Gliding Stars take to the ice

The faces said it all.

The smiles that stretched from ear to ear as kids skated their way around the white sheet of ice were proof enough of happiness.

Some skaters streaked across the ice on their own, while others were in specialized wheelchairs — but regardless of physical ability, no one was disappointed. For that one hour, they were liberated and could do anything.

This group, comprising kids and teens with a range of disabilities, was brought to the rink at the RDV Ice Den to participate in the nonprofit Gliding Stars of Central Florida in Winter Park.

“We want to give our special needs Stars an opportunity for inclusion, social interactions with people,” said chapter coordinator Terri Miskiv. “A lot of them don’t really have an opportunity to show off their skills in a performance-type setting — some of them have never done that, and some of them have.”

Gliding Stars started in 1977 as The Skating Association for the Blind and Handicapped. According to the nonprofit’s website, in 1994, the Buffalo, New York-based organization was incorporated to address requests of replicating the program around the country. 

Miskiv has lived in Florida for eight years but became active in the organization last March when her son, who has autism, participated in the program. 

It was also during that time that the nonprofit was having some financial struggles and needed help — so Miskiv stepped in. With a background in running a few organizations, Miskiv joined on to help in marketing.

Each chapter of Gliding Stars is its own entity, so all the funding is raised individually without the help of the national headquarters.

“We were very close to just calling quits, which was scary for a lot of our parents,” Miskiv said. “And I said, ‘We are just going to try to do this; let’s see what we can do.”

Not knowing what to do, Miskiv reached out to the national founder of the organization. After multiple discussions, she was flown up along with her ice rink captain to monitor how Buffalo was operating.

After returning to Winter Park, the organizers went over some ideas and since then, the nonprofit’s health is improving steadily.

The biggest challenge last year, because of the unknown future of the group, was a dwindling of participants. Only about 20 to 25 kids participated.

One of the goals for this upcoming season, which starts in August and ends in April, is to boost that number up to between 30 and 35. Miskiv said she doesn’t see participant attendance being an issue, but finding volunteer help will be.

“We’re in Florida, and unless someone can ice skate — because they came from the North or they are somehow involved in the ice skating programs at RDV — it limits the amount of volunteers that we have, because you do need to have a little bit of general ice skating experience,” Miskiv said. “We need to have at least one volunteer for every Star that is on the ice in case they need help.”

The Stars will be fitted for specialized ice skates Aug. 12, before the season starts on Aug, 20. Kids and teens will participate in 26 lessons from 5 to 6 p.m. Sundays throughout the school year.

For the lessons, kids are separated into three different groups — beginner, intermediate and advanced — and  participate in short, 15-minute sessions on different skills, working through each group as they develop their skating abilities.

“It builds core muscle strength, it provides them with confidence building and just gives them the opportunity to feel good about themselves and accomplish something,” Miskiv said. 

At the end of the season, the Stars will be a part of a special show on the Olympic rink at the Ice Den. The kids will participate in small-group, solo and large-group skating performances. Each year features a new theme. This year, the group plans to do a special around Dr. Seuss’ “Oh the Places You Will Go.”

Along with helping give children an outlet for developing social skills and a place where they can be themselves, the organization also works to strengthen family bonds.

“Parents can get on the ice, and we encourage that with the children,” Miskiv said. “When they come out onto the ice with their kids and they watch their children sort of grow and learn these skills, and they’re learning them with their child, it really creates that sense of family for our organization.”