"ICE SKATING (ON REAL ICE) TO BE LAKE PLACID SUMMER FEATURE"

April, 1946-Ice skating on real ice will be one of the features of the Lake Placid summer recreation and sports program. Ice skating in the summer was born in the world famous Olympic Arena at Lake Placid in the summer of 1932, when for the first time on the North American continent an indoor arena attempted the unheard of feat of scheduling ice skating during the hot months of July and August.

Beginning with a mere two weeks in August of 1932, it has grown to eleven full weeks of skating, with this the fifteenth annual Lake Placid summer ice season, opening on June 15 and closing on September 2. Its popularity has grown to such an extent that summer skating is held in nine other rinks in the United States and several in Canada.

Each summer, at Lake Placid, figure skaters from 22 states and several Canadian provinces gather to practice their threes and eights on their patches, another one of Lake Placid's firsts. Patch skating, in which a skater may reserve a patch of ice for the practice of their all important school figures, was first brought to this country from England by the Olympic Arena management.

Summer skating at Lake Placid is an all-day program, getting underway with the first patch session at 6:30 A.M. Patch sessions are of an hourly duration and there are seven of them during the day, with the ice being resurfaced before each patch session. In addition, there are two figure skating sessions, in which free style skating may be practiced, a junior and senior dance session and a combined evening figure and public skating session that brings the day to a close at 11:30 P.M.

The summer season at Lake Placid is considered by figure skating officials to be the most progressive and educational on the continent. In addition to all skaters, from beginner to expert, having opportunities to progress under the tutelage of the top figure skating professionals, there are many other activities. An official United States Figure Skating association judges schools scheduled for July 27 and 28. The official ice dance conference and dance judges school will be held on August 10 and 11.

Ice entertainment is also part of the curriculum, with ice shows being held each Saturday evening. The season being climaxed with the annual Labor Day Figure Skating Carnival, featuring champions of the United States and Canada, with a large supporting cast of ice artists.

Lake Placid will again in its first Post-War season feature the many vacation activities that have long made it famous as a year-round resort. Golf on any one of the seven golf courses that lie in the valley, tennis, swimming, horseback riding on miles of well maintained mountain trails, boating, camping, hiking, and mountain climbing are just a few of the varied activities offered for the vacationist.

Chateaugay Record 

Aurora Ramsay works in the Brewster Research Library at the Adirondack History Center Museum in Elizabethtown.

ADIRONDACK HISTORY CENTER MUSEUM
ESSEX COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY
PO Box 428, 7590 Court Street
Elizabethtown, NY 12932
www.adkhistorycenter.org
General Information: echs@adkhistorycenter.org