Joel Savary on diversifying skating

[MacMadame]

This reminds me. There was a table at Nats manned by the Black Girls Skate organization. They are trying to get Black girls into all kinds of skating -- roller, skateboarding, ice, etc. -- by providing financial assistance and donated equipment. If someone wants to donate, here is their website:

SKATING - Black Girls Skate

growing non-profit organization devoted to creating equity, visibility and safety for skaters who identify as Womxn and/or Non-binary AND Black, African, or Of Color.

www.blackgirlsskate.org

 

[Wyliefan]

"Andrews and Gasparotto Reflect on History Made in San Jose"

Andrews and Gasparotto Reflect on History made in San Jose - U.S. Figure Skating Fan Zone

The 2023 Toyota U.S. Figure Skating Championships last month in San Jose, California, gave the world a glimpse into what the next four years might hold for Team

usfigureskatingfanzone.com

This article seems to have been taken down.

 

[Tinycities]

This article seems to have been taken down.

I wonder if it was due to the stories on instagram this weekend. I saw Kaitlyn weaver and Starr Andrews had shared a post from a diversity on ice page, but the post was taken down too? I’m pretty sure it was this account: https://instagram.com/figureskatingdia

It was about Lindsay Thorngren being left out.

 

[Wyliefan]

Oh, I see. Thanks, @Tinycities.

 

[Sylvia]

Lindsay Thorngren's mother is from the Dominican Republic - this fact was mentioned after she won the bronze at 2022 Junior Worlds in this article: https://usfigureskatingfanzone.com/...en-finds-personal-bests-at-junior-worlds.aspx

The Fan Zone article link @Wyliefan posted is working again today.

I just bumped up the Mabel Fairbanks thread with USFS' Feb. 7th press release on the 2023 Mabel Fairbanks Skatingly Yours Fund award recipients: https://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/th...ilblazer-mabel-fairbanks.107370/#post-6398254

 

[Sylvia]

Tweeted by "The Future of Figure Skating" podcast for Juneteenth yesterday (https://twitter.com/futurefspodcast/status/1670853130643206144) - "Here’s Megan Williams-Stewart talking about the importance of representation for Black and minority skaters. Make sure you check out episode 17 for more from Megan!"

Link to listen to Anna Kellar's conversation with Megan: https://futureoffigureskating.pinecast.co/episode/46ad6f24/megan-williams-stewart

 

[Sylvia]

Diversify Ice's Joel Savary, his brother Emmanuel, and others spoke to FOX 5 D.C. News when they hosted a free ice skating performance [in Laurel, MD this past] Friday to celebrate Juneteenth:

Diversify Ice celebrates Juneteenth with free show in Laurel

Diversify Ice, a nonprofit dedicated to diversifying the sport of ice skating, hosted a free ice skating performance Friday to celebrate Juneteenth. FOX 5 photojournalist Michael Fischoff takes us to Garden's Ice House in Laurel.

www.fox5dc.com

Joel Savary had an Instagram Live chat with Diversify Ice Ambassador Nathan Chapple on June 2 (after he won the costume award sponsored by @juju.designs): https://www.instagram.com/reel/CtAS67dqB5d/

 

[Sylvia]

A few days ago Joel Savary hosted an Instagram Live with Atoy Wilson and Tai Babilonia, among others, as a "kickoff to @icetheatreofny honoring of @diversify_ice at the fall frolic on Oct 27th": https://www.instagram.com/reel/CyYuncKLHxu/

Ice Theatre of New York Honors Diversify Ice Foundation for “Daring Greatly” FSO article by Maura Sullivan Hill (Oct. 16):
https://figureskatersonline.com/new...-diversify-ice-foundation-for-daring-greatly/
Excerpts:

On Oct. 27, the Ice Theatre of New York will honor the Diversify Ice Foundation with their Will Sears Award, which is presented annually to a skater or organization who has “shown exceptional daring and persistence in pursuit of their passion.” [...]
Diversify Ice Foundation is a nonprofit organization that supports athletes of color in competitive figure skating and works to increase diversity in the sport overall.
It was founded in 2017 by Joel Savary, a Washington D.C.-area figure skating coach and the author of the book “Why Black and Brown Kids Don’t Ice Skate: A Discourse on the Disparities of Race in Figure Skating.” In the six years since its founding, Diversify Ice has awarded more than $30,000 in sponsorship support to competitive skaters of color.

Savary and the Diversify Ice team will receive the award at the dinner following the ITNY Fall Frolic performance at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers. The show begins at 7 pm, with dinner to follow.
The show will feature performances by the ITNY Ensemble and performing apprentices, the Skyliners Synchronized Skating Team, and Emmanual Savary, a U.S. senior men’s competitor and brother of Diversify Ice founder Joel. Savary will skate to “A Change is Gonna Come,” a song by soul and R&B artist Sam Cooke that was inspired by the Civil Rights Movement.
“It’s going to be a beautiful, exciting time, because it’s going to be a reunion for so many of us within the Diversify Ice family. Many of our board members and ambassadors that are from all over the country are making the trip to the Fall Frolic, so we’re really excited about that, and also connecting with so much of the skating community that is all here to celebrate the progression that the sport is making,” Savary said. “It is a communal opportunity to celebrate how beautiful skating is, and why it should be accepted for everyone.”

Event & ticket info for ITNY's "Fall Frolic" on Friday, October 27, 2023 at Sky Rink, Chelsea Piers in NYC:

2023 Fall Frolic Performance and VIP Party - honoring Diversify Ice - Ice Theatre of New York

www.icetheatre.org

Performance Only General Admission tickets for the 7 pm show are $20.

 

[Sylvia]

USFS' Club Spotlight on Howard University's first Figure Skating Team (Oct. 20, 2023): https://www.usfigureskating.org/new...versity-forms-nations-first-hbcu-skating-team
Excerpts:

When Maya James and Cheyenne Walker were deciding which university to attend, they had to make the difficult decision to either choose a Historically Black College or University or one that provided opportunities for them to continue skating.
The two ultimately chose Howard University, an HBCU in Washington, D.C., but despite the lack of skating opportunities, they couldn’t be kept off the ice for long.
Both grew up skating, starting at approximately 7 years of age. As James, a junior studying psychology, and Walker, a senior studying political science and Afro-American studies, transitioned to college at Howard, they both were longing to get back to skating. And so, although they didn’t know each other, both independently began pondering the idea of starting a figure skating team at Howard.
“I just missed the sport honestly,” James said. “I didn't really skate that much during the pandemic; I stopped skating for like two years. As I was coming to college, I also saw a lot of the U.S. collegiate Instagram pages and how they went to competitions and how the competitions look so fun and welcoming.”

Helping coach the team are Diversify Ice’s founder Joel Savary and board member Joy Thomas. Since they are local to the D.C. area, the two agreed to coach the team this season. Diversify Ice also provided guidance and support to James and Walker in the developmental stages of building the team.
“It's a historical opportunity, but it fits very closely within our mission,” Savary said. “This is really at the core of Diversify Ice, being able to make these types of improvements in diversity within schools … Having [Diversify Ice] be able to provide their expertise, not only on the ice, but also on the structure of what it would look like, what it's going to take, how to get a school that has no background into skating to form a team was really going to be a whole undertaking of the entire team.”

Anyone planning to attend Ice Theatre of New York's show honoring the Diversify Ice Foundation on Friday?

 

[Wyliefan]

Here's an NPR report on the Howard team as they prepared for their first competition last week!

https://www.npr.org/2024/02/21/1232827262/howard-university-s-ice-skating-team-is-set-to-make-history-this-weekend

 

[Sylvia]

A 7-minute video feature on Joel Savary coaching the Howard University figure skating team at the intercollegiate competiion at the Univeristy of Delaware last month is embedded at the top:

Meet the coach and Howard University skating team who made history

Joel Savary, the founder and CEO of Diversify Ice, talks about the foundation's mission to attract more Black and brown skaters to the ice rink.

abcnews.go.com

 

[ice coverage]

Kelly Clarkson interviewed Joel Savary on her show today.
Two-minute clip is available on Instagram as of now, and it is powerful. (Made me cry.)

I think/hope complete interview will be within full episode available tomorrow on https://www.nbc.com/the-kelly-clarkson-show and on Peacock. (I think lead guest was Chelsea Handler.)

ETA:​

YouTube video of complete ten-minute segment about Diversify Ice is linked in post #44 below.​

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[Sylvia]

Joel was very well-spoken and his student, Zuri Davis, also was eloquent from the audience! Kelly Clarkson told Joel at the end of his segment that she/her show would be donating $10,000 to his Diversity Ice Foundation!

Posted by @YukiNieve on Dec. 30, 2024 in the "Fall/Winter 2024-25 Ice Shows..." thread in GSD:

I was at the Winter Ice Show, a small holiday show featuring local skaters at the Wheaton Ice Arena in Maryland. The seats were filled, and many people stood by the boards to watch, including me.
All the skaters were cute and their performances were impressive, but there are two skaters who especially caught my attention:
Zuri Davis (Intermediate and I think she is now 15) skating to a Christmas song - she has speed and nice carriage, and landed a nice 3Lo as her opening jump. [...]
I googled and found this article about Zuri Davis (dated March 2, 2022):
There is a video in the article where Zuri was teaching some moves for beginners:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

Joel Savary in this article, who is a founder of Diversify Ice, is actually an older brother of Emmanuel Savary, who won the Eastern Sectionals this year (and he will be competing at the 2025 US Nationals).

 

[ice coverage]

Joel was very well-spoken and his student, Zuri Davis, also was eloquent from the audience! Kelly Clarkson told Joel at the end of his segment that she/her show would be donating $10,000 to his Diversity Ice Foundation!

Posted by @YukiNieve on Dec. 30, 2024 in the "Fall/Winter 2024-25 Ice Shows..." thread in GSD:

Full ten-minute video with Joel Savary and Zuri Davis has been uploaded to YouTube channel of Kelly Clarkson Show:

Wonderful news re Kelly Clarkson's generous donation!

 

[Sylvia]

Joel Savary is quoted in Lois Elfman's pre-Nationals article (Jan. 16): https://amsterdamnews.com/news/2025/01/16/us-figure-skating-champions-glide-forward-on-diversity/

“Lots of cool things to look forward to,” said Savary, who recently appeared on “The Kelly Clarkson Show” to discuss his efforts to increase diversity and representation in the sport.
For the second time in three years, there will be two African American women in the senior women’s event. Starr Andrews is making her eighth consecutive appearance and Alexa Gasparotto is returning for a second time (she previously competed in 2023).
“Starr has demonstrated her joy of skating while competing at a high level for so many years. She is such a role model,” said Savary. “I can’t tell you how excited I am to see Alexa go out there and perform. She has so much raw talent. … We’ve seen in recent months her triple axel, which is stunning and beautiful. I don’t know if she’s going to go for it at nationals, but I would love it if she attempted it.”

Savary’s younger brother, Emmanuel, is making his return to the U.S. Championships, having last competed in 2019; in 2020 he withdrew due to injury. “He’s had such a long journey,” said Joel. “He loves the sport so much. He’s battled injuries. This year, I’m so glad he was able to stay healthy and stay so dedicated to not giving up in what can be a very harsh sport, particularly for people of color.”

Also in Wichita will be Mark Sadusky (Senior Pairs with Nica Digerness) and "Diversify Ice ambassadors Anaelle Kouevi and Yann Homawoo will be competing in [Junior] ice dance."

The Hall of Fame ceremony will be deeply emotional. Joel described [Atoy] Wilson as someone he’s always looked up to. “Finally U.S. Figure skating and the community are recognizing his work not only as an impactful skater in history, a trailblazer, but he’s a good human being,” said Joel.

On a related topic ... People article:

Watch Girls of Color Aim to Break 'Ice Ceiling' of Competitive Figure Skating in 'Harlem Ice' (Exclusive)

Watch the trailer for the new Disney+ docuseries 'Harlem Ice,' shared exclusively with PEOPLE, which follows the skaters and coaches of Figure Skating in Harlem, a figure skating team made up of young women of color from the famed New York borough.

people.com

The girls of Figure Skating in Harlem are ready to break more barriers!
They're the stars of Disney+'s new five-part docuseries Harlem Ice, which follows the team members and coaches of Figure Skating in Harlem, a figure skating team made up of young women of color from the famed New York borough as they prepare for competitions, performances and a life-changing global experience.
Executive-produced by GMA’s Robin Roberts, along with Hollywood titans Ron Howard and Brian Grazer through their production company Imagine Documentaries, the series takes a deep look at the members of the team as they embark on a figure skating season filled with ups and down on their quest to break the “ice ceiling” and gain access to a global stage.

Streaming now on Disney+: