St. Louis Skating Club History
by Bill Boeck
The origin of the St. Louis Skating Club can be traced as far back as November, 1932, as evidenced by an article in the November, 1932 issue of Skating magazine, the official publication of the United States Figure Skating Association. The article announced plans for the very first “Midwestern Championship to be held and sponsored by the St. Louis Skating Club.”
The first ever annual Midwestern Championship was held on January 30, 1933 at the Winter Garden Ice Rink, which was located on DeBalivere Avenue between Forest Park and Delmar Boulevard. The Winter Garden was home to the St. Louis Skating Club until 1962, when the rink was closed and demolished to make way for a new shopping center. Since that time the club’s skating headquarters have been Winterland on St. Charles Rock Rd. and Castle Oak in Chesterfield (now the Double Tree Hotel). Both of these rinks have been closed.
In 1979, the St. Louis Skating Club merged with the Gateway FSC, which was skating at the Brentwood Recreational Complex located on South Brentwood Boulevard. The newly merged club was renamed the Gateway/St. Louis FSC. In 1983, the club changed its name once again, to the Brentwood FSC, to coincide with its present skating headquarters.
Due to the rising popularity of figure skating nationally and in St. Louis, in May, 1997, the Board of Directors decided to return to the original club name. The St. Louis Skating Club reclaimed its place in skating history as the oldest FSC west of the Mississippi.
The St. Louis SC, member club of the United States Figure Skating Association, can legitimately claim its place as the predominant supporter of organized amateur figure skating in the St. Louis Metropolitan area. The club holds regularly scheduled tests, hosts an annual invitational competition, assists in a spring ice show, and now is actively involved in making the 2006 U.S. Figure Skating National Championships in St. Louis happen. All of these activities result in progress and advancement of its skating members. The Club’s skaters have the opportunity to participate in Regional, Sectional, National, World and Olympic Competition.
