Violet Eagan, guest instructor Val Levine and a Brooklyn Ice student enjoy a skate at the end-of-the-year party. Photo courtesy of brooklynice.org

(12/1/08) - Autumn signals the arrival of “back to school,” bright changing leaves and crisp temperatures. It also means the start of figure skating programs in clubs across the country.

At Brooklyn Ice in Brooklyn, N.Y., approximately 40 skaters await the start of this special program that takes place at the Kate Wollman Rink in Prospect Park. The Brooklyn Ice mission is simple: provide a free after-school program that makes figure skating more accessible and affordable to children living near Prospect Park. Through a club format and an annual show, the program is able to foster commitment to the sport and team cooperation.

"We are all about the love of the sport, fitness and education," said Violet Eagan, the club's executive director and founder. "Skating becomes a door to other things: music, dance and a healthy lifestyle. Large portions of our children come from single-parent households. Competitions are not on our radar."

The program, just four years old, features an annual Christmas party for the skaters and a yearly ice show.

"Our volunteers have been great," Eagan said. "The Ice Theatre of New York has performed at our events, and Oksana Baiul came to our Christmas party to skate with the kids."

Eagan's staff is made up teachers, dancers, Pilates instructors and graduate students, all of whom double as recreational skaters.

"With limited funds, this staff has gone above and beyond,” Eagan said. "They just love giving back.”

Brooklyn Ice parents and skaters have expressed their gratitude that such a program exists.

"As a single mom with two little energetic daughters and a very lean paycheck, the prospect of an after-school activity was always non-existent," said Nancy Labrada, whose daughters, Gabriela and Isabela, skate three hours a week.

Participating in the annual show boosts skaters' confidence gives them a chance to show off new skills.

"Where else could my two girls get exercise, learn teamwork and be creative without costing an arm and a leg? They give this unlikely family three hours of wonder every week and teach them much more than Lutzes and swizzles," Labrada said.

Levine has fun with some Brooklyn Ice students. Photo courtesy of brooklynice.org

Eagan is herself a U.S. Figure Skating gold medalist and former student of Gustave Lussi. She taught skating for more than 30 years, and is a certified Pilates instructor and Gyrotonic (an exercise system that employs swimming, yoga, gymnastics and tai chi movements) Level 1 teacher. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University.

Eagan had taught in programs similar to Brooklyn Ice for many years before, as she says, "A friend of mine wrote our first check, and we were in business."

The impetus behind the creation of Brooklyn Ice, according to Eagan, is to create a more well-rounded child who can succeed in other aspects of life.

"I saw a positive reason for a recreational skating program that stressed skating as a means to ends other than ‘competitive skater'," Eagan said. "We all know it takes a lot of discipline to fit in skating, homework and everything else that makes up a young person's life. All our skaters are expected to keep their grades up and make a commitment to the program."

Brooklyn Ice parents have seen great changes in their skaters.

"They've given Isabela a reason to do better in school and Gabriela a way to release her stress and feel grateful," Labrada said.

Skaters participate in two group lessons per week, from November through March, at the Wollman Rink. They can also participate in a bi-weekly book club in which students, in small groups, read and discuss great works of children's literature. This fall, there are plans for dance and creative writing classes as well.

"We skate outside, so we have a short season," Eagan said. "We'll hang in there, awaiting the opening of the new Lakeside Center in Prospect Park, scheduled to open in a few years. This, with the support of the Prospect Park Alliance, will become our new home."

In the meantime, volunteers are always welcome, and those interested may contact Eagan at www.brooklynice.org or e-mail Eagan at violet@brooklynice.org.

"Our grant money is limited this year, so financial donations are always welcome," Eagan said.

For Eagan, her involvement with Brooklyn Ice comes from her love of the sport.

"I saw that (skating) was becoming accessible only to a more and more elite group," Eagan said. "I wanted to offer skating to a population that would never have the opportunity to experience the beauty and discipline of a sport like this."

Thanks to Eagan's tireless efforts and the generosity of her staff, there is a new group of Brooklyn Ice skaters anxious to get to the rink, lace on skates, soar over the ice and, for a short while, leave all their cares behind.

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