UCLA Figure Skating Fundraising for Nationals

UCLA Figure Skating is a student-run club sports organization affiliated to the University of California, Los Angeles. We are a relatively young team, founded only in 2011, but the team has seen success at both regional and national competitions.

As a nationally ranked and formally recognized US Figure Skating Collegiate Team, we have competitive skaters in all levels of competition from freestyle to solo dance events in the Pacific Coast Section. We compete in various western collegiate qualifying competitions every season in the hopes of qualifying for Nationals. Even though UCLA Figure Skating does not have its own ice arena nor an official team coach, the skaters themselves encourage each other to train hard and try their best in both academics and figure skating. The UCLA Figure Skating Team upholds all five True Bruin values: Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, Respect, and Service. With a competitive team of nearly 20 skaters, unity and team bonding are crucial both on and off the ice - our skaters provide support for one another throughout everyday campus life. 

UCLA Figure Skating first qualified for the Intercollegiate National Championships in 2013, where we placed sixth. The team managed to follow this up the next year with an impressive 5th place showing. However, for the next two years, the Bruins just missed out on making it to nationals, placing 4th in the West Coast Section.

This season UCLA Figure Skating worked hard, putting in long hours and early mornings, to try to once again earn a spot at nationals. We started well with a second place finish at the Tiger Challenge in Colorado Springs, CO, and followed this up with another second place at Ride the Tide in San Diego, CA. This put us in a good position going into the final qualifying competition, the Pioneer Open in Denver, CO. But nothing was guaranteed and the team put in extra practices and really supported each other to prepare for this important event.

Everyone skated really well, showing great determination despite sleep-deprivation and altitude, to win a historic victory. This was the first time UCLA Figure Skating has ever won a qualifying competition and puts us in a great place going into Nationals.

We achieved our first big goal of the season: qualifying for nationals, but now we want to bring the strongest team we can to Miami, Ohio to compete. We are aiming to fundraise to help as many of our skaters as possible be able to afford the cross-country trip and to compete in their first nationals.

Some of the costs that this campaign would cover:

• Hotel accommodation
• Flights to and from Ohio
• Transport for the 1.5hr drive to Miami from the airport
• Car rental for transport on competition day
• Team Meals
• Practice Ice at the competition

There are lots of ways you can help the UCLA Figure Skaters achieve our dream of competing at Nationals this year!

1. Donate to the campaign. Any donation, no matter how small, is greatly appreciated by every member of the team. The fact that you believe in us means a lot to us!
2. Spread the word. Whether through social media or email, sharing the link to this campaign will be invaluable in reaching our goal!
3. Come to our events. We have two fundraising events coming up:

• Skate Night at Toyota Sports Center (El Segundo): April 15th come out and skate with some of your favorite Bruins! From 7:15-9:45pm we will be holding our public skate event, where money from ticket sales will go towards club funding. The event is $10 for UCLA students and $15 for all others. There will also be yummy baked goods for sale!