Carolyn Spellman Fedy

Carolyn Fedy joined the K-W Skating Club in 1939 at five years of age and advanced quickly through the ranks to achieve her gold medal in figures and free skate at the age of sixteen. She set a Canadian record by passing four senior tests in ten months. After graduating from teachers’ college and a brief teaching career, she rejoined the K-W Skating Club as a professional coach.

For several years she directed and choreographed Kitchener-Waterloo’s annual ice show which is remembered for being in the league with the Ice Capades. In the 1964-65 season she developed the first Canadian pre-school/mother skating program which still exists today. During several years of coaching, Fedy continued to develop skill sets and progression levels in conjunction with the National Testing Program. The Canadian Figure Skating Association recognized the value in the technical program that she and fellow coaches were using at the Kitchener-Waterloo club and requested that she develop the Canskate/Canfigureskate program to be used throughout the many clubs in Canada.

In 1983, Fedy received the title of Master Conductor of the National Canskate Program. This necessitated that she conduct clinics for coaches, trainers, and administrators across Canada. Every child that has progressed beyond the Learn to Skate programs in Canada has received the benefit of her knowledge and training since that time. In 1985 Fedy took on the responsibility of Technical Director in charge of the content and delivery of each and every program at the K-W Skating Club.

She was named Coach of the Year for the Western Ontario Section in 1990, Female Coach of the Year for the Province of Ontario in 1992 and in 1996 received the CFSA Volunteer Award of Excellence. At her retirement gala in 1999, the City of Waterloo honoured her with the renaming of Rink in the Park to the Carolyn Fedy Skating Centre.