Skating Instructor to give a presentation at the first annual National Director’s Conference! The presentation will be entitled, “Using Technology to Enhance Your Program” and will take place in Scottsdale, AZ, on April 6th, 2008.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity not only to attend this conference, the first of its kind, but also to give a presentation to other leaders in our industry. We’ve worked hard this year to improve many aspects of our program and we are extremely honored to have caught the attention of the national headquarters. We look forward to April!

L to R: Jill Hare, Basic Skills Program Director, US Figure Skating Headquarters; Carey Tinkelenberg, Founder/Director, Northfield Skating School; Susi Wehrli, Senior Membership Director, US Figure Skating Headquarters

Check out our photos from the week of the 2008 National Championships in St. Paul. Carey had the opportunity to attend the Tom Collins party, a red carpet gala complete with the full media and international skating celebrities. Collins, the founder and President of the touring show Champions on Ice, hosts the party annually at the National Championships. See Carey with 1992 Olympic Silver Medallist Paul Wylie, along with her former coaches and 2007 US Olympic Committee Developmental Coaches of the Year, Mark Mitchell and Peter Johansson.

In addition to the NSS cast of Directors, you’ll recognize other Northfielders including many of our skaters and Josh Hinnenkamp, Northfield Union of Youth Executive Director. A special thank you to Troy and Nicole Manderfield for providing some of their photos to add to the set. Enjoy!

2008 National Championships Photos
For more complete Nationals coverage, go to:
Ice Network
Star Tribune
US Figure Skating

As part of our website overhaul, we sent an open invitation to skating school participants to share few words about their experiences with us. The response was overwhelming (not to mention heartwarming for the director!) THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to this project. We invite anyone else who is inspired to share their story to contact us.

View the testimonials of our skating community on the testimonials page

We’re happy to announce the newest addition to our NSS gear assortment: personalized skating bags! Transport and protect your skates in style with these new, sturdy bags. Bags are blue and black bags with a reflective strip, 4 pockets, and a shoulder strap. They come embroidered with “Northfield Skating School” on the front. Add your name for a small additional charge!

NSS bags, hoodies, hats, and decals are available for purchase at the Northfield Arena during NSS lesson times. You can also order gear at any time by contacting Carey.

Today is the first day of the 2008 National Figure Skating Championships held at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN. Over 65 Northfield skaters, parents, and community members will travel to the event, which may be a once in a lifetime experience to watch the nation’s top skaters compete live. To follow the events or to see how your favorite skaters are doing, check out the official website or US Figure Skating.

Experience the thrill of skating in a full-blown production!

NSS skaters of all ages and abilities are invited to participate in Shattuck St. Mary’s first annual Broadway on Ice production, with peformances on May 25th and 26th. The show is a full production including lighting, costumes, scenes and beginner to elite skaters. It is a wonderful learning experience for skaters of all ages and abilities, and we encourage everyone to participate.

NSS instructors will be part of the coaching and choreography team for this event.

Registrations accepted from January 6 – January 26 2008. Late registration, until February 2nd, will include an additional $15 late fee. Rehearsals begin Saturday, April 26. All skaters should enroll in group levels based on their current Session 2 skating level.

Please contact Carey or Shattuck Skating Academy Director Thomas Hickey (information included in registration materials) for more details

PERFORMANCES
Dates Time

• Saturday May 25th 2:00pm
• Sunday May 26th 12:00pm

Broadway on Ice Registration Forms