In a groundbreaking move, the Howard University Ice Skating Organization has emerged as the first intercollegiate ice skating team to grace an HBCU campus. Founded by Maya James and Cheyenne Walker and coached by Jordan McCreary Graham, Denise Viera and Joel Savary, this organization is more than just a club; it’s a pioneering force aiming to address the lack of diversity in the world of figure skating. A group of athletes from Howard University is making history as the first-ever HBCU figure-staking team.
The importance of Howard becoming the first HBCU with a figure skating team is not lost on these young skaters of color. The intercollegiate skating team hopes to inspire other schools and future Black athletes. Now that they are official, they are ready to claim some success. They will take part in the intercollegiate competition.
The Founders' Vision
Co-founders Maya James, a junior studying psychology, and senior Cheyenne Walker, studying political science, have already seen how the new team has inspired younger generations. Maya James was determined to achieve her goal of starting a figure skating team at Howard University in Washington, D.C., a historically Black college and university. So James, a junior, turned to Google to find other skaters. She ended up sliding into the direct messages of senior Cheyenne Walker in an effort to break the ice.
But with no figure skating program at any HBCU, Walker thought she would have to give up the sport she loved to attend the college she desired to go to. Walker said once she and James began their quest to start a figure skating team, questions abounded. These Black women, Howard University students have become unsung heroes on campus, many are describing them as unsung figure skaters.
“It is rare to see Black and Brown skaters on the ice and we would like to change that by introducing the sport of figure skating to the broader Howard University community. The organization offers not only the opportunity to learn the art of skating but also to compete at various collegiate levels. As they lace up their skates and take to the ice, the members of the Howard University Ice Skating Organization serve as trailblazers, paving the way for a more diverse and inclusive future in figure skating.
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“Honestly I would really like to see other HBCUs do figure skating teams as well. Get more black and brown boys and girls on the ice, be their representation for them,” said James. “Of course, we aim to have more people on the team and more club members in general,” James said. “As much as we focus on the team, I would also love to see the ‘Learn to Skate’ aspect grow larger,” Walker said. “We want people to know that you don’t have to compete to be in the sport.
Walker said: "It was very difficult to figure out, like, whether I wanted to go to school and continue to skate or if I wanted to go to a school that I knew was meant for me. I ultimately ended up choosing Howard because Howard just felt like home when I visited it."
After a couple of months of paperwork, the Howard University ice skating team was born, with James as president and Walker as vice president. But that was the easy part. The biggest challenge has been finding ice time, says James.
One of the team's coaches, Jordan McCreary Graham, feels the same way. She admires what James and Walker have achieved. One that Cheyenne Walker hopes will leave a legacy.
First-ever HBCU figure skating team formed at Howard
Overcoming Obstacles
Despite setbacks that included not having an ice rink on campus and a lack of figure skaters, the duo found others who shared their love of the sport, and they eventually formed a team. It took some convincing for these athletes and co-founders of the club to get the university to fund a non-division one sport.
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The Howard team has navigated its own barriers, especially with no rink on its Washington, D.C., campus. After months of recruiting and planning, in October, the team held its first practice at the Herbert Wells ice rink in College Park, 10 miles from campus. They also hold open outdoor skate sessions during the week here at the Canal Park ice rink near Nationals Park. The university does not have its own rink and the only indoor facility in D.C. is currently under construction.
The team also had issues finding a full-sized rink where they could practice after they discovered the only indoor public ice rink in the nation's capital is waiting to be rebuilt. So each week, the team pays rent to a rink near the University of Maryland. But the rink where those lessons happen highlights the biggest challenge the new club faces - getting ice time. The team carves out an hour of private time at an otherwise public facility in Washington DC. It's a great spot to bring kids, but the small, outdoor rink is a far cry from the Olympic-sized arenas other university teams have access to.
For that big arena experience, the students have been traveling to a rink in College Park, Maryland for training sessions. So for now, the team has to travel to neighboring Maryland to train. And to teach brand-new members how to skate, they grab an hour of time on this small public rink on Monday nights. It's a far cry from the resources some of the colleges they'll be facing this weekend have, Walker says.
The Howard University Ice Skating Club made history last month at the Blue Hen Ice Classic on Feb. James, a junior at Howard, finished fifth in the Juvenile Women Short Program. “It took a lot to get there, so I was very emotional after,” said James. The club plans to hold a fundraiser and an exhibition at the end of the school year and looks forward to its next competition, which is planned for Nov.
Inspiring a New Generation
“I still don’t think it’s fully hit me or I’ve processed it completely but I definitely do think it’s important to be in this space and watch how we are diversifying the sport,” said Walker. "It's been over a year in the making," coach Joel Savary tells Olympics.com of the Howard team. Savary is the founder of Diversify Ice, a non-profit that works to "support competitive minorities in figure skating..."
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“It’s why we take beginners and people who want to learn how to figure skate,” James said. Most of the young women on the team started skating at a very young age."I loved Howard, but I also wanted to continue to skate, so it was like, which one do I choose?" Walker said.
For Black and Brown kids, figure skating still presents an immense amount of barriers and challenges that they have to face," he adds. The organization is helping the school with the sports program. The Howard team is getting support from another non-profit, Diversify Ice. The organization is helping the club pay for ice time and providing the team with coaches, such as Graham, who was impressed by what James and Walker have achieved.
They are excited for a chance to represent Howard University. The team takes the ice for the first time at a tournament in Delaware. Howard will make history as the first HBCU to participate in a figure skating program."I think we definitely could be a contender in the future," James said.
“Honestly, I would really like to see other HBCUs do figure skating teams as well," James told ABC7 in D.C. "At the collegiate level, these are the people who are going to graduate and - maybe - in the next few years have children of their own," he adds. "We're helping to create that cycle where there are more opportunities for Black and Brown kids to go into skating. We want them to thrive.
The club attracts new members from Howard to learn to skate on Monday nights, which Walker loves. "They get on the ice and they have so much ambition and drive and they're just excited to be here," she said. "I think that's what's most important about being in this sport is that you can start at any age and you're still going to be able to have a good time."
That's not sunk in with Maya James yet.JAMES: I don't think it's hit me at how big it really is. I'm just happy that we actually were able to, you know, move this thing forward. This, like, small idea really turned into a big one.