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Minto Skating Club: 100th AnniversaryA Century of SkatingMay 22, 2004
A 100th anniversary is a landmark event for any organization. It is a time for celebration and the Minto Skating Club was in the mood to celebrate. It has been a year of special activities. Tulips were planted at the Minto Skating Centre. A dinner and auction was held in November, 2003. A special book, Minto: Skating Through Time by Janet Uren, was published in time for Christmas giving. Special skating performances were part of Winterlude and celebrations at Rideau Hall, home of Canada's Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. The climax of the year of celebration came with a special performance of the Minto Follies on May 14th and the Skater's Ball and Celebrity Auction on May 15th. The guest of honor for the weekend was Barbara Ann Scott King, Canada's first Olympic gold medalist in figure skating, and her husband, Tom King. Ottawa mayor, Bob Chiarelli declared Friday May 14th to be Barbara Ann Scott day. The proclamation was made at Ottawa City Hall and she was presented with a birdhouse built by an Ottawa city employee. The birdhouse was constructed from wood taken from a 100 year-old barn and the roof was covered with copper taken several years ago from the roof of the Chateau Laurier during restoration and which had been in place on the roof of the Chateau in 1947 and 1948 when Barbara Ann was winning her World and Olympic gold medals. Later that evening, she was the guest of honor at the Minto Follies. Waiting backstage to be pushed onto the ice in a sleigh, Barbara Ann chatted with the skaters waiting to open the show. "They were excited to meet her," said Tara McDougall, the show's artistic director and choreographer. "They heard the ovation from the audience when she made her entrance. It brought home the sense of history and the importance of the history (of the Minto Skating Club). It was an emotional moment." Don Jackson, a World gold medalist and Olympic medalist himself, added "It was inspiring for the skaters. It shows that she still maintains the ties to the Minto Skating Club, that she hasn't forgotten them." This sense of history was carried over into the first number, A Salute to the Past by the senior skaters. Sarah Hodgins, Novice Ladies Club Champion, portrayed a young Barbara Ann skating to the same music Barbara Ann had skated to in the Olympics wearing a costume designed to evoke Barbara Ann's costume. "I wanted to bridge the gap between the Minto Alumni and organizing committee members and the young skaters and their parents, to give them a sense of history," said Tara when asked how she approached this edition of the Follies. "I wanted to bring in past Follies and give it a modern twist." That was accomplished with group numbers such as Ice Revue Favourites performed by the Minto junior skaters and An Evening at the Starlight Ballroom performed by the adult skaters. Minto adult skaters have performed in every edition of the Follies that has been presented. Andrée Aylen, John Aylen and Alison March represented Minto Follies alumni and special non-skating guests were Lynn Nightingale and Isabelle Duchesnay. There was more to the Follies than nostalgia. "I also wanted them (skaters and their families) to see the talent in the club," said Tara. That talent was amply provided by current competitors such as Ashton Tessier, Shawn Sawyer, Siobhan Karam and Joshua McGrath, Mandy Valentine, Fedor Andreev, and Chantal Lefebvre and Aseniy Markov. Former Canadian champions Angela Derochie, Brian Orser and Don Jackson rounded out the cast. Don Jackson also skated in the adult group with his wife Barbara who also coaches at Minto. After the Senior/Competitive skaters brought the performance to an end, Barbara Ann was escorted to ice level to say a few words and to cut the 100th birthday cake. She asked Don Jackson and Brian Orser, both former Canadian and World Champions and Olympic medalists to join her for the cutting of the cake. The weekend came to a gala ending on Saturday evening with the Skater's Ball and celebrity auction. Music was provided by the Stevens and Kennedy Band who had, in years past, provided the live music for the Minto Follies. The highlight of the evening came when Barbara Ann and her husband, Tom King, announced a donation of $100,000.00 to the Barbara Ann Scott King and Minto Alumni Trust Fund which offers skaters scholarships for post secondary education. Congratulations go to Judy (Nesbitt) Reid, chair of the 100th Anniversary Committee and all the members of the committee for organizing the celebrations. Special mention must be made of Vicky Elias who was in charge of decorations. She transformed the Minto Skating Centre into a wonderland. |
Don Jackson and Brian Orser, both former Canadian and World Champions and Olympic
medalists to join Barbara Ann Scott King to cut the 100th birthday cake.