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Northbrook Park District played Key Role in
U. S. OLYMPIC
ON FERBUARY 8th and 9th, two young speed skaters from Northbrook, Illinois set this nation on fire by winning the first gold medals ever won by any American women in Speed Skating at the XI Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan. To make this story even more unique, the two young women bringing home the "gold" are from the same community, a northern suburb of the Chicago area, Dianne Holum (20) and Anne Henning (16) have culminated years of personal dedication and training to win gold medals in the 1500 and 500 meter races respectively. The girls added to their collection of medals for the U.S. team by placing 2nd in the 3000 meters (Dianne) and 3rd in the 1000 meter (Anne) races.
Northbrook has long been recognized for their skating interest and have produced many Olympic team members in the sport of speed skating. Past team members include Gordon Rudolph 1964; Ed Rudolph, Jr. 1964, 1968; Neil Blatchford 1968, 1972; Greg Lyman 1972; Beverly Burr 1964; Sally Blatchford 1964, 1968; Dianne Holum 1968, 1972; Leah Poulos 1972; and Anne Henning 1972. Another local girl, Mary Saxton, missed the 1972 Olympic team by one-tenth of a second in the trials held in West Allis, Wisconsin. Northbrook's Speed Skating Team was formed and coached by Park Commissioner Edward J. Rudolph back in 1952 and has grown in stature as a fledgling organization at its conception to a strong, well organized club supporting both the American Pack style racing and the individual European program where each skater races against the clock and trains on an individualized program. Mr. Rudolph has often mentioned the dyed, red underwear used by the first group of skaters entered into meets to the warm, good looking red and white uniforms and red warm-ups worn by the present team members. The team has won many Illinois and National Speed Skating Championships. The Northbrook Park District has played a very important role in its relationship to the success of this program. Over the years, the Park District has provided natural ice rinks used by the Club for training purposes. In 1960, the construction of a hard surface, 400 meter bicycle track with 45 degree banked turns made possible a large natural ice rink in the infield of this area. The construction of a large cedar log building, used during the winter as a warming house and during the off season as a multi-purpose building, has made the Meadowhill Park Ice Rink, the home of the Northbrook Speed Skating Club. With Meadowhill Rink and Tower Rink, another large oval rink operated by the District, Northbrook residents soon took to the ice in droves. Over 20 per- Illinois Parks and Recreation 4 March/April, 1972 cent of the families residing in the Park District were purchasing season passes for the rinks. In 1962, the Northbrook Hockey League was formed and soon after the Park District constructed two outdoor natural hockey rinks at Meadowhill Park for their use. This year, over 600 boys from 7 years through 18 years are participating in this program. In 1970 the Pee Wee All-Star Team played in the National Pee Wee Hockey Championships in Portland, Oregon. In 1971 the Pee Wee All-Stars and Bantam All-Stars won the State of Illinois Hockey Championships in their respective age groupings. This year, entering the semi-finals of State hockey competition, the Northbrook Park District's Hockey League is represented by its Mite, Squirt and Bantam All-Star teams. Another major improvement in the skating facilities for the Northbrook Park District was the construction of the Northbrook Sports Complex in 1968. The building houses two artificial ice sheets. One sheet is used as an instructional area and the main ice sheet is used for public skating, speed skating, hockey, figure skating and instructional programs. Since the construction of this facility, Northbrook skaters have enjoyed ice under controlled temperatures from September to mid-May. The skating school which teaches ages 4 to 74, from very beginner to very advanced jump classes, is very successful. This school has grown from 187 students for the first ten week instructional session, the first year, to our recent registration for the last ten week session of the 1971-72 season of over 1400 students. An Annual Ice Show, fast becoming known as the finest and largest amateur ice show in the midwest, is held each May. Last year's show included over 700 skaters and thrilled 7,600 spectators in five public appearances. Yes, Northbrook's title, recently self-proclaimed after our Olympic teams success as the "Speed Skating Capital of The World," is well deserved. However, the Park District, with its varied ice skating programs, feels that the day will come when this name might well be changed to simply . . . "Skating Capital of The World" as Northbrook youngsters bring home the gold as future members of figure skating, speed skating and hockey Olympic teams. |
Dianne Holum (left) and Anne Henning (right) are shown receiving well deserved honors that came their way during the speed skating events at the recent XI Olympic Winter Games in Sapporo, Japan. Both girls are from Northbrook, Illinois.