The program is designed to engage individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities by building their confidence through exposure to the wonderful world of ice skating. The Southport Skating Club program is guided by the US Figure Skating's Adaptive Skating Curriculum.
The participants in the program are very courageous and show up every session eager to skate. The coaching staff consists of Southport Skating Club Professionals as well as Junior coaches with a background in figure skating or hockey.
All coaches are volunteers with a coach to student ratio of 1:1 and sometimes 2:1, so each child can have adequate support for their level of skating ability. This helps to ensure that everyone has a great time working together. Rising Stars can always use more qualified skating coaches because the program has been so successful that there is a waiting list!
As a small business owner, I am so grateful for the recent opportunity to provide Rising Stars with their new custom coach jackets. Pinkskate has always been a brand about believing in yourself and the willingness to keep trying by pushing past your limitations. This is literally what each of these children do every time they step onto the ice.
Huge shoutout to Southport Skating Club and the Rising Stars Skating Program, we wish you much success in our local community where you are making a positive impact.
]]>A talented, hardworking adult figure skater with big goals. Tyler is also a Pinkskate Brand Ambassador and we are so excited to showcase him as our first athlete feature story. You can get to know a little more about Tyler by reading his complete interview listed below.
Pinkskate: When did you start skating?
Tyler: 2017
Pinkskate: What drew you into the sport of figure skating?
Tyler: There are a menu of things that drew me to the sport of figure skating, like the feeling you get when you see a skater connect with their program in such a way that the only response your body can give are chills, emotions and thunderous applause. The athleticism, strength, grace, passion and artistry required to be a top skater, to name a few things that drew me to skating. You have to be a true artist to be vulnerable enough to break down your walls and uncover wounds each time you compete with a personal program and that, to be a true artist, was the catalyst for skating. Also I loved the designs for the costumes and how everything sparkles on the ice, it’s so mesmerizing. When you step on to the ice and hear the ice crunch, when you hear your edges roar as you’re gliding over freshly cut ice, and all you feel is this guttural rush energy and urge to give it your all on the ice.
Pinkskate: Why are you passionate about this sport?
Tyler: I’ve always wanted to skate ever since I was four, every time figure skating came on the tv, I was glued and wanted to compete on the Olympic ice. I’ve had countless dreams of being a figure skater. I’ve been through some pretty traumatic events in my life that not many people are aware of and I try my hardest to use that as a reflection of how far I’ve come in life. I wasn’t able to start skating until three years ago after a loved one had committed suicide. I don’t skate just for myself, I skate to carry on the memories of loved ones passed, to hopefully inspire and encourage people of all walks of life that it’s never too late to start chasing your dreams and make a difference. Life is short, life happens and you have to find the rainbow or stars through storms and darkness.
Pinkskate: Are you a recreational figure skater or are you a competitive skater?
Tyler: I’m a competitive skater with big goals
Pinkskate: What goals have you set for yourself and have you achieved any?
Tyler: My ultimate goal and dream is to be on Team USA, compete and be on the podium at the 2026 Olympic Games. I also try to have yearly goals and smaller goals for competing and testing. Some of my bigger goals are to test to senior moves in the next two years with distinction or honors and senior freeskate in three years. I’ve currently passed my freeskate test with distinction and honors in two of my moves in the field test. I’ve accomplished the goal of starting to compete because we all start somewhere, right?
Pinkskate: What's the biggest hurdle you've overcome to continue skating?
Tyler: One of the biggest hurdles I’ve had to overcome is that it’s ok to ask for help when you’re struggling. It doesn’t matter if I’m struggling with my mental health, struggles on or off the ice, and even if it’s not skating related. I’m very grateful for the support system that I have with my family, coaches and chosen family.
]]>Nationwide we are all seeing that Ice Rinks have either closed down altogether or dramatically cut back on hours of operation. Just in our local community where we live right on the Illinois- Wisconsin boarder, the ice rink we call home is still experiencing its share of changes due to the pandemic.
Things like a limited number of figure skaters on the ice and coaching from the side boards during freestyle sessions have become common place. In addition, only allowing skaters to enter the ice rink with no spectators allowed has quickly become our new norm. For our home State of Illinois it has been mandated that high school hockey cancel its entire season as a result of the Corona Virus Pandemic. Somehow, many of us are persevering through all of these changes and even happy to embrace them as long as the rinks remain open and we have access to the ice.
My question for you today is what are you doing to keep working on achieving your athletic goals during the pandemic? Have you focused more on off-ice workouts to stay in shape? Are you taking a break to give your body and your mental health some rest? Maybe you ‘ve started a new hobby or taken up a new sport? I know at least three figure skaters who have taken up skate boarding and we think that’s awesome! Drop us a comment below because we’d love to hear from you.
One thing I know for sure is that the virus does not discriminate and as human beings we are all in this together. I truly believe that together is the only way we’ll get through it. Stay safe everyone and if your rink is open, I wish you happy skating!
]]>Pinkskate is the lifestyle brand representing the athletic passions of cold sport people through fashion. It was created to embody the values of every hardworking figure skater and hockey player. We want to motivate people to push beyond their limits, realize their dreams and never give up on being the best at their craft. To signify this goal we use the hashtag #pinksk8strong.
Every individual and every athlete has a back story about who they are and what drew them in to their sport of choice. As a brand created because of strong athletes like figure skaters and hockey players we are always interested in your back story. What drew you in to skating and why are you passionate about this sport? Did you just start skating as an adult or have you been skating since you were a child? Who or what motivates you to keep going when things get tough? We’d love to hear from you and share in your journey.
]]>Officially adopted by Congress in 1942 they decreed that the Pledge of allegiance should be recited while holding the right hand over the heart. Regardless of social economic lines, the pledge is recited in almost every public school across the Nation. The ugly truth is that the pledge has never truly represented all those who recite it.
By now we’ve all seen the horrific images of George Floyd and how he suffered during his death at the hands of law enforcement officers. This is not the first type of death a black person has fallen victim to as a result of the Police. If we all agree to listen and talk about how the real issue of systemic racism plagues our Country, we just might be able to foster an environment of change.
Instead of placing our hands across our hearts to recite the pledge to the flag of the United States of America, it is time we put our hearts and every word of the pledge into action, making it apply to all those who recite it. As a small business, we are pledging to do our part by donating to a worthy nonprofit working hard to build awareness so we can end systemic racism.
The charity we’ve chosen is called The Innocence Project, founded in 1992 by Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck at Cardozo School of Law, exonerates the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and reforms the criminal justice system to prevent future injustice.
The Innocence project’s mission is to free the staggering number of innocent people who remain incarcerated, and to bring reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.
We are donating one dollar from the sale of our Black Ice design in which Black Ice is an acronym for Black Injustice Can’t Exist (ICE). It is a start for us and that’s how it will begin for anyone. Start right where you are with whatever platform you have. Speak up and use your voice to make a positive change in the world we all have to live in.
There are so many truths in this fight and one of them is that all lives matter but until we see Black Lives Matter and flourish in every facet of society, our Nation will continue to hurt and struggle. Please consider purchasing a Black Ice Unisex T-Shirt, Crop Hoodie, Tank Top or our 3-D Embroidered dad style ball cap. Your contribution is greatly appreciated and making a difference around the world.
Sincerely,
Terri
]]>We hope everyone ended 2018 on a strong note and hopefully, you’ve all accomplished something great that has you pumped up for 2019.
We understand that winter sport athletes like figure skaters and hockey players work extremely hard to be their best and to stay competitive. We also know that in order for that to happen there’s a lot of hard work and sacrifice that goes on behind the scenes.
We’d love to know how your hard work paid off in 2018 and what were some of your greatest accomplishments? Did you land a new double jump or bounce back from a tough skating injury? Maybe you passed all of your MIF test and now you’re a U.S. Figure Skating Gold Medalist!
Maybe you scored a “Hat Trick” for the first time in one of your hockey games and your still buzzing from the excitement! Whatever the case may be we hope you continue to build on that momentum and keep working hard to make progress throughout this new year.
We’d love to hear from you and hope that you’d be willing to share one of your victories with us. Until then we wish you so much more success on and off the ice. Keep striving to be your very best and we support you in your journey.
Terri
]]>Before I go on I want to give my disclaimer that I am not a certified coach or a skating professional. However, I am the Mom of a figure skater and like so many other skating Moms, I encourage my Daughter to work hard, dream big and when you fall, get back up again.
By now, most of us know that Ross Minor placed second at Nationals and was not selected to be on the Olympic team. Although Jason Brown finished in sixth place, he was chosen to be the first alternate while Minor was demoted to second. At first glance this type of selection process doesn’t make a lick of sense, as it leaves many people scratching their heads, thinking how did they (U.S. Figure Skating) decide that?
Unfortunately, Ross Minor is not the only U.S. Figure Skater to endure such disappointment at Nationals. Mirai Nagasu also experienced something similar back in 2014 when she skated a flawless program and placed third at Nationals. Despite a fourth-place finish, Ashley Wagner was selected while Nagasu was left off the Olympic Team.
I do think it’s important to note that according to U.S. Figure Skating they typically look at a figure skater’s performance over the course of the entire year. They also consider how consistent the skater was the year prior to the Olympic season. It’s fair to say that they are not just evaluating the skater’s ability to leave it all on the ice at the National competition.
Having considered all these factors, I still can’t say that U.S. Figure Skating is wrong in the way that they select skaters for the Olympic games. I’m sure that their decisions are not made lightly and that they use careful analysis in determining who get’s a shot at the gold medal. However, I do think it’s important that we discuss these concerns so that we can possibly help bring about a selection process that truly does seem fair and impartial to our hard-working athletes.
Most importantly, I hope that great skaters like Ross Minor are not discouraged by these recent events. Like many figure skaters before him, I believe his journey is just beginning and we wish him the absolute best going forward.
Lastly, we want to wish Bradi Tennell, Mirai Nagasu, and Karen Chen the very best going into these 2018 winter Olympics. We also send a huge shout out to the Men, Nathan Chen, Vincent Zhou, Adam Rippon, and and all our pairs skaters. You all truly have a special gift and we know that you will all skate great in PyeongChang.
Sincerely,
Terri
]]>Welcome to that beloved time of the year when we celebrate the Holidays with joy and cheer. Something I always look forward to are those familiar images, smells and decorations that remind me we are in the Holiday Season.
For example, if you show me a delicious cup of hot coco, topped with a beautiful swirl of whipped cream and garnished with red and green sprinkles, I’m going to envision the Holidays! That’s exactly what those images are designed to do.
Ironically, what I find most fascinating is that during the Holiday season you will inevitably find decorations, ads, and pics of ice skating Santa Clauses, Elfs and anything else depicting people or characters engaging in some form of ice skating.
Well, my friends there’s nothing wrong with those images or the purpose behind them however, this is one of the main reasons why a brand like Pinkskate is so important. We are striving to break free from the notion that figure skating is synonymous with winter or the holiday season.
Figure skating is an incredibly hard sport that takes years to master. Skaters work year-round to accomplish all the jumps, spins and footwork you see performed by awesome athletes. Many of them start figure skating as early as three years old.
The Pinkskate brand was built for amazing athletes just like you and we want to give your sport the representation it deserves. Represent your sport in style with original graphics on quality made t-shirts, leggings, hats and so much more. We encourage you to keep working hard and never give up on your dreams.
Happy Holidays from Pinkskate
]]>The rink also becomes a skater’s home when they take their first glide on to the ice in a brand-new pair of hockey skates. After tons of hockey lessons and lots of coaching, they may eventually join their house league or their local high school hockey team because they’ve worked super hard to make the cut.
While growing up in their perspective home rinks, many kids participate in spectacular events. These include productions such as the annual Ice Show, hockey tournaments, figure skating test sessions for Moves In The Field and figure skating competitions. Moves In The Field and figure skating competitions will test the skaters ability and proper execution of good form and technique so the skater can advance to the next level. By this time the skater has made a huge investment in their sport through classes, coaching and private lessons. Most importantly, so many memories have been created in the place they refer to as their “Home Rink”.
The point of explaining all of this is to simply acknowledge the mental and emotional investment that skaters, coaches and their families make in the place they call their Home Rink. The question I want to ask you is what do you do when your home ice rink closes? How do you handle finding a new ice arena and what is that adjustment like for you? These are concerns that my family and I had to address when our home rink closed recently. It affected so many people including an entire community of Figure Skaters, Hockey Leagues, Figure Skating Clubs and so much more.
Although this is not a joyous topic it is a very real circumstance for many. The purpose of this post is to give you a safe and healthy outlet to express what you may have endured if you’ve also experienced the heartache of having your rink close. Most importantly, I want to encourage you to keep going and keep building your skater up. I also want to remind you that sometimes big hardships can be little blessings in disguise. The things that don’t break us will definitely make us stronger.
I encourage you to leave a comment or share this post with a friend. Until next time, keep skating and stay strong.
Terri
]]>We hope everyone has been having a great Summer thus far and don’t worry because you still have a few more weeks of Summer left, before you go BACK TO SCHOOL….
Although, it feels like this Summer has flown by, that’s okay because we have some fun and exciting new things happening for the Pinkskate brand. If you haven’t already, check out our NEW WEBSITE at https://pinkskate.com/ where you’ll find an improved look and feel to our online store for a better shopping experience.
The migration of switching from one shopping platform to another can be “Brutal” but we survived it! We sincerely apologize for any hiccups that you may have had during your shopping experience while we made our online transition.
We are continuously adding new styles of figure skating t-shirts for guys and gals so take a look, shop around and be sure to sign up for our News Letter. When you do, you’ll automatically receive a nice coupon for 10% off your next purchase and go back to school in style! = )
Most importantly, we want to give a HUGE shout out to our new friends from the upcoming production, Ice The Movie. Check out their trailer at https://youtu.be/rC5WFDQuwsQ and keep an eye out for some fun and exciting collaboration activities coming soon!
]]>
We hope everyone is doing well and ready to get their Summer kicked off right. While your working on that, we’re excited to be working on growing the Pinkskate brand especially when it comes to you guys and how your able to represent your sport off the ice through fashion.
While we’ve been working hard to build the brand, we’ve received a lot of advice from some experts in the marketing world, to really keep our focus on the girl’s side of fashion. Although I believe that is good advice it still doesn’t sit well with me to do nothing for male figure skaters because I'm like "What about the guys"? Pinkskate may not be the brand that pleases all people but our goal is to be the number one fashion brand for ALL figure skaters. It will take hard work to reach that goal but we are up for the challenge and willing to work hard.
In an attempt to raise the bar for guys off-ice fashion, we’ve added some fun new styles like Skate Like A Boss, featuring a male figure skater in a sit spin. We’ve also added some trendy new sublimation tees that look awesome on guys. Get On My Level #Sk8r is a great sublimation design featured on a soft crewneck style tee.
Lastly, we’ve created and improved our choice of snapback baseball caps. Featuring excellent 3D embroidery, you’ll find a great selection among the many choices we have available. Two of the favorites among the fellows is #SK8RLIFE and Pinksk8 also known as the Sk8r Cap. Check them out and stay tuned as we work hard to make all things New in 2017.
]]>
The Pinkskate brand wanted to make sure that our market and our customers are well represented when it comes to leggings as they relate to off-ice figure skating fashion. We are excited to introduce our new line of quality made leggings that currently come in five unique styles. Pinkskate’s Galaxy leggings feature our brand name down the right leg and an awesome snowflake that actually hugs the left thigh. The new Cloud Nine leggings feature a cool cloud print via a sublimation design with our brand name down the right leg and tagged with a snowflake on the front, let hip.
We continue to raise the bar with our hot new Yoga style leggings, featuring a soft raised waistband and a cool black and white marble print with our brand name down the left hip. Lastly, our fun Invert Leggings that feature awesome graphics in trendy color combinations. The cool design concept with these leggings is that one pair is simply an inverted color combination of another pair. For example, the heather grey and teal color combination is the inverted color combo of our heather pink and grey pair. The possibilities are endless and we’re just getting started.
Our leggings are made of a material that has a four-way stretch, which means the fabric stretches and recovers on the cross and lengthwise grains. The cooler side of fashion is just a click away at Pinkskate.com where you can find the right apparel to represent the sport you love the most both on and off the ice. Wear our leggings any time, anywhere for any purpose and enjoy the quality, style and comfort. Best of all, our leggings are printed, hand cut and sewn right here in the USA.
]]>We were very specific in why we chose these particular graphics to be featured on our hats. For example, we know how hard you work on and off the ice so at the end of the day you might as well SK8 LIKE A BOSS. Featured on four different color combinations for unlimited possibilities.
Our PINKSK8 hat is a clean, simple design inspired by the popular Hipster Style movement. The colors in this design are minimal and feature basic black and white for high fashion on a budget. It’s the ultimate unisex hat and perfect for the guy or girl skater in your life.
Our new #SK8RLIFE hat is probably one of our most favorite designs because the hat really says it all. This hat represents everything about figure skating like competing at Regionals with crazy injuries like a torn achilles. Let’s not forget the brutal task of working through the adjustment of new boots and blades! Yikes! Or should we say Ouch! Either way it hurts and the bottom line is that we know, you know all about that SK8R life.
We think you’ll enjoy all of our new snapback hats and we hope you love them all. Keep an eye out for so much more to come. Just know that we love this sport and we love all of you.
Terri
]]>