Howard University's history-making figure skating team: 'We're showing people what's possible'
They're the first historically black college or university to field a figure skating team - and their coach tells Olympics.com that this is just the beginning.
Figure Skating
Thirty-six years after Debi Thomas became the first Black athlete to win an Olympic medal in figure skating at Calgary 1988, the Howard University skating club is making its own history.
This past weekend (24-25 February), the Bison became the first HBCU (Historically Black College or University) to field a team at the university level, taking part in the inter-collegiate Blue Hen Classic at the University of Delaware.
"It's been over a year in the making," coach Joel Savary tells Olympics.com of the Howard team. Savary is the founder of Diversify Ice, a non-profit that works to "support competitive minorities in figure skating... [so] more Black and Brown kids are provided performance opportunities."
"[This weekend] was really the commencement of skating for Howard University," says Savary. "We want to diversify skating in all sectors.
"For Black and Brown kids, figure skating still presents an immense amount of barriers and challenges that they have to face," he adds. "This is showing people what's possible - and we're really excited for that."
The Howard team has navigated its own barriers, especially with no rink on its Washington, D.C., campus. Students Maya James and Cheyenne Walker teamed up with Savary and Diversify Ice to get off the ground, and once they gained interest from others they began using four different local ice rinks to hold practices.
"I think we definitely could be a contender in the future," a proud James told CBS News.
That's something Savary is clear on: It's not just about participation, but also about success. He says while representation matters, so too does achievement and ability to climb the highest ladders - nationally and internationally - especially with those events being the ones seen by fans across the world.
"It is so, so important that people can see that this is normal - this should be normal," Savary said of having more Black skaters compete. "Normalising diverse skaters, no matter what your background... that you can go out there, perform, be who you want to be on the ice.
"Don't let someone tell you can't do any of it because of the colour of your skin."
Howard U. figure skating: 'We're helping to create that [new] cycle'
While the sport has had significant representation among skaters of Asian descent, Thomas remains the only Black skater to win an Olympic medal.
Tai Babilonia, an American pairs skater, was world champion in 1979, and the likes of Starr Andrews, Mae-Berenice Meite, Vanessa James and - perhaps most famously - Surya Bonaly, have achieved international success.
Former top Canadian skater Elladj Balde, who retired from the sport in 2018, has used his six-figure social media following to bring greater awareness to the lack of representation of Black skaters in the sport - and a need for a change to the systems within it.
“For longest time, the Black community wasn’t really interested in figure skating, but the way I do it makes them want to watch,” Balde said of attracting new fans to the sport. “Me being true to who I am is changing the way people perceive figure skating. That is one of my biggest missions.”
Savary, James and Walker see their efforts as a first step, with the call out for other HBCUs (there's over 100 in the U.S.) to follow suit. Walker, who grew up in New York City, participated in the grassroots skating program Figure Skating in Harlem as a kid, giving her a start in the sport.
"Honestly, I would really like to see other HBCUs do figure skating teams as well," James told ABC7 in D.C. "Get more Black and Brown boys and girls on the ice; be their representation for them."
There were seven such Howard skaters who competed over the weekend at Delaware, with "dozens of others" who are taking lessons, Savary says, so that they can build their skillsets and - eventually - try and compete.
"At the collegiate level, these are the people who are going to graduate and - maybe - in the next few years have children of their own," he adds. "Now they can say, 'My kid can do basketball or football or maybe even figure skating.
"We're helping to create that cycle where there are more opportunities for Black and Brown kids to go into skating. We want them to thrive. It's important for skaters, especially at the competitive level, to start young, and I think that we are helping to tackle that, as well."