By Abby Farrell
Dec. 3 marked the second annual World Ice Skating Day, and the Lake Placid Olympic Center in Lake Placid, New York was at the center of the celebrations this year.
World Ice Skating Day was introduced in 2022 by the International Skating Union as a way to showcase and celebrate the joy and excitement of ice skating. Skating clubs all over the world were encouraged to host free events to bring members of their community together on the ice.
A day to celebrate a love for skating, nearly 250 participants went to Lake Placid to take part in a full day of free Learn to Skate USA® sessions on the outdoor James C. Sheffield Speed Skating Oval, meet and greets with Team USA athletes, and to watch figure skating, synchronized skating and speedskating demos from local athletes.
The ages of participants ranged from three years old all the way to 70 years old, and participants traveled from as far as Poland to attend. Special guests included Olympic silver medalist Paul Wylie and 2022 World Junior ice dance champions Oona Brown and Gage Brown. Kids also had the opportunity to meet and interact with Learn to Skate USA®’s mascot Snowplow Sam and Roni, the mascot for the Olympic Winter Games 1980.
Despite a bit of rain halfway through the day, the weather didn’t dampen the festivities. In the afternoon, a Parade of Nations through the facility showcased the flags of the 51 countries that celebrated World Ice Skating Day this year, followed by an exhibition with performances from the Brown siblings, the Skyliners junior synchronized skating team and local skaters from the Lake Placid Figure Skating Club.
“It was a great event,” said Valerie Murray, Olympic Regional Development Authority program coordinator and main organizer for this event. “The kids had so much fun, which is what this is all about.”
Lake Placid was selected by the ISU to host the main WISD event due to its rich Olympic history. Lake Placid served as the host of the 1932 and 1980 Winter Olympic Games, and the training grounds for Olympic figure skating greats such as Dick Button and Dorothy Hammil.
Lake Placid is also known as the location where history has been made on several occasions. Most notably, Lake Placid is the home of the iconic Miracle on Ice hockey game between the United States and the Soviet Union at the Olympic Winter Games in 1980. Recently, in 2022 Ilia Malinin became the first man to successfully land a quadruple Axel in competition at the 2022 U.S. International Figure Skating Classic which was also held at Lake Placid.
“So many Olympians trained here, and they still can. So, the opportunity to have World Ice Skating Day be here in this iconic village in this iconic facility — it's an honor,” Murray said.
Although those who run the facility weren’t notified that Lake Placid would be hosting the main event until late October, with the help of the New York State Olympic Regional Development Authority, the Lake Placid Olympic Center was able to execute a successful event.
Due to this year’s success, Lake Placid hopes to host an event again next year to introduce even more people to skating.
But at the heart of this year’s event was a love for skating and an appreciation for the joy it brings to everyone, regardless of whether they are getting on the ice for the first time or have been skating for decades.
“Skating has so much to offer everybody and it doesn't matter if you’re old or young, competitive or not, to enjoy it,” Murray said. “It's a great feeling of just freedom.”
