Sunday, May 21 at 10:30 am — Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers

Dear SCNY members and families,
♠	Celebrate the 2016-17 season with good friends and club officials!
♥	Bid farewell to members graduating from high school and congratulate those who passed a gold test this year!
♦	Share delicious food, drink, and views of the Hudson River!
♣	New this year! The exhibition will include a group number celebrating our 2017 regional competitors during which each skater is announced and featured in a step-out. If you are interested in participating, please contact Stacie Krinsky.

[…]this story does not end with her winning any championship medals. It doesn’t have to. In fact, this story does not end at all. Because Susan is still figure skating several mornings a week – simply because skating is still the best way for her to unfold a certain beauty and transcendence within her life that she cannot seem to access in any other manner.

– Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear (Riverhead Books 2016)

My Yahoo Story: Susan Kittenplan

By Susan Kittenplan, Editorial VP, Yahoo! Inc. and President, The Skating Club of New York

Getting back on the ice after 20+ years didn’t feel like a big hurdle. It’s not exactly like climbing K2 or overcoming a stutter. It’s not even in the realm of risk Liz took when she left everything and traveled the world for a year to write her bestseller. Actually, I was a little embarrassed that people might laugh at this so-called challenge.

I started skating when I was five years old and competed until I was 16. I loved it, but was tired of the early-morning practices, hated doing patch (figure eights), and knew that I was not headed to Nationals, let alone any Olympics. So I gave it up and thought I was done with the sport. However, returning to the ice has been cathartic and life-changing in ways I couldn’t have expected – both personally and professionally.

If you ever see me walking into the New York office on a Tuesday or Friday morning with a huge smile on my face, it’s because I have just come from the rink. I love the feeling of gliding and flying that I get from skating. As soon as my blades touch the ice, I instantly feel better. I also love the camaraderie of skaters with whom I share the ice – from ages 9 to 90. Seriously, there is a judge who is 90 years old who skates regularly, as well as a Nobel Prize winner in physics. Figure skating can seem effortless and elegant, but it takes tremendous strength, agility, and frankly, some acting ability to be a skater. And being a media executive takes some of those same skills as well.

I spent most of my media career at Condé Nast working at Vanity Fair, GQ, Glamour and Allure. But during my time as an editor at Harper’s Bazaar, I remembered that the Hearst offices were located near a skating shop in midtown Manhattan where I bought my ice skates as a little girl. One day, I stopped in after work and bought a far-too-expensive pair. Still, I couldn’t get myself to the rink. It seemed daunting. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to skate at all. It may sound clichéd, but after 9/11 happened, I thought I needed to do something I loved, something that would get me out of my head, something that would get me moving. Those sentiments finally got me to Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, where I met my coach and my ice dance partner a few weeks later, and started to skate regularly.

Getting back on the ice has made me less afraid of facing challenges. My return to skating as an adult, especially as an ice dancer, emphasizes strategy and teamwork. It’s impossible for me to think about work or anything else when I skate. Ice dancing requires a great deal of focus; I have to be in the moment and be aware of the space around me. There is no room for my mind to wander because I could trip, fall, and hurt myself and my partner or coach.

Skating also helped with goal setting. Just like those we set at Yahoo, I want to pass different test levels in ice dancing. I have been working on my pre-silver ice dances for a while; I keep failing the test for a dance called the European Waltz. I’m determined to pass – even if I have to wear down those judges and test every month until they get sick of me.

It is important to find your passion, something that makes you get up too early, stay up too late, search online for any story on the topic and feel giddy when you find kindred spirits who are also obsessed with your passion. Passion can be used as a form of what I call “Positive Procrastination.” You know how sometimes it helps to put one story or project aside and work on another? That is Positive Procrastination – distraction in a good way. Skating also brings me stress relief. It feels as if my brain completely switches to another frequency.

I believe my passion makes me better at my job. When I skate before work, I come to the office with a clear head. Skating has pushed me to face certain fears, such as stage fright or speaking in public – something I have to do more at Yahoo than I have ever done before. Also, it has allowed me to become more flexible and understanding. Working with a partner requires that you do your best to not let the other person down, but it also helps you to understand that mistakes can happen no matter how much you have prepared (all good lessons that can be applied to any job). Ultimately, my passion for skating has taught me to bring grace and resilience to both the ice and the office. And there’s that whole “You fall, then you get back up” metaphor. Trite but true.

Ultimately, I said yes to Liz, and she did include me in her book Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, writing about my skating as only she can:

2016 and 2017 U.S. Senior Dance Champions

2016 World Silver Medalists

2011 World Bronze Medalists

5X US Senior Silver and Bronze Medalists

2014 Olympians

2010 U.S. Junior National Champions

2011 World Junior Silver Medalists

2016 Skate America, 2016 Cup of China, 2016 Four Continents and 2015 NHK Champions

Maia and Alex Shibutani

2017 US Senior Pairs Champions

2015 and 2016 Skate America silver medalists

2015 US senior pairs silver medalists

2012 US junior pairs champions

Haven Denney
and Brandon Frazier

Haven Denney
and Brandon Frazier

2014 Olympian

7th - 2015 Skate America and Cup of China

5th - 2016 Ondrej Nepela

6th - 2017 European Championships

(representing Slovakia)

Nicole Rajicova

2015 Tallinn Trophy Gold Medalists

2015 Finlandia Trophy and Mordovian Ornament Silver Medalists

6th place - 2016 Skate America

(representing Israel)

Isabella Tobias
and Ilia Tkachenko

2017 S. Korean National Champions

(representing S. Korea)

Yura Min and
Alexander Gamelin

2017 World Junior Dance Bronze Medalists

2017 US junior dance silver medalists

2016 Junior Grand Prix finalists

Silver - JGP Russia, France, Poland

Christina Carreira
and Anthony Ponomarenko

And belated congratulations to

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Calling all high school students and college bound skaters!

Interested in continuing skating through college?

Never heard of maneuvers?

In addition to free skating and solo dance, intercollegiate teams compete in maneuvers -- leveled skills competitions where each team member focuses on one or two required elements (maneuvers) at one of three test-based levels.

Sign up below, sharpen your skates, and join us for an exhilarating morning of mock intercollegiate competition and college skating orientation.

U.S. Synchronized Skating National Champions
Skyliners Senior Bronze The Skyliners 2016-17 senior line is the 2017 ISU Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy champion and 2017 ISU Mozart Cup, 2016 Richard Porter and 2016 Boston Synchro Classic bronze medalist. It is the 2017, 2016 and 2015 US national bronze medalist.
Skyliners Junior Gold The 2016-17 Skyliners junior line won the 2017 US Synchronized Skating National Championships, 2017 US World Team Selection Event, 2017 ISU Berlin Cup, 2016 New England Challenge Cup and 2016 Dr. Richard Porter Synchro Classic, and claimed bronze at the 2017 and 2016 ISU French Cup in Rouen, France. The line is a three-time national champion and will compete as USA TEAM 1 at the ISU Synchronized Skating Junior World Championships in Mississauga, Ontario.
Skyliners Novice Gold The 2016-17 Skyliners novice line is the 2017 US Synchronized Skating Novice National Champion. The line also won the 2017 Eastern Synchronized Sectional Championships and 2017 Colonial, 2016 Dr. Richard Porter and 2016 Boston Sunchro Classics. They are also the 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2011 US Synchronized Skating bronze medalists.
Skyliners Intermediate Gold The Skyliners 2016-17 Intermediate line is the 2017 and 2016 US Synchronized Skating National Intermediate Champion and 2017 Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Champion. The line won gold at the 2016 Dr. Richard Porter Classic, silver at the 2017 Colonial Classic and bronze at the 2016 Boston Synchro Classic.
Skyliners Juvenile Gold The 2016-17 Skyliners Juvenile line is the 2017 and 2016 US Synchronized Skating National Juvenile Champion. The line won gold at the 2017 Eastern Sectional Championships, 2017 Colonial Synchro and 2016 Terry Conners Synchro Classic and silver at the 2017 Boston Synchro Classic. Skyliners Juvenile has won four Nationals titles and has won Eastern Sectionals seven consecutive times.
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Honorable Mentions
Gotham City Synchro Masters Twelfth The 2016-17 Gotham City Synchro masters line won silver at the 2017 Colonnial and 2016 Terry Conners Synchronized Skating Classics.
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Team Rosters