BOSTON, Feb. 8, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Skating Club of Boston (SCOB), the third-oldest figure skating club in the nation and home to top local and national figure skaters, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary with a Skaters' Ball at the Fairmount Copley Plaza on Saturday, February 18. The evening will benefit SCOB's Youth in Sport Fund, an initiative that supports local youth in learning, appreciating and excelling in the sport of figure skating and sponsors the "Skating in the Schools" program at the iconic Boston Common Frog Pond.
SCOB was named Frog Pond manager and operator in 2010, helping the club further expand its programs and services to the Boston community and those interested in learning to skate. Skating in the Schools, which provides free skating lessons and transportation to the Frog Pond for local students, is in its pilot year with participants from Roslindale's Washington-Irving Middle School and Dorchester's Mather Elementary.
During the Skaters' Ball, SCOB will share more details about the development of its new world-class facility at 176 Lincoln Street in Allston, a short distance from its current home on Soldiers Field Road. The new facility is aimed at accommodating the growth that SCOB has experienced in recent years across all of its programs, including Theater on Ice, synchronized skating, learn-to-skate and competitive skating. Designed by Architectural Resources Cambridge, it will boast three rinks including a performing surface in a 2,000 seat arena, a "hockey-friendly" rink, and one rink specifically for figure skating.
"We're building for the future," says Joe Blount, SCOB president of the project. "It's an exciting endeavor and fits with our vision of becoming one of the world's leading ice skating facilities and training centers. Most importantly, we're staying in the community where we've been for over 70 years."
The club has a history of illustrious alumni, including World and Olympic Champions Dick Button and Tenley Albright, and many of them, including Button and Albright, will attend the ball along with current club members, athletes and coaches. Joining them will be other Olympians, including Dorothy Hamill, Brian Boitano, Peter Carruthers, Randy Gardner, and club member and 1994 Olympic silver medalist, Paul Wylie, who will emcee the event. In addition, current stars such as Watertown resident and 2011 and 2012 U.S. bronze medalist, Ross Miner, and Brookline's Jin Baseman, who was recently featured on ESPN.com, will also be at the event.
"The Skating Club of Boston certainly has a lot to celebrate," said Skaters' Ball co-chair and 1972 Olympic team member Suna Murray of the 100th anniversary. "We look forward to connecting with old and new friends and reminiscing about this great sport of ours. I have a feeling the next 100 years will live up to the excitement."
This year is also the 100th birthday of SCOB's signature Ice Chips program, an annual skating festival and the longest-running ice show in the world. This year's show will celebrate SCOB's centennial and will star reigning Olympic Champion Evan Lysacek, as well as top SCOB skaters such as Miner and senior pairs stars Gretchen Donlan and Andrew Speroff from Boston and Hingham. The show will benefit the Division of Sports Medicine at Children's Hospital Boston and the Girl Scouts of Eastern Massachusetts.
For more information about SCOB, visit http://www.scboston.org/. For more details about the 100th Anniversary Skater's Ball, visit its dedicated website: http://100.scboston.org/
About The Skating Club of Boston
The Skating Club of Boston is a community of families, athletes and professionals united by their love of skating and a commitment to excellence in all facets of the sport. The club has more than 600 active memberships and a diverse offering of programs, including an all-new high-performance training program, several synchronized skating teams, a growing theatre on ice program and a junior activities leadership group for teens. The club's Skating Academy operates learn-to-skate classes in five locations, and its annual carnival Ice Chips is the longest running ice show in America. Club skaters regularly top the podium at local and national competitions, including current U.S. Bronze Medalist Ross Miner.
The Skating Club of Boston is also active outside of its Brighton facility, with satellite programs in Marlborough, Foxboro and Newton. In addition, the club also manages the Boston Common Frog Pond in a year-round public/private partnership with the Boston Parks Department. Perhaps most significant, the club is actively pursuing plans to build a new state-of-the-art, three-rink facility a short distance from its current home on Soldiers Field Road.
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