York County Skating School
Biddeford Arena,
Biddeford, Maine
OUR STAFF
I
THE COACHES
Diane Simpson
Director
Diane has been teaching Group lessons, freestyle and hockey from tots to adults in Massachusetts for 20 years and has recently moved to Maine. Diane holds a Senior Group and Registered Freestyle rating as well as a Hockey Level I with the Professional Skaters Association and holds membership with US Figure Skating, Ice Skating Institute and Professional Skaters Association.
Diane skated professionally in ice shows for 14 years. She spent 5 years touring the United States with Ice Follies and Disney on Ice and 9 years performing with Holiday on Ice in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa.
She and her staff of dedicated ice professionals are committed to providing a fun and rewarding experience!
Victoria Kyle
Coach
Tori is a senior at Thornton Academy, and is a member of the TA Players and Thornton Academy Dance Company. She has been skating since the age of 2, and has been an assistant coach since 4th grade. Tori competed in the 2011 National Theatre on Ice Competition and 2013 National Showcase Competition, and her team, the Barnstable Blades, won silver medals. Tori is a gymnast and dancer and loves to involve both gymnastics and dance into her skating routines
Amanda Cavanaugh
Coach
I have been skating since I was 3 years old and I have not stopped yet! . I love to pass on my passion for being on the ice by teaching. I started coaching learn-to-skate classes in 2009. I love the challenge each skater brings whether they are interested in pursuing a higher level of figure skating or simply working on feeling more comfortable on the ice.. I have both USFSA and ISI memberships. After choreographing several programs in the ice shows here at the Biddeford Ice Arena, I have realized how much I enjoy it! I always have a blast setting up a fun program to showcase the accomplishments the skaters have made throughout the year!
Off of the ice I have obtained my Bachelor's degree in zoology and I am now a full-time gamekeeper at the Maine Wildlife Park
I look forward to many future years of skating and teaching!
Jeannie Malinky
Coach
I started skating at age 3 1/2 after I fell in love watching "Smurf's on Ice" and the Boston Garden. My parents bought me a pair of ice skates and took me to the pond down the street and there the story began! I joined the Southern New Hampshire Skating Club and later moved to Maine where I became a member of the Southern Maine Skating Club out of Portland. I tested in both the Ice skating institute and US Figure Skating After graduation from college in Vermont I moved to Iowa to study Chiropractic. I started coaching and joined the Des Moines Figure Skating Club in 2010 and coached with them for 3 seasons before moving home to Maine in Spring of 2013. It is nice to be home and now coaching with the York County Skating School. When I'm not on the ice, you can find me skiing, road tripping all over the country (Glacier National Park was my FAVORITE to date) and playing on the beach.
Heather Wright
Coach
Heather Wright is a member of USFS and ISI and coaching credentials in level B and C. She has been coaching for 14 years at all different levels but her strengths are hockey skating skills and power skating skills. Heather has directed skating programs, choreographed many routines, led a variety of different skill classes and has directed 3 ice shows. As a homeschooling mother of four, Heather has a great ability to work with many different types of skaters at many different levels. She has passed her Intermediate Freestyle and Senior level for Moves in the Field which is the highest level a skater can achieve in this discipline.
Jenny MacDonald
Coach
Jenny took her first skating class in South Carolina at the age of 8. It was love from the start. . At the age of 9 Jenny moved to New England and joined a synchronized skating team for two years. Skating with the Patriot Ice Club in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Jenny competed individually throughout New England for numerous years testing intermediate free style and junior moves in the field. In college, Jenny helped found a figure skating club at the University of Maine in Orono. Jenny began coaching skating in 2008 and has taught figure skating as a member of USFSA as well as ISI. Jenny loves being able to teach others about a sport that had taught and given her so much.
Jenny received her undergraduate degree in Social Work from the University of Maine in Orono. She also has a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of New England. Jenny is a pediatric social worker for the Barbara Bush Children's Hospital at Maine Medical Center.
