The enthusiasm isn\u2019t unusual, he said. Every Olympic cycle, the center sees a boost of a couple of hundred people enrolling in its programs, from hockey and curling to ice skating.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did watch parties while she was there, and we had a room full of people watching it live on TV. It was a great time and that energy has just carried right on through,\u201d he said. <\/span><\/p>\n Just after 5 p.m., the center geared up for its first Learn to Skate classes of the evening. The rink transformed from a quiet bustle of regulars taking private lessons and free skating to a lively flood of young athletes crowded around the lobby\u2019s benches and floors, lacing up bright white skates and pulling on ear muffs and gloves.<\/p>\n Kids hobbled around on thin blades, greeting friends and impatiently clutching the walls of the rink, watching the Zamboni machine smooth over the ice.<\/p>\n \u201cFigure skating definitely grows after the Olympics, because I feel that there\u2019s people that get inspired after watching,\u201d said Laura Lipetsky, who has been coaching group and private lessons at Oakland Ice Center since 1995. She taught Liu\u2019s first group lessons in 2010 and worked with her in private lessons for a decade.<\/p>\n Liu, she said, \u201chas been inspiring a lot of kids [to think] \u2018Wow, it\u2019s possible, and it\u2019s someone that came from the Bay Area, the Oakland Ice Center.\u2019\u201d She said she\u2019s had young students come to her and say, \u201cI want to be a champion, too.\u201d<\/p>\n Joyce Elangovan, 8, began skating two years ago in the same group lessons. Her mom had been a skater growing up in Minnesota, but said she had tried to keep that under wraps until Joyce started watching the sport on TV, and begged to take classes.<\/p>\n \u201cI just figured I\u2019d let her give it a shot and see if she liked it. And she has,\u201d Kristen Odegaard<\/span> told KQED. \u201cShe\u2019s really driven it herself. Like, despite my love for it, she really loves it herself.\u201d<\/p>\n Now, Elangovan<\/span> also takes private lessons with Liu\u2019s coach, DiGuglielmo, and has caught the competitive bug. Joyce grinned, remembering her last competition, when she ended her routine with a two-foot spin.<\/p>\n \u201cIt felt really good,\u201d she said, to see her coaches and family excited for her.<\/p>\n Elangovan<\/span> also loves getting to watch other skaters practicing at the rink \u2014 especially Liu.<\/p>\n \u201cMost skaters aren\u2019t as positive as her on the ice,\u201d she said. \u201cShe\u2019s always so fun and happy, and she is never hiding herself. It feels really fun to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.kqed.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2026\/03\/031026_ALYSA-LIU-OAKLAND-ICE-_GH_010-KQED.jpg\")
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