December Newsletter

🎄 Holiday Schedule Highlights

We’re pausing regular classes for the holidays and will resume instruction on
Tuesday, January 6.

In the meantime, we’re hosting a series of special holiday social skates, and we’d love to see you there!

Please note:
👉 Tuesday & Friday social skates are 2:00–4:00 PM during the holiday period
(this is different from our usual 11:00–1:00 PM time).

✨ JOY IN MOTION — December’s Theme

As we roll into the heart of The Big Dark in the beautiful PNW, our rink (El Centro Skate Rink in Federal Way, WA) becomes a bright spot in the week—a place where movement brings warmth, connection, and that unmistakable spark of joy. This year’s guiding theme, The Joy of Skating, reaches its fullest meaning now, as we find light not from the sun… but from each other, from the music, and from the simple magic of wheels in motion.

This month, we’re celebrating how joy grows when we move with intention—through the beautiful basics, the Art of Plain Skating, and every breakthrough that makes skating feel effortless and expressive.

Here’s a glimpse of the message that opens our December season:

“Joy isn’t something we wait for. It’s something we create every time we show up, glide forward, and let movement wake us up from the inside out.”

✨ Read the full December reflection on ArtisticSkating.com →

🗓️ December Calendar & Announcements

🎁 (Un)Boxing Day — Family Skate!

The Day After Christmas… let’s get out of the house and ROLL!

After the wrapping paper settles and the cookies disappear… it’s time to lace up, step out, and move together as a family!
Join us on December 26th for a special Family Skate & Artistic Skating Pop-Up — the perfect way to shake off the holiday stillness and enjoy some joyful movement together.

Whether you received new skates for Christmas or you’ve had a pair waiting in the closet, this day is for you. And even if you don’t own skates — no problem! We’ll have rentals available so everyone can enjoy the fun.

🛼 What to Expect:

Family-friendly skating time
Instructors on the floor for tips and help
A pop-up intro to artistic skating (just a taste!)
Skates and equipment check-in for new gear
Lots of smiles… maybe even a few laps holding hands!

🛼 Perfect For:

Families wanting to get active the day after Christmas
Kids who want to show off their new skates
Parents who skated when they were young and want to try again
Beginners, curious skaters, and returning skaters of all ages

Date: Thursday, December 26th
Time: 2 – 4 PM
Location: El Centro Skate Rink
Bring: Your skates (boxed or unboxed!) and your family!

Let’s make December 26th a tradition —
A day to roll, laugh, and move together after the holiday hush.
Because time together is the real gift. 💫

Note: This is a pop-up event hosted by Artistic Skating, and as such we don’t offer snack bar or arcade service. We will have special treats in the Snack Bar and a Fund Raiser Bake Sale to benefit our Artistic Skating Team. This special social skate is for families with children, and our focus is fun learning games and music selected for the young ones.

🌈 December’s theme: Joy In Motion

✨ What to Expect in Classes This Month! ✨

December may be a short month for classes, but we’re filling every minute with what matters most: JOY. Not the perform-it-perfect, toes-just-so kind of joy… but the real kind. The kind that comes from moving your body, laughing with friends, discovering new rhythms, and doing those quirky little moves that feel amazing — even if the mirror (or the photos) tell another story.

You know the moment: you lift your leg into a glorious, sweeping spiral… the wind in your hair, the music swelling…
And then someone shows you the picture and — well — your leg was apparently only 3 inches off the ground.
But did it feel fabulous?
Yes.
And that’s exactly the spirit we’re embracing this month.

💫 Feel-Good Skating All Month Long

We’ll explore the movements that make your body say “ooooh yes” — the stretches, the flowing edges, the silly-but-satisfying wiggles, the powerful pushes, the little hops and swizzles that wake up your imagination. Whether they’re technically “correct” or not, if they bring you joy, they’re in the mix this month.

🎶 Skating to New Tempos & Styles

We’ll also play with music in a big way:

Fast songs, slow songs, dreamy songs
Ballroom, pop, classic rink favorites
And even a few surprises…

We’ll take some familiar dances we’ve been practicing all year and try them to completely different music — and suddenly, everything changes. It’s a beautiful way to discover flow, personality, and confidence on the floor.

🛼 Daytime Classes: A Year-in-Review

Both Sk8Groove and Sk8Artistic daytime classes will spend December revisiting every dance we’ve worked on in 2024. Think of it as a joyful rewind — a chance to remember how far you’ve come, how your edges have smoothed out, how your posture has lifted, and how your confidence has grown.

We’ll also be preparing some special takeaways for the
Joy of Skating Workbook — 2025 Edition, including:

Steps we’ve mastered
Dances we’ve completed
Reflections on joy, momentum, and growth
A few inspiration pages to carry into the new year

🎩🥧 Grand Finale: GRAND MARCH + “Ties & Pies” Social

We’ll close out our December classes with a festive Grand March, followed by a “Ties & Pies” Social hosted by our Last Chance Dance Skaters Club. Bring a fun tie, your best pie, your family, or your friends — and get ready for laughter, photos, and plenty of sugary cheer.

This Month’s Theme: Joy in Motion

It’s not about perfection.
It’s not about comparison.
It’s about remembering why we skate in the first place:
Because it feels good to move. Because it feels good to belong. Because it feels good to glide.

And that joy? It’s already in you.
Let’s skate it out together. 💖🛼✨

Learn More

💫 Ready to Grow? Private Lessons Are Your Pathway Forward.

Whether you’re just starting out, getting your confidence back, or dreaming big for the year ahead, nothing accelerates your progress like one-on-one instruction with a trusted guide. Private lessons offer focused attention, personalized feedback, and the kind of targeted breakthroughs that simply aren’t possible in a group setting.

Our certified instructors — Linda Sewell and Kayla Burns — bring decades of experience, artistry, and a whole lot of heart to every lesson. Think of us as your skating guides: we help you discover your strengths, polish your edges, and explore the skills that make you feel joyful, expressive, and capable on wheels.

🌟 Private Instruction Can Help You:

Build a strong foundation and correct early habits
Level up specific skills like edges, turns, spins, or dance steps
Prepare for Sk8Skills testing, Sk8Stars, or competitive goals
Gain confidence and consistency in your skating
Create a personalized plan for growth in the new year

Private lessons are the perfect place to ask questions, explore new ideas, try challenges at your own pace, and experience real “aha!” moments — the kind that stay with you long after you roll off the floor.

As we look toward a fresh new year, this is a wonderful time to invest in deeper, more intentional skating instruction. We’ll be announcing a special January opportunity soon, so stay tuned!

👉 Visit our Private Lessons page to contact the certified teacher of your choice and begin your next chapter on wheels.

The Skaters Have Spoken!

💃🛼 Last Chance Dance Skaters Club Update — New Leadership Elected!

Our skating community took a big step forward on November 20th as the Last Chance Dance Skaters Club held its first organizational meeting — and we are thrilled to announce the election of our inaugural officers:

Bri Sevores — President
Justine Briley — Vice President
Rosita Mayo — Secretary/Treasurer

This dynamic trio will be working together throughout December to prepare the Club’s Mission Statement and By-Laws, setting a strong foundation for the future. With their leadership, we’ll be ready to hit the ground rolling in January, when the Club will officially file its 501(c)(3) nonprofit application.

Why This Matters

Becoming a nonprofit organization gives the Club the ability to support the sport of Artistic Skating in the ways our local members choose — whether that’s helping skaters attend competitions, offering scholarships, improving equipment, promoting special events, or creating more opportunities for our community to grow.

It also means the Club can host fundraising activities such as:

Skating shows & exhibitions
Bake sales
Skate-a-thons
Community events
And more — all benefiting the goals decided by the membership

This is a huge milestone for our skate family and a beautiful example of what happens when skaters come together with vision, energy, and heart.

Stay tuned — 2025 is going to be a remarkable year for the Last Chance Dance Skaters!

🏆 Building Our Future: The El Centro Artistic Team Judges Panel

Behind every great skater is a great judge.
This fall, the El Centro Artistic Team is proud to introduce its new Judges Panel, a dedicated group of skaters and teachers training to become certified judges for the RSA Achievement Tests and USARS competitions.

Led by Kaydee Mounce, an experienced judge, referee, and tabulator, the group meets Fridays at 1:00 PM to study scoring systems, judging ethics, and how to fairly and clearly evaluate the skaters who’ve worked so hard to master their skills.

“Judging is more than just scoring,” says Mounce. “It’s about recognizing the hard work and heart each skater puts into their performance—and helping them see their progress clearly.”

All El Centro Artistic Team members are invited to join these sessions to learn what judges look for and how the testing system works. Successful candidates will be certified to judge at local Test Centers and can go on to train for regional and national events through USARS and AARS.

📸 Photo: Members of the El Centro Artistic Team Judges Panel during a recent Friday training session.

🗓️ Calendar of Events — Artistic Skating 2025–2026 Season

The competitive and performance season is already shaping up to be an exciting one for our El Centro Artistic Team (ECAT) skaters! As we move toward 2026, there will be several major opportunities for our skaters to perform, test, and compete on both the regional and national stage.

Upcoming 2026 Events:

America’s Cup Championships of Clubs
January 16–22, 2026 — Orlando, Florida
This prestigious invitational event kicks off the year and brings together clubs from across the nation for a celebration of artistic roller skating excellence.
USARS Regional Qualifiers
June 20–22, 2026 — Portland, Oregon
Skaters who have been working hard through the fall and winter will have the opportunity to qualify for the USARS National Championships in their own backyard. This event serves as the gateway to Nationals and an inspiring showcase of the Pacific Northwest’s top talent.
Spring Showcase — Sponsored by Last Chance Dance Skaters
June 18, 2026 — 5:30–7:30 PM, El Centro Rink
Our annual Spring Showcase returns! This uplifting community event gives every skater a chance to shine and celebrate the progress of the season in a fun, family-friendly evening of performances, music, and awards.
AARS American Championships
June 24–July 3, 2026 — Union, Missouri
ECAT will proudly participate in this multi-division event that brings together artistic roller skaters from across the Americas. A great opportunity for our skaters to represent El Centro on a national stage.
USARS National Championships
July 2026 — Lincoln, Nebraska
The historic home of roller skating once again hosts Nationals! Skaters who qualify at Regionals will compete among the country’s best in this inspiring annual tradition. Official dates will be announced soon.

Skaters interested in performing, testing, or competing in any of these events should speak with Coach Linda or Coach Kayla for details about eligibility, travel, and training plans. More information will be shared as registration and event details become available.

💖 Thank You for Rolling with Us

We’re so grateful for everyone who’s been part of this growing community — both on and off the rink. Your encouragement keeps us going through the late nights, the learning curves, and the occasional “oops” moments. Thank you for your patience and for believing in this journey as we keep building something truly special together.

See you at the rink (and online, too!)
~ Coach Linda & Coach Kayla