Towson - Fall 2010

how to skate,” she says. “And in general the schools didn’t provide much in the way of diversity, nutrition or physical education.

would-be participants. “Parks and Recreation covered the cost of using the Patterson Park ice rink, and the girls used rental skates at no charge,” she adds. “Still, I’d like for them to not have to pay anything at all.”

Estelle says. One girl showed exceptional promise, she says, adding, “I hope to take her under my wing.”

“I wanted to introduce figure skating to girls who ordinarily wouldn’t have access to it, but I also wanted to use the sport to build self-confidence, strengthen academic achievement and promote physical well-being in under-served communities.”

This season the program will be required to pay for ice time and skate rentals, and Estelle is seeking donors to cover the costs.

Estelle says she took the idea to local schools, eventually teaming with Patterson Park Public Charter School and Baltimore City Parks and Recreation. Together they established Figure Skating in the City, Maryland’s first ice skating and education program.

Estelle convened the group each week for 90 minutes. Sessions got under way with a full hour of instruction, followed by a half-hour program

But of course Estelle is more than a coach: she talks to the girls, nurtures them, gets them to open up about issues they might not ordinarily discuss with an adult, or about subjects their parents don’t have time to discuss with them. If they’re discouraged or doubtful, she urges them on with “If I can do it, you can do it.”

It was crucial to be able to work with a school near the Patterson Park ice rink, where the fledgling program would be based. “I didn’t want anyone excluded for lack of transportation,” Estelle explains. “Girls who lived in the area could walk to and from the rink.”

After securing the blessing of the charter school’s vice principal, Estelle designed a flier explaining the program’s objectives and asking parents and teachers to refer their daughters or pupils. In addition to an interest in figure skating, applicants needed proof of residency and decent grades. Once admitted to the program, all pledged to maintain a B average in school.

With another session planned for October, Estelle is hard at work assembling a Figure Skating in the City board of directors and fundraising. “So much depends on the kind of response I get,” she says.

“I want this program to become a Baltimore institution,” she continues. “It would be great to have individuals and corporations fund a program that promoted confidence, academic achievement and physical fitness in addition to having fun and learning something new.

“The girls who take part in

Figure Skating in the City acquire

“The girls who take part in Figure Skating in the City acquire skills and attitudes that will help them throughout life.”

skills and attitudes that will help

them throughout life.”

— Natalie Terry Estelle ’01

“Some of the girls had previous skating experience,” Estelle notes, “but not the kind of full instruction I was offering.” She assembled a group of 15 to 20 for Figure Skating in the City’s inaugural session last March. Most were African American, though Estelle says she would have liked to have had a more diverse group.

that alternated tips on preparing healthful, affordable food with yoga and belly-dancing lessons.

Figure Skating in the City’s 7-10 week program offered instruction and enrichment activities, as well as injury insurance via membership in the U.S. Figure Skating Association.

She recalls the trepidation of some first-time skaters as they set foot on the ice. “Lesson one is falling down and standing up,” she told them. “There are correct and incorrect ways to do that. Then you need to know how to stop.” With Estelle’s coaching, her students gained confidence and learned the basics of a once-exotic sport.

Estelle acknowledges a debt of gratitude to her parents, who supported her in an expensive and time-consuming sport. Years of coaching, discipline and practice brought her national recognition and opportunities to perform with such figure-skating legends as Kristi Yamaguchi and Paul Wylie. Not surprisingly, she describes her years on the ice as “an awesome experience I’ll never forget.”

Now she’s determined to bequeath to others what skating has given her, even if most of her protégés never move beyond the novice stage. “I want them to believe in possibilities,” she says.