Ice skating is a beautiful, most elegant sport.
It sooths my nerves and brightens my spirit. I find watching the sport very relaxing and enjoyable.
I recently had the pleasure of doing a feature story with 16-year-old Thomson High School junior Ashley Frankenfield, who has been ice skating since she was a little girl.
I hope her story will inspire dozens of other youngsters and teenagers to become involved in the sport of ice skating.
It's a terrific sport.
Like any sport, it requires a lot of practice.
Those like Ashley must be totally committed and dedicated to the sport. Without question, she is. With her talent, there's no telling where she will end up as far as ice skating is concerned. I would be proud. Without doubt, I know her mother, Joyce Frankenfield, would be most proud, too.
Such sports as girls' softball and soccer, had to grow the numbers in this area.
The same is true of ice skating. It's high time we grew the numbers.
It's my belief that we can grow those numbers by doing feature-type stories on those involved in ice skating in our area.
That's basically we grew softball and soccer. Today, those are bigger than they've ever been before in our area.
The more stories that people read in area newspapers about softball and soccer, the more support and coverage these sports seemed to have generated.
Some would argue that ice skating is an expensive sport. And that's true. But it's no more expensive traveling girls' softball and soccer programs.
By the way, I'm not just advocating ice skating for girls, I'd like to see more males involved in the sport, too.
The reason is plain and simple. It's a great sport and fun at the same time.
One of the finest ice skating rinks in this part of Georgia is in Augusta. It is known as Augusta Ice Sports Center and is located at 1249 Augusta West Parkway.
For more information about learning how to ice skate, I invite those interested to call the ice skating facility at (706) 863-0061.
Ice skating lessons are available, too.
We need to find outlets for children and teens in our area -- things that interest them.
Having been around recreation, middle school, high school and college sports pretty much all of my adult life, I've learned that kids have varied interests. Some want to play team sports, while others would rather participate in a sport requiring individual talent.
If it's the latter, then ice skating may be the way to go.
