Above: Janice and Terry Collins have many special skating moments preserved in their home.
By Troy Schwindt
Janice Collins remembers vividly her childhood days, skating on Bass Lake and ponds near her home in Knox, Indiana.
“My mom lived around here when she was young and she always skated,” Collins said. “So she put me on the ice and I ice skated my whole life, recreationally. My parents loved to watch figure skating, whatever was on at that time. Then we went to Ice Capades, so I’ve always loved skating.”
Janice went on to marry local Terry Collins, and the two spent more than three decades as educators, and he as a coach as well.
When they retired more than 20 years ago, Janice — 55 at the time — reignited her passion for the sport by taking lessons and skating with her grandchildren at rinks on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. Terry, meanwhile, skated on his own.
A “huge” Michelle Kwan fan, Janice attended the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the hopes of watching her idol win an Olympic gold medal. When that didn’t happen, she and Terry traveled to Washington, D.C., the following year where Kwan captured her fifth and final World crown.
Before attending the World Championships, Terry was reluctant about going but went anyway.
“Terry loved it,” Janice said. “He said he loved watching me be excited, and when you are there Iive it’s different. That’s when we started going to the U.S. Championships, with our first time being 2006 in St. Louis.”
That was the defining time for the Collinses, as that event began their personal crusade to financially help the country’s top figure skaters realize their dreams.
“We started going to the [Friends of Figure Skating] breakfasts and meeting the skaters,” Janice said. “Seeing it, it’s just a classy, dignified sport. … The way the skaters handle themselves off the ice. They are so giving, wonderful and respectful. Just everything about it; it warms your heart.”
The couple has spent the past two decades attending most of U.S. Figure Skating’s marquee events, and the World Championships when it is in the United States. They have contributed generously to U.S. Figure Skating’s Annual Fund, as well as to individual figure skaters who they’ve been able to meet and cultivate relationships.
Two of those U.S. National Team members, pairs skaters Emily Chan and Spencer Howe, have become “like family” with the Collinses.
“After meeting them at U.S. Championships almost 10 years ago, their warm friendship and support throughout the years have made my figure skating journey so meaningful and I, like many other athletes, am grateful to be able to share it with them along the way,” Chan said.
Two-time Olympian Jason Brown is another U.S. National Team athlete who has forged a lasting friendship with the couple.
“Their generosity over the years has impacted me and numerous skaters on the National Team immeasurably, enabling us to strive to achieve our dreams in our sport. Their kindness is so deeply felt through each and every interaction; I couldn’t be more appreciative for everything they do,” Brown said.
The couple have met countless skaters over the years at both the FOFS breakfasts and last summer at Champs Camp. Some of those skaters have included Olympians Mirai Nagasu, Mariah Bell, and Charlie White and Meryl Davis.
“What’s so wonderful is that I never expect any of them to remember us, but every year you see them, it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, glad you are back!’” Janice said.
They’ve also struck up friendships with other fans all over the country.
“It’s like a reunion when we go back to the competitions,” Janice said. “We text each other; we’ve made so many skating relationship friends.”
Janice’s most memorable athlete encounter, however, came in 2012 when Kwan was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in San Jose, California. She and Terry attended the reception and waited patiently to get Kwan’s autograph when it was over.
“She [Kwan] stood there for hours until every last person got her autograph,” Janice said. “I had made a banner with my grandson who was 4 at the time; it was a felt banner and I had taken it with me every year hoping to get her autograph. Well, it was 10 years later when I finally got it. So I told her that and she said, ‘10 years, you poor thing!’”
Janice and Terry admit they wish they could do more for the athletes but hope that what they are able to do helps “just a little bit.”
“Terry and I have said, if we played/won the lottery we would give so much more,” she said. “It’s such an expensive sport and most of these kids are not going to get endorsements and become wealthy. And the parents sacrifice so much for their kids to follow their dream. I don’t think I could be a parent of a figure skater. I would be so nervous for them. I cry when they do well and I cry when they don’t do well. I’m emotional the whole time.”
Janice and Terry plan to continue going to events and supporting the skaters, they said.
“It’s been wonderful, and we are going to go as long as we can,” Janice said.
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