Between the years of 1860 and 1865 James "Stonewall" Jackson (the father of curling in Orillia), started the first curling club in the town of Orillia on Lake Couchiching. It was through curling and the interest of an "ice surface", that our Orillia Figure Skating Club was born. A handful of dedicated individuals regularly cleaned off a section of ice on the lake at the bottom of Coldwater Street East. In 1867 there is record of women taking up a subscription list and a small amount of money to find men to clear the snow off the ice. That year, in the small town of 1200, also brought Harry Slaven and Phillip Todd into this outdoor skating endeavor. By 1869 their was construction of a rink house with a few long seats and a stove. 

In 1871, a drill shed was flooded and open to the public every evening from 6pm to 9pm. Ladies holding season tickets would be admitted to skate between 3pm and 5pm (except for Saturdays). 1873 saw the construction of the first indoor rink, built by Williams Todd and in 1875 the Curling and Skating rink official opened. Season tickets were $2.50 per person, or $4.00 per couple. A family rate of $5.00 was also available. The rink was constructed on the north side of Coldwater St between Peter St and Matchedash St. The building was 50' by 160' and it was sold shortly after to the Salvation Army; this building burnt down in 1885. Over the course of the next several years, the curlers and skaters moved to several locations. They curled in the old agricultural building on West St, just north of the present Guardian Angels' Catholic School. There were two lines of posts down the length of building; the curlers curled between these while the skaters used to outside ice surface. This building too unfortunately burned.

In the early 1890's are part of the winter carnival activities, skaters dressed up and masqueraded in costumes. There was an obstacle course, skating races and "fancy" skating contests, which all took place on the rink. After the previous structure burnt, another rink was built on Elgin St. In 1896 this building collapsed, was rebuilt and then used by curlers until the Andrew St curling facility was constructed in 1925. The Andrew St curling facility was located on the east side of Andrew St between Mississaga St and Colborne St. In 1899 the Orillia Curling and Skating Association began. 

Until the late 1940's, a natural ice rink inside a corrugated metal shed on West St at Coldwater Rd served as Orillia's arena. Under the guidance of the Orillia Lions Club, instruction in figure skating was commenced in the winter of 1947-1948 and was carried on each season thereafter until the old arena was dismantled. Unfortunately, due to the lack of ice, no instruction could be given during the winter of 1950-1951. 

In about 1947, a small group of service club representatives, led by Mac Carter and Jack Bonthron, started discussions of how, when and where to build a new arena. In 1950, about 3000 volunteers assisted in building a new arena. The project cost $150 000.00 and the Town residents did most of the work with the exception of laying the floor and putting in artificial ice. 

The 1951-1952 season was the Orillia Figure Skating Club's (Orillia FSC) first official season as an organization. The club had approximately 150 members and Diane Hambly was the club first professional coach. With the club now in operation at the new Community Centre, it staged its first Carnival in 1951. There began a growing interest in the club and membership began to steadily increase. Figure skating was "on the move"! A membership fee then from November to March was $6.00. Men would scrape the ice with shovels, then flood with a barrel on wheels dragging a mop. It was not until many years later that a new "Zamobini" would flood the ice. 

In 1957, Orillia hosted the Central Ontario Sectional Figure Skating Championship.

Orillia was a growing Industrial Town in the 1960's with the Big Three: Dorr-Oliver-Long (mining equipment manufacturer), OTACO (manufacturer) and Fahralloy (mining equipment manufacturer). The Orillia FSC membership grew from 150 members in 1962 to approximately 240 members in 1967. The club had to hire three coaches to accommodate the rise in membership. Diane Lynch chose to skate competitively and she and her partner Michael Sanders represented Orillia at the Canadian Championships during the late 1960's and early 1970's. 

Arthur Bradford came to Orillia in 1968 eagerly wanting to skate. He signed up with the club and as a result adult skating became more popular. He kept young, doing what he liked best, taking the ice every year until December 1999; when because of of an illness he was forced to discontinue his skating. Because of his determination that adults should have a place and time to skate too, adult skating was very active within the club for years to come. 

In the 1970's, figure skating exploded in the town of Orillia. With the arrival of a young 19 year old skating professional from Huntsville, Doug Leigh was able to turn is dream of opening a skating school into a reality. By 1972 the Orillia FSC membership had grown to over 400 and the interest for off-season skating was rising as well. 

In 1970 a well-know skater, Debbie Street, signed up with Shipstads and Johnson Ice Follies and was to join the show until 1973. Around the beginning of the mid 1970's another young skater, Colette Napier, would end her skating career in Orillia and start up a new one with The Ice Capades.

In the spring and fall of 1973, a skating program was set up in the town of Coldwater, under the direction of Doug Leigh and a fellow coach, the late Tom Harrison. Orillia coaches and others in surrounding areas were able to accommodate their growing clientele. Doug also spent time with many hockey players, coaching and instructing them on the many techniques and skills of power skating.The Orillia FSC offered a power skating program for many years. 

The Orillia FSC first summer school was a four week program at the Bobby Orr Camp on the east shores of Lake Couchiching - a meek beginning. The expanding Town of Orillia was in need of another facility and in 1974, the Twin Lakes Arena was built. It was a community effort coordinated by the Second Arena Committee, chaired by the late Dr Tom Brandl and Mr Blair Ashmore, in cooperation with the people of Orillia and surrounding communities. Gordon Lightfoot also gave a benefit concert to assist the building fund. The new arena would offer ice all year around and the "Mariposa School of Skating" was founded. Doug Leigh and fellow coach Tom Harrison started up and directed this, today, world famous international training centre. Doug's dream was becoming a reality. It was in the early 80's that Tom Harrison left Orillia to put down roots in North Bay.

Then along came Brian Orser, a young boy from Penetanguishene, who also had a dream. Orser put Orillia "on the map" as far as figure skating was concerned. Coached by Doug Leigh, Brian became not only an eight time Canadian National Champion, a World Champion, but also a two time Olympic Silver Medallist. Skaters were starting to come from all over to skate a Mariposa and more coaches brought more skaters. 

In 1975 Orillia had its first triple gold medallist - Mary Rose Stanga. At this time, many of our members were competing in various competitions. In April 1977, the Orillia Figure Skating Club celebrated their 25th anniversary with a skating carnival. A group of dads made a huge wooden anniversary cake that rolled out onto the ice. It was even decorated with sparklers to celebrate the occasion. 

In 1979, our club again hosted the Central Ontario Sectional Championships.

Another aspect of figure skating arose in the early 1980's - precision skating, no called Synchronized skating. The Orillia FSC has two teams, originally called "Twin Lakes Toe Picks", then renamed to "Orillia Ice Angels". Due to rising costs, the teams unfortunately had to fold. 

During this time, Tracey Robertson represented Orillia at the Canadian Championships. Tracey won November Ladies in 1981, placed 5th in Junior Ladies in 1982 and placed 3rd in Junior Ladies in 1983.

In 1984, the Canadian Figure Skating Association introduced a "Learn to Skate" program called Canskate and Canfigureskate. It was put into effect across all skating clubs in Canada and a reward system of badges became a fun way to learn to skate.

On June 23, 1984, the Twin Lakes Arena was renamed in honour of Brian Orser's National, International and Olympic figure skating accomplishments. The arena would now be called The Brian Orser Arena.

In 1987, after 18 years in Orillia, the Mariposa School of Skating moved to Barrie. The expanding skating school needed an Olympic-sized ice surface which Orillia could not provide. Doug Leigh and his team of talented skaters were off to Barrie. Although it may seem a little "out of the way", many coaches thank Doug that they as coaches and their skaters could share in and be a part of his dream come true.

 

The mid 1990's brought about the introduction of "skating skills" into figure skating (seven tests in all). These "Skills" tests replaced figures. With Synchronized skating still very popular and growing at the international level, Orillia skaters Holly Street, Tiffany Marshall, Ashley Barnett, Kirsten Camartin, Magenta McDonald and Jillian Wager travelled to Barrie to join the "Ice Lightning" Synchro team.

Through these Golden Years, the Orillia FSC had over thirty skaters represent our club at Sectional competitions throughout the region. We also recognize the great performances of our remaining competitive skaters who were successful in qualifying for the Canadian Championships:
     * Ashley Poole with partners Clinton Peterson and Mark Sheppard
     * Kelly MacKenzie & David Annecca
     * Ashley Barnett & Jason Dillman
     * Michelle Bylow with partners Brett Dunlop, Matt Smith and Michael Pollard
     * Jeff Smith & Laura Currie
     * Ryan Smith & Brenda Key
In 1996, Jeff Smith and Laura Currie won the bronze medal at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Novice Ice Dance. From there, they went on to win the gold medal in Junior Ice Dance at the 1997 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. Also in 1997, Brenda Key and Ryan Smith won the gold the medal in Novice Ice Dance at the Canadian Figure Skating Championships and therefore making history as two family members, both representing Orillia FSC, winning Canadian Gold in different events.

Donna Raeburn was awarded the 1998 Coach of the Year for Central Ontario.      

A new century brought a new name to the Canadian Figure Skating Association. The CFSA is now Skate Canada and along with the name change, came a new logo.

The Orillia FSC continued to shine with members and skaters being acknowledged in the Central Ontario Section. In 2000 Tracey Zwiers was awarded Coach of the Year and Donna Telford was awarded Volunteer of the Year. 

In 2000, Kevin Dawe won Gold in the PreNovice Mens category at the Ontario Winter Games Championships.

In the spring of 2001 the Orillia Figure Skating Club presented the "Celebration on Ice 2001" to commemorate 50 years of skating. Brian Orser made a return visit to Orillia and performed to a full house at the Community Centre. The entire club was commended, for their hard work, dedication, volunteer hours and most of all their "love for skating". Without them, this celebration would not have been possible. 

The 2000-2001 season saw the club rise to over 300 members and club employed seven coaches. 

In 2001 Tyler Smith and his partner Stephanie Mauthe won bronze at Sectionals in Novice Dance and qualified for Divisionals. Tiffany Jeremey and her partner Ryan Schultz placed 2nd in PreJuvenile Dance at Sectionals and represented Orillia at the All Ontario Championships. Laura Csumrik and per partner Michael Whitehead placed 5th at Sectionals in PreNovice Dance and qualified for Divisionals. Joel McWatters & Chantelle Vaillancourt won silver in Juvenile Dance at the Sectional Championships and Kevin Dawe won bronze in Novice Mens Freeskate at the Sectional Championships. 

In 2004, the coaches expressed interest in developing a competitive session within the club. The club had several skaters competing at the StarSkate level and thought that with more ice time they could qualify for the Sectional Championships. Guidelines were set and any skater who skated at the StarSkate Challenge or Sectional level that year would be eligible for the competitive program. Seven skaters qualified in the first year and the program continued grow in the coming years.

Also in 2004, Nicole Collins won the Skate Canada Central Ontario CanSkater of the Year.  In 2005, Tracey Zwiers was awarded Skate Canada Central Ontario Volunteer Coach of the Year. In 2007, Stacey Siddon and Devyn Slocum won bronze in Juvenile Dance at the Sectional Championships. Carlea Wilkie-Ellis became Ontario Winter Games Champion in Special Olympics and also the Canadian Winter Games Bronze medalist in Special Olympics. 

In 2009 Elizabeth Silk was awarded Skate Canada Central Ontario CanSkater of the Year and Kaitlyn MacDonald was awarded the Skate Canada Central Ontario StarSkater of the Year. 

From January 2001 to December 2009 the Orillia Figure Skating Club more than 41 Gold Skills tests passed, 15 Gold Freeskate tests passed, 25 Gold Dance tests passed, 12 Gold Interpretive tests passed, 18 Competitive Freeskate tests passed along with a numerous amount of competitive dance tests passed. We are very thankful for our dedicated coaching staff who continue to work enthusiastically with our young skaters.

With the City of Orillia growing, so too grew the demand for more ice time.  The aging Community Centre was closed January 2009 after an engineering report identified some major structural defects in the fifty-eight year old building. The Orillia FSC held their skating carnival at the Rama Mask Arena due the closure of the Community Centre.  In September 2009 the Community Centre reopened and the old wooden roof was reinforced with thirteen steel trusses supported by twenty-six steel columns at a considerable cost.  The hockey users took advantage of this opening but not the figure skating club.  Finally in the spring of 2010 the Community Centre doors were closed again for business.

The Orillia FSC would not be where it is today without the “City of Orillia” judges.  Without judges there would be no record of progress.  Thank you to Mark Scott, Nancy Reilly, Patrick Way and the late Connie Lynch and late Betty Smith, who over the years have dedicated their time and effort to our club and skaters.

Having 50 successful years behind us we look forward with anticipation to a great future of skating for the Orillia Figure Skating Club.

The closure of the Community Centre ins 2009 and the pressure for additional facilities brought the sports community together in an unprecedented manner. The City of Orillia was under pressure to provide an immediate remedy and out of this was born the new West Orillia Sports Complex, providing twin-pad ice surfaces, tennis courts, athletic fields with both regular and artificial turf, an accessible turf, an accessible playground, a washroom/change room building and walking trail. The ribbon cutting ceremony was held on September 17, 2010 and the following day a small ice show "Ice Extravaganza" was put on by the Orillia FSC. The Lake Country Rotary and the Rotary Club of Orillia had made financial commitments and thus the rinks were named "Rotary Place".

The Orillia FSC started skating 4 days a week at the new twin pad arena and 1 day a week at Brian Orser Arena. The membership was just under 300 skaters and both the recreational skaters and competitive skaters were thriving. Gunnar Holmgren finished 3rd in Juvenile Men at the 2010 Sectional Championships, and qualified for the Skate Canada Challenge in Regina. On November 26, 2010 the Orillia FSC received a
$50 000 Trillium Grant to help fund our 60th Anniversary Carnival, the purchase new equipment for our club and help promote figure skating in Orillia. The 60^th anniversary carnival was held on Saturday March 26^th, at Rotary arena and was called Music Mania – 60 Years of Music on Ice!  Along with our coaches, and countless volunteers the club is very grateful for our local judges Mark Scott and Nicole Murray. In 2010 the club employed 8 coaches and in July 2011 it ran its first summer program since Doug Leigh left in 1987. 

In 2011, Carlea Wilkie-Ellis became Special Olympics Ontario Winter Games champion and Taylor Shaw finished 4th in Level 3 freeskate.

In January 2012, the Orillia Figure Skating Club piloted a new Skate Canada PreCanSkate and CanSkate programs under the direction of Head Coach Tracey Zwiers. On January 21st & 22nd, 2012 the club hosted a very successful Huronia FunSkate competition. Many hours were put into planning this competition by Selina Lochead and Nicole Murray. Skaters from around the Northeast Area clubs participated.

2012 also brought more competition success for Orillia FSC skaters! Carlea Wilkie-Ellis won gold in Level 3 Freeskate at Canada Winter Games Champion in St. Albert, Alberta.  Sarah Rodger finished 3^rd in Junior Silver Ladies and Michelle Sheil finished 2^nd in Gold Ladies at the StarSkate championships in Brampton, Ontario.  Both skaters qualified to the Ontario championships in North Bay. The winter season ended with Skate Canada Central Ontario recognizing skaters, coaches and officials with awards for the dedication and commitment throughout the year. Julia Litvinenko was awarded the 2012 CanSkater of the Year award and Kristina Frolick was awarded the 2012 StarSkater of the Year Award. Along with their awards both girls received the Figure Skating Boutique Believe Bursary to help with their future skating development. Orillia officials and coaches also received awards. Patrick Way was awarded the 2012 Evaluator of the Year award and Tracey Zwiers won the 2012 Skate Canada Club and Recreational Coach Award. 

2013 was both a busy and exciting year for the Orillia Figure Skating Club. Carlea Wilkie-Ellis won a silver medal at the Special Olympic World championships in PyeongChang, South Korea. Michelle Sheil finished 1^st at the StarSkate Championships in Brampton, Ontario in Gold Ladies Triathlon and qualified for the Ontario championships in Fort Erie where she finished 11^th overall. In the fall of 2013, the Orillia figure skating Club began piloting a new form of testing that was designed by Skate Canada. Coaches would now be testing their own students at the lower levels. This was a huge learning curve for all involved, but the club and coaches embraced the change for the development of our skaters. Skaters continued to show strength at competitions in 2014 with Erin Gillies being awarded two bronze medals in Senior Silver Ladies and Silver Triathlon at the StarSkate Championships in Brampton. On December 13^th-14^th, the Orillia Figure Skating Club hosted the Huronia FunSkate competition. This was the second time in less than 2 years that the club was able to host this Fun competition for our local skaters. The winter skating season ended with a very successful carnival Musical Magic, and David Gillies was awarded the Data Specialist of the year from Central Ontario. Carlea Wilkie-Ellis was also awarded the 2014 Special Olympic Ontario Female Athlete of Year award. 

In January 2015, Taylor Shaw and Carlea Wilkie-Ellis competed at the Special Olympics Ontario Winter Games in North Bay. Tracey Zwiers was named the head coach of the team and both Carlea and Taylor had great performances! Carlea finished 3rd in Level 5 Freeskate and 2nd in Level 4 Dance; Taylor finished 2nd in Level 4 Dance and 4th in Level 5 Freeskate. February 2015 brought more great performances in competition for Orillia Figure Skating Club members. At the StarSkate Championships, Evan Serra finished 3rd in Juvenile Men under 14, Julia Litvinenko & Ruslan Artamonov finished 1st in Junior Bronze Dance and Hayden Murray & Zack Frankum finished 2nd in Junior Bronze Dance. These skaters qualified for the Ontario Championships where Julia Litvinenko & Ruslan Artamonov finished 3rd! On March 28, 2015 the Orillia FSC presented "Disney on Ice" featuring over 200 skaters. In June 2015, Tracey Zwiers elected the Skate Canada Central Ontario Coaches Chair. She would now sit on the COS board of directors and oversee over 800 coaches. In September 2015, the Orillia Figure Skating Club welcomed Michelle Mundell to the club to teach power to young skaters in our fall session. In 2015, Evan Serra also finished 3rd at the Skate Canada Central Ontario Sectional Championships. 

At the StarSkate Championships in 2016 Julia Litvinenko and Ruslan Artamonov finished 1st, they went on to win gold at the Ontario Championships. Tracey Zwiers was named as a coach for the 2016 Special Olympics National Championships in Cornerbrook, Newfoundland. On April 26, 2016 Brian Orser was inducted into the Orillia Sports Hall of Fame, for his success as a skater and now world renown figure skating coach.  On May 15, 2016 the Orillia Figure Skating Club was recognized as one of the founding club in Skate Canada Central Ontario at their 60th Anniversary Celebration. President Leanne Young and Head Coach Tracey Zwiers attended the celebrations on behalf of the club. June of 2016 brought Orillia FSC's first golf tournament. The tournament was organized by Jayme Zwiers and Markus Leminen as a fundraiser for club programs and ice costs; over 30 golfers participated. Daniel Patriquin and his partner Sophia Gover finished 4th in Juvenille Dance at the 2016 Sectional Championships. 

As the club continued to grow 2017 saw more Orillia FSC skaters succeed in competition and on test days. We recognized the following performances at the 2017 StarSkate Championships:
     * Ruslan Artamonov finished 2nd in Star 7 Men's FreeSkate
     * Zack Frankum finished 3rd in Star 7 Men's FreeSkate 
     * Zack Frankum also finished 2nd in Pre-Juvenile Men's FreeSkate Under 13
     * Ruslan Artamonov also finished 3rd in Pre-Juvenile Men's Freeskate Under 13
     * Julia Litvinenko & Ruslan Artamonov finsiehd 1st in Star 6/7 Dance 
     * Daniel Patriquin and his partner Sophia Gover finished 3rd in Juvenile Dance
Ruslan Artamonov went onto the Ontario Championships where he finished 3rd in Star 7 Men's FreeSkate and placed 1st in Star 6/7 Dance with Julia Litvinenko. 
On February 25, 2017 the Orillia Figure Skating Club celebrated their 66th year with a carnival; "Jukebox Saturday Night". In March 2017, Tracey Zwiers was selected as a coach for the Work Special Olympics Games in Austria. Following the games, she was awarded the 2017 Coaching Award of Excellence presented by Petro Canada and the Coaching Association of Canada. With the clubs continued growth, the club hired Marisa Norris to join the coaching staff. On December 16-17, 217 the club hosted the Huronia Funskate Competition, its most successful to date! 

Orillia has three skaters qualify for the 2018 Ontario Championships:
     * Daniel Patriquin finished 5th in Star 5 Men's FreeSkate
     * Zack Frankum finished 1st in Star 7 Men's FreeSkate & 7th in Juvenile Men's
       FreeSkate Under 14
     * Jenna Lee finished 13th in Gold Ladies Freeskate
The 2018 spring season ended with Jayme Zwiers being awarded the 2018 Skate Canada Section Officials Award for Skate Ontario. This was truly an honour as this was the first awards ceremony since the Skate Ontario amalgamated. 

1950's:     Diane Hambly, Margaret Ann Nield, Russell Masters, David Matthewson
                Joan Meloche, Marilyn Mutrie, Estelle Riddell

1960's:     Brian Tuck, Marilyn Smith, Peter Firtbrook, Carole Holliday (Forrest),
                Donna Raeburn, Mary Ellen LePage, Doug Leigh

1970's:     Doug Leigh, Mary Ellen LePage, Donna Raeburn, Tom Harrison,
                Gay Armstrong (Tennant), George O'Reilly, Greg Myles

1980's:     Gay Tennant, Colette Napier (Robertson), Nancy Rosewarne, 
                Mary Ellen LePage, Sundae Raeburn, Neil Carpenter, Tim White,
                Sherry Lukins, Michelle Simpson (Leigh), David Islam, Marion Puffer,
                Robert Tebby, Tracey Campbell (Zwiers), Linda Vandertas

1990 -      Tracey Zwiers, Susan MacKay (Scott), Donna Raeburn, Gay Tennant, 
2001:       Michelle Leigh, Scott Chalmers, Lee Barkell, Sundae Raeburn (Brown), 
                Gail Duck, Marilyn Leigh, James Callan, Brenda Goodyear, Adam Grin,
                Brett Dunlop, Neil Carpenter, Pavol Porac, Markus Leminen

2001 -      Tracey Zwiers, Susan Scott, Gay Tennant, Gail Duck, Markus Leminen,
2018:       Brett Dunlop, Pavol Porac, Stephanie Dalley, Azure Dee Perkins,
                Erin Csumrik (Shaw), Jame Callan, Michelle Mundell, Marisa Norris 

 

1951 - 1952     Mr. P. N. Flaherty

1952 - 1953     Mr. H. B. Adams

1953 - 1954     Mr. A. F. Mills

1954 - 1955     Mr. H. G. McNaughton

1955 - 1956     Mr. W. P. Bacon

1956 - 1957     Mr. F. W. Tindell

1957 - 1958     Ken Blake

1958 - 1959     Mrs. L. Temple

1959 - 1960     Mrs. C. Hewitt

1960 - 1961     Harry Bongard

1961 - 1962     Ken Blake

1962 - 1963     Fred Phipps

1963 - 1964     Mowry "Betty" Street

1964 - 1965     Fred Phipps

1965 - 1967     Connie Lynch

1967 - 1968     Bev Napier

1968 - 1970     Wally MacLean

1970 - 1971     Sid Couroux

1971 - 1972   

1972 - 1973     Lloyd Raymond

1973 - 1974     Dale Lovering

1974 - 1975     Muriel Ashmore

1975 - 1976     

1976 - 1977     Barb Bundy

1977 - 1978 

1978 - 1979

1979 - 1981     Pat Adam

1981 - 1982     Peter Rose

1982 - 1983     Larry Tupling

1983 - 1985     Richard Crowder

1985 - 1989     Charles Penny

1989 - 1991     Linda Wilkie-Ellis

1991 - 1993     Gloria James

1993 - 1996     Vera Smith

1996 - 1997     Susan Vodarek / Allison Guthrie

1997 - 1999     Allison Guthrie

1999 - 2001     Mark Scott

2001 - 2005     Robert Lamb

2005 - 2007     Selina Lochead

2007 - 2011     Nicole Murray

2011 - 2013     Mary Collins

2013 - 2015     Nicole Murray

2017 - 2017     Leanne Young

2017 - 2019     Amanda Frankum

2019 - 2024     Lori Irwin

2024 - Pres.     Nicole Hankin