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Newark, DE 19716
phone: (302) 831-2868
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ISSDC
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About the Ice Skating Science Development Center (ISSDC)

Home of champions

UD's Ice Skating Science Development Center (ISSDC) is one of the world's leading training sites and is home to Kimmie Meissner, the 2006 International Stating Union World Figure Skating Champion and 2007 U.S. National Champion. A member of the 2006 U.S. Olympic Team that competed in Turin, Italy, Meissner proudly wears UD's colors with blue and gold blade guards and has enrolled as a student at the University. The center also features a number of international stars in training, most recently Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski of Bulgaria, the 2007 World Ice Dance Champions.

A Year-Round Training Facility

UD's Ice Skating Science Development Center is a year-round training facility designed to meet the needs of first-time competitors and champions alike. Its primary mission is to assist athletes and coaches in reaching their maximum potential. The ISSDC, which is housed in state-of-the-art facilities on the UD campus in Newark, provides the most complete training environment in the country. Skaters have access to two ice surfaces, at the Fred Rust Ice Arena and the Gold Ice Arena, as well as strength and aerobic training rooms and a dance studio. Coaching is available from the finest National and International coaches in the sport of figure skating. Their concentrations include Figures, Freestyle, Pairs, Dance and Stroking. Furthermore, UD faculty work closely with the World and Olympic coaches in the program to advance the body of knowledge in figure skating, with research areas in sports medicine, exercise physiology, biomechanics and sports psychology. Through cooperative efforts, they provide students with the most up-to-date training programs available.

Ron LudingtonAbout the Director

Ron Ludington is the Director of the Ice Skating Science Development Center. He is a World and Olympic figure skating coach who has worked with numerous Olympians, National and International medalists. He has coached skaters in nine consecutive Olympics and 36 World Championships.

Mr. Ludington holds several skating titles: U.S. Pair Champion (1956-60), U.S. Silver Dance Champion (1958), World Bronze Medalist (1959), Olympic Bronze Medalist (1960), and World Invitational Dance Champion (1965).

He was instrumental in developing the Professional Education Program/Coaches Accreditation Program at the University of Delaware and is Master- rated in Figures & Freestyle, Dance/Free Dance and Pairs by the Professional Skaters Association. He was named Coach of the Year in 1990; inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1993; was the 1995 recipient of the PSA's Lifetime Achievement Award; and earlier this year, was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Anjelika Krylova and Oleg OvsiannikovA tradition of excellence

In addition to Meissner, who began training at UD's ISSDC when she was 8 years old, the program has developed a number of American and international champions. National champions have included the pair teams Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn, who won in 2004, and Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval, who won in both 1992 and 1993, and dance teams April Sargent and Russ Witherby, who won in 1992, and Suzanne Semanick and Scott Gregory, who won in both 1987 and 1988. Olympic champions have included ice dancers Oksana Gritschuk and Evgeni Platov of Russia, who made UD their training base and won gold in 1994.

Sports Medicine Program

The University of Delaware Sports Medicine Clinic provides a comprehensive health care facility near the Ice Skating Training Center that is available to eligible skaters. A professional health-care staff and licensed physician are on duty to meet the needs of our athletes.

Summer School

A full summer training school allows skaters to customize a schedule that challenges them to achieve maximum potential. A professional staff is available to accommodate the specific needs of beginners through national and international competitors. The daily schedule consists of figures, freestyle, pairs, dance, stroking and a full schedule of off-ice training. Housing and food service is available for out- of-town skaters.