Northfield Skating School

Congratulations to our 12 Northfield Skating School skaters who dazzled the audience with their performances this weekend:

* Emmalyn Fried * Noah Goodwin * Deanna Gonzalez * Vanessa Gonzalez * Amanda Grieger * Annika Hanson * Mila Matney * Shannon O’Meara * Allison Raveling * Sofie Scheuerman * Hanna Singh * Tiana Zick *

We look forward to teaming up with Shattuck St. Mary again for next year’s production

For more photos, see the Photos Page

Experience the thrill of a full-blown skating production: spinning, jumping, lights, curtains, music, and all!

Broadway on Ice, presented by Shattuck St. Mary’s nationally recognized Skating Academy, features 12 of our very own

Northfield Skating School skaters, choreography by Northfield Skating School’s Director, and performances by Shattuck’s spectacular elite skaters, all just a few minutes from Northfield in Faribault, MN.

Don’t miss this weekend’s 2 performances:

Saturday May 24th, 2:00 pm
Sunday May 25th, 12:00 pm

Shattuck St. Mary is located at 1000 Shumway Drive, Faribault, MN (about 15-20 minutes from Northfield). Come support your friends and experience our first ice show collaboration!

Click image to enlarge

In the coming weeks, the Northfield Skating School will bid farewell to three staff members who will graduate from the local colleges and leave Northfield to begin their post-college lives.

Katie Hagen will graduate from St. Olaf College with a dual degree in Dance and Religion. Katie has coached with NSS for the past two seasons and has used her advanced knowledge of skating technique to guide skaters of all levels. Katie is also the captain of her dance team at St. Olaf and plans to pursue dance after graduating.

Sarah Ingebritsen will graduate from Carleton College with a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations. Sarah has coached with NSS since the day it was created in 2005 and has inspired skaters to develop a love for learning skating. Sarah plans to work in the international human rights field.

Emma Meyer will graduate from college with a Biology degree and Biochemistry concentration. Emma joined the NSS staff team in 2007 and has used her conscientious and friendly approach to teach skaters from our very beginner level all the way through adult levels. Emma plans to spend a year working as an Americorps volunteer before pursuing medical school.

We thank these talented young women for their unique contributions to the NSS staff team and their dedication to helping us reach our goal of building skills and confidence for skating and for life. We’ll miss you all! Keep in touch!
Below L to R: Sarah, Katie, and Emma

Carey Tinkelenberg, Director and Founder of Northfield Skating School, and Gene Uenishi, NSS Webmaster and Skating Instructor, gave a presentation this afternoon entitled “Using Modern Technology to Enhance Your Program” at the Skating Director track of the North American Rink Conference and Expo in Chicago, IL. Invited by Susi Wehrli, Senior Director of Membership of US Figure Skating, Carey and Gene presented for the second time this spring on the necessity of having a website, the features of this site, and impact it has had on our program. We left our fellow directors with a step-by-step guide and resources for creating a site of their own, which can be accessed on our Directors’ Resources page.

Here’s a picture we uploaded as a demo during our presentation:

Ballet for Ice Skaters

Thursday evenings, July 17-Aug 14 (no classes week of July 28)

Ages 7-11: 6:30-7:30pm
Ages 12 and up: 7:30-8:30pm

Skaters, Why Should You Dance?

• Improve your strength, flexibility, grace, and style at ANY level
• Enhance your on-ice skills for faster skill-learning and improved technique and form
• Maintain the most important components of your skating skills during the season AND off-season

Why Should You Take This Dance Class?

• It was specifically designed to fit your background and skills
• NSS and NDA have similar goals: building skills, confidence, and life values to benefit you in and out of class
• Take advantage of two great local programs teaming up! Collaboration among programs means communication about your progress that can help us teach you even more effectively

Click Here for more information and registration materials

On April 12th 2008, the Northfield Skating School joined the Northfield Area YMCA and dozens of other community organizations for Healthy Kids Day at the Northfield Middle School. Healthy Kids Day is an annual event with over 1/2 a million partipants nationwide. To quote the Northfield Area YMCA, “It’s a free, fun-filled morning of interactive games, family activity, health give-aways and more…The Y is helping families play more and embrace healthy new life choices. ”

NSS Assistant Directors Liz Bonaiwtz and Kittel Evenson set up a booth of skating information and activities including photos, video demonstrations, handbooks, and a skating trivia challenge for prizes. We hope you were able to attend!

Photo: Assistant Director Liz Bonawitz at the NSS booth

On April 6, 2008, US Figure Skating held the first ever National Director’s Meeting in Scottsdale, AZ. The full-day meeting was open to Skating Directors nationwide and included presentations from arena managers, psychologists, accountants, artistry specialists, US Figure Skating and Professional Skaters Association leaders. Also on the agenda were NSS’s very own Director and Webmaster sharing a presentation entitled, “Using Modern Technology to Enhance Your Program.” Our presentation was intended to show other directors the features of this website and explain how they can create similar sites with limited computer backgrounds. We were pleased with the presentation, and so was Susi Wehrli, Director of Membership at US Figure Skating Headquarters - she invited us to fly to Chicago next month to make the same presentation at the National Association of Rinks Conference and Expo (NARCE)! We look forward to going on the road again in May.

Photos, L to R: Carey with Nancy Schricker, the Director of Basic Skills at thColonial Figure Skating Club where Carey grew up skating; Gene and Carey speak about the website; NSS Directors stand with other presenters (Back, L to R: Jill Hare, Director of Basic Skills Programs at US Figure Skating; Gene Uenishi, NSS Webmaster. Front: L to R: Susi Wehrli, US Figure Skating Membership Director; Paula Wagener, Master Rated choreographer and former Basic Skills Director; Maureen Dalton, US Figure Skating Accountant; Angie Rivielo, Professional Skaters Association Ratings Chair; Liz Bonawitz, NSS Assistant Director; Carey Tinkelenberg, NSS Director; Kittel Evenson, NSS Assistant Director.

All 3 Northfield Skating School competitors skated their way to triumphant second place finishes in their respective divisions at the Farmington Spring Festival this past Saturday 4/5. Anna Sheehan skated with a confident smile and steady determination, Hattie Ryan with her “sassy” choreography and strong landings, and Sofie Jokela with flowing grace and strength.

Congratulations, competitors, for accomplishing your goals and delivering wonderful performances on your first competition day. We are proud of you!

Below, L to R: Anna warms up outside with coach Carey Tinkelenberg; Anna, Sofie, and Hattie show off their strength; Proud coaches Carey and Melanie after Anna’s performance.

On Saturday, April 5th, three Northfield figure skaters will represent NSS in their first skating competition, the Farmington Spring Festival. The competition will take place at the Schmitz-Maki Arena, 114 West Spruce St in Farmington, and will include skaters from clubs all over Minnesota. Fans and spectators are welcome.

The skaters participating are Sofie Jokela, a Junior at NHS skating to a piece by Rodruigo; Hattie Ryan, also a Junior at NHS skating to a Santana medley; and Anna Sheehan, a 7th grader at Northfield Middle School skating to a song by Angels and Airwaves. Sofie and Hattie have been skating since 2006 and Anna has been skating since the Northfield Skating School was established in 2005. All of them also volunteer as Skating Assistants with the Northfield Skating School.

All three competitors began skating in group lessons with the Northfield Skating School. Over the past year they have trained privately by Carey Tinkelenberg, Founder and Head Coach of the Northfield Skating School, to work on polishing performance pieces and preparing mentally for competition. During the off-season when the Northfield Arena closes down, the group has travelled to Farmington, Lakeville, Prior Lake, and Edina to find ice time.
These are the first advanced skaters trained exclusively with the Northfield program, and the passion and dedication they have shown has been extremely impressive (as their coach, I can attest!) It’s a great accomplishment for them to have reached a level where they can perform in front of an audience and have a chance to win medals. Best of luck to Anna, Hattie, and Sofie on Saturday.

Photo L to R: Anna Sheehan, Hattie Ryan, Carey Tinkelenberg, Sofie Jokela