The Ice Sports Forum Skating Academy celebrates the holidays and pays tribute to late figure skating coach Victor Grantham with a special showcase: A Little Bit of Christmas, A Little Bit of Love.The students of the academy perform a recital of holiday skits along with a special exhibition by professional skaters Tommy Brannen and Moscow on Ice pair Katya Grishina and Alexey Korchuganov.
The event takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14.
Grantham, who'd been a coach at ISF since the facility opened five years ago, was much beloved by his colleagues and students. And donations are being accepted so the academy can purchase a figure skating harness in his memory. The apparatus, something Grantham had long wanted for his students, allows skaters to practice jumps with less risk of injury.
The kids performing are enrolled in the Learn to Skate Program and range in age and ability from coltish tots to older, advanced skaters.
Brannen, a part-time coach at the academy, has skated professionally for the past 18 years. A native of Boston, he began his career at 8, training in figures, freestyle and pairs under the instruction of Helen McHugh Hatch of Boston and World Team member Lisa Coppola. For years Brannen was a cast member of Walt Disney's Magic Kingdom on Ice and toured extensively. A New England medalist, he's still an Eastern competitor in both singles and pairs but performs now at Busch Gardens in shows such as World Rhythms on Ice. He now enjoys being able to pass on his knowledge to a new generation.
Grishina and Korchuganov skate for Moscow on Ice at Cypress Gardens in the show Skate the States. It's a salute to the United States and its landmarks performed by world-class figure skaters. Members of the cast come largely from Ukraine and Russia.
ISF is the official training facility of the Tampa Bay Lightning and consists of two regulation ice rinks for figure skating and USA Hockey programs. It offers public skating, private lessons and hockey leagues for youths and adults. There's also the Centerline Cafe, which offers snacks, and the Power Play Grill, a pub with specialty beers, a pool table and big-screen TVs (perfect for catching NHL games).
The Ice Sports Forum is located at 10222 Elizabeth Place, Tampa. 813-684-7825.
This article appears in Dec 11-17, 2002.