By Aviva M. Cantor
Since 1995, the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships has served as the premier competition for adult athletes in the United States. In 2004, centennial dance – an event in which both athletes must be at least 50 years old and have passed at least one pre-silver pattern dance test but there is no maximum limit of tests passed – was added to the ever-evolving roster of events.
In the centennial dance event at the 2023 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships presented by Prevagen, the team of June Smith (67) and Franklyn Singley (52) took to the ice in Salt Lake City. While both athletes are regulars at the annual competition, this was their first time competing as a team. In taking the ice together, the Cleveland-based duo is believed to be the first Black team to compete at an Adult Championships.
For Singley, it all came full circle. Thirty years prior in 1993, Singley was part of the first Black ice dance team to medal at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, earning the bronze in junior ice dance with his partner Tiffani Tucker.
“I asked June to help me celebrate my 30-year anniversary by being my partner at the Adult Championships. She said yes!” Singley recalled. “I couldn't possibly be prouder to have the honor to be one half of the second all-Black dance team to take the ice at a figure skating championship. To be visible, to be proud and to be successful in making history twice in a skating lifetime is a blessing.”
After competing for more than two decades, this experience made the competition incredibly memorable for Smith as well.
“Frank and I set out to make history,” she said. “I can say that in all my years of skating, there has never been a team at the Adult Championships where both skaters were Black. It was such an honor to be part of this history-making skate.”
While their skating paths and backgrounds are different, Smith and Singley share a common passion. The skaters are widely respected by their peers, both as dedicated athletes and as role models for diversity.
Growing up in Texas, Smith had limited access to ice time and only took a few lessons as a kid. In the ‘80s, she relocated to Ohio and took up skating in her mid-30s.
“I got my daughters skating and found the ice for myself soon after,” Smith remembered.
Smith began her competitive journey through synchronized skating, then gained interest in free skate, partnered dance, solo dance and showcase. She currently competes in masters synchronized skating with the Goldenettes.
Smith also works for the City of Cleveland Heights, coaches Learn to Skate and teaches private students. For Smith, the Adult Championships is particularly special.
“I haven’t missed an Adult Championships since I began competing,” she shared. “Adult competition lacks the visceral competitiveness found in other levels of competition. Adults cheer each other on during great skates and lend encouraging, supporting cheers if it’s not the skater’s best day.”
In particular, smith has found a unique home in centennial dance. Over nearly two decades, the event has seen a wide range of skating experience and ability. Skaters who started as adults will work their way up to compete in the event alongside a mix of lifelong skaters and retired elite athletes. Competitors have included 2003 Nobel Prize winner Robert Engle and 1980 Olympian John Dowding.
“Centennial dancers are a special group of skaters who appreciate just being on the ice competing dance while over 50,” Smith said. “There’s always plenty of love, support and hugs all around.”
Singley agreed.
“After witnessing the incredible friendships and the intense passion for our sport amongst the other athletes at the Adult Championships, it was an easy decision to choose to skate in the centennial dance category once I turned 50,” he said.
A lifelong skater, Singley was inspired to learn to skate after watching Dorothy Hamill win the 1976 Olympics.
He fondly shared, “On my 6th birthday, my mom rented the ice at Winterhurst and gave me an ice skating birthday party. They placed a cake on a table in the middle of the ice. I marched to it and ate it with my bare hands. I've been gliding ever since. I guess I was hungry!”
Singley works as the Director of Learn to Skate at Serpentini Arena-Winterhurst. He also has approximately 25 private students in the Cleveland area, as well as additional students in Columbus, Ohio and Sun Valley, Idaho. His students range from ages 3 to 83.
“I'm presently living my legacy,” Singley remarked. “Becoming a Director of Learn to Skate fulfills me. Forty-six years ago, it took my mom over a year after I completed Learn to Skate to find a coach who was willing to take me on as a private student. My future goals are to ensure that no one — no matter what color, age, weight, height, gender or sexual orientation — can’t find a coach, a rink to call home and an open door to where our sport can take them.”
The coming season will be noteworthy for Smith and Singley, as 2024 will mark the first time that the Adult Championships will be held in the state of Ohio. The 2024 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships presented by Prevagen will be in their own backyard at Serpentini Arena-Winterhurst in Lakewood, Ohio.
Looking to their future plans, Smith shared, “I’d be most honored to be his partner again.”
Singley added, “If June will have me, we’ll go for that gold again next year.”
