In an effort to provide a positive environment for expert and novice figure-skaters alike, the ASU Figure Skating Club's is revamping with hopes to increase membership and spread its enthusiasm and love for the sport.
Although the club started two years ago, leadership roles, membership and meeting purposes have changed throughout its existence. Currently, plans are in the works for club meetings held every other week and other group events.
Heather Morse, the current president and a junior studying fashion, said the club's previous president didn't get around to organizing meetings or events, and she hopes to change that to get the club up and running again.
“I want to have get-togethers where we watch senior level skating competitions that are currently going on and also do mini lessons about the basics of skating,” she said. “We also want to go public skating at the Chandler Ice Den every other weekend and possibly go to the CitySkate outdoor rink that's open during Christmastime.”
The CitySkate ice rink is located near ASU's downtown Phoenix campus and has been part of the Valley's holiday celebrations for the last seven years.
Lisa Morse, clinical associate professor in the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion serves as the club's faculty advisor and said she hopes to see the club expand to include skaters of all levels.
"Traditional figure skating clubs are reserved typically for competitive figure skaters or those working on U.S. Figure Skating testing. I hope to see the ASU Figure Skating Club include all levels of skaters, including those who have never taken a skating lesson," she said.
Lisa Morse said she would like the club to focus on more social events such as "a public skating session at a local rink while getting out of the Arizona heat as well as participate community service events."
Additionally, she said she hopes to see the club bring students of all majors together to learn more about skating in a positive social environment.
Mandi Marquez, the club's vice president and a junior studying earth and environmental studies, said her main goal for the club is to get more people involved, even if they've never been skating before.
"It’s a pretty unique sport, and I feel like most people feel like they could never do it or even try it for that matter," she said. "The club isn’t only for people who already know how to skate, so I want to try and get people involved to try something new."
Marquez has been skating for 12 years and said any chance she gets to teach others about the sport is an incredibly fulfilling experience for her, adding that, "It's also a way for people to come together with a similar interest."
At the end of the day, Heather Morse said the club aims to bring those who are interested together in a positive environment to learn more about the sport that they all love so much.
"I want to be able to provide a way for students to learn about skating and learn the basics of how to skate if they've not had the opportunity before but would like to learn," she said. "It's also for current figure skaters like myself that want extra practice time, or past figure skaters that want to pick it up again."
Reach the reporter at adunn11@asu.edu or follow @adrienne_dunn on Twitter.
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