The icetimes for January 21 & 22, have been changed due to special events. GMSA ice time will be:
Sat. Jan. 21 – 9:00-11:00am
Sun. Jan. 22 – 9:00-11:00am
The calendar has been updated to reflect this change.
Saturday, November 26th ice will be from 9:30 to 11:30 am. There will be 500m time trials at the end of pack racing. These will be run on an as needed basis only for skaters trying to qualify for the Am Cup.
Sunday, November 27th ice will be from 10:30 am – noon. There will be 500m time trials on as needed basis for those trying to qualify for the Am Cup. There will be time for general practice.
Come join GMSA as they host the 2011 John Rose Open. This event is sure to be a lot of fun as skaters from Canada will be joining us. Registration is due December 7, 2011.
Any questions please contact Joe Von Drasek (j_vondrasek AT comcast DOT net), Race Director
Due to a Bandy event, there will be no GMSA ice on November 16th. The calendar has been updated to reflect this change.
The Greater Minnesota Speedskating Association is saddened to share the news of the passing of Bill Cushman, Midway Speedskating Head Coach. Bill passed away this morning [October 4, 2011] with his family by his side. Memorial details are pending and will be announced shortly.
Bill was the head coach of the Midway Speedskating Club. He was a charter member of Midway and was a competitive speedskater until 1960 (except for two years in the U.S. Army). Since 1961, Bill was a Midway coach. He also served as coach and manager of several U.S. World Speedskating teams and was manager of the 1980, 1984 and 2002 U.S. Olympic Speedskating teams.
Bill served as U.S. Speedskating President from 1989-2000 and U.S. Speedskating Board member from 1972-2002. He was inducted into the National Speedskating Hall of Fame in 1996, and was honored with the George Howie Award in 2010 for his outstanding contributions to the speedskating community.
A graduate of St. Paul Monroe High School (1952) and the University of Minnesota (1956), Bill once said “The basic goal of Midway is to give the youth of our area a program to develop into the best skaters each can be and to provide a direct path to World and Olympic competitions, while having fun and completing their education. It can be done!”
Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill’s family and friends.
