The Senior Scene

Debbie Leung is here to tell you there is a place on the ice for everyone, no matter how old you are.

Leung is among older adults—some of the most seasoned in their 80s–in Washington and across the country who find fitness, camaraderie and friendly competition as ice skaters.

“It’s so much fun. I highly recommend that people of any age try it,” said Leung, who lives in Olympia and considers Sprinker Recreation Center in Spanaway her home rink.

Children and adults alike get their start in skating and, if they wish, wind up competing at the amateur level through Ice Sports Industry (ISI). Since its start in 1959 as a non-profit organization for owners, operators and developers of ice rinks, Plano, Texas-based ISI has added a learn-to-skate program that has introduced more than 10 million people to skating.

Sprinker, which is operated by Pierce County, has a membership in ISI. Sprinker’s director of skating, Janice Teodoro-Forbes, is a vice president of ISI’s Board of Directors. In Washington, other member rinks include Kingsgate Arena in Kirkland and Highland Ice Arena in Shoreline. The next closest rink is outside Washington, at Lloyd Center in Portland. By comparison, California has 14 rinks.

Sprinker was the site in 2019 of ISI’s West Coast Championships. Leung and other Washingtonians were among the 300-plus dance and freestyle competitors in the three-day event. They ranged in age from 3 to 73 and came from Alaska, California, Texas, Hawaii and Oregon.

For all of its regional and national competitions, ISI follows what it calls a simple philosophy: “Participation, not elimination.” Regardless of their ability, every skater can experience competing in front of an audience and judges, mainly for the fun of it in what is essentially a social club. The skaters meet people with “common interests and look forward to cultivating friendships year after year at competitions,” said Eileen Viglione, the communications manager for ISI.

She said ISI has a soft spot in its heart for “senior skaters. They really are an inspiration.”

Leung, who counts inspiration from fellow skaters as part of her motivation whenever she straps on her blades, described the experience of being a senior on Ice in the following conversation with Senior Scene.

SS: How long have you been a competitive ice skater, and what got you involved in the sport?

“I loved watching ice skating competitions on TV. As a martial artist, some of the positions looked familiar, and I wondered what it would be like to try it, but I had never skated before. Then I got the best birthday present ever–my first ice skating lessons at Sprinker Recreation Center. I never thought I’d compete. I just wanted to learn cross-overs and maybe to skate backwards. But the way the group lessons are taught, when you learn one thing, you find out it is a stepping stone to the next thing, and before I knew it, I was doing baby jumps, then bigger jumps and beginning spins, then private lessons, then my coach asked for music for a program, and before I knew it she had me in a local competition. That was April 1997, I think.”

SS: Where, and how much, do you practice?

“I practice at Sprinker. I used to skate three days a week, 90 minutes to two hours each time. Since about 2012, I’ve been skating two days a week, about two hours each day, but adding a day a week during the month before competing. With the pandemic, I’ve only skated a handful of times since last March. (Editor’s note: Sprinker has been closed periodically due to COVID-19 restrictions). I’m trying to stay in shape roller blading on the Chehalis-Western Trail once a week, depending on the weather, and riding my bicycle.”

SS: Talk about the West Coast Championships at Sprinker Recreation Center and your other competitions.

“It was fun to have such a big adult competition at the rink (Sprinker) where I skate. I met a few skaters from across the country.

“The competitions I usually attend are Pacific Coast Adult Sectionals organized by USFS (U.S. Figure Skating, the national governing body of the sport), which travels to different regions of the west coast. I participate most years. The U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships, also organized by USFS, is a big competition that is held at different rinks around the country, which I participated in annually for about 10 years, and now every couple years. Both of these are like annual reunions. The community built around these events is amazingly supportive. We watch each other perform and get to know each other in the stands. We throw little gifts to the skaters (tossies) when they take their bows at the end of their performances.

“The whole thing about adult competition and testing (USFS also created an adult testing program) is quite new. The first adult national championship was in 1995, and the organizers had no idea how many people would attend. They were inundated by hundreds of skaters. Since then, adult skating has skyrocketed, and our long-term dedication to skating provides a consistent clientele for rinks and coaches.

“There are some really good skaters doing double jumps and a very few doing triples, but most of the participants skate at a very basic level. Quite a few are in their 60s and up to 80. There is no upper age limit. Although there are qualifying events, most aren’t, in that anyone who has passed a pretty basic level through testing can participate. You don’t have to be good to participate. I try to encourage other adult skaters to try it because although competing is nerve-wracking, it’s also really fun, and the camaraderie is amazing.”

SS: What motivates you? Is it the competition, the active-life and physical benefits, camaraderie of other skaters? Something else?

“It’s all those things! I very seldom skip my scheduled skating sessions. When I’m at the rink, the stress and worries of life go away. Many adults who skate talk about it being their therapy. Learning new moves and steps is difficult at our age, and progress is slow, but just doing it, trying to improve our skills and learn new things with the incremental improvements is so rewarding and fun. It can take a lot of concentration, making time fly by. It’s so much fun, and I’m so focused on what I’m doing that I don’t even think of it as exercise, even though it works flexibility, balance, and strength, is also aerobic and includes music. It also keeps our minds active to remember choreography and remember all that the coach tells you. Few people outside of skating understand our addiction to it and its joys and frustrations, which makes the skating community special and tight, especially among the adults, since skating isn’t usually thought of as an adult sport.

“Many adults skate just for fun. The ones that come regularly usually take classes or private lessons with a coach. Some also test, which motivates them to keep practicing. In addition to just loving to skate, I find that I need tangible goals to keep me practicing well. And being ready to do the moves in the tests I’m working on is too far into the future, which is why I compete. Plus I like working on programs, putting the moves I can do to music. Once I started traveling to competitions since there are few adult competitions here locally, I met many adult skaters, usually the ones my age and ability because they are the ones I compete with. Everyone is very supportive and we’ve become good friends. Part of competing is to see and be with each other.”

SS: What would you say to anyone, seniors included, who would like to try skating?

“I recommend taking lessons. Group lessons are relatively inexpensive, and learning the basics makes it so fun and satisfying. Soon you make friends and glide on the ice, which feels so freeing and amazing. It’s so much fun you don’t realize you’re exercising. I do advise adults skating for the first time, or the first time in a while, to wear wrist guards and a helmet.”

Age shouldn’t matter. Boomers know how to handle the pandemic. Young and old alike are better together. And technology gurus should keep older people in mind.

Erica Baird and Karen Wagner believe these are four truths worth promoting in the spirit of debunking stereotypes about age. The retired lawyers are co-founders of Lustre.net, an online portal dedicated to talking about the value that older people offer to society. Baird and Wagner want women in particular and seniors in general to “forge new identities and find new purpose—and pass on what we know to the next generation.” For instance:

Older people are people, too.

According to the World Health Organization, ageism affects at least 600 million people worldwide. Ageism serves only to legitimize stereotypes of older people and leads to views, such as those articulated during the pandemic, that maybe the pandemic is not so bad if it only affects older people (which of course it doesn’t). It’s time to ditch those false assumptions. Older people are living longer and better than ever. If they’re lucky, every younger person will one day be older. Everyone needs to understand that older people are people, too.

Boomers have skills that help them handle the pandemic.

Boomers have solved many problems in their time. They also know that crises can bring about positive change. They lived through the dawn of modern feminism, the birth of the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War protests, and the AIDS crisis. So while they hate the pandemic, they know how to deal with the daily dramas, and they know it will bring some useful changes when it is over.

Younger and older people are better off if they live in the same communities.

Older people are in the prime of their lives. They offer experience and perspective to younger people, who in turn have energy and exuberance that can benefit elders. Diversity of perspectives is a good thing. Isolating older people by housing them in retirement communities and excluding them from the workforce is a waste. Never before have so many generations lived at the same time. Keeping them together profits everyone.

Older people should participate in tech design.

Thanks to the pandemic, right now is Zoom time, and everyone is connecting virtually. Older people know this isn’t the way anyone wants to live, but they also know how to make it work for the moment. In their careers, when technology flowered, they learned its value and how to use it. Zoom is just an extension of what they already know. Older people do sometimes get frustrated with technology—who doesn’t—but they are seldom asked for input on the design of anything.

2020 ended with vaccines against coronavirus, with the first doses going to healthcare workers who treat COVID-19 patients, other healthcare workers, and elderly residents of long-term facilities.

Arrival and distribution of the vaccine in Washington came on the heels of the federal Food and Drug Administration authorizing emergency use of one developed by the drug manufacturer Pfizer. The decision was finalized Dec. 10. After that, a pact of health experts representing Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada and Colorado met and formally approved use of the vaccine in their states.

A second vaccine, this one developed by Moderna, also was approved by federal and state authorities and was scheduled to begin arriving in Washington by the end of December.

The Pfizer vaccine, the first one available in the U.S., is given in two doses 21 days apart. The first shots for Washingtonians were expected to be given in mid-December.

State Department of Health officials said the federal government gave Washington approximately 62,400 doses of the Pfizer vaccine “for our initial allocation. They have also told us we should receive an estimated total of around 200,000 doses by the end of December,” followed by regular weekly shipments of the vaccine to Washington beginning in January.

The vaccine is intended to stimulate the production of antibodies for immunity against COVID-19, which began ravaging the U.S. in early 2020. The death toll nationally was approaching 300,000 nationally and topped 3,000 in Washington by December.

Efforts to control the spread of the virus remain critical while the vaccine is slowly reaching the population, Governor Jay Inslee said.

“What we do between now — when COVID activity is still at crisis levels — and the time when vaccines are widely available, is literally a matter of life and death,” Inslee said Dec. 8 while announcing three more weeks of restrictions on businesses and gatherings.

The state health department shared the following common questions and its answers about progress on the vaccine:

When will Washington have a vaccine?

We are hopeful we will have a vaccine to begin administering by mid-December, but the date is still uncertain. Availability will depend on the results of several different COVID-19 vaccines.

Will everyone be able to get the vaccine?

When a vaccine for COVID-19 is available, we will not have enough at first to offer it to everyone. We will have to make tough decisions about who gets the vaccine first. Eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it. What we know for sure is that the first phase of vaccination will focus on workers in healthcare settings that serve patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19, along with staff and residents of long-term care facilities. We’ll know more about who will be vaccinated in later phases based on input and decisions made by the national Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Getting vaccine to the people is a large, coordinated effort, and the timeline for all eligible people to receive the vaccine will take many months to understand.

Can any pharmacy, clinic or hospital offer the vaccine?

To receive and administer the vaccine and supplies, providers must enroll in a federal vaccine distribution program, coordinated through the state immunization program (unless they are part of a national chain that registered directly with the CDC). The federal government will procure and distribute the vaccine at no cost to enrolled providers.

Long-term care facilities can also enroll in a program that will provide vaccine for their residents and staff. On Oct. 16, the White House announced a federal partnership with CVS and Walgreens to administer the vaccine to residents in long-term care facilities when available. (Pariticipation by such facilities) is critical to ensure their vulnerable residents are among the first to receive a vaccine.

How much will it cost to get vaccinated?

The federal government will cover the cost of the vaccine. Healthcare providers may charge an office visit fee, or a fee to give the vaccine. Health insurance most likely will cover these fees. We’re working with other state agencies to address people who don’t have health insurance.