On the 7th of March, 2010 the Ice Chalet Skating Rink in the Rolling Hills Estates, Promenade on the Peninsula mall generously hosted a night of free skating to Valmonte residents from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. Many brave souls with no previous experience gave it the college try and got better each lap around the Arena. Those that have spent childhood years in colder climates got reacquainted with gliding on ice and enjoyed the cool comradery.
However, there were an elite few who put us all in our place with their grace and expertise. Laney Diggs, 17, and Stephanie Valasek, aged 14, are two such Ice Angels.
These young athletes skate two to three hours a day, seven days a week and more time is added when they have an upcoming event. Working so hard on their skating does not leave time for much else so they have given up activities like Girl Scouts and Cotillion.
The material that delivers this combination is a knit fabric and damages easily. The special, over-the-boot tights that cover the entire skate can run after a single performance. “Gloves, too - it’s up to a pair a week!” explains Christie, Stephanie’s mom. The costumes are designed by their various designers and choreographers who have the task of melding the design with the music. The girls compete with several musical genres - “In the Mood” by Glenn Miller, the overture of a 1960’s movie, “Irma la Douce” and “Les Mis”.
Laney began skating at age 5. She is 17 and a senior at Palos Verdes Peninsula High School. She now trains in Harbor city, but trained in El Segundo alongside Evan Lysacek, who won a gold medal in the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. At the time I spoke to her she was 15th in the nation in the senior solo category with USFSA, the United States Figure Skating Association. She currently skates for the All Year FSC, Figure Skating Club. In 2010 at the US Championships, Laney became the Senior Bronze Ladies medalist in the Pacific Coast Sectional Figure Skating competitions. She says that experience is her life’s “defining moment”. Her favorite city that she has skated in is Vancouver, Canada and when she’s not skating, she likes to cook, read, watch basketball with her family, and has Olympic aspirations.
Stephanie, 14, started skating when she was three. Like all kids she went on to include many extra curricular pursuits to her calendar but the love of skating grew by leaps and bounds – literally! She has outgrown the Rolling Hills Estates Ice Rink because it is not long enough for some of her jumps. She now skates at five different rinks from Burbank to Harbor City. Stephanie helps teach the Learn to Skate classes every Saturday to give back to the rink where her career began.
Christie Valasek knows how hard these kids work at their sport and realized there was no High School Varsity letter available to them. After presenting their case to the school athletic director, it was agreed – skaters would get their due recognition as they certainly deserve the letter. For the first time in PVPHS’s history, on April 17th, 2010 at the Rolling Hills Community Covenant Community Center at 735 Silver Spur in Rolling Hills a banquet will be held to present Varsity letters to these accomplished kids. Tickets are $20.00 which includes dinner. Call Christie Valasek at 310.722.0605 for more information and ticket sales.
See what can happen from a little fun in your neighborhood?! And to think – I had never been inside the Rolling Hills Estates Ice Chalet before - all the while kids have been building a future there. It’s a friendly and well maintained rink where one can go watch local teams play hockey or just practice standing up… on blades.
“Thank you so much for doing this!” I heard as I was leaving. Yes – thank you!
