December, 2023 -
Hello, we’ve been busy!
2024 National Showcase
The Peninsula Skating Club has been awarded the 2024 National Showcase! It’s scheduled from August 5-10 and is a prestigious, fun event with skaters from all over the country attending. Planning started months ago. We’ve met with rink management, the USFS program manager, and the San Jose Sports Authority. There are many moving parts and all of the work is done by volunteers. If you are interested in getting involved, please respond to this email. To find out more about theatrical showcase skating, click here:
2024 Spring Jubilee and SVO
Because National Showcase is scheduled during the usual SVO window, we will not be hosting SVO. We have opted to add the solo dance series to Spring Jubilee scheduled for May 11-12, 2024. We will not be hosting NQS dance in 2024.
2024 Winter Skate and High School Challenge
We are adding high school maneuvers to the adult Winter Skate Critique event scheduled for February 4, 2024. More information will follow.
High School Team
This program starts in September and if you are interested in participating, please contact Liz McGlauflin at: secretary@peninsulaskatingclub.org. This year, parents and skaters are taking on leadership roles. Click here for more information: https://www.peninsulaskatingclub.org/high- school-team
The Cyber Challenge is returning and is a virtual, competitive option for our high school teams. This is the perfect opportunity for skaters to participate in a nationwide competition without the need to travel. It can also serve as the perfect supplemental activity for skaters who are participating in other facets of skating, like our Sectional HS Final, synchronized skating, and Excel Series to name a few. You can access the announcement on Members Only under Skating Opportunities > High School > Cyber Challenge. The dates are as follows:
Sectional and Nationals Qualifiers
This season, 31 skaters entered the Natio0nal Qualifying Series. Congratulations to all our skaters and especially those who qualified for Sectionals and Nationals!
Strategic Planning Program
On October 28-29, 2023, the Peninsula Skating Club hosted a strategic planning workshop to determine its mission, vision, and core values to formulate a plan for the future of the club. Our purpose was to find the most impactful ways to set ourselves up for success, specifically in the next three to five years by asking: How do we advance our vision, mission, and values, and best deliver on our promise? What does our roadmap look like? Does it demonstrate our vision for the future, and lay a clear path showing how to get us from where we are now to where we want to go?
In attendance were:
• Patrick O’Neil, Facilitator
• Linda Price, President
• Rick Perez, Vice-President
• Linda Ogawa, Treasurer
• Elizabeth McGlauflin, Secretary
• Kanae Tagawa, Board Member
• Denise Leto, Chief Referee
• Patt Lucas, Test Chair
• Joyce Burden, Former Board Officer and Member
• Kristina Van Kregten, Long Time PSC Member and Coach
• Nicholas Roby, Long Time PSC Member and Coach
We analyzed internal and external factors and identified out Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT).
Strengths:
We are fortunate to have engaged board members, a large membership, a good relationship with the USFS National Governing Body (NGB) and an outstanding facility.
Weaknesses:
We have more work than our seven board members can handle. We have a tenuous relationship with rink management and high ice costs (second highest in the country), low volunteer involvement, and a small pool of officials in the area.
We have a large membership but it’s difficult for the board to get to know you/them.
The membership survey was reviewed and your priorities were discussed. In general, most members were satisfied but we seek to improve.
We have two problems developing the new programs we so much want to start: theater on ice, synchronized skating, Introduction to Performance classes for new members, exhibitions, clinics, etc.
1.) Because the rink has existing programs, our ideas are seen as potentially taking away from them even though they are very different.
2.) Even with six rinks, ice time is difficult to come by, especially during peak times. Hockey and existing programs are a priority.
After lengthy discussions and many words on sticky notes pasted around the room, we developed our new mission and vision statements and values. Note that “joy” is in all three:
MISSION STATEMENT – our purpose
To cultivate and champion the sport of figure skating, providing opportunities in a welcoming, joyful, and safe environment.
VISION STATEMENT – our direction
To inspire and cultivate a lifetime of joy and passion for skating.
VALUES – guiding principles
• Sportsmanship - Demonstrating respect and integrity
• Resilience - Empowering self-reliance and perseverance through adversity and success
• Community - Building camaraderie among members, stakeholders, and the broader community
• Inclusivity - Encouraging diversity and engagement with openness
• Joy - Embracing the fun and love of skating
We were tasked to identify two focus areas that are true to our vision and mission statements and start to address the membership requests. They had to be measurable and able to be accomplished within the current season. On our list are more exhibitions, skating clinics with specialists, and off ice training opportunities. The two we chose to start are:
1.) Growing our adult base: we have a critical need to grow our volunteer, officials, and board member base. We have already reached out to the adult Learn to Skate students and are offering a fun Grand Prix Watch Party complete with live judge’s commentary to explain the scoring. Club opportunities are being shared and an effort to grow that community has started. We hope to develop an Introduction to Performance class for adults that will then be configured for our younger introductory skaters.
2.) Coaches support and development: to develop our skaters, our coaches need support and advice. A series of virtual critique sessions will start in February where coaches may submit questions and videos to receive advice from national and international judges and technical specialists. More information will follow.
If you are interested in being part of Peninsula leadership, please email me at president@peninsulaskatingclub.org. We appreciate your support!
Linda Price
President
Peninsula Skating Club