Skaters put town 'on the map'

Before Alexei Yagudin won a gold medal in men's figure skating at the Olympics in Salt Lake City, not many people knew that he trained at an ice rink in Newington.

Yagudin, who was born in St. Petersburg, Russia was the first men's skater in Olympic history to be awarded four perfect 6.0s for artistry.

"This definitely puts Newington on the map,"said Deputy Mayor John Kelly. "It is hard to measure in real dollars but when you have world-class skaters in our hometown it can only be a positive thing."

During a ceremony at the Connecticut International Skating Center in Newington on March 7, Kelly gave a proclamation from the town to Yagudin and nine-time Canadian National Champion Ice Dancers Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, who also train at the ice center. The ice dancers from Canada placed fourth during the Olympic Winter Games.

The skaters' achievements at the Olympics "brought a great deal of pride to Newington and is a wonderful tribute to the town,"said Kelly.

Along with Yagudin four world-class ice dance teams and one pairs team currently train at the ice center in Newington.

"I don't think it was widely known until the Olympics that world class skaters train in Newington. During the Olympics my wife got calls from friends across the country asking, 'Is that your Newington?' She would say, 'Yes, it is,' and now we all know,"said Kelly.

Several hundred people came to the event and waited in a long line to get the skaters' autographs. People traveled from as far as Pennsylvania and New Hampshire to get their picture taken with the skaters and to get their signatures.

"I told the skaters I was very impressed with their willingness to sign autographs and get their pictures taken,"said Kelly. "It was a big thrill for everybody there."

Yagudin gave a short speech before signing autographs. "I love it here and I hope I spend more years here,"said Yagudin.

The crowd laughed when he promised, "I will try and get more medals for you."

Yagudin placed first in the European Championships in Switzerland this year before winning his gold medal. He was the only figure skater nominated for the Wide World of Sports "Athlete of the Year" in 1999.

Celeste Ziemba drove from Massachusetts with her son and daughter and a friend and said, "it was well worth the trip."

"Alexei was more handsome in person and was so gracious and friendly,"said Ziemba. "I will never forget this night."

Ziemba said she drove to the International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury by mistake thinking the event was held there. She said she knew that Olympic skaters like Oksana Baiul and Viktor Petrenko had trained at the rink in Simsbury and did not realize there was another rink in Connecticut where world-class ice skaters trained.

The ice center in Newington opened in February, 1999, five years after the Simsbury rink opened in the fall of 1994.

The publicity the Newington rink received during the Olympics has definitely had an impact, said Shawn Conner, director of hockey operations at the Newington Ice Center.

"Since the Olympics we are getting more phone calls and more people are skating during the public sessions. We get about 20 phone calls a day asking if the skaters are here,"said Conner, who graduated from Newington High School in 1995.

He said they are also selling more figure skates.

Yagudin's gold medal and the Canadian ice dancers' performance at the Olympics has also inspired children who are taking skating lessons at the ice center.

"The Olympics has definitely motivated my kids," said Nancy Tatsapaugh, a figure skating coach who works with skaters at both the Newington and Simsbury ice rinks. "I see my skaters thinking about skating to their music more. They are also skating faster and wanting to skate more."

She has been skating since she was six years old and brought her childhood skates for the skaters to sign.

She said it is inspiring for kids to know that such talented skaters are practicing at the same rink they are. "The kids are really excited to have these skaters in the building with them,"said Tatsapaugh.

How often do you get a chance to see skaters perform at that level?

"What Alexei did in the Olympics was fabulous. You could see him improve with each competition. The ice dancers (Bourne and Kraatz) were great and definitely deserved to win. It was disappointing when they stumbled at the end because they might have gotten a medal if that hadn't happened. They had a very good season leading up to the Olympics and this does not diminish their career," said Tatsapaugh.

"We just started a new session and the enrollment was quite good. I credit that to the Olympics and the skaters keeping the interest high," Tatsapaugh said.

Because of the publicity the Newington Ice Center received during the Olympics, other world-class skaters may choose to train here, said Kelly.

He said that Bourne and Kraatz invited Kelly and his wife to watch them perform in an ice show in New Haven in April, and they planned to go. "It was interesting to talk to them about their experiences at the Olympics," said Kelly.

"It is so great to have them in town. It is something Newington should be proud of," said Tatsapaugh. "I hope they stay a long time."