The ice was cold, but the skating sizzled at last weekend`s ”Hot Shots on Ice” in the Lake Forest Academy Ice Arena. The event, designed to promote an awareness of local antidrug programs, was sponsored by Lake Forest`s Linking Efforts Against Drugs (LEAD).
”This is the second year we`ve done Hot Shots. We didn`t know last year it would be a fundraiser, but it was. We just wanted to have fun, get our message out and cover our costs,” said LEAD assistant director Cheryl Derman. The stars of the event were four young amateur figure skaters who dazzled the crowd of several hundred people with spins and jumps that would make an Olympian proud. West Chicagoan Jennifer Caligiuri, 17, was all long legs and liquid grace, while her sister Laura, 10, showed off her explosive speed and firecracker double jumps.
Laura was the 1991 juvenile champion in the Upper Great Lakes Regional and St. Paul Invitational competitions and qualified for the 1992 U.S. Junior Nationals, to be held in April. ”She`s really incredible for a 10-year-old. She does a great double axel that she never misses, and she`s working on a triple,” noted Karen Considine, director of the Lake Forest Ice Skating School.
Also performing were Jane Polansky, 10, of Highland Park, winner of the 1992 Highland Park Competition freestyle in her division, and Siobhan Finlay, 9, of Chicago, 1991 and 1992 preliminary ladies champion at the Wagon Wheel Invitational. Stealing scenes and winning applause on his own was 4-year-old James Schneider of Lake Forest, who skated onto the ice to present a flower to each figure skater. Although he`s only been studying skating for three months, little Jim moved with the confident, straight-ahead style of a hockey player. ”He loves to skate. We can`t keep him off the ice,” Considine said.
Following the figure skaters, the members of the audience were invited to take to the ice with Chicago Blackhawks stars Keith Magnuson, Reggie Kerr, Cliff Koroll and Peter Marsh.
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LEAD coordinates school and community antidrug efforts in Lake Forest and Lake Bluff, providing volunteers and raising funds for drug and alcohol-prevention programs.