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Twice each week, 52 Detroit girls gather at a northwest side rink for lessons in a sport few schoolmates get to try.

These young pioneers, ages 6-15, are the first recruits chosen by Figure Skating in Detroit -- a program focusing on education, leadership training and ballet-like moves on ice. This city is the first city expansion site of a two-decade-old New York model called Figure Skating in Harlem.


Program instructors and advanced students performed at the Campus Martius Ice Rink before November's holiday tree lighting. (Facebook photos)

"Coursework in STEM, entrepreneurship, self-esteem and health, along with mentorship on and off the ice, will prepare the city’s young women for success in all areas of life," the new branch's website says. 

At a public rink in the Adams-Butzel Recreation Center on Lyndon Street each Tuesday and Thursday after school, skaters are divided into four groups by skill level. Newcomers learn the basics, while more advanced participants work on spins and jumps.

On Mondays and Wednesdays, girls get tutoring in reading, writing and math at the same city complex in the Grandmont Rosedale area. "We also introduce STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math), financial literacy and communications classes," the website says, adding:

Indvidualized guidance and high school and college access workshops are offered to students throughout the year. . . .

In addition, our Girls Off-Ice Fitness Investment Training (GO-Fit) program teaches the girls nutrition, fitness and balance and body awareness through different classes, including ballet, jazz and Laban Movement.

A one-week day camp was held last summer at the Detroit Skating Club in Bloomfield Hills.

Detroit's program earns attention from The Undefeated, an ESPN online offshoot that explores "the intersections of race, sports and culture." Eryn Mathewson writes from Manhattan:

Many black girls, in Detroit and elsewhere, have not been exposed to the sport or its benefits. . . .

Applicants are required to be Detroit residents and undergo an interview. Geneva Williams, director of Figure Skating in Detroit, uses the interview to determine the quality most important to her and the program: commitment.

In exchange for the time commitment — roughly two hours per day, four days a week — and maintaining at least a B average in school, the girls receive ice skates, uniforms, mentoring and on-ice instruction. Parents are asked to participate as well. Williams doesn’t just want them to provide transportation and fees, she wants them to attend some of the workshops.

The cost to the family is about $250, which covers instructor’s fees, costumes and equipment, and skates. Anyone who can’t swing that amount is asked to pay what they can. The Michigan Women’s Foundation, individual donors and other local foundations subsidize most of the program’s expenses. Williams' goal is to get 300 girls to join by the end of 2018.

Understanding the physics of figure skating can help girls understand physics generally, the director tells Matthewson, who writes: 

It is these connections between sports and science that fortify her belief in the program.

Another benefit for the participants is the backing of Olympian Meryl Davis. The 2014 ice dancing Olympic champion . . .has been promoting both programs in Harlem and Detroit. She visits and gives skating tips to the girls from time to time.


Ashley Robinson, administrative assistant.

A year from now, Figure Skating in Detroit participants -- along with the rest of us -- get to see world-class moves locally at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The Jan. 19-27, 2019, competition will be at Little Caesars Arena and the Detroit Skating Club.

Apply for the program

  • Requirements: All students must be female, between 6 and 17, and must live in Detroit.
  • Interviews: Applicants will be contacted for an admissions interview.
  • Contact: Ashley Robinson, administrative assistant, at info@figureskatingindetroit.org or (313) 962-1920.

See more

Below is a promotional video about the Detroit effort, followed by three images from the Harlem flagship.