November 2nd 2023.
Howard University is making history as the first HBCU in the nation to have a figure skating team. On October 20, 2020, U.S. Figure Skating announced the news as the historically Black college in Washington, D.C. prepares for its inaugural season.
The idea to start the team was formed by seasoned skaters and Howard upperclassmen, Maya James and Cheyenne Walker. Both of them had stopped skating for around two years after matriculating at the school. However, they refused to give up on their passion and decided to join forces to build the team.
When asked why she started the journey to bring figure skating to the Hilltop, James, a junior majoring in psychology, said, “I just missed the sport, honestly. I saw a lot of the U.S. collegiate Instagram pages and how they went to competitions and how the competitions look so fun and welcoming.”
The two students are reigniting a passion they have had since they were 7 years old and are looking forward to extending their love of figure skating to fellow Black students. Through their persistence, the team was officially recognized and funded by Howard University in summer 2023.
The team will be coached by Diversify Ice’s founder, Joel Savary, as part of the nonprofit’s mission to make figure skating more inclusive to underrepresented groups. Having access to the usually expensive activity is even more of a reason Walker and James pursued an official school team.
Walker, a political science major in her final year at Howard, said, “I think what really was my driving passion to get this club up and running was the fact that figure skating is such an amazing sport, but not everybody has access to it. Especially being on an HBCU campus, I thought it was so important for us to bring not only the sport to the campus but [make] sure it’s accessible and for everyone.”
The team will start their historic season in February 2024 in a competition at the University of Delaware.
The Howard University Figure Skating Team has received a lot of support, especially from Diddy, who donated $1 million to the school at Homecoming. With the help of the community and the commitment of Maya James and Cheyenne Walker, the team is looking forward to their first season and inspiring other HBCUs to create their own figure skating teams.
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