The
Diversify Ice Foundation will host its 2021 "
Skate Raiser" on June 19 to honor Juneteenth, a holiday that celebrates the end of slavery in the United States. The Skate Raiser, advertised as an "Ice-Teenth Fundraiser," will take place both in person and virtually with performances from rising champions in figure skating, community Learn to Skate opportunities, panel discussions, live music, dance classes, art exhibits and giveaways.
This will be the fifth Diversify Ice Skate Raiser, with each previous one being held at a different point in the year and focusing on a different theme.
Since this year's event is in June, the theme of the Skate Raiser is Juneteenth and liberation. According to Joel Savary, executive director and founder of Diversify Ice Fellowship and Foundation, skating is at a pivotal point of change. For many years, the representation of Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) skaters has been severely lagging compared to other sports.
"We really wanted to highlight this moment on Juneteenth to signal more movement needs to be happening," Savary said. "We really want to liberate the sport into recognizing and celebrating diversity, and I think, for a long time, that hasn't been really appreciated. So, we really want to highlight that, and we want the skaters to feel free and liberated to perform [and] share who they truly are. That's really what is behind sticking it on [Juneteenth]."
After pushing the event multiple times due to COVID-19, Savary is excited to finally welcome back a number of Diversify Ice board members, performers, and ambassadors as they travel to Washington DC. World champion and Olympian Tai Babilonia, a Diversify Ice Board Member, will be one of the featured champions in attendance.
"It's so perfect [Savary] has selected Juneteenth as the day of the Skate Raiser, and I am honored to be a part of it," said Babilonia, a skater of color and student of the late trailblazer Mabel Fairbanks. "My contribution is really getting the word out about [Fairbanks] and teaching the young up-and-coming skaters of her story of fight, determination, and positivity."
Along with fellow internationally recognized skaters and coaches (Rohene Ward, Megan Stewart, Nathan Truesdell, Eliot Halverson), Babilonia will teach an on-ice skating seminar on June 18 geared towards competitive skaters. The seminar will allow skaters to work one-on-one with coaches to receive feedback on programs while also receiving mentorship and support. Despite not being on the ice in some time, Babilonia is eager to share her experiences and lessons learned from Fairbanks as a child.
"[Fairbanks] would always tell us [skaters of color] because we looked a little different from the normal figure skater, 'You will have to jump higher, spin faster, and sparkle the brightest. No one's going to hand you anything, so you have to be better than better,'" Babilonia said. "Those were just priceless lessons I learned from [Fairbanks], and I live by those words of wisdom."
Elsewhere, Diversify Ice ambassadors like
Pooja Kalyan will be performing and participating in the Skate Raiser virtually as she trains for a competition. Kalyan, who is of Indian origin, has been working with Diversify Ice since 2018 and has been assigned to the Athlete Advisory Committee this year to support the mission of the foundation.
"By being a part of Diversify Ice, I hope to show not only kids of Indian origin that they can become high-level figure skaters, but also other kids of minority ethnicities," Kalyan said. "The performance I'll be submitting is 'Meditation' from [the opera]
Thais. It's peaceful and powerful, and I hope through that I can show what the growing attention to diversity in figure skating will gain."
Kalyan believes diversity in figure skating is evolving. As more young skaters become involved with events like the Skate Raiser, it is her hope they will see an increase in inclusion and representation reflected.
"This event isn't just about skaters of color coming together," explained Kalyan. "It's about everybody coming together as a community to appreciate differences and promoting that for younger generations."
When Savary, who is African American, first started skating as a child, he did not see anyone who looked like him at the ice rink. At school, his peers, who also came from underrepresented backgrounds, did not skate, nor understood why Savary skated.
"The first thing they said to me was 'Black people don't ice skate.' [My peers] didn't think ice skating was cool for people of color, so ice skating became my secret activity," Savary shared. "[That is one of the reasons] I wanted to make the [Skate Raiser] cool and fun to change that perspective. We are not only trying to take the funds from the Skate Raiser to support minority skaters, but also create a feedback loop where people want to start skating, to watch skating, and then to learn skating"
Besides incorporating carnival elements like games and prizes, Savary and his team have brought together organizations to make the event collaborative, culturally engaging and educational. Savary noted there are still many people who still do not recognize the barriers and challenges of skaters of color. For that reason, Diversify Ice has arranged panels and sessions to address the needs of diversity, equity and inclusion. Meanwhile, music and art organizations, such as
Artbae, will be in attendance. A regular partner of Diversify Ice and the Skate Raiser, Artbae is an arts, entertainment and education-based lifestyle brand that promotes passion through purpose.
"There is still a lot that needs to be done to educate the public, which is why these panel discussions are critical," said Savary. "The event really is multifaceted though. We push art and live music together with ice skating to make it a really cool, unique event that you don't typically see at regular skating shows or competitions...and make it a little bit more intriguing to people of color to be a part of ice skating."
In addition to working local organizations, Diversify Ice has created partnerships with minority-serving schools in the area to provide free tickets to students. To further lower the barrier to skating, kids who are interested in pursuing the sport after the event can apply for sponsorships to cover costs of Learn to Skate lessons. Once involved in the sport, skaters can apply for funds to offset costs of costumes, ice skates, private lessons and ice time.
"We wish these opportunities, support and mentorship were available to many of us when we were younger, because I think we would have seen a lot more skaters of color at the national and world level," Savary reflected. "We really try to provide the foundation and resources for skaters to go after their dreams, lower the barrier, and show skaters of color can make it."
RSVP for the Diversify Ice Ice-Teenth Skate Raiser online.
