The Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis is a not-for-profit
figure skating club based in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Formed as the Twin City Figure Skating Club in 1921, and one of the six still-extant founding members of
U.S. Figure Skating, the governing body for the sport in the United States, the club was reorganized and incorporated as the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis in 1929. The club is based at the Augsburg Ice Arena on the campus of
Augsburg University
Augsburg University is a private university in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. It was founded in 1869 as a Norwegian-American Lutheran seminary known as Augsburg Seminarium. Today, the u ...
in Minneapolis.
Club activities
An annual competition, the Robin Lee Midwest Open, is held each summer. Named for five-time national men's champion and club member
Robin Lee
Robin Huntington Lee (December 2, 1919 in Saint Paul, Minnesota – October 8, 1997 in Minneapolis) was an American figure skater. He was the 1935-1939 U.S. national champion. At age 12, he became the youngest skater to win the junior nationa ...
, the three-day competition draws hundreds of skaters from across the upper midwest. Each spring the club produces an ice show with skaters from both the club and its Learn to Skate program. In collaboration with the Braemar Figure Skating Club, the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis fields Braemar Panache, which is a
synchronized skating
Synchronized skating is an ice skating sport where between 8 to 16 skaters perform together as a team. They move as a flowing unit at high speed over the ice, while performing elements and footwork.
This complex sport originated in 1956 and was ...
organization with several teams. The Club runs a Learn to Skate program year-round, as well as a summer camp for beginning figure skaters, and provides clinics, development programs, and power courses for club members.
Notable Members
In its nearly 100 years, the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis has produced several national and international competitors. Some of these skaters are:
*
Chris Christenson, 1926 National Men's Champion and first president of the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis
*
Robin Lee
Robin Huntington Lee (December 2, 1919 in Saint Paul, Minnesota – October 8, 1997 in Minneapolis) was an American figure skater. He was the 1935-1939 U.S. national champion. At age 12, he became the youngest skater to win the junior nationa ...
, 1935-1939 National Sr. Men's Champion
*
Mary Louise Premer Mary Louise Lyle Wright, née Premer (born 1923 in Saint Paul, Minnesota; died December 15, 2004) was an American figure skater and official.
Wright was the 1941 North American
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemispher ...
,
Janette Ahrens
Janette Louise Buckbee ( Ahrens, December 10, 1925 – April 24, 2016), also known as Deedee Ahrens, was an American figure skater.
Life and career
Ahrens was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota on December 10, 1925. She attended the University of Mi ...
,
Robert Uppgren
Robert Arnold Uppgren (December 14, 1923 - May 12, 1967) was an American figure skater. He competed in pair skating with partner Janette Ahrens. He also competed in fours with Ahrens, Mary Louise Premer, and Lyman Wakefield, Jr. and won the ...
, and Lyman Wakefield, 1940 National
Fours Champions
* Harriet Sutton Hield and
John Lettengarver, 1947 National Jr. Pairs Champions
*
Janet Gerhauser, Marilyn Thompson, Marlyn Thompson, and
John Nightingale, 1947-1949 National Fours Champions
* Mary Ann Dorsey, 1952 National Novice Ladies Champion and 1956 World Team member
* Kelsy Ufford, 1976 National Novice Ladies Champion and 1978 World Team alternate
* Jana Sjodin, 1983 National Jr. Ladies competitor
References
{{United States figure skating clubs
Figure skating clubs in the United States
Sports in Minneapolis