COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: Skaters part of a family act

| ALEX W. SUTHERLAND THE BELLINGHAM HERALD

“It’s been nearly 20 years since Bellingham had a rink, and that’s a shame,” said Baldwin, who will seek her first gold medal during the nationals, which will run Sunday through Aug. 3 in Lincoln, Neb.

Cain, another of several Whatcom County skaters who will compete at nationals, has qualified for four solo events and a duet.

Baldwin’s close friend, Lona Dennis, will compete in two events, seeking her fourth and fifth national championships.

“I think a rink would be a great success in Bellingham,” said Dennis, 45. “We really need one in a town our size. Skating is a perfect family activity.”

“We haven’t had a rink in Bellingham since the one at the old National Guard Armory closed in 1989,” Baldwin said. “We used to have four rinks in the county, and now the only one left is in Lynden (home of the Lynden Skating Club).”

When Baldwin, her grandson and other friends carpool to Marysville, where they train under former Bellingham residents Jerry and Marlene Bruland, they sometimes dream about what a Bellingham rink would look like.

“We see wonderful facilities like the Sportsplex and the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center, and we can only wish someone would come along to invest in a roller rink,” Baldwin said. “It would be a multi-functional complex, since the National Roller Sports Association (sponsor of the nationals in Nebraska) oversees several roller sports.

“If I was a millionaire, I would build a rink in a heartbeat.”

For now, though, Baldwin and Dennis spend a lot of gas money to pursue their life-long passion for roller skating.

“We have a lot of former national champions in our county,” said Dennis, who earned national titles in 2000 (novice solo dance), 2005 (esquire ladies’ figures) and 2007 (premier gold ladies’ solo dance). Dennis is a member of the Burlington-based Skagit Skating Club, and also receives coaching from Whatcom County residents Dale Sprague and Caroline Diewold.

Baldwin and Dennis were part of a 16-skater Lyndenbased team, the Northern Dynamics, that ponied up the money to compete in world championships in Argentina, Fresno, Calif., and Italy in 2003- 05. All told, the team qualified five consecutive years (2002- 06) with third-place national finishes.

Cain is especially inspired by his grandmother.

“I think it’s really cool that she’s out there,” Cain said.

Baldwin qualified for nationals by winning the Northwest novice B solo dance last month in Portland, Ore.

“It really takes a lot of stamina,” she said. “You have to remember to breathe, yet stand straight and hold your gut in while remembering all the steps and set patterns in a routine and keep time to the music. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

Dennis will defend her title in premier gold ladies’ solo dance and also qualified in another solo event.

“I like to inspire others, especially kids,” she said.

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