Paris Figure Skating Club will celebrate 60th anniversary with special ‘Blast from the Past’ Gala

By Casandra Turnbull

The Paris Figure Skating Club is celebrating its 60th anniversary this season and they’re doing so by paying homage to its history and inviting alumni to return for a special Gala to celebrate. Let’s start this story at the beginning. Figure skating in Paris dates to 1963 when founding members Vi Cormier, Honey Kolanko and Donna Mason had a vision to bring skating to town This vision turned to reality when the club was officially launched with the support of an executive committee and one professional coach, Jacqueline Barnes. To end that first year of skating lessons, the newly founded club held the first-year end ice show called “Ice Capers,” on March 26, 1964. Eighty-five members skated in that Dutch-themed gala signifying the start of an annual tradition that would mark the end every year of lessons in the spring. Over the years the Ice Capers show has dazzled audiences with a variety of themes, cute performances, and lot of local talent. So, in recognition of 60 years of success, the Paris Figure Skating Club’s year end Gala on March 23, 2024 will be appropriately titled “A Blast from the Past.”

While it will feature routines and performances from current members, coaches and the executive are inviting alumni back to the arena for a good old fashioned reunion on skates. “We are going to include a number from Paris Figure Skating Alumni If the alumni can no longer be on the ice, we would still invite them to the event and we are looking at ways to include those alumni in the event. We would love to have as many of the alumni attend as possible,” said current Club President Lisa Campbell.

There are two performances planned for the day – one in the afternoon and one in the evening –but between performances the Club will host a reception in the Lafarge Hall of the Brant Sports Complex for alumni to catch up and take a walk down memory lane Club members and executive are busy gathering history, combing through past photos and carnival guides to put on display The Club’s growth over the last six decades has been remarkable, said Campbell.

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What started with just two hours of ice time a week and one professional coach has evolved into a club that boasts of eight professional coaches who teach kids the fundamentals of the sport over 15 hours of ice time on four different days of the week. The club, sponsored by Brant and Woodstock Skating Clubs in the 1960s, was officially granted Canadian Figure Skating Association membership in 1966/67. Today, they are still proud members of Skate Canada, as it was rebranded in 2000 Precision was introduced in 1978

Looking back at the significant changes over the years, Campbell noted, “Skate Canada has changed the testing of the skaters, so the club continues to evolve with those changes set by Skate Canada.” Yet at the heart of the club, the fundamentals are still the same. Kids, on the ice, building confidence, self disciplinary skills, and dedication to improving themselves one skill at a time, while having fun and building friendships

While the club’s membership is predominantly kids and teens under the age of 18, there are adult members who take advantage of the adult learn to skate program, one of the club’s newest offerings in recent years – just another example of how the club has evolved over time.

Speaking of evolution, the Club’s newest coach

Camryn Wilson, isn’t exactly new to the club. She started out as a skater who developed her love of skating through lessons at the club and now she’s a certified CanSkate coach leading the Can Skate program.

The club also boasts a few long-time coaches with years of dedication in Paris. Dawn Hall is the longest standing coach; she joined in the late 1980's. Penny also brings a wealth of experience; she started coaching with the club in the late 1990’s.

“The dedication of these coaches is part of the reason our club continues to thrive. Many of our coaches are members of the local community,” said Campbell She also credits great facilities such as the Brant Sports Complex is another great attribute of our club’s success, especially since it allows the club to offer year-round programming for its 150 members.

Membership has fluctuated over the years but thanks to dedicated volunteers who fundraised, numerous grant opportunities and an executive board who ensures budgets are met, the club continues to thrive.

Over the years, the Paris Figure Skating Club has watched many skaters work hard to advance to provincial championships, including several who took home gold. And speaking of Gold, 32 skaters have achieved their Gold level tests in skills, freeskate, dance and artistic The very first one to accomplish that title was perhaps one of the club’s most successful graduates – Robin Prine. He achieved his Gold freeskate in 1983 paving the way for others to follow in his skates. Prine went on to skate for Disney on Ice. He died in 1993 but his legacy lives on through the Robin Prine Award, given annually to a skater who demonstrates a genuine love for the sport and works diligently to advance their own skills, as well as the skills of others. Robin’s parents John and Marilyn continue to support the club and attend the awards banquet each year to hand out the Robin Prine award. In 2019, Robin was inducted into the Brant County Sports Hall of Fame.

There’s been a lot of talent and excitement over the years. In most recent years, the Club welcomed renowned figure skater, arguably one of the greats in the sport, Elvis Stojko In 2019, Stojko and his wife (also a figure skater) Gladys Orozco came to Paris to host a seminar for skaters. “This was possible as the club had hosted a Skate Ontario figure skating competition and the funds raised from that were put towards this seminar,” said Campbell. The club also hosted a Skate Ontario competition in February 2020, with plans to contribute the funds towards another seminar, but the money raised from that sustained the club during the Covid pandemic. So, if you’re an alumni or have ties to the club, you’re formally invited to a ‘Blast from the Past.’ You can reach out to the organizing committee by email, parisfigureskatingclub@live ca, to find out how you can get involved.

From the 1988 Ice Capers program, Robin Prine is congratulated for earning the club’s first Gold accomplishment in Freeskate. Robin started skating at 5 years old and joined the Ice Follies International in 1983.