Madison’s Ice Rinks: Finding joy, competitive edge, & belonging!
Hannah and Eva Lyons with Coach Emily Dehmer!
My name is Rebecca Lyons. I am a resident in the Wexford neighborhood, and I am here to voice my support for the resolution.
Both MIA and Hartmeyer are central part of our children’s lives. My husband and I have two children, Eva (10) and Hannah (8). We put Eva in learn to skate lessons when she was 4 at MIA. The original intention was for her to have some baseline skating skills so that we could go to our local outdoor skating rink at Wexford park. What we did not anticipate was how much that first class in snowplow Sam would evolve.
The moment Eva started lessons in Snowplow Sam, she found joy unlike anything else that she had ever done. despite falling, nearly constantly during those first few lessons, she always got back up and couldn’t wait to go back. This was unique for a child who previously cried going to dance lessons, had no interest in her soccer classes, refused to learn how to ride a bike or do anything athletic. (She has since learned how to ride a bike). But skating: Skating was something new and different, and in her words as a 5 year old “I feel free!” (Which even now seems like how could a 5 year old say this- but she has an old soul).
Eva continued, and in early 2021, when she was still home schooling during COVID, she started learning synchro, where she found community and belonging. She was in kindergarten when the world shut down, and now synchro lessons and the next year the, MID provided her with an ability to bond with other young skaters, who like her, had missed out on formative years of social development. so now, not only was skating providing her with her freedom, and joy, it was a place where she was able to continue developing socially and emotionally, a place of connection, as a first grader without ability to connect with other children through school.
Additionally, synchro has taught her dedication, perseverance, and the importance of working together as one. Eva spends 5-6 hours with her synchro team every weekend at the rinks, sometimes waking up at 4;45 to make it to Hartmeyer for early practice on Saturday mornings. This time of year, with all of the users utilizing the rinks, synchro gets the raw end of the hockey stick and skates at the break of dawn. But Eva never complains. And it’s important to note here, that while there are other rinks outside of MIA and HIA, the amount of users who utilize the rinks, from the MMSD hockey teams, to the polar caps- the developmental hockey league, the skating school, the inspire synchronized co-op teams, to sled hockey, to adult hockey leagues and individual ice lessons AND lastly public skate, there is no way that the other rinks could accommodate the huge influx of programs and users that these two rinks currently house.
And my younger daughter, Hannah, continued on this path that her older sister paved. She started skating and also loved it. And while Eva took skating lessons and learned quickly, Hannah had some barriers to overcome. You see, Hannah autism and although she is what you would consider “high functioning”, Hannah’s barriers to learning how to use her body, how her body functions In space, and developing the muscles necessary for skating, took longer. And, anyone who knows Hannah, knows her silliness and eccentricities sometimes do not enable immediate connection with her peers.
But Hannah thrives when she is at the rink. Hannah is accepted, despite her ongoing endless stream of consciousness and questions. Others know her, she is at home there, and feels comfortable being exactly who she is.
Because of HIA and MIA, the programs that are run there (lessons, skating practices and now Hockey for Hannah, exhibitions, annual ice show and competitions), our children have a place of community, a place that has developed their confidence, a place where I have seen them thrive. And the irony is, with climate change, our ability to access our outdoor rink (the original reason we started on this journey in the first place) has become more limited. I believe last year, we were only able to go to the outdoor rink once.
Supporting the resolution means supporting families like ours, with children who find their joy, their competitive edge, the belonging through all the different opportunities that the rinks offer. When you make your decision, I hope you consider what families like ours have found through these rinks.