AMHERST — The Skating Club of Amherst will celebrate 50 years of figure skating with a star-studded skating show at the Mullins Center rink on Sunday.
One of the special guests featured in the 50th anniversary show, “Gold,” will be Ross Miner, a two-time silver medalist at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships who took second place just behind Pyeongchang Olympic competitor Nathan Chen in the 2018 national championships.
Maisy Ma, seven-time Hong Kong National Champion, will also be featured, along with Team Excel Adult, gold medalists at the 2018 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship.
“We are delighted to host these amazing national and international skaters in our special 50th anniversary show,” said show producer Kelley Sonoda. “It’s a rare opportunity to be able to see this level of skating right here in western Massachusetts, and we hope that families from communities throughout the Pioneer Valley will join us.”
In 1968, Rita Leaman and other parents organized skating opportunities for their children at Amherst College’s Orr Rink that grew into the Skating Club of Amherst. Leaman is the widow of UMass basketball coach Jack Leaman, who led the Minutemen to 217 victories during his 13-year-coaching career, beginning in the 1960s.
Fifty years since the club’s founding, it has some 150 skaters, is a member of the U.S. Figure Skating Association and is still led by Leaman, the club’s president. The skaters use Orr Rink from November to March and take advantage of the Mullins Center to skate through June.
Along with the special guests, the 50th anniversary event will showcase skaters at all levels, from group performances by students in the Learn to Skate program to routines by advanced competitive skaters in the club, according to club media director Kyla Hastie.
“Fifty years is a major milestone,” Hastie said. “For our skaters to be able to take the ice with these amazing skaters and see that they started right where a lot of our kids are, and with a lot of hard work, where they could be, is really inspiring.”
The town of Amherst issued a proclamation in February congratulating the skating club on its anniversary.
“The Skating Club of Amherst has provided and continues to offer a home to a community of families, amateur athletes and professionals dedicated to the sport of figure skating,” the proclamation read.
A portion of proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to the Dakin Humane Society, selected by the club as the 50th anniversary charity of choice, according to a statement.
The 50th anniversary show will take place at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 25, at the Mullins Center Arena. Tickets are available for $10 at www.scamherst.org.
M.J. Tidwell can be reached at mjtidwell@gazettenet.com.