In the spring of 2016, as Figure Skating in Harlem, the nonprofit that helps girls of color transform their lives through education, leadership training and figure skating, was celebrating its 20th year, the search for a second chapter had begun.
Founder and CEO Sharon Cohen wanted to expand the famed figure skating program. And longtime FSH supporter Meryl Davis made her voice heard loud and clear:
Bring it to Detroit.
A few weeks later, Cohen was on a plane to spend time with Davis, the 2014 Olympic champion in ice dancing (with Charlie White), in the Motor City, and this school year marks Figure Skating in Detroit's second full season in operation, with more than 50 local girls participating in the program.
"We've had a lot of enthusiasm from the community," Davis said. "We're excited to have a program like this for girls in this city. One of the reasons Detroit was chosen as this next chapter is because of the unique energy that this city has right now. There's a lot happening. It's a great fit."
Figure Skating in Detroit is housed at the Adams Butzel Recreation Complex — just a short drive from downtown — and is held as an after-school program with on-ice lessons and a classroom-based curriculum that includes literacy, math, communications and personal financial management.
"We're absolutely delighted to have this world-renowned program in Detroit," Geneva Williams said in a video on the program's website. Williams was Detroit's site leader for its first year before handing the reins to Lori Ward. "We're producing a sisterhood of young girls who know how to fall and get back up. … And they know what it means to commit to something."
Davis, who has attended the Figure Skating in Harlem annual gala in New York City each spring for nearly a decade, is a co-chair of the Detroit chapter, and also attends as many after-school sessions as she can, often taking to the ice with the girls.
She also took part in a successful weeklong summer camp this past summer, held at the very rink where she and White began skating, the Detroit Skating Club.
"My enthusiasm for Figure Skating in Harlem only grew one year after the next when I was involved with them," Davis said, recalling how she got more and more hooked in what was set to become Figure Skating in Detroit. "As a retired Olympic figure skater, I have such an appreciation for the role that sport can play in a person's life — and not just in the competitive, high-level community."
She continued: "These values and life lessons and understanding of so many of these skills is so vitally important. To learn them through a sport like figure skating is invaluable. I'm so passionate to provide more young women with the opportunity to learn to believe in themselves and harness their own power of possibility through a program like this."
Cohen and her staff are fully aware that having someone like Davis on their team is invaluable, too.
"Meryl is the best of the best; she has a heart of gold," Cohen said. "She's so dedicated and brings so much intelligence, while also understanding the mission of Figure Skating in Detroit itself."
It's a special time for the program, as well, as the U.S. Championships has returned to Detroit for the first time in 25 years. The girls are in ceremony performances on the ice and will be able to watch top-level skating from up close, many of them for the first time.
Use code FSDETROIT at checkout when purchasing tickets to the 2019 GEICO U.S. Figure Skating Championships to benefit Figure Skating in Detroit. Read the full SKATING cover story in the January issue.
