Campaign to Save Skating Rink Succeeds

A jubilant crowd of skaters and coaches cheered Thursday as the operators of the landmark Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank announced that the training venue for Olympic athletes will remain open.

General Manager Frank Silvio said a campaign by skating enthusiasts weighed heavily in the decision by rink owners Walter and Edward Stavert not to close the 29-year-old rink as planned on Sept. 30. Nearly 300 letters were sent to the Staverts during the two-month Save the Ice campaign. The campaign also included two outdoor rallies.

“We didn’t think of it as an institution,” Silvio said of the rink, home of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club. The club has trained such Olympic skating stars as Linda Fratianne, Christopher Bowman and Tiffany Chin.

Chin described the rink as a second home. “It would have been a real pity if it had closed,” she said.