Medal Winners Inspire Renaissance at the Rink

When skater Brian Boitano won the gold medal in the Winter Olympics, he did more than fill Southern Californians with a sense of patriotism--he inspired them to fill the San Fernando Valley’s ice skating rinks.

“The Winter Olympics was like a media blitz for us,” said John Disbro, manager of the Ice Capades Chalet in North Hollywood. “Even the commercials featured ice skaters, so it’s been really great for business. Our skating school has increased; our public sessions have increased. Everyone--kids, adults--wants to come in and try it.”

Like bowling, which is also enjoying a resurgence for reasons that have more to do with nostalgia than Olympic pride, a day or night at the skating rink offers a wholesome, fairly inexpensive alternative to the more typical weekend recreation of movies, dinners and parties. And, like most of Southern California’s bowling alleys, the Valley’s skating rinks recall an earlier, more innocent time, with their ‘50s or early ‘60s architecture.

Since the Olympics, “we have a much larger influx of young children who want to learn how to ice skate,” said Mike Paikin, owner of Iceland in Van Nuys and a member of the board of directors for the Ice Skating Institute of America.

“We’re getting lots of calls from adults who skated as children and want to get back into it. Of course, in California a lot of people are interested because of Christopher Bowman, the young man from Van Nuys.” Bowman, an Olympic figure skater, sometimes skates at Iceland, Paikin said.

Business has tripled at the Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank, according to Bill Curley. “Everyone wants to be a Debi Thomas. Everyone thinks it’s easy--until they get out there.”

And who are all these skaters? “We’ve been getting beginners and people who skated 15 years ago and want to try it again,” Townsend said.

Gary Light, 30, of Beverly Hills is one of those old-timers. A native of Florida, Light said watching the Winter Olympics every night inspired him to dust off his skates one recent weekend and whirl around Burbank’s Pickwick Ice Arena.

“When I was a kid, we used to go all the time in Florida,” said Light. “It’s so different from Florida, so unlikely, because it’s so hot there. Here, it’s different, too, because it’s usually hot outside. When I went, it brought back that feeling.”

Was skating again after so many years everything Light had hoped? “It was a lot of fun,” he said. “I forgot how great that cool wind in your face feels. And the music. . . . they play pretty corny music. It’s fun to dance to.”

He also unearthed forgotten abilities. “I forgot I could skate backwards and turn around,” he said.

Nance Billington, a 29-year-old writer, said: “Skating is the first sport I ever loved. I fell in love with it when I was 4 or 5 years old.”

As a child growing up in Upstate New York, she used to figure skate on a frozen pond in her backyard. Watching the Winter Olympics brought back some sentimental feelings.

“I just wanted to go back out there.”

And so she did. But the once-agile skater felt frustrated by the enthusiastic turnout of other inspired, or reinspired, Winter Olympic watchers. “It felt great to be out there again, but it was so packed, absolutely crowded! If I’d had more room, I would have really gone wild,” she said.

Watching the younger skaters reminded her of her own childhood dreams. “Little girls were in the middle of the rink doing all their fancy moves. You could tell they all wanted to be Debi Thomas or Katarina Witt. It reminded me so much of me at that age.”

Billington’s brother, Steve, 30, a law student from Beverly Hills, is another Olympics viewer who felt inspired to hit the ice.

“Watching the Winter Olympics most definitely made me want to skate again. I hadn’t skated in 10 years, and I wasn’t sure if these old hockey legs could propel this body around, but . . . you never forget.”

Skating can provide a smooth alternative to the pounding rhythms of aerobics or jogging.

“Skating is great exercise,” said Nance Billington. “Your heart is beating like mad, and it’s really cold in there at first, so you really have to work up a sweat.”

If the Olympic spirit has inspired the skater in you, here are a few places to try your skill:

Pickwick Ice Arena, 1001 Riverside Drive, Burbank. Open daily, skating school, daily lessons, special group rates, skate sales and repairs, private parties, private instruction. Admission for children under 12 is $3.50; children under 18, $4; adults, $4.50. Skate rental is $1.50.

Ice Capades Chalet, 6100 Laurel Canyon Blvd., North Hollywood. Public ice skating every day, public lessons, private lessons, parties, group rates. Admission is $4.75. Skate rental is $1.50.

Iceland Van Nuys, 14318 Calvert Ave., Van Nuys. Public skating daily, small snack shop, public lessons, private lessons, private parties, skate shop, group rates. Admission is $4. Skate rental is $1.