Activities Sports & Athletics A Look at the Stars of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club Michelle Kwan and Todd Eldredge are among its alums Share PINTEREST Email Print World Figure Skating Champions Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner Represented the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club. Photo by Tony Duffy - Getty Images Sports & Athletics Skating History Basics Gear Lessons Famous Skaters Inline Skating Baseball Basketball Bicycling Billiards Bodybuilding Bowling Boxing Car Racing Cheerleading Cricket Extreme Sports Football Golf Gymnastics Ice Hockey Martial Arts Professional Wrestling Skateboarding Paintball Soccer Swimming & Diving Table Tennis Tennis Track & Field Volleyball Other Activities Learn More 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 our editorial process Jo Ann Schneider Farris Updated November 02, 2017 With several Olympic and world champions on its roster of past members, the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club is an important part of American figure skating history. Its alumni include Olympians Michelle Kwan and Todd Eldredge and world champion pairs skating team Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. The private, not-for-profit club is a member of the United States Figure Skating Association. It offers training for competitive skaters and sponsors three figure skating competitions each year: the California Championships, the Los Angeles Open Championships and the L.A. Showcase for Skaters. History of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club The Los Angeles Figure Skating Club (LAFSC) was founded in 1933 by a group of about two dozen figure skaters. It is one of U.S. Figure Skating's largest and most prominent figure skating clubs. The club's first rink was Palais de Glace, an ice rink on the corner of Vermont and Melrose in Los Angeles. In 1934, the club moved its home to the Polar Palace in Hollywood, but that rink burned down in 1963. The club moved to Pickwick Ice Arena in Burbank, California after the fire. Today the club is based at both Pickwick Ice in Burbank and at East West Ice Palace in Artesia, California. Over 100 national, world, and Olympic figure skaters have been part of the club's history. Some of the club's skaters have competed in or won medals in the Olympics or have won world figure skating titles. 1961 Plane Crash Tragedy On February 15, 1961, a plane crash killed all the members of the U.S. Figure Skating Team along with friends, family, judges, officials, and coaches. The skaters were traveling to the World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Ice dancers Diane Sherbloom and Dona Lee Carrier, who represented LAFSC, were both killed in the crash as well. The Dona Lee Carrier Memorial Trophy for Gold Medalists is on display at Pickwick Ice. The trophy contains the name of each home club member of the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club who has earned a gold medal in Moves in the Field, Figures, Free Skating, Ice Dance or Pairs. Los Angeles Figure Skating Club's Olympic Medalists Michelle Kwan - 1998 Olympic Ladies Figure Skating Silver Medalist and 2002 Olympic Ladies Figure Skating Bronze MedalistDebi Thomas - 1988 Olympics Ladies Figure Skating Bronze MedalistPeter Oppegard (with Jill Watson) - 1988 Olympic Pairs Skating Bronze MedalistsLinda Fratianne - 1980 Olympic Ladies Figure Skating Silver Medalist Los Angeles Figure Skating Club's World Champions Michelle Kwan: 1996, 1998, 2000, 2001, and 2003 Ladies World Figure Skating ChampionTodd Eldredge: 1996 Men's World Figure Skating ChampionDebi Thomas: 1986 Ladies World Figure Skating ChampionTai Babilonia and Randy Gardner: 1979 World Pair Skating ChampionsLinda Fratianne: 1977 and 1979 Ladies World Figure Skating Champion Los Angeles Figure Skating Club's U.S. National Men's Champions Todd Eldredge: 1990, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, and 2002 Christopher Bowman: 1989 and 1992 Eugene Turner: 1940 and 1941 Los Angeles Figure Skating Club's U.S. National Ladies Champions Michelle Kwan: 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005 Nicole Bobek: 1995 Debi Thomas: 1986 and 1988 Linda Fratianne: 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980 Los Angeles Figure Skating Club's National Pair Skating Champions Keauna McLaughlin (with Rockne Brubaker): 2008 and 2009 Todd Sand (with Jenni Meno): 1994, 1995, and 1996 Natasha Kuchiki and Todd Sand: 1991 Jill Watson and Pete Oppegard: 1985, 1987, and 1988 Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner: 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, and 1980Eugene Turner (with Donna Atwood): 1941 Los Angeles Figure Skating Club's U.S. National Ice Dance Champions Kristin Fortune and Dennis Sveum: 1965 and 1966Diane Sherbloom (with Larry Pierce): 1961 Margie Ackles and Charles Phillips: 1960Sharon McKenzie and Bert Wright: 1957 LAFSC 75th Anniversary Celebration In July of 2008, the Los Angeles Figure Skating Club celebrated seventy-five years. Many of the figure skaters who had represented the club in the past and present attended the celebration.