Lakewood Winter Club was founded in 1939 as Lakewood Figure Skating Club. Throughout the years, LWC has been known for producing champions, fantastic coaches, and entertaining shows. While Lakewood Winter Club is no longer located in Lakewood, we still strive for the fun and high quality training environment we have always been known for.
Lakewood Ice Arena was the original home of Lakewood Winter Club. Mary Davis and Norman Clapp purchased the Oakes ballroom on the shores of Steliacoom lake in the early 1930's with the intention of converting it into a private ice arena. The arena has its public opening on December 17-18, 1938 with the Seattle Skating Club performing a show. When the roof collapsed in 1948, a group of people pooled their resources together and approached the Clapps about purchasing the facility. They redecorated the arena in the style of an Alpine mountain resort and convinced John Johnsen to return and run the arena and skating program. Lakewood Ice Arena had "patch ice" in the basement where skaters would practice their figures. The main ice sheet was not a full size sheet so when LWC skaters traveled to other rinks, they would have to adjust their programs for a full sheet of ice. when the rink first opened, an organist would play music for the public sessions, Tacoma Rockets games, and ice shows. In October 1982, the roof collapsed again and a decision was made to demolish the building. LWC skaters moved to Sprinker Recreation Center to train and have been there since.
LWC skater Staci Loop was chosen to be the skating double in the original Ice Castles movie. She was selected because she was one of 8 women in the world who successfully landed a triple loop in competition. Also one of the 8 was Jill Sawyer, another LWC skater.
Jill Sawyer trained under coach Kathy Casey and was known for helping "usher in the age of ladies doing triples". She is considered one of the first female skaters to land a triple Lutz at competition and she was doing so at the age of 14.
The Olympic Sport Curling made its West Coast Debut at Lakewood Ice Arena in 1949. Lakewood Ice Arena manager John Johnson was instrumental in its debut making it one of the few in the entire country.
Olympians Scott Davis, Ashley Wagner, and Roselynn Summers have all trained at Sprinker Recreation Center.
LWC skater Lois Secreto tied in the free skate with Tenley Albright at the 1950 National Championships.
Kathy Casey was a beloved and internationally recognized coach who got her start at Lakewood Winter Cub. She became an assistant coach in 1962 and coached there until she left for the Broadmoor Skating Club in 1990. While at LWC, Kathy served as President of the Professional Skaters Association for six years, and served on the Olympic Coaches committee. She also coached skaters such as Jill Sawyer, Rosalynn Summers, Scott Davis, and Katarina Witt. She was loved by everyone at Lakewood Winter Club even though her skaters described her as "the wicked witch of the west" when it came to practicing figures. Other close friends called her the "Countess of Tacoma". Sadly, Kathy passed away in 2019.
Lakewood Winter Club has a long history of producing incredible ice skating shows. It started with the Ice Capers in the 1940's and continues today with Reflections on Ice. LWC has been known for producing quality show skaters for almost its entire history. Sonja Henie recruited several LWC skaters into her ice show after seeing them perform at Sun Valley. In more recent years, Lakewood Winter Club skaters have gone on to perform in Disney on Ice. While we are not currently producing any Reflections on Ice shows, we hope to again soon in the future.
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