Howard University is continuing its efforts to make history by announcing the first-ever HBCU figure skating team.
The new team was founded by Howard students Maya James and Cheyenne Walker. The two have been figure skating since the age of seven. In a conversation with the U.S. Figure Skating website, they shared how they began founding the team.
“I just missed the sport, honestly,” James said. “I didn’t really skate that much during the pandemic. I stopped skating for about two years. As I was coming to college, I also saw a lot of the U.S. collegiate Instagram pages. They went to competitions and the competitions look so fun and welcoming.”
Founding a Figure Skating Team at Howard University
Before forming the team together, James and Walker didn’t know each other. James, a junior studying psychology, came across an article about Walker, a senior studying political science and Afro-American studies. She reached out to her via Instagram to start the figure skating club.
“When Maya reached out to me, I was so excited because I was speaking to other girls from Figure Skating in Harlem who go to Howard,” stated Walker. “We would always speak about how we wish there was skating, but we didn’t know how to go about it,” she continued. “So, when Maya was like, ‘Yeah, I want to start this,’ I was on board because it’s something I wanted to see on our campus community.”
They needed an entire semester to complete business proceedings to register the sport with the university and U.S. Figure Skating. Soon after, the team was ready to go. At the end of the summer of 2023, the Howard University Figure Skating team was up and running. Being that Walker is a senior, unfortunately, she cannot compete. Still, she is excited to serve as the skating team’s president and is grateful she was a part of this history-making achievement.
“Although I’m in my senior year, I’m so happy that Maya brought it to the table,” Walker said of James. “I’m glad we’re working as a team to make this happen. I’m so excited that I can leave my impact on the campus community.”
On October 7th, the team held their first practice, and in February 2024, they will participate in their debut competition at the University of Delaware.