STARskaters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 | |
| Founded | 2008 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Jim O'Neill |
| Type | Non-profit Organization |
| Location | |
Region served | United States |
| Product | Skating for Therapy and Recreation |
Key people | Jim O'Neill, B.L. Wylie, Reid Williams, Lilia Quintana, David Seto |
| Website | http://www.starskaters.org/ |
STARskaters.org, a US Paralympic Sport Club, was founded by Sugar Land, Texas businessman Jim O'Neill in 2008. The organization is composed of Houston area volunteers, many of whom are hockey players, skating instructors, figure skaters, coaches and officials.
The first version of the STARskaters website went live on May 1, 2008. The Maple Leaf Pub in Houston hosted the first fundraising event on July 26 of 2008, and the first skating event was held at the Willowbrook Aerodrome on August 2 of 2008.
The original concept was to hold quarterly STAR skates for organizations who provide services for individuals with disabilities, but the scope of the program quickly expanded to also include Sled Hockey. On February 14, 2009, the first "Sled Hockey Weekend" was held to recruit players and raise awareness of the sport in Houston.
The first STAR skate for ARC of Fort Bend County was held on May 15, 2010 and was the first STARskaters event held at the Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center. This event lead to the first special needs skating lessons which started in September 18, 2010.
The special needs skating lessons were noticed by B.L. Wylie, the Parent Education Coordinator for the U.S. Figure Skating instructional program at Sugar Land Ice & Sports Center. As the mother of Olympic Medalist Paul Wylie and a veteran instructor for U.S. Figure Skating, B.L. had always envisioned creating a skating program for individuals with disabilities. In October 2010 she took over as Director of the program which is today known as SkateTherapy.org which has become a model program for rinks across the country for instruction of disabled skaters.
Today, between the STAR skates, SkateTherapy and Sled Hockey programs, outreach and community involvement, more than 130 events are held annually.
Mission
STARskaters mission is to provide an on-ice experience for individuals with disabilities through their STAR skates, SkateTherapy and Sled Hockey programs.
Paralympic Sport Club status
In June 2011, STARskaters was invited to apply for status as a US Paralympic Sport Club.
Sports clubs are community-based sports organizations developed to involve youth and adults with physical and visual disabilities in ongoing sports and physical activity, regardless of skill level. They also serve as a pipeline to develop athletes for competition in the Paralympic games held every two years following the Olympic games.
After a review of the STARskaters program, Sport Club status was granted on July 21 of 2011. The first Paralympic Experience event was held at Ice Skate USA at Memorial City Mall on May 12, 2012 with Andy Yohe, Captain of the 2010 Gold Medal US Sled Hockey team participating in a "try Sled Hockey" event and providing instruction and skills and drills for players from Houston and Austin.
Organization structure
STARskaters is a 501(c)(3) non profit and 100% volunteer organization. There is a board of directors which oversees all of the programs as well as advisory boards for both the Sled Hockey and SkateTherapy programs.
Board of directors
- President – Jim O'Neill
- Vice President - T.C. Lewis
- Vice President, Sled Hockey – Andy Toppin
- Secretary – Lilia Quintana
- Treasurer - David Seto