Updated 12/1/2021 at 7:04 p.m. This article has been updated to reflect today's announcement of the cancellation of the Frog Pond Skating Spectacular Tree Lighting. It was to have taken place on Thursday evening, December 2, 2021.
By Darlene Wong Cancell
Westwood native Ms. Grace McMurray, an ice skater who says she has never enjoyed skating or performing on her own, will find herself in good company as she performs this Saturday, December 4, 2021 in a star-studded night at the Grand Opening of The Skating Club of Boston’s new Norwood skating facility. Funds raised from the day’s events will be directed to Mass General Brigham, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation.
Ms. McMurray will perform with the Team Excel Collegiate synchronized skating team in a program called, “A Night of Stars.” The program is hosted by Mr. Scott Hamilton, an Olympic gold medalist and four-time world figure skating champion. Ms. McMurray’s synchronized skating team will perform in the same evening program as Olympic bronze medalists Mirai Nagasu, Marissa Castelli, Simon Shnapir, World silver medalist Ashley Wagner, and U.S. Champion Max Aaron.
A 19 year-old freshman at Mount Holyoke College, Ms. McMurray is looking forward to performing in front of an audience - something she says she hasn’t been able to do for two years. She and Team Excel Collegiate have titled their performance, “Breathe Again,” and have set it to songs by Sia - Bird Set Free, Angel by the Wings, and Alive.
“Throughout practices we talked about what the program means to my teammates and I and it’s really all about the feeling of getting back up again - getting knocked down and struggling to find your way back up and triumphing.” She described their performances as being “like Rockettes on ice.”
Photo courtesy of The Skating Club of Boston. Team Excel Collegiate performs on the ice.A skater since the age of seven, Ms. McMurray says, “I was always one of those kids who did not like skating or performing by myself.” She was drawn to synchronized skating, however, because of the teamwork and being able to skate together with other people which she says gives her confidence.
Her teammates are her role models. “I look up to my teammates the most. Whether it’s teammates I skated with or teammates who are older than me that I’ve looked up to for years and now I get to skate with them - they are some of my biggest motivators,” she says. She also notes the support of her coaches.
Ms. McMurray currently commutes to The Skating Club of Boston’s Norwood facility every Sunday, where she has been practicing since September 2020.
The Skating Club of Boston opened the doors to its new, $68 million dollar, 180,000 square foot, three-rink skating facility in Norwood quietly during the pandemic.
“It’s been hard through the pandemic to not host a grand celebration for the Club after nearly twenty years of planning to bring this new facility to life,”’ says The Skating Club of Boston’s Executive Director Doug Zeghibe. “We are thrilled to finally welcome friends and skating fans both locally and from around the country to join us in celebrating this new facility while benefitting three incredibly important organizations committed to cancer research and care.”
“It’s a beautiful facility,” says Ms. McMurray, noting its two regular sized rinks and one Olympic sized rink in a performance center. The facility is located on University Avenue in Norwood and houses workout facilities, a dance studio, cafe, a museum, apparel and equipment store, and multiple meeting rooms and guest areas.
This Saturday will be the first time the new facility will host a full-capacity ticketed event for the public, which will also be “the first full-capacity ticketed skating show in Boston since 2019,” according to The Skating Club of Boston. The “Night of Stars” Grand Opening Show and Gala begins at 6:00 p.m. with Mr. Hamilton as host.
Mr. Hamilton’s involvement in this weekend’s activities comes through his Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation fundraiser, “Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer.” His foundation funds innovative research that treats cancer while sparing the patient. Funds raised from admissions and tickets on Saturday, December 4th, will go toward supporting his foundation.
Mr. Hamilton, a cancer survivor himself, said in a statement released by his foundation this April, “I sk8 to elimin8 cancer always for my mother who lost her battle after just two years when I was 18 years- old. And now I sk8 to elimin8 cancer for every single person involved in the cancer community . . .people that are fighting, the disease research scientists, cancer centers, anyone and everyone. It takes all of us to defeat this monster.”
Preceding Saturday’s Grand Opening were events that were scheduled on Thursday and Friday. However, Thursday evening's Frog Pond Skating Spectacular Tree Lighting event and free ice skating show has been cancelled. A determination has been made that because Frog Pond requires maintenance, more time is needed to install a temporary rink.
On Friday, December 3, 3031, The Skating Club of Boston will dedicate the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center and the Richard T. Button Trophy Room in honor of Olympians Dr. Tenley Albright and Dick Button, both of whom trained at the Skating Club of Boston.
On Saturday morning from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m., The Skating Club of Boston hosts The Dedham Savings Sk8 to Elimin8 Cancer Frozen 5k. The fundraiser is held in memory of Cleo Theodoropulos, a Skating Club member from Belmont who suddenly passed away from cancer in 2019. The event is open to public participation. Admission is $10 and skaters will have a goal of skating 35 laps to honor those impacted by cancer.
Thanks to Ms. Grace McMurry for being interviewed and thanks to the Skating Club of Boston for sharing its news with Westwood Minute.
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