Quick Blades

From
championship
trophies to family
recreation,
speedskating is a
year-round sport
in Bloomfield
Township.

MIKE ROSENBAUM
Special to The Jewish News

..

the colder months, she'll ice skate twice
or many, winter is a time to
a
week and in-line skate once a week.
slow down. But for others,
She
also runs and rides a stationary
it's the most active time of
bicycle.
The warmer months feature dry
the year.
land cross-training as well as summer
People like Elyse Sklar, for example.
skating camp and cycling.
The 13-year-old Farmington
Her non-skating activities
Hills resident has been a speed-
include
playing the French
skater since age 4. She's won
Left:
horn
and
attending Warner
four state championships in the
Elyse Sklar
Middle
School
in Farmington
past seven years and will com-
has won four
Hills
and
Temple
Israel reli-
pete in the juvenile girls division
Michigan
gious
school.
of the Motor City Super Skate
championships.
Managing her time can be a
III competition at the Detroit
challenge.
"Sometimes it gets
Skating Club (DSC) Feb. 7-8.
hectic
with
my
homework
and every-
Elyse's dad, Jewish News Editor Bob
thing,"
the
eighth-grader
says.
Sklar, introduced her to speedskating
Does she ever feel she needs more
nine years ago. "I got hooked on ice
free
time?
skating back as a youngster on the
"Yeah,"
she says, "but I also think if I
wide-open ponds of Detroit's Palmer
want
to
become
good at skating, I have
Park," he said. "I've been active in ice
to commit myself. There's things I have
skating ever since, specifically speedskat-
to give up."
ing for the past 28 years. I've long been
She feels skating is worth the effort
a booster of getting more kids involved
and
the sacrifices.
in the sport so it was natural for Elyse
"I
want to see how far I can get.
to hang around ice rinks with me."
Maybe
go to the Olympics, as a possi-
Elyse took to speedskating quickly. "I
bility,
but
that's really hard to do. So
like the action and the competition,"
just be as good as I can be."
she says.
Sklar competed in the U.S. nationals
Today, much of her life revolves
two
years ago but says she "wasn't very
around skating and training. During

F

.

good. But I'm going to go this year and
my goal is to place in the finals."
She feels that her summer skating
camp has helped improve her technique
and endurance since her last try for
national honors.
Sklar will attempt to defend her
Michigan juvenile division champi-
onship in March before moving on to
the nationals.
She'll compete in four races at Super
Skate III: the 333, 500, 777 and 1,000-
meter distances.
Another local Jewish skater who will
compete in Motor City Super Skate III
is novice 16-year-old Erica Solway of
Birmingham.
Sklar and Solway are members of the
Wolverine Sports Club, which is co-
sponsoring Super Skate III along with
the DSC: Other Jewish club members
include Marc Posen of Beverly Hills,
Danielle David of Farmington Hills and
the Hertz family of Beverly Hills —
Steve, Barb and daughters Jenna and
Lauren.
Wolverine members join the club in
order to learn speedskating. Others, like
Posen, were long-time members before
they hit the ice.

1/30
1998

121