Tim participates in Harlem skating program

Tim appears at Figure Skating in Harlem. See more photos below.

Timothy Goebel was part of "Skating With the Stars, Under the Stars" at the Trump Wollman Skating Rink in Central Park in New York City.

The event was a benefit for Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH), a skating club for young girls that provides those who live in the Harlem community with an innovative ice skating and educational program designed to build a positive self-image, teamwork, leadership and academic achievement.

Timothy skated with patrons to help gain support for FSH.

"I like doing things like this," Timothy said. "It’s exciting to see the children get the opportunity to learn skating and get involved in a tutoring program. I have had so many opportunities from skating I think I am in a position to help and give something back to such a unique program."

Girls between the ages of 6 and 16 who live in Harlem are eligible for enrollment. Participants primarily come from low and moderate-income families.

Timothy and Oksana Baiul.

All the skaters gather for a group photo.

Timothy, with Tai Babilonia, Oksana Baiul, Rudy Galindo, Johnny Weir and Michelle Kwan.

The skaters pose with Tamara Tunie, who plays Dr. Melinda Warner on "Law & Order: SVU".

Timothy, Rudy Galindo, Johnny Weir and Michelle Kwan are all bundled up in New York City.

The skaters and Tamara Tunie pose with some skaters from the Harlem Figure Skating Club.

READ MORE BELOW:

Goebel & Co. break ice for Harlem kids

February 7, 2005

By Filip Bondy
New York Daily News

Sierra Nelson, a fourth-grader from Harlem, will skate her backward crossovers and her spins tonight at Wollman Rink, maybe throw in a spiral.

And for once, Michelle Kwan will be watching Sierra, not the other way around. It's only right.

"I can do a lot of tricks," said Sierra, 9, before taking to the ice. "When I first started this, I didn't know how to skate at all and there was a lot of falling. It might hurt a lot or it might hurt a little, but I knew I wouldn't get better if I didn't keep skating."

So Sierra kept at it, and now there is this wonderful event in Central Park where 70 girls from the program called Figure Skating in Harlem will spill out onto the ice and present a gospel production number, "Heaven on Ice."

Then they'll mingle with a very different set of performers - Kwan, Johnny Weir, Timothy Goebel, Oksana Baiul, Viktor Petrenko and other giants from the touring Champions on Ice.

It will be a great showcase for an education and sports program that began on a much smaller scale a decade ago, when the founder, Sharon Cohen, took 10 girls from local schools who wanted to skate but had no interest in hockey. Cohen, a former competitive skater and film student, worked with the
kids on their jumps and on their studies, a constructive marriage of ideals.

"These are young girls and teenagers at risk who face real problems like depression and obesity," Cohen said. "We've had a 75% retention rate here, and part of that is the reward of ice time and skating."

The girls meet twice a week after school at the rink in Riverbank Park off 145th St., from 3:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. They get tutoring, counseling. They do homework. They take education theory or dance. And then, finally, they skate at 6 o'clock. Cohen isn't looking to produce the next Sarah Hughes here. She just wants the girls to find a balance in their lives that involves both physical and intellectual activity.

If the students all turn out like 14-year-old Antaeus Turns-Ashcroft, Cohen will be very happy. Antaeus, a ninth grader from Harlem who attends the Dual Language School in the Village, has been with the program almost since its inception. She has learned a flip, a salchow, a lutz. But mostly, she has her eyes set on Yale, where she intends to become a drama major.

"That's the reason I keep coming back," Antaeus said. "They care about academics here. I can't get to college just skating."

This event tonight is a thrill for all the girls, who normally are a universe away from such big-time skaters. Goebel estimates that it costs him about $60,000 a year in coaching and travel expenses to maintain his career.

The girls from Figure Skating in Harlem are merely given ice time and skates that they must return after the season (Sierra admitted to losing a pair of pink ones, and paying the price for it).

The lack of access and opportunity has clearly limited the talent pool in figure skating, by class and race. The last black skater to reach world-class status was Surya Bonaly of France during the mid-'90s, and the last American was Debi Thomas, who captured an Olympic bronze medal in 1988.

"I think it's really important for all different sports for people of all backgrounds to be exposed to all sports," said Goebel, a former national champion and Olympic bronze medalist. "They should have that opportunity ... gymnastics, diving ... whatever sports they choose they can participate in.

"The great thing is this program is not just about teaching them sports, it's academic tutoring, classes on public speaking," Goebel said. "Ice skating is just one aspect. A lot of grassroots programs teach them sports, but it's important that it be hand in hand with education."

Kendra Vance, 14, from Heritage High School on the Upper East Side, is in her sixth year with the program. She is shy in front of crowds, so she took a public speaking course. By her own admission, she had a tendency to eat too much junk food.

"Now I'm not on the street where I can get in trouble," Kendra said. "And I'm watching what I'm eating. At times, you know, you just want to eat that hamburger."

But she stops herself, she skates instead, and tonight Kendra Vance will be on the same bill as Michelle Kwan.