JUST ADDED! Northfield Skating School is offering another session of Sunday afternoon contract practice ice for seven consecutive weeks beginning February 7. Guest skaters and coaches are welcome. Contracts and payment due Feb 7. Skaters may “buy-on” at a higher weekly rate if they do not contract. This is some of the least expensive Freestyle skating ice around, and very rare at the Northfield arena! We encourage skaters to take advantage of it. To arrange private lessons, please Contact Carey.
Don’t miss your final chance to take skating lessons this season!
Session 3 runs from early February through late March (see Calendar). Highlights include group and private lessons, specialized power and off-ice classes, an Olympics party, Culver’s fundraiser, Spring Skating Camp, Ice Show with Shattuck St. Mary’s, competition opportunities, and our season end potluck party (See Program Descriptions)
Beginners, adults, and aspiring hockey players are welcome. Bring your family and join the fun! We’ll help you meet any skating goal. Scholarships and family discounts are available.
Our winter skate drive was a success! The number of rental skates available at the Northfield Arena has now doubled to over 70 pairs. We have already been able to take advantage of the new rentals to help meet our goal of increasing access to ice activities. The new rental skates were used for our PRIMEtime collaborative skate last month as well as Northfield Skating School lessons and open skate, and we look forward to hosting more skaters at our upcoming Girl Scout Skating Fever.
Special thanks to our partner organizations for hosting drop boxes: Culver’s, Goodbye Blue Monday, Carleton ACT Office, St. Olaf Volunteer Network, and the Northfield Arena.
Though the skate drive is “officially” over, skate donations are accepted at ANY time at the Northfield Arena pro shop.
Congratulations to Elizabeth Penny and Maggie Kielas for their accomplishments at the Granite City competition in St. Cloud last weekend. Elizabeth earned a gold medal for her performance to Tchaikovsky’s “Waltz of the Flowers” and Maggie won two silver medals for her compulsory program and free program to a medley from “The Music Man.” Both girls are coached by Carey Tinkelenberg, Founding Owner/Director of the Northfield Skating School.
Photos, L to R: Maggie Kielas, Elizabeth Penny, and both skaters with coach Carey Tinkelenberg
This session we are offering Sunday practice ice for the first time! Freestyle practice ice will precede group lessons for 1 hour each each week. The first practice is 1:00-2:00pm on Sunday, 12/6.
Practice session is open to ALL skaters, not just NSS skaters. This includes parents, friends, and guest skaters. Family members may contract at the same rate as NSS skaters but will need to pay a very small U.S. Figure Skating membership fee for insurance reasons. This will still be the least expensive figure skating practice ice in the area!
It’s that time again… registration is now open for Sessions 2 and 3! The session 2 registration deadline is 11/23/09. Sign up for both sessions before the deadline and receive a $5 discount.
Session 2 highlights: Group and Private Lessons for ALL abilities ages 4 -adult, Specialized Classes & Workshops, Winter Skating Camp, Tall & Small Day, Skate with Santa, Girl Scout Skating Fever, and an Applebees Pancake Breakfast.
This Thursday 10/15, join NSS skaters and instructors for a one-hour feature on KidTalk Radio! KidTalk airs every Thursday from 6:00-7:00pm on KYMN AM1080 (streaming live at kymnradio.net) and features local Northfield kids. Listen this week as skaters discuss their involvement with NSS!
Gene Uenishi, NSS’s Webmaster and Skating Instructor, is also on the arena staff for the City of Northfield. He put together this mini-documentary about last season’s renovations for Jason Eisold, Northfield’s Recreation Manager. That’s Jason in the opening shot! Great work, Gene.
Our arena may be closed until September, but skating is still a year-round sport! Here are some fun opportunities to improve your skills before next season:
Private Lessons and Practice Time at other local arenas with NSS coaches – Contact Carey for details
Summer Skating Camps are available to skaters of all levels. Carey is also a guest coach at both arenas below.
Shattuck St. Mary Day Camp, Aug 10-12. Registration materials available here. Early bird registration before June 1. St. Paul Figure Skating Club’s Reach for the Stars Basic Skills Camp, July 20-23. Registration materials here.
Dance Classes are a great way to boost your strength and posture on the ice. Northfield Dance Academy welcomes skaters and offers camps and classes for all ages and stages of dance experience. Link to NDA for schedule and registration info.
For the second year in a row, Northfield Skating School students took the podium at the Farmington Spring Festival, an annual competition featuring skaters from the southern MN region. The event took place on Saturday March 28.
Anna Sheehan, an eighth grader at ArtTech, won second place with her Indian-style routine, and Elizabeth Penny, a sixth grader at St. Dominic Elementary School, earned first place skating to music from Harry Potter. Both young ladies take private lessons with Carey Tinkelenberg, Owner/Director of the Northfield Skating School.
Our winter skate drive was a success! The number of rental skates available at the Northfield Arena has now doubled to over 70 pairs. We have already been able to take advantage of the new rentals to help meet our goal of increasing access to ice activities. The new rental skates were used for our PRIMEtime collaborative skate last month as well as Northfield Skating School lessons and open skate, and we look forward to hosting more skaters at our upcoming Girl Scout Skating Fever.
