The Mariposa School of Skating, located in

Barrie Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politicall ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, is a major

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

training center in Canada.

History

The school was founded in

Orillia Orillia is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is in Simcoe County between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe. Although it is geographically located within Simcoe County, the city is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Single-tier municipalities, single ...

in 1973 by

Doug Leigh Douglas Leigh is a Canadian figure skating coach. He is the head coach and founder of the Mariposa School of Skating. Among his former students are Brian Orser, Elvis Stojko, Takeshi Honda, Jennifer Robinson, Steven Cousins, Jeffrey Buttle, Be ...

and Tom Harrison. The school moved to Barrie in 1988 after the Orillia city council refused to allow the building of a new rink on land to be donated to the school by

Georgian College Georgian College is a College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ontario, Canada. It has 13,000 full-time students, including 4,500 international students from 85 countries, across seven campuses, the largest being in Barrie. History The coll ...

. The current head coaches at Mariposa are Leigh for singles,

Lee Barkell Lee Barkell originally from Kirkland Lake, Ontario is a Canadian figure skating coach, working with both singles and pairs, and a former competitive pair skater. With Melanie Gaylor, he won gold at the 1986 Fujifilm Trophy, 1986 Nebelhorn Trophy ...

for pairs, and David Islam for ice dancing. David Islam and Paul Matheson will become the co-owners in June 2017. Leigh began a novice skating career, but had to quit at age 16 to finish his schooling. However, he had the opportunity of competing in the Junior Championships of Canada in 1966, finishing in second place. In 1969 he began his coaching career and since embarking on the Mariposa skating school he has coached at 6 Olympic competitions and 26 World Championships. The name "Mariposa", which means "butterfly" in Spanish, refers to author

Stephen Leacock Stephen P. H. Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humorist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humorist in the world. He is known ...

's fictional name for Orillia, the school's original home.

Programs

The Mariposa School of Skating has many different programs and opportunities such as ''The Seminar'', ''Summer School'' (an extension of the seminar), A Cooperative education program for High Performance Athletes, ''Spring school/Fall school'', ''Canskate programs'', and ''Power skating programs''. Skaters from Canada, the United States,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring coun ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

, and Europe have attended the events. The most popular program is th
Summer School program
which is an extension of "the Seminar". It usually begins mid-June, and can last from four days to seven weeks of training. The seminar contains on-ice program training and other components: ''On-ice training'' *Jump techniques *Spin techniques *New judging system component mark development *Performance and theatre (interpretation of music) *Field movements (spirals, spread eagles, arm movements, etc.) *Stroking and edges *Footwork ''Off-ice training'' *Mental training *Dartfish analysis *Jump analysis *Spin analysis *Warm up theory *Parent sessions *Personal development *Athlete management (healthy living, healthy eating, balancing life) ''Off-ice movement sessions'' *Dynamic off-ice warm up *Footwork ladder sessions *Off-ice jump classes *Performance and theatre training *Dance classes (hip hop, ballet, and Jazz)

Coaches

The founders of Mariposa Skating School are Douglas Leigh, Lee Barkell, and David Islam. Many other coaches have participated in the seminars. Of the 35 coaches at Mariposa, the main ones (other than the founders) are Robert Tebby and Michelle Leigh. They have been deemed as primary coaches due to their extensive experience and their attainment of NCCP (National Coaching Certification Program) Level 4. Former or current champions that still train at this association may provide demonstrations of spins, jumps, and other elements.

Charity gala

Since 1989, The Mariposa School of Skating has hosted an annual charity gala, usually held at the Barrie Molson Center in Barrie, Ontario. This event is sponsored by The Rotary Club of Barrie and proceeds go directly to the local charity projects of Royal Victoria Hospital Foundation ''"Rotary House"''. The Rotary House has provided lodging facilities close to cancer treatment which is valuable to both the patient and their families. Since the initiation of this project, over 1 million dollars has been raised to support this foundation. The gala involves producing an

ice show An ice show is an entertainment production which is primarily performed by ice skaters. Such shows may primarily be skating exhibitions, or may be musical and/or dramatic in nature, using skating as a medium in order to accompany a musical wo ...

where former champions voluntarily perform skating programs. Skaters that have performed in the gala include Jeffrey Buttle, Jame Sale & David Pelltier, Marie-France Dubreill & Patrick Lauzon, Jennifer Robinson, Annabelle Langois & Cody Hayes, Lesley Hawker, Melissa Briggs, Christopher Mabee, and Steven Cousins. Mariposa has also organized an annual celebrity golf tournament, in which skaters may participate. All proceeds of the event go towards the Alzheimer Society of Great Simcoe County which supports local Alzheimer patients and caregivers.

Notable students and alumni

Jeffrey Buttle Jeffrey "Jeff" Buttle (born September 1, 1982) is a Canadian figure skater and choreographer. He is the 2006 Winter Olympics bronze medalist, the 2008 World champion, the 2002 and 2004 Four Continents champion and the 2005–2007 Canadian cha ...

Josée Chouinard Josée Chouinard (born August 21, 1969) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. She is the 1996 Champions Series Final bronze medallist and a three-time Canadian national champion (1991, 1993–1994). She finished in the top ten at two Wi ...

Steven Cousins Steven Cousins (born 24 May 1972) is a British former competitive men's singles figure skater. He is the 1993 Skate Canada International bronze medalist and an eight-time British national champion. He finished as high as 6th at the Olympics ( ...

Meagan Duhamel Meagan Duhamel (born December 8, 1985) is a Canadian pair skater. With partner Eric Radford, she is a two-time world champion (2015, 2016), a 2018 Olympic gold medallist in the team event, a 2014 Olympic silver medallist in the team event, a 2 ...

Lenny Faustino Lenny Faustino (born May 29, 1979) is a Canadian former pair skater. With Jacinthe Larivière, 2003 Canadian national champion and represented Canada at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympic Games. They were coached by Lee Barkell in Barrie, Ontario. ...

Ben Ferreira Ben Ferreira (born April 5, 1979) is a Canadian former competitive figure skater. He is the 2004 Skate Canada International silver medallist, the 2004 Bofrost Cup on Ice silver medallist, and a three-time Canadian national medallist. Career Fe ...

Cody Hay Cody Hay (born July 28, 1983) is a Canadian retired pair skater. With Anabelle Langlois, he is the 2008 Canadian national champion. He is now a coach with Langlois. Career Cody Hay teamed up with Annabelle Langlois in 2005. The pair finished ...

Takeshi Honda is a former Japanese competitive figure skater. He is a two-time World bronze medalist (2002, 2003), two-time Four Continents champion (1999, 2003), and six-time Japanese national champion. Personal life Takeshi Honda was born on 23 March ...

Oula Jaaskelainen Oula is a village and the administrative centre (''chef-lieu'') of the commune of Songo-Doubacoré in the Cercle of Koutiala in the Sikasso Region of southern Mali.. The village is 26 km northeast of Koutiala Koutiala ( Bambara: ߞߎߕ� ...

Tuğba Karademir Tuğba Karademir (born on 17 March 1985) is a Turkish former competitive figure skater. She won silver medals at the 2008 International Challenge Cup and 2008 Ondrej Nepela Memorial. She qualified to the free skate at two Winter Olympics ( 2006 ...

Yuna Kim Yuna Kim (; born September 5, 1990), also credited in eastern name order as Kim Yuna or Kim Yeon-a, is a retired South Korean competitive figure skater. She is the 2010 Olympic champion and 2014 Olympic silver medalist in ladies' singles, ...

Anabelle Langlois Anabelle Langlois (born July 21, 1981) is a Canadian pair skater. She is the 2008 Canadian Figure Skating Championships with Cody Hay and the 2002 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships silver medallist with Patrice Archetto. Career Lan ...

Jacinthe Larivière Jacinthe Larivière (born July 25, 1981) is a Canadian former pair skater. With Lenny Faustino, she is the 2001 Nebelhorn Trophy champion and 2003 Canadian national champion. They were coached by Lee Barkell in Barrie Barrie is a city in Sou ...

* Marcus Leminen *

Christopher Mabee Christopher Mabee (born August 26, 1985) is a Canadian retired competitive figure skater. He is the 2007 Canadian national silver medalist. He announced his retirement from competitive skating in December, 2008. Early career Christopher Mabee w ...

Danny Moir Danny Moir ( ; born May 23, 1980) is a Canadian former competitive ice dancer. He competed for most of his career with his cousin Sheri Moir. They are the 2001 Canadian national junior silver medalists and placed 11th at the 2001 World Junior ...

Nobunari Oda is a Japanese competitive figure skater. He is the 2006 Four Continents champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final medalist (silver in 2009 and 2010; bronze in 2006 and 2013), the 2005 World Junior champion and the 2008 Japanese national champi ...

Brian Orser Brian Ernest Orser, (born 18 December 1961) is a Canadian former competitive and professional figure skater and coach to Olympic champions. He is the 1984 and 1988 Olympic silver medallist, 1987 World champion and eight-time (1981–88) C ...

* Jennifer Robinson *

Elvis Stojko Elvis Stojko, (born March 22, 1972) is a Canadian figure skater. He was a three-time World champion (1994, 1995, 1997), two-time Olympic silver medallist (1994, 1998), and seven-time Canadian champion (1994, 1996–2000, and 2002). Personal ...

* Tracey Wainman *

Robert Paxton Robert Owen Paxton (born June 15, 1932) is an American political scientist and historian specializing in Vichy France, fascism, and Europe during the World War II era. He is Mellon Professor Emeritus of Social Science in the Department of History ...

References

{{reflist, refs= {{cite news , title=BMO Financial Group and Doug Leigh finalists for a Canadian Sport Award, url=http://www.skatecanada.ca/en/news_views/news/2006_2007/07_feb9_2.cfm , publisher=Skate Canada , date=2007-02-09, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929094147/http://www.skatecanada.ca/en/news_views/news/2006_2007/07_feb9_2.cfm , archive-date=September 29, 2007 , accessdate=December 1, 2018 {{cite news, first=Steve , last=Buffery , title=Doug Leigh is skating's master chef , url=http://www.canoe.ca/SlamElvisStojko/97feb23_leigh.html , archive-url=https://archive.today/20130115061458/http://www.canoe.ca/SlamElvisStojko/97feb23_leigh.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=2013-01-15 , publisher=Toronto Sun , date=1997-02-23 , accessdate=2007-07-10 {{dead link, date=December 2018 {{cite web , url=https://skatemariposa.com/coaches/ , title=Skating Coaches for all levels , accessdate=December 1, 2018 , publisher=The Mariposa School of Skating {{cite news , url= http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2017/05/02/david-islam-paul-matheson-taking-over-figure-skating-school-from-doug-leigh-on-june-1 , title= David Islam, Paul Matheson taking over figure-skating school from Doug Leigh on June 1 , first= Gene , last= Pereira , work= The Barrie Examiner , date= May 2, 2017 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171128125134/http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/2017/05/02/david-islam-paul-matheson-taking-over-figure-skating-school-from-doug-leigh-on-june-1, archive-date=November 28, 2017, accessdate=December 1, 2018

External links

The Mariposa School of Skating

Mariposa Charity Gala
Figure skating clubs in Canada Sport in Barrie 1973 establishments in Ontario Sports clubs established in 1973