By Aviva M. Cantor
From competitions and test sessions to camps and clinics, adult skaters have ample ways to learn, enjoy and participate in the sport they love. However, there was a time when opportunities were not so easy to come by.
Thinking back to the ’80s and ’90s, Rhea Schwartz remembered it well.
“Some adults were on the ice, but mostly social ice dancing,” Schwartz said. “There was no real freestyle program, no test structure and there were no competitions focused on adults.”
Five years of lobbying paved the way, in 1995, for the start of today’s plentiful opportunities. The first U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships were held in Wilmington, Delaware, and the Adult Skating Committee was established with Schwartz as the inaugural committee chair.
“U.S. Figure Skating was concerned about low turnout,” Schwartz said. “They hoped for 200 skaters. Instead, 408 skaters competed, and the next year we had 510 skaters. An advisory group was established to develop what we think of now as the Adult Skating Program.”
When the group was reconfigured, Paula Smart was selected to represent the Pacific Coast Section.
“Over time, we grew close as colleagues and friends,” Schwartz said. “In those days, there were no vice chairs or people in charge of various elements of the program. We had to figure that all out.
“Paula and I were lucky to have each other. We were a good duo — each bringing different skills to the task. We worked well together because we shared a vision of building a community and expanding opportunities.”
Capitalizing on the success of the first U.S. Adult Championships, Schwartz and Smart worked to create the annual ISU Adult International Competition held in Oberstdorf, Germany. The growth of adult skating coincided with the growth of the Internet, which “enabled us to become one community,” Schwartz said.
In a 2004 interview, Smart said, “We’re very fortunate to be in a country that allows these things to happen. U.S. Figure Skating can be thanked for opening their doors and opening their eyes and letting us in.”
The second Adult Skating Committee chair, Smart, who passed away suddenly in 2009, is fondly remembered by Lexi Rohner and Mike Cruz, who both credit her for convincing them to compete as adults.
A childhood skater who coached in college, Rohner first crossed paths with Smart in 1992.
“She approached me and told me I was strong and should be competing. She began explaining ‘this new thing in skating for adults’ and introduced me to her coach,” Rohner said. “Next thing I knew, I was prepping for my first adult competition.”
Smart’s guidance and friendship led Rohner to say yes when Maggie Harding, the third Adult Skating Committee chair, offered her a vice chair position. She would later serve as the chair. Now, after 18 years of service, Rohner proudly says, “I am the longest serving member of that committee.”
Joining Rohner on the committee is Cruz, the current vice chair of communications. A childhood skating fan who started lessons in college, Cruz met Smart on a freestyle session.
“She was a very positive, upbeat and energetic person who always tried to exhort others to do their best,” Cruz said. “I miss her greatly, and although she is absent, she is not forgotten.”
Rohner and Cruz helped establish the Paula Smart Trophy in 2009. This perpetual trophy, housed at the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame, is engraved annually to honor the winner of the championship masters intermediate-novice ladies event at the U.S. Adult Championships. It was first awarded in 2010.
“I feel gratified knowing that the efforts Paula gave to adult skating are on display in a permanent commemoration in the museum,” Rohner said.
“It is a fitting tribute to a wonderful person and beautiful skater who was and shall remain an integral part of the history of the adult skating movement,” Cruz added.
Together, Schwartz and Smart are credited as the pioneers of adult skating, both domestically and internationally.
On Schwartz and her legacy, Cruz said, “She worked tirelessly for many years to provide the adult skating community with a forum to pursue our dreams, and for that I am eternally grateful to her.”
While she no longer serves in leadership, Schwartz is still skating. On the significance of adult skating in the overall landscape, Schwartz said, “Adult skating keeps people in the sport, supports the clubs, provides judges, technicians and volunteers, and provides income for many coaches. It is worth the hassle. There were several people at U.S. Figure Skating who were willing to take a gamble on adult skating. Every subsequent chair of the Adult Skating Committee has left his or her mark on the program and moved us forward. Looking back, I think we laid a good foundation.”
Watch an interview with Paula Smart below.
