COLUMNS SPORTS FEBRUARY 2006

WORDS BY DeMarco Williams

Let the Winter Games begin!

This month’s Olympic spectacle in Turin is set to inspire a new generation of skiers, skaters and sledders. The icemen (and women) cometh…

Vacation packages and tickets to Turin, Italy, for this year’s Olympic Winter Games (February 10-26) will cost sports fans an arm and a ski-pants leg. Thankfully, there are plenty of options Stateside for those looking to live out their dreams of triple lutzes and world-record downhills.

One of the most fascinating places for any gold-speckled fantasies to be realized is Milwaukee’s Pettit National Ice Center (www.thepettit.com). The beautiful 97,000-square-foot ice palace keeps its chilly doors open year-round for both experts and lil’ squirts longing to get into the worlds of figure skating, ice hockey and speed skating. “The Pettit Center is a place for development of skaters of all kinds,” explains Rob Multerer, the facility’s director of marketing. “Before they can win a gold medal or set a world record, skaters need to develop, and we are proud to have developed many an Olympic champion.”

Multerer, of course, is referring to the fabled careers of Eric Heiden and Bonnie Blair, two Milwaukee skaters who combined for 11 Winter Games medals. But he’s quick to point out that average skaters also come to Pettit to better their technique. “People come to both enjoy themselves and to become the next big name in ice sport,” he says. “We are the most publicly used oval in the US and perhaps in all the world. We have over 700 public skating sessions a year, where novices to seasoned vets take to the ice for some fun and relaxation.”

Although trepidation is expected the first time Pettit visitors put on pads for hockey class or attempt a 180-degree spin at a figure skating session, Multerer insists success can be achieved with “an open mind, a will to try, and by throwing fear out the window.” Fear of falling is the number-one worry, but after a few hours in skating school, qualms melt away.

Crashing is probably the number-one concern at Lake Placid’s Verizon Sports Complex—the center’s impressive luging, slaloming and bobsledding facilities make it a prime destination for high-speed winter action. All year round, the country’s top sledders, skiers and spectators make the drive (approximately five hours from New York City, Boston, Buffalo and Rochester) to watch the spills and display of skills. But the thing most fascinating about the VSC (www.orda.org) is that, after witnessing the world-class athletes scoot down the chutes, Olympic Regional Development Authority director of communications Sandy Caligiore says, “You can turn around and get the experience yourself. When you go to the Olympics, you’re going to watch at a high price, and you’re not going to take part in the sport.” Here, however, an adventurous soul can enjoy pretty much every snowfl ake-covered inch of the place—from the ice rink where the US’s “miracle” hockey victory over Russia occurred 25 years ago, to some of the state’s most thrilling ski slopes.

You’ll want to make preparations early on, as Winter Games buzz (and those nutty Visa commercials) always heightens interest around Lake Placid and Milwaukee. “Back in 2002,” Caligiore remembers, “we couldn’t stay open long enough to satisfy the demand. Olympic time for us always results in high attendance.” And we’re assuming a high rate of fantasy fulfillment as well.