A cold farewell

Jennifer Kho

COSTA MESA -- Ice skaters and hockey players this weekend are taking

their last turns around the Ice Chalet rink.

“I have so many memories,” said Hosanna Gilbert, a 14-year-old Newport

Beach resident. “I met my first friend on the day I began, and we’ve been

skating for four years together. It’s a way to occupy my time that is so

productive and fulfilling. I don’t want it to close.”

Ice Chalet, which has been a community fixture and training ground for

Olympic ice skaters for almost 30 years, announced earlier this month

that it will close its doors Sunday.

The Ice Chalet community will celebrate the life of the rink -- and

mourn its loss -- at parties from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 p.m.

Sunday.

Some parents petitioned to try to save the rink, but most have given

up on being able to intervene before this weekend.

“The rink is closing,” said David Martinez, a Costa Mesa resident.

“The kids have so much of an emotional anchor there. But we have talked

with the Ice Chalet, and there is no hope of keeping the doors open,

temporarily or otherwise.”

Martinez is part of an effort to build a new ice rink in Costa Mesa,

possibly on the spot where Ice Chalet now stands.

“We’re talking about a rink that’s independent from the ground up,

possibly run by a nonprofit-type of corporation,” he said. “Right now,

we’re considering what we need in terms of leadership and the best

structure. It’s a lot of work, and we’re in for the long haul. So for

now, the biggest thing we need is money.”

A number of Ice Chalet parents said they are so upset about their

treatment at a City Council meeting Jan. 15 -- when they asked the

council to help them save the Ice Chalet -- that they are considering

trying to recall Mayor Libby Cowan.

Dozens of Ice Chalet skaters and parents intended to speak at the

meeting, but the issue was not on the agenda. Cowan, who said she was not

sure the council could do anything about the closing of a business,

allowed three representatives to speak for three minutes each.

She asked the group to speak with C.J. Segerstrom & Sons, the

landowner, and the building’s owner about possible action and to report

the results back to the council later this month.

Martinez said he was disappointed the children didn’t get a chance to

speak.

“This was one of the kids’ first experiences with real-life civics,”

he said. “They had been rehearsing what they wanted to say to the City

Council, and the mayor just quashed their efforts to participate. A lot

of kids were devastated that they were stonewalled by the mayor.”

Cowan said she is sorry people are upset but that she thinks they had

a fair hearing.

“I felt as though I gave them an opportunity to let us know what was

going on and that we outlined some of the things we need from them before

we’re willing to take any action,” she said. “To me, there wasn’t a need

for a two-hour public hearing on something that we don’t have

jurisdiction over. We had things on the agenda that deserved to be heard

at a reasonable hour.”

Despite the possibility of a new rink in Costa Mesa, Coach John Nicks

-- who has over the last 20 years trained a number of Olympic figure

skaters at the Costa Mesa rink -- said he signed a two-year contract with

the Aliso Viejo Ice Chalet rink and will start coaching there Monday.

“There will be some sentimental regrets and memories of all the U.S.

team people who skated there, but, realistically, I’m looking forward to

the change,” Nicks said. “The rink is in good shape, and Costa Mesa’s has

not been. I think the change is going to be good for me. I think a new

rink in Costa Mesa would be wonderful; however, I need somewhere to train

with my people Jan. 29 and there is nothing particularly certain about

this project. It may take [two years] to get a new rink.”

Bob Doherty, who manages the California Comets Pee Wee B team at Ice

Chalet, said the closing could not have come at a worse time.

“We’ve paid in full, but they have not rendered their services in

full,” he said. “We have a team that is finally doing well -- we are tied

for first place -- and we want to stay together. This is affecting the

boys’ morale and the way the boys play. We try to teach them commitment,

but the Ice Chalet did not keep its commitment. They have ripped the

heart and soul out of the hockey program right in the middle of the

season.”

The six teams that use Ice Chalet as a home rink will play at other

rinks for the remainder of the season.