The New England West Skating Club has a new home.
After skating out of the Collins-Moylan Arena in Greenfield since its inception as the Greenfield Figure Skating Club in the 1970s, the club has partnered with the ice rink at Deerfield Academy’s new athletics complex that opens next month.
New England West is expecting to begin skating at the $52 million state-of-the-art facility on Oct. 14. The club offers everything from Learn to Skate USA program endorsed by U.S. Figure Skating to freestyle practice ice and specialty classes.
“It’s a fabulously welcoming community,” said New England West’s Suzanne McCaughtry of Deerfield Academy. “There are people of all ages who will benefit from us being able to skate out of there.”
Deerfield Academy athletic director Bob Howe said the school is looking forward to the facility’s opening, and the ability for it to benefit local affiliates like the skating club makes for an even greater impact.
“We are excited to have the New England West Skating Club on our campus and using our new rink facility,” Howe said. “These additions and upgrades to the school’s athletic facilities allows us the opportunity to give our students a high-quality athletic experience. Along with this I’m excited for the opportunities to work with outside groups from the local area.”
McCaughtry said there were many reasons the club wanted to get involved with the DA rink.
“One of the biggest factors for us was definitely the environmental aspect of this rink,” she said. “The ambient temperature, we’re told is in the high 50s to 60s, which makes for a much more comfortable temperature to skate in. Everything is green, state of the art. We’ve had issues with injuries and ice condition so we want to offer our skaters the absolute best.”
New England West’s plan for the DA facility will feature ice time on Sundays, with Learn to Skate classes as well as open freestyle time for private lessons. There are also two specialty classes — T.E.A.M. (Technique, Essentials, Artistry, Movement) and an adult class — to round out the offerings.
“We’re thrilled to be able to skate there,” said New England West treasurer Margaret Ferry, who lives in Deerfield and also skates with the club. “It’s going to be a better experience for all the skaters in the club. Everyone is enthusiastic about it. And the door is very open for us to adjust and expand moving forward.”
The club has members from throughout the Connecticut Valley, with skaters ranging in age from children to adults.
“We want people to know we aren’t just figure skating. We want people of all ages from throughout the area to come join and learn to skate, and do so in a fantastic rink with state of the art features,” McCaughtry said.
NEWSC is a spinoff of the Western Mass. Figure Skating Club, which is no longer in existence. NEWSC began in 2017 with a new Board of Directors and, according to McCaughtry, a new vision to bring the love of all skating to the Connecticut River Valley in a “healthy, kind and supportive environment for those to pursue the love of skating.”
Howe said he hopes that the relationship is just the beginning for the school and the community.
“Having (the club) here will be the start of a very positive relationship, I predict,” the DA athletic director offered. “We want to get to know more people who live and work in the Pioneer Valley, and we want more people to get to know who we are and what we are like at Deerfield Academy. This is a win-win opportunity for us both and I look forward to the many years ahead of working together with this club.”
For more information on the club, visit the New England West Skating Club on Facebook or visit www.newskatingclub.org
“We want everybody to know we’re there,” said McCaughtry. “People are going to want to come into this new facility.”