Sunday, February 10, 2008

Figure Skating Club Members Meet at Santa Ana Star Center to Work on Their Skills

By Amanda Stevens
Journal Staff Writer
The middle of the New Mexican desert doesn't seem an ideal place to brush up on ice skating skills.
But the Santa Ana Star Center in Rio Rancho provides the perfect place for Desert Ice Figure Skating Club members to gather and work on their skills.
The club, which has been together for over 10 years, is one of three figure skating clubs in the state sanctioned by United States Figure Skating (USFS).
"They are a team and love working together," self-proclaimed "skate mom" Laine Brunetto said. "The club just gives them a place to love (figure skating) together and find people who share the same interest."
Brunetto's 14-year-old daughter is one of the club's 40 members.
"They call me a skate mom," Brunetto said. "It's like any other sport, but, instead of a soccer mom, I'm a skate mom. You just get in there and help do fundraising and drive to practices and do all that stuff."
Members range in age from 4 years old to retired adults. They also range in ability from complete novice to senior-level skaters who are eligible for the Olympic Games, Brunetto, a Taylor Ranch resident, said.
The club offers opportunities to test for different levels of completion.
"In the basic skills (level, skaters are tested on) simple things like a one-step glide or they call them swizzles, just how to move skates on ice and if they are able to glide up to a one-foot spin. They just learn a little more each time. There are a dozen elements in each level," Brunetto said.
There are eight levels after basic skills that can be achieved by a figure skater, she said.
"They all struggle landing that first axle, but once they do it, that opens the door to double jumps. Then, you're looking at triples and toe loops and the Lutz. All the stuff you hear about on TV— we're working on it," Brunetto said.
The club does not include figure skating lessons, she said. Private coaching and lessons can be found independently, but the club does provide free ice time at the Santa Ana Star Center two to three times a month for club members.
"It's just the sport of figure skating. A lot of members aren't competitive skaters, they are just recreational skaters and want to be able to do it because it's fun," she said. "They don't have to compete; they just do it as their sport, like someone else can play soccer— they figure skate."
For More Information
For those interested in joining the Desert Ice Figure Skating Club, applications and information on club dues are available at www.deserticefsc.org.