My Ice Skating Background and History
1968 - 73: I began Skating at age 18 in Baltimore, Maryland with the Free State Figure Skating Club.
My pro coach was Robert S. Ogilvie, author of ``Basic Ice Skating Skills", An Official Handbook Prepared
for the United States Figure Skating Association. I have been a
member of the USFSA since I began skating.
I attended several summer skating camps during those years with Ogilvie at Wilmington, Delaware,
Troy, New, and Fairfax, Virginia. I worked on basic skills, spins, jumps, footwork, figures and dance.
The highest figure test I passed was the 2nd.
I passed all the Preliminary dances and some Bronze dances.
(There were no pre-bronze dances at that time.)
1973 - 1977: I skated with the Yale Figure Skating Club while a graduate student in mathematics at
Yale. I had coaching help from Carl Walker (dance), Monty Tiedeman (national dance competitor),
Chris Kales (national singles competitor). I continued to work on freestyle and dance, and passed
Bronze and Pre-Silver dances by May 1977.
1977 - 1979: I skated with the Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.
(I was a member from 1978 to 1979.) I worked with Red Bainbridge on Silver dances. I learned a lot
about partnering in dance from many wonderful adult dancers at the social dance sessions.
1979 - present: I joined the Binghamton Figure Skating Club in 1979. I have been skating regularly
here ever since except for two periods when I was in Princeton, New Jersey at the Institute for Advanced
Study for mathematical research (1982 - 83 and 1987 - 88). While in Princeton I joined the Princeton Figure
Skating Club and took lessons in dance from Debbie MacManimon (ex-dance partner of Monty Tiedeman). I
worked on the Silver dances (American Waltz and Rocker Foxtrot). In Binghamton I participated in some
of the Holiday Festival On Ice shows at the Arena, and more recently have performed in the Spring
Exhibitions of the Binghamton FSC.
1993 - 1999: I was coached by Jodi Alden, and passed all the Silver and Pre-Gold dances. I also worked
on spins, footwork and some jumps, but after an injury to my left knee I have not seriously worked on
the jumps. In the past I worked very seriously on the jumps and learned all the single jumps except the
Axel. I have worked on the Axel and several double jumps with Ogilvie and later coaches, and feel that
I understand the technical theory of these jumps.
1999 - 2000: I worked with Stacy Martin on Gold dance and had some lessons from Matt Thomas as well
during a summer camp at the Chenango Bridge Ice Arena. I attended the USFSA Adult Training Camp in Laurel
Maryland, June 10-11, 2000.
2000 - present: My main coach now is Alison Lovejoy, and my dance partner is Julie Tucker. I have worked
on the Adult Moves in the Field and on the Gold Ice Dances. I passed all of the Adult Moves in the Field
tests and completed the Gold one at the end of the 2007 season. I passed the Adult Viennese Waltz
partnered by Alison Lovejoy, and
on Dec. 15, 2007 I passed the Adult Quickstep, partnered by Jackie Klein, who was my second coach while she
was working in this area. I passed the Adult Argentine Tango on Dec. 19, 2009 partnered by Julie Tucker.
That leaves me only the Westminster Waltz to complete the
Gold ice dance level. I had worked on some free dances with Jackie Klein, and even started to learn some
lifts. In the 2009-2010 season I have been working on the gold dances with the coaching help of Alison
Lovejoy, Julie Tucker (dance partner), and Jeff Petri. I am currently serving as President of the
Binghamton Figure Skating Club, so I have dropped my membership in the Professional Skaters Association.
My Skating Teaching Experience
I taught group lessons as a volunteer with the ``Skate With Us" program at Grippen Park in 1994. Later I
taught group lessons with the ``Ice Skating Institute" program at the Polar Cap Ice Rink when Jodi Alden
was skating director, and sometimes helped out after Stacy Martin took over. I joined the
Professional Skaters Association
and have been giving both group and private lessons on BFSC ice since 2000. My main interest is in ice
dancing, and I have helped partner many skaters through their dance tests, but I feel well qualified to
coach all the basic skills and some freestyle, as well.
Below are pictures of Jodi and me working on the Blues and Killian. There are also pictures of Jackie
Klein and me taken at a Spring Exhibition during and after our performance. The final picture is from
the most recent spring exhibition in 2007, during a lift where I did one turn holding her.
Links back to:
Alex Feingold's
Webpage,
Department of Mathematical
Sciences,
Binghamton University.
This Webpage was last updated on 2/3/2010