Sutton Schweiger, 6, gave his parents a confident smile as he approached, steadying himself on his ice skates.
“This is such an amazing program,” Carolyn Schweiger of McCandless said as she and her husband, Peter, and their other son, Maclean, 3, watched Sutton skate.
“You're doing so great!” his mother called out.
For more than 25 years, the Allegheny County Parks Department has offered beginner ice-skating lessons at no charge to residents ages 5 and older at North Park and South Park ice rinks.
The beginners class includes instruction on how to get on and off the ice safely, how to skate safely, and how to glide, swivel and skate backwards.
This season, 170 people pre-registered to learn skating basics during the winter session at North Park. The sessions, held in fall and winter, run for four weeks.
Ice skates are not provided to participants. Rental skates cost $2.
“It's a lifelong skill. The lessons are affordable, and everyone can succeed in it,” said Nancy Sudsina, the skating director at North Park rink. “Some kids want to go back and forth and they're done. Others want to be like the ice skater doing the lay-back spin.”
The county also offers paid lessons for $16 for four weeks. Anyone who participates in those is invited to skate in one of two ice shows at the end of the season. The shows are scheduled for March 7 at South Park and March 14 at North Park. They're free to the public.
“The ice show gives them a goal to work toward,” said Andy Baechle, director of the Parks Department.
The county offers a similar free swimming program in the summer for people ages 5 and older at all four county swimming pools. The first sessions are offered in July.
Jasmine Goldband is a Tribune-Review photographer. Reach her at jgoldband@tribweb.com.
