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New magazine dedicated to Canadian skating
It has taken an American to launch Canadian Skate magazine.
Baltimore's Carol Gilbert, 27, is the publisher of the new magazine.
"I think Canada needs a skate magazine. There are so many in America, it's unbelievable," said Gilbert. "They're great, but when they focus on Canadian skating, they have one little block, maybe a page if that. And it's always on Elvis or Shae-Lynn, who everybody already knows what is going on with them. There's really nothing in Canada that comes out more than once a year that focusses solely on the sport of skating, figure skating in Canada."
Canadian Skate, now into its second edition, is chock-full of stories and photos of Canadian skaters, "from novice all the way to the pros."
One of the more impressive features in the magazine is the schedules for skating shows across the country.
"I use her schedules quite often because they're current and they're accurate, " said Barb Wilson, public affairs assistant with the Canadian Figure Skating Association (CFSA).
Gilbert also offers updated schedules, results and news on the magazine's web site at http://members.aol.com/CDNSK898/publication.html.
The irony of an American writing about Canadian skating isn't lost on Gilbert.
"People do wonder why we're printing a Canadian magazine out of the U.S.," Gilbert explained.
"I'm surprised myself that it's taken an American to do it. Canadian skating has been huge for so many years. I'm just surprised that something else hasn't come out."
Gilbert skated for 12 years in Baltimore, and during the summer to get more ice time, she made her way up to Barrie, Ontario's famous Mariposa club, the training ground for Elvis Stojko and other elite skaters. Her many contacts from Barrie have made the magazine possible.
She wrote and published a newsletter for six years before Canadian Skate. That experience "kind of evolved" into Canadian Skate, which existed as a newsletter for three years before becoming a full-fledged magazine.
Advertising has been "as expected" for the magazine, after only the second issue. She hopes that advertising revenue will eventually allow her to drop subscription rates, which currently sit at $25 CDN a year for five issues. Subscriptions aren't "anywhere where I want to be, but it's a slow process," said Gilbert.
"I'd call the first year kind of like a training ground."
Don Wilcox is one of the freelance writers for the magazine, and believes that it stands a good chance. "Canadian skating fans defintely need a magazine dedicated to Canadian skating," said the Ottawa-based writer. "There's a huge figure skating market here, per capita, probably the biggest in the world."
As for the CFSA, they welcome Gilbert's attempts to further publicize Canadian skating, even if there is some duplication with the CFSA's annual skating magazine.
"I know it seems weird that somebody in Baltimore would put out Canadian-oriented newsletter, but it doesn't really compete with us," said the CFSA's Wilson.
The skaters themselves have also jumped onboard, according to Gilbert. "They're VERY enthusiastic. I think they're more enthusiastic than I am about it because it's all about them."
For more information email on Canadian Skate at cdnsk898@aol.com or visit their web site.