Above: Ron Hershberger and wife Gayle at the U.S. Championships.
Ron Hershberger, the 29th president of U.S. Figure Skating and fixture on the Board of Directors and Peninsula Skating Club in the Bay Area of California, passed away Sept. 4, 2025. He was 91.
Hershberger and wife, Gayle, became part of the U.S. Figure Skating family in the 1980s when their daughters, Alison and Rhonda, decided to give skating a try. The family eventually joined the Peninsula Skating Club, becoming entrenched in the happenings of the local rink.
His interest and involvement soon spread to the national level, where he served on numerous committees and the Board of Directors.
Hershberger, an attorney, led the charge to bring the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships to Oakland, California, a daunting task that seemed unreachable at the time, Alison said.
"He just plugged away and plugged away and was able to get Worlds here in 1992," Alison said in a 2009 SKATING magazine article. "We were so proud of that accomplishment and had no idea it would turn into so many more years of dedication to the sport.”
The presidency, Hershberger admitted, took up a large part of his and his family's lives in terms of time and commitment, but he wouldn’t change a thing.
"It's been a huge honor, one of the highlights of my life to have served in this capacity at this level,” Hershberger said. “It's been a wonderful experience."
Hershberger took over as president during a tumultuous time at U.S. Figure Skating, in which the association's leadership and headquarters staff became unsettled. He helped to quell the unrest and led the organization to four productive years.
"Ron has done a wonderful job in leading and representing this organization," then U.S. Figure Skating Executive Director David Raith said. "His character and fairness are exemplary and have served this association well.”
In 2010, the Ron and Gayle Hershberger Award was initiated to recognize and reward musicality and artistry in a junior competitor at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
A full obituary will appear in the Fall 2025 insert here at the beginning of October.
