Cold reality is setting in

Stefanie Frith

Leaning on the counter in the pro shop at Costa Mesa’s Ice Chalet,

teenagers Jacqueline Matson and Michelle Lencek started a list Sunday of

everything they are going to miss about the ice skating rink, which has

announced it will be closing after 27 years.

“We’ve been here so long, every hour, every day,” said Matson, an

18-year-old Orange resident who started skating 11 years ago at Ice

Chalet.

“We know that there are four layers of paint under that wall over

there. We know every crack in the ice. We know all the people, all our

friends. And now it’s being taken away.”

The rink’s owners announced last week that the last day for axels, sit

spins and toe loops will be Jan. 28. They said the aging facility -- the

oldest in Orange County and home to a long line of world-class and

professional skaters and coaches -- no longer attracts as many skaters as

it once did.

Parents are fighting to keep the rink open, however, and are signing a

petition urging the city and the property owner, C.J. Sergerstrom and

Sons, to save the building.

Tonight, parents and skaters plan to attend the Costa Mesa City

Council meeting. They met Sunday at Souplantation in Costa Mesa to

discuss future actions.

“We are just trying to figure out our options,” said Creighton Chun,

16, of Costa Mesa. “We want to save our rink.

“I don’t want to have to move to another place. This is our home and I

was shocked and sad to hear that it’s going to close. Maybe going to the

council meeting will help.”

Over the summer, another rink closed in Irvine, causing an influx of

skaters and coaches to move to Costa Mesa. Now, with the closing of Ice

Chalet, parents, skaters and coaches are unsure where they will head

next.

“I can’t believe this is happening again,” said Libby Murphey of

Fullerton, a coach who moved her figure skating class from Irvine to

Costa Mesa.

“All my students are asking me which rink I am moving to and I just

don’t know. I don’t want to leave. I skate here too.

“There is such amazing camaraderie here and such great support. I

don’t think you can find that in other rinks.”

Jacquelyn Blankfield, 11, of Huntington Beach agrees that there is

something special the way the skaters and coaches have bonded with one

another over the years.

“It’s a family atmosphere,” said Jacquelyn, who began skating three

years ago at Ice Chalet.

“Now I am worried that I might have to go to the rink in Aliso Viejo

and that my mom won’t be able to drive me there every day. It won’t be

the same there either.

“Here, we have named the different rooms, and even though the rink is

a bit old, we don’t mind. I am so sad.”

When Lencek, a 17-year-old Lake Forest resident, learned of the rink’s

pending closure, she said she cried for an hour.

“This is our family and they are splitting us up,” she said. “We won’t

see each other anymore.

“We have to do something to stop this,” she said as Matson shook her

head in agreement.

“I am here every day. What are we going to do? This rink has been my

life. My home. I just know I am going to cry again the day it closes. I

think we all will.”