It’s How They Roll

Photo by dawn quinn

GROUP EFFORT. The Wheelz Skate Arena team. (L-R): Stacy Burris, Shannon Lasseter, Pam Gable, Kiarra Levesque, Ingrid McManus, Mike Pendleton, Lisa Levesque, Diane Rieben and Dave Berg.

Figure roller skating, it is safe to say, is one of the more obscure sports around today; most people do not know it exists, unless they are a competitor themselves or know someone who is.

Roller derbies and competitive skating are fairly well known, but figure skating in this sport has seen its profile in Tacoma heightened recently with the emergence of a program at Wheelz Skate Arena in Fircrest and a team that is vying for its spot in the regional and the USA Roller Sports national championships.

Debbie Berg, owner and coach of Wheelz Skate Arena, has high hopes for her team, composed of individuals – young and older – who have been skating for decades between the bunch.

Berg herself started skating when she was 12 years old, and it was not too long before she knew she wanted to be a coach. She has been coaching for 30 years now, and opened Wheelz four months ago.

Prior to Wheelz, Berg taught in Oregon for 17 years. Her husband has been teaching for the same amount of years and competes on the team.

Each of the nine skaters on the team have been to regional and/or national championships. This year’s nationals will take place at the end of July through August in Peoria, Ill. David Berg has been skating longer than anyone else on the team – 40 years.

“A majority of them (skaters) have been competing for at least 10 years,” said Berg.

The skaters come from all around Puget Sound, and the fact that these competitors are hardly deterred by the under-the-radar position their sport holds and practice their techniques and routines for three-hour sessions several times a week speaks volumes about their dedication.

Here is a look at the team.

Pam Gable lives in Mountlake Terrace and drives to Fircrest. Gable is a senior in high school and has been skating ever since she was 3 years old. She is a regional champion and was a finalist at nationals for two years in a row.

Stacy Burris of Tacoma is 30 years old and has been skating since she was seven years old. She was a national champion two years ago, and does figure skating, dance skating and freestyle.

Mike Pendleton lives in Tacoma and has been skating for only two years, but he won nationals during his first and second year.

Shannon Lasseter, also a Tacoma resident, is 13 years old and has been skating for five years. She won regionals last year in her division.

When Kiara Levesque, from Lacey, started skating, her mom Lisa started, too. They have been skating for the past 10 years.

Danae Naro lives in Puyallup and has been skating for five years, and has been a regional champion for the last two years.

Diane Rieben of Bothell is Naro’s partner and skates figures and dance with him. She just placed third at a Sacramento meet a month ago. They have been skating for two years together.

Ingrid McManus, 66, coaches and skates, and has been skating for 56 years. McManus moved from Indiana to Washington. She still competes to this day and is a national champion.

Stacy Burris recalled her earliest skating memory. “I was at a birthday party at a rink, and they were handing out coupons for lessons. I started going every week.” She took a seven-year break and started again in 2005. “It’s one of those things I can’t stop doing.”

Burris affirmed that her teammates help her get through the stress of meets. “We’re all really supportive of each other. If I skate at 6 a.m., I’ll come back and cheer the teammates at two.”

She said that her biggest challenge is keeping motivated in the off-season. “In this region we don’t have many competitions, only regionals. You get proud of yourself for sticking with it.”

The skaters are judged depending upon the style of skating that they are doing in a competition. For figure skating, the judges look out for tracing (circles), edge quality and turns. In freestyle skating, posture, jumps and spins, not falling down and completing each part of the program are of the utmost importance.

For dance timing, basic edges, and how well the dancers match and do steps correctly are the essentials to winning.

According to Debbie Berg, whether or not a skater advances to regionals is based on tests of their skill in certain areas. “They take tests, and when they pass a certain test that is judged by a standard criteria, they get a United States Olympic Committee (USOC) program medal given out by Wheelz,” she said.

The skaters have no outside training. Throughout year, there are local competitions, then regionals, and if they qualify, they go to nationals.

The skaters generally discover quickly if they want to take it to the next level and compete in different ways.

“Usually they are session skaters, most of them have either taken a class, and find they are interested. You get hooked. Most start out in session, come to class or get invited, and they go further. That’s where we start them out with test structure so they feel they’re achieving something. Then we put them into competitions when ready.”

Wheelz Skate Arena is located at 2101 Mildred St. in Fircrest. For more information about the Wheelz skating team, rink or lessons, call Debbie Berg at the arena at (253) 460-ROLL.

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