Rinks, Olympics, reality show help sport make mark in Valley

Growing up in the Valley of the Sun, Heather Ross had few opportunities to ice-skate.

While kids in Minnesota or Michigan were flooding their back yards to make instant ice rinks, Ross could only watch skaters on TV and dream of gliding on the ice. That was before the boom in indoor ice arenas.

While away at college, Ross finally got the chance to skate. Not exactly the Kristi Yamaguchi dream come true: "It was cold and bumpy," Ross, now 30, says with a laugh.

Today, the Paradise Valley resident has a figure-skating coach and takes lessons five days a week at the Alltel Ice Den in Scottsdale after she drops her children off at school. In the four levels of adult achievement, she has finished pre-bronze and feels confident she will reach adult gold.

"I have a great time," Ross says. "I get exercise. It’s more fun and more rewarding than going on a long run."

Ross is one of the estimated 5.1 million Americans who ice-skate - whether at an ice rink or on a frozen pond, according to the National Sporting Goods Association.

The numbers are growing, especially in the South and Southwest, says Peter Martell, executive director of the Dallas-based Ice Skating Institute.

"There’s no doubt that over the last 10 years, participation in skating and (ice) hockey has increased," Martell says. While the greatest participation is up north, the largest increase is in warm climates, he says, thanks to state-of-the-art indoor facilities.

Interest also has been boosted by pop culture, such as last year’s film Ice Princess, starring Michelle Trachtenberg as a teen training to become a champion figure skater.

Early this year, two events are expected to heat up the ice. On Jan. 18, the Fox network debuts Skating With Celebrities, which teams such non-skaters as Bruce Jenner and Deborah Gibson with such figure-skating champs as Nancy Kerrigan and Kurt Browning in a knock-off of last year’s hit Dancing With the Stars.

Then the Winter Olympics begin Feb. 10 with all eyes on the U.S. figure-skating and ice hockey teams.

In the Valley, ice hockey has new sparkle with legendary ex-superstar Wayne Gretzky coaching the Phoenix Coyotes. And the National Hockey League recently signed to have its games broadcast on OLN.

All that brings the ice rink into America’s living room.

"Any time there has been exposure on TV for skating, it generates interest," Martell says.

Although the Olympics always produce a spike in the popularity of skating, the TV series is a bonus, says Justin Maloof, executive director of the Alltel Ice Den.

"It’s going to be big," he says. "We’re definitely gearing up for it. We’ve been looking forward to that."

The facility has already added extra lessons and may add more. Students as young as 2 1/2 participate in the "Parent and Pups" class.

Adults in on the fun

Though the greatest number of skaters are young (falls are inevitable, and limber bodies bounce better), adults represent a significant portion of the skating public. With the growing number of ice arenas and a greater emphasis on fitness, adult participation is increasing.

Gary Young, 65, who skated as a young man, now skates occasionally as he raises his second family.

"It’s good to be doing something," the Glendale resident says. "You feel a certain amount of freedom (on the ice). It’s cool and refreshing. It’s not like working out in a gym with a lot of sweaty bodies."

Young has one note of caution: "Don’t think you’re going to do any wild tricks."

Leave the wild tricks to the youngsters. It’s the young Olympic skaters who are inspiring children to strap on skates and try the sport, says Dawn Piepenbrink McCosh, a coach at Alltel. Youngsters learn quickly, she says, without thinking or analyzing, as adults often do. And on TV it looks so easy.

But Piepenbrink McCosh believes that watching Skating With Celebrities will put things into perspective. "I think it will give them greater appreciation for how hard it is," she says.

Out of the millions of American skaters, only about 18 in any one year will qualify for national competition or the Olympic Games.

That’s fine with Sawako Leslie, who began skating when her teenage daughter asked to take lessons in 1998. Leslie, who is in her late 30s, never skated as a child in Japan.

"My athletic history is zero," the Scottsdale resident says.

But her athletic portfolio has improved significantly, thanks to lessons alongside other adult skaters a couple of times a week at Oceanside Ice Arena in Tempe.

"There are more of us than you think," Leslie says. Though the adults can reach amazing levels of achievement and even compete nationally and internationally among other adults, their motivation is pleasure.

For Leslie, "it’s the sensation of gliding in the air. You can get that sensation nowhere but the ice."

Dreaming of gold

Though most armchair ice skaters may enjoy watching the Olympics and Skating With Celebrities without ever putting on blades, the Valley has its share of serious Olympic aspirants. Erin Littlefield and Rebecca Nyquist are two young women who one day hope to be among those at the top.

Littlefield, 17, lives in Surprise but grew up in Colorado. After watching the Olympics on TV, she says, "I begged my parents to take me skating."

That was five years ago.

It was hard work at first, "but it was also easy because I had the fire. I had the passion," she says.

She believes that passion will carry her until she’s ready to reach for the gold.

Nyquist, 14, of Phoenix, has been skating for six years. She spent much of her first day skating holding on to the sides of the rink. Then she found the confidence to push away. Piepenbrink McCosh is now her coach.

"I feel good when I get out there on the ice," Nyquist says. "I feel confident. It’s just a great feeling when you jump and land it for the first time. That’s what motivates me."