Two-time Olympian Albertina "Tina" Noyes, renowned ice dancer and choreographer Renée Roca and visionary judge Robert Horen have been elected to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Class of 2025. Atoy Wilson, the first African American to win a U.S. title, will be inducted into the Hall in its inaugural Trailblazers category. An induction ceremony and reception will be held Jan. 25 at the 2025 Prevagen U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Wichita, Kansas.
“The Class of 2025 is among our most diverse and historically significant classes,” Hall of Fame Nominating Committee Chair Richard Dalley said. “It is with great pride that we celebrate and honor these exceptional individuals who define the values and culture of our organization.”
Albertina Noyes, Outstanding Competitor
A two-time Olympian, five-time U.S. World Team member and a North American and U.S. Championships medalist, Tina Noyes was an integral part of U.S. Figure Skating’s rebuilding project after the entire 1961 U.S. World Team perished in a plane crash in Berg-Kampenhout, Belgium.
Noyes skated at a time of high pressure, training alongside Peggy Fleming and Christine Haigler at the Colorado Springs Broadmoor World Arena. The three were just 14 years old when they were named to the 1964 U.S. Olympic Team that competed in Innsbruck. They finished sixth (Fleming), seventh (Haigler) and eighth (Noyes) but showed signs of what would come. Fleming famously won the 1968 Olympic gold medal in Grenoble, France, while Noyes placed fourth. Noyes finished second to Fleming at four U.S. Championships.
Noyes, a graduate of Boston College, skated professionally with the Ice Capades through the early 1970s.
For the past 40 years, Noyes has coached figure skaters, synchronized skaters and hockey players at the Hayden Recreational Centre in Lexington, Massachusetts. She is the author of I Can Teach you to Figure Skate and U.S. Olympians and Paralympians History 1945–1995.
Renée Roca, Outstanding Professional
Renée Roca has had an impact on the sport as an athlete, choreographer and popular ice show performer.
Roca, a three-time U.S. ice dance champion, came to choreography in the middle of her own competitive career. While between partners, Roca created Jill Trenary’s 1990 World Championship-winning free skate program, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow’s 1991 U.S. Championships winning-program and Nicole Bobek’s 1995 World bronze medal program. From 2001 to 2006, she choreographed Olympic and World medal programs for Chinese pairs athletes Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and Zhang Dan and Zhang Hao. After returning to the U.S., Roca choreographed for many Americans, ranging from 2011 U.S. and Grand Prix Final champion Alissa Czisny to 2022 World and Olympic team event pairs gold medalists Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier.
As an athlete, Roca partnered with Donald Adair (1981-87) to win the 1986 U.S. title; Jim Yorke (1987-89) and Gorsha Sur (1992-96) to win the 1993 and 1995 U.S. titles. Roca is a five-time member of the U.S. World Team and the only ice dancer to win U.S. championships with different partners. Roca and Sur won the 1997 World Professional Championships title.
A renowned show choreographer, Roca helped produce Stars on Ice, Disson Skating shows, Canada’s Battle of the Blades and Kristi Yamaguchi’s Always Dream Foundation’s Golden Moment, among others.
Robert Horen, Outstanding Contributor
Robert Horen has been a leader in U.S. ice dance for more than two decades. He has been an ISU judge, technical controller and referee for ice dance for more than 25 years and a U.S. Figure Skating judge and referee for singles, pairs and ice dance for more than 40 years. A 1998 Olympic ice dance judge, he has served as referee, technical panel member and judge at numerous World, Junior World and European championships and Grand Prix Series events.
Horen, the first American elected to the ISU Ice Dance Technical Committee (2006-16), was among those tasked with changing the long-standing “compulsory dance” to accommodate the new IJS rules and proposed the “short dance,” now known as the “rhythm dance.” He was awarded the ISU Gold Medal of Excellence in 2017 and served as U.S. team leader for the 2000 World Championships in Nice, France.
Horen has served U.S. Figure Skating as a member of the board of directors, board vice president and as chair and vice chair of many committees, including International, Dance, Competitions, Judges and Referees. On a local level, he has served the boards of the Philadelphia Skating Club and Humane Society, the Arctic Blades Figure Skating Club and is the founding member and first president of the Arizona Figure Skating Club.
Atoy Wilson, Trailblazers Award
In 1965, Atoy Wilson shattered barriers by becoming the first African American to compete at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, where he finished a strong second. The next year, Wilson won over the crowd and judges to become the first African American U.S. champion (novice).
Wilson was an early protégé of Mabel Fairbanks, an African American coach who fought for the 13-year-old’s inclusion on the ice and in the official figure skating clubs. After being offered membership to the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club, he became eligible to compete at the 1965 U.S. Championships in Lake Placid, New York, where he and his mother were restricted from the “whites only” official hotel.
After winning the 1966 novice crown in Berkeley, California, Wilson moved up to the junior level. With an eye on making the 1972 U.S. Olympic Team, he became the first African American to qualify for the senior level. However, in 1969 he chose to end his competitive career to pursue his education.
While attending Loyola Marymount University, Wilson followed Fairbanks’ advice to become a professional skater and was first African American to perform with Ice Follies. Wilson was a principal performer for 17 years in major productions, including Ice Follies and international tours of Holiday on Ice. His last skating contract was as a coach and assistant skating director in Dubai. Wilson later returned to Los Angeles and worked in production accounting in the film television industry.
The Trailblazer Award is a special category under the charge of the USHOF Nominating Committee. It is reserved for exceptional candidates whose contributions are not reflected in the other categories. A “trailblazer” is a unique individual who is a pioneer or innovator, who has paved a path of opportunity for others to join and enrich the sport of figure skating.
The U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honor those who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of figure skating. It is housed inside the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
