club news
NORTH COAST CLUB CONTINUES TO GROW
North Coast continues to add several new members to its family of skaters. We would like to welcome our newest members to the club for the 2010 winter season. North Coast Speedskating Club welcomes Maggie, Ann, Max, Patrick & Bob. We wish them all a successful first season with us & a fun-filled speedskating experience. All of our North Coast skaters are awesome and we are thrilled to have such a terrific group of clubbies. We would also like to welcome YOU to our fabulous family! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR??? Resolve to have fun, get in shape, learn a new skill, challenge yourself & meet some really great people this year! Short track speedskating is a wonderful sport for individuals or families, and we offer a terrific family discount for families with 2 or more skaters on our ice sessions. Skaters can join us at any point during the year and receive coaching, instruction, and encouragement at all of our sessions. Check out our contacts page now and give us a call to join! See you on the ice!
NORTH COAST SKATERS WIN AT 2010 OHIO STATE MEET
Club skaters Keali & Collier put the skills they worked on all season to work for them at the 2010 Ohio State Short Track Championship meet which was held at Cleveland Heights on Sat., February 20. Their hard work & racing savvy paid off with awards & personal best times for our skaters. Congratulations to Collier, who placed 1st in the Juvenile Boys C division. Way to finish off the season, Collier! Congratulations also to Keali, who skated the very tough Pony Boys A division and took home a 4th place. Fabulous job Keali - we know great things are in store for you next season! We are so proud of our state meet skaters! Complete results & times for this meet, as well as past meets & state records can be found on the Ohio Speedskating website at www.ohiospeedskating.com.
PLEASE... SKATE THE MEETS!!!!!
We highly encourage our club skaters to skate any meets they are able during the season, especially the local meets. Skating meets provides skaters the opportunity to develop racing skills and to use & improve the skills we work on at club practices. Skating meets on a regular basis throughout the season is critical for skaters who want to advance beyond a novice level in the sport. Skating the meets also helps skaters to develop confidence, speed, & perseverance and gives them the opportunity to meet new friends & learn by watching more advanced skaters race. Skating the meets helps to develop a sense of pride as an individual skater & as a club member. More club members skating a meet helps to develop a sense of team and support for all our club skaters. It is always nice to have a bigger cheering section when you are racing and to have a little more support when you need it.
Perhaps, more importantly, skating a meet early in the season affords you the chance to establish baseline times for each racing distance so that coaches can help you to develop a "training plan" & goals. Coaches can then work with you specifically to meet your goals for the upcoming season. This is very important to do at the beginning of the season if you expect a successful season.
Skating the state meet at the end of the season allows the skater to realize the full extent of their hard work & dedication throughout the season & is the "payoff" for all their time & effort. The "special events" page of this website lists the upcoming meets for each new season as the information becomes available along with links to more information, entry forms, etc. for these meets. Please make it a priority to check this page on a regular basis and mark your calendars so that you are ready to skate the meets. We can only improve the success of our club members by improving the rate of participation by our club skaters at meets. Our club's coaches work very hard on an all volunteer basis to insure that all our club skaters become the best skaters they can be with respect to individual abilities, goals, and skating levels. Please reward your coaches by showing them that you appreciate their time & efforts - SKATE THE MEETS!!!!!!!!!
NORTH COAST SKATERS TAKE ON PITTSBURGH
North Coast skaters headed for Pittsburgh right after Christmas for the Pittsburgh Holiday Open on Sunday, December 27, 2009. Bringing home more than a little holiday cheer in the form of well deserved trophies, 2 of our skaters put their skills & speed to the test, skating against some very tough competitors. Collier, skating his first ever meet, showed us what a gamer he really is & stepped up to an incredible challenge at every start, persevering and giving it his all. His efforts earned Collier a spectacular 2nd place in the Juvenile B boys division. Way to go, Collier!! You are awesome & we are really proud of you! Coach Paul skated well earning a 1st place in the Master 40-49 Men's division. Unfortunately, many of our club skaters were not able to participate in this meet due to holiday plans, but we hope that many of you will skate this well run & fun meet in 2010. Congratulations to our 2 award winning skaters!
NORTH COAST SKATERS SHINE AT OHIO INVITATIONAL MEET
North Coast Club was well represented this year at the Ohio Invitational Meet held at Cleveland Heights Nov. 7& 8, 2009. For most of our skaters, this was the first meet of the season & we are proud of everyone who competed. Overall, our skaters fared very well against some tough competitors from several states. The results are as follows: Danielle earned a terrific 4th place in the pony B girls division, and looked senstional doing it, I might add, in her colorful new skin! Congratulations, Danielle- great job! George skated away with a 4th place finish in the midget B boys division. Way to go, George! Hannah, skating her first meet in at least 2 seasons, skated exceptionally well, taking home an overall 5th place in the midget B girls division. Keep up the good work, Hannah! Coach Paul earned on overall 6th place in a very tough Open A men's division. Is our coach awesome, or what???! Kim finished 3rd in the Open B women's division. And finally, Matt finished overall 5th in the Open B men's division - great job, Matt - you are soooo improved! Thanks so much also to Sarah & her family, Phil & Kim, and Collier & his family & friends who showed up to support their fellow clubbies. Again, we congratulate all our skaters for their achievements & wish them all continued success through the remainder of the season. North Coasties - you all rock!!!!
OHIO SKATERS SKATE OLYMPIC TRIALS
North Coast Club would like to take this opportunity to recognize all our Ohio skaters who qualified to skate the Olympic trials in Marquette MI from Sept. 8 through Sept. 12. The following skaters have trained incredibly hard and inspired us all in reaching the most elite levels in short track: Nick Frank, Buddy Gurr, Tina Koenig, Sonia Milan, Kristen Biondo & Erin Bartlett. These athletes have made many personal sacrifices to reach this point and we are very proud of them & their dedication & accomplishments. Special congratulations go to Sonia Milan, Kristen Biondo & Erin Bartlett, who made it to the top 16 women which afforded them the opportunity to skate for a spot on the short track USA Olympic team. Among the top 16 women, Sonia finished 11th, Kristen finished 12th, and Erin finished 14th. Way to go girls! Again, North Coast club is proud of you & wishes you continued success this season.
2009 WINTER ICE SEASON BEGINS JANUARY 3, 2010!
Hopefully everyone has enjoyed the Fall session & is ready to prepare for a few more meets, trophies, medals & personal best times that await us in the upcoming winter season. We will be skating Sunday evenings again for the Winter season. The remainder of the 2010 practice schedule is now posted on the practice page. For those of you who were unable to join us for the Fall sessions, we are looking forward to seeing you again & working with you to prepare for the State Meet at Cleveland Heights in February. There is much work to do if you want to be ready & in your best competitive shape for the Ohio State Meet! Our goal is to have all of our club members ready to skate the State Meet & to have fun & build confidence in the process. This being an Olympic year, much attention will be drawn to our sport, and as a result, we hope to share the fun & excitement of short track speedskating with many new skaters this year. We look forward to seeing all of our veteran skaters back on the ice in January and would love to welcome a some new faces to our ranks in the second half of the season. Tell your friends about us - better yet, encourage your friends to give it a try. See you on the ice!
IS YOUR USSPEEDSKATING MEMBERSHIP UP TO DATE?
North Coasties - Don't forget to check your USSpeedskating membership before fall ice begins. If your membership is expired, you must renew it on the USSpeedskating website at www.usspeedskating.org before you can skate winter ice. Membership must be current at all times. For everyone's safety & enjoyment, we cannot make any exceptions on this one. If your card has expired, please bring a copy of your renewal to the first summer ice session you skate. All visiting skaters from other clubs must bring a copy of their USSpeedskating membership to skate our practices. Thanks for your understanding & cooperation.
WALK-ONS WELCOME AT NORTH COAST
North Coast Speedskating Club welcomes walk-ins from all other speedskating clubs. The only requirement we have is that all skaters are currently registered with USSpeedskating. If you are a member of another club, please bring a copy of your current USSpeedskating membership card to the first practice you attend and be sure to sign a contact sheet & waiver form before you get on the ice. Skaters under the age of 18 must have a parent sign a waiver for them before they are permitted on the ice. All safety gear must be worn - NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE !!! (a complete list of safety gear is available on the skater info. page. We appreciate your cooperation with these requirements, as it allows us to provide the safest & most enjoyable experience for all our skaters.
*Please note - the ice fee for walk-on skaters from other clubs is now $25.00 per skater per session (there is a family discount which applies to families with more than one skater on the ice of $37.50 total cost per session for the family- all skaters must be USSpeedskating registered, please!) payable by cash or check made out to North Coast Speedskating Club.