It’s Great To Skate: The Allure Of Ice Skating by Todd Eldredge (NAPSA)—Figure skating has been such a big part of my life since I first put on a pair of ice skates at age 5. I knewfigure skating wasfor me. By the time I was 10, I was training full-time with my coach, Richard Callaghan. After competing in three Olympic games, and winning six U.S. and one world championship, I find myself at a point in my career that I can give back to the sport that has allowed meto spend mylife doing something love. One of the great things about figure skating is that you can enjoy it at all levels, whether your goal is to achieve Olympic fameor simply enjoy the recreational benefits of skating. With friends, family or alone, skating is fun, chal- lenging and rewardingall at once. There are many important aspects of all sports that go into making great athletes, venues and activities. Ability, training, coaching andfinancial support are just a few of the factors. Corporate sponsorship greatly enhances opportunities and programs, as well as eases the burdensathletes experience. Chevrolet is one company whose grass roots support has madea difference in figure skating. As a sponsor of the U.S. Olympic Committee and the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA), Chevy’s extensive support of these organizations and its memberathletes helps make the hopes and dreamsof aspiring athletes a reality by providing high quality training, coaching, equipment, trans- portation and facilities. This fall, Chevy and the USFSA are sponsoring a series of Champion figure skater Todd Eldredge is touring the country, teaching skateclinics. six “It’s Great to Skate” Festivals in conjunction with the USFSA. During each festival, Coach Callaghan and I will teach a series of skating clinics for beginning skaters in Atlanta, Cleve- land, Dallas, Detroit, Phoenix and Philadelphia to encourage people of all ages to take to the ice and enjoy a day of free skating and entertainment. It is great to skate, so I encour- age you to contact the USFSA to find out more about how figure skating can become part of your life. A great place to start is at your local USFSA skating club with the Chevy/USFSABasic Skills Program, the best beginning ice skating program forall skaters. For information on a USFSA member club, Basic Skills or the Chevy/USFSA “It’s Great to Skate” Festival, log onto www.usfsa.org.
