Memphis, TN:  The Memphis Figure Roller Skating Club pictured below, coached by Carolina Mirelli, won the High Point Trophy at 2007 Southern Regional Championship held in June 2007.  10 skaters from Memphis continued on to skate at the National Championships held in Omaha, NE this past July.

Memphis Coach Honored

Caroline Mirelli received the “Lifetime Membership” in the Coach’s Association during the Southern Regional Championships held in Port Richey, Florida on June 10-14.  Caroline is also an SRSTA Life Member, was Teacher of the Year in 1970, Coach of the Year for the Southern Region in 1996 and 2003, and is an inductee in the National Roller Skating Hall of Fame.  When most people are thinking of retirement, Caroline just keeps on rolling.  She works hard at promoting our sport and getting new people into skating all the time!  Caroline’s “Team Memphis” had 10 skaters participate at the Southern Regional Championships.  Over half of these skaters are under the age of 13!  Where others have problems, somehow Caroline always manages to pull new people into our sport.  She instills in her skaters the same love of roller skating that she has, keeps her approach to roller skating upbeat and keeps her skaters excited about their sport.  Her skaters are always improving in skating and in their personal lives by reaching out to help other people.  Caroline and “Team Memphis” have held fundraisers and done charity work for Katrina Victims, Red Cross Blood Drives, Food Share and St. Jude’s Hospital. 

The 2006 National Championship held in Lincoln, Nebraska in August is where Caroline stood proud as Nestor Parra took the silver in Sophomore Men’s Freestyle and Cassie Cole just missed a bronze medal, placing 4^th in the elementary inline freestyle event.  Caroline keeps her skaters busy holding test centers, participating in seminars, skating shows, charity work, and holding a meet in their rink every year.  A new skating season has begun, and there is no rest for Caroline and her crew.  Their schedule includes:  September 12^th—Test Center w/30 tests; October 21-22^nd—Inline Seminar in Ohio; November 22^nd—Silent Auction to raise money for the club; December 19^th—Christmas Show to raise money for St Jude’s; February 3-5^th—Heart of Memphis Invitation Meet.

 Good work and good luck in the upcoming season.  We look forward to hearing more about “Team Memphis” and their very special coach, Caroline Mirelli.

Send your coaches accomplishments to JFerreira@snet.net and honor them in our newsletter and on our website.