Above: Girls from the 9Miles Project in South Africa are treated to a skating lesson by friends at Figure Skating in Harlem (wearing blue shirts).
By Lois Elfman
This summer, the girls of Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH) enjoyed a reunion with young women they previously met during a life-changing visit to South Africa in 2023. On that trip, in addition to extensive sightseeing, the FSH girls learned about surfing from the girls of the 9Miles Project, a community based organization that is “changing lives one surf at a time.” In turn, the FSH girls brought the surfers to an ice rink, where they showed remarkable willingness to try an unfamiliar sport.
Natalie Momperousse, 17, was part of the South Africa trip, saying it was an incredible experience. “It was really fun, I loved the culture, I loved everything,” she said, noting that beforehand she and the other FSH travelers did research projects on South Africa.
Momperousse cannot swim, so she was a spectator for the surfing, but she did participate when they met girls from a boxing program. All the South African girls were very warm and welcoming. When a group from 9Miles hit the Big Apple, girls of FSH were eager to show them around.
“It was nice seeing them for the first time in a long time,” Zayda Rojas, 17, said. “We got to exchange fun, cool facts. We gave them a tour of Riverbank [State Park, where FSH trains] and what we’re accustomed to when it comes to skating and our everyday life on 145th Street."
“It was nice to take public transportation,” she added. “When we were in South Africa we were escorted in cars. Of course, you still saw everything, but they got to be on our public transportation system, and it was nice for them to have that raw, authentic vibe and experience.”
FSH serves girls 6 to 18 with on-ice skating and extensive off-ice programming. Rojas said they enjoyed showing the visitors NYC culture and lifestyle, and she even learned some new things for herself. While she has lived in New York City her whole life, she only recently moved to Harlem, so there are places she hadn’t previously visited. This included Sylvia’s Harlem Restaurant (legendary soul food) and the Apollo Theater, where musical icons have performed.
“We showed them a bit of our history and how it all came to be,” Rojas said. “It was nice seeing their reactions, taking pictures, seeing the smiles on their faces when they saw the Apollo and walking and seeing Harlem.”
Rojas and Momperousse both take part in one of FSH’s synchronized skating teams, so they took the visitors to SkyRink at Chelsea Piers for a practice. During skating season from November to April, FSH practices are at Riverbank State Park, an outdoor facility, but the synchro teams practice year-round and find ice at indoor rinks around the city.
“They watched us for about a half an hour and then they put on skates and came on the ice,” Rojas said. “They tried to skate with us. We showed them different moves and tried to help them out. They were really good at skating. My first time, I was clinging to the walls.”
Momperousse described this visit as another great bonding experience. Rojas said seeing the visitors made all the memories of last year’s trip flood back.
“That made me really emotional,” Rojas said. “They’re such bundles of joy. Getting to see them again was wonderful. I was honored to be chosen to show them things they would have been proud to show us when we were in South Africa. It was a beautiful experience. Hopefully, they can come again.”
Both heading into their senior year of high school, Rojas and Momperousse are focused on deciding on the colleges to which they will apply. Momperousse noted that FSH has academic preparation classes where they learn about the college application process.
“Since I want to continue figure skating in college, I’m looking at schools in the U.S. and Canada,” Momperousse said. She’s considering Miami University (Ohio) and Howard University, which has a figure skating team started by FSH alumnae.
“I want to go to Columbia University, but I’m keeping my options open,” said Rojas, who wants to be a psychologist. Among Columbia’s alumni are such notable figure skaters as Timothy Goebel, Sasha Cohen and Kimberly Navarro.
Of course, they’re also eager to get back on the ice at Riverbank and prepare for performances and synchronized skating competitions.
