All Year Figure Skating Club in California

This Skating Club Introduced Free-Skating, a Departure from Traditional Figures

Olympians Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr.
Olympians Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr. Represented the All Year Figure Skating Club. Matthew Stockman / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
by Jo Ann Schneider Farris
Jo Ann Schneider Farris was a silver medalist in junior ice dancing at the 1975 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships and is the author of two books on skating
Updated May 23, 2019

The All Year Figure Skating Club is one of California's oldest and most prestigious figure skating clubs. Many of All Year Figure Skating Club's members are U.S. Figure Skating gold medalists, and the club's skaters have won medals at regional, sectional, national, and world figure skating competitions.

History of the All Year Figure Skating Club

The All Year Figure Skating Club was founded in 1939, with its first rink, called the Tropical Ice Gardens (also known as the Sonja Henie Ice Palace) in Westwood Village in Los Angeles.

In 1949, the club lost its home ice when the Tropical Ice Gardens was torn down to make more room on the UCLA campus. The skaters in the club were able to continue skating, first at the Pan Pacific Arena and later as club sessions were held once a week at the Polar Palace in Hollywood.  

Culver City Ice Arena was built in 1962. There, the club was able to first schedule club sessions two days a week, and after the Polar Palace ice rink burned down, the club's ice time in Culver City was increased to three days a week. 

In 2002, the All Year Figure Skating Club hosted the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Staples Center. 

In 2012, the club moved its principal rink location to Center Ice in Ontario, California. In 2014, the club celebrated its 75-year anniversary. 

The club also has satellite locations for U.S. Figure Skating testing.

Host of Regional and Sectional Figure Skating Competitions

All Year Figure Skating Club has hosted several Southwest Pacific Regional and Pacific Coast Sectional figure skating competitions, and also hosted the US Junior Olympic Figure Skating Championships and the US National Figure Skating Championships.

Golden West Championships and Other Non-Qualifying Competitions and Events

The Golden West Championships, an annual competition hosted by the All Year Figure Skating Club, was an instant hit because it did not require compulsory figures (the bane of many a figure skater, ironically) as part of the competition.

Until the Golden West Open Freeskating Championships (as the competition was then called) were created in 1968, only skaters who placed in the top eight in figures could also compete in free-skating. Golden West tried adding a figures competition in the 1980s, but it was wildly unpopular, and the competition returned to its free-skate format.

In addition, the club has held open and club competitions, recitals, shows, judges' schools, and seminars.

Some All Year Figure Skating Club World and Olympic Competitors

Synchronized Skating at the All Year Figure Skating Club

California Gold Synchronized Skating Organization is affiliated with the All Year Figure Skating Club, at the following locations: