ussg News Board

New Instructor Exam
Help spread the word. The ussg has 2005 certification dates and locations in the US and Canada. Share your sport and this life-changing opportunity with skater friends. Send them to www.unitedskateschools.org for more information.

Save the Date!
The 2005 ussg conference will be on October 15th in Long Beach in conjunction with the LBIM Expo. Conference itinerary and registration will soon be available at www.unitedskateschools.org/
Conference2005.html.

2005 CEC list
Earn CEC points toward your 2005 requirement. Submit an article for our e-newsletter. If we use your material you'll earn one point. A total of only 2 CEC points are needed prior to your 2006 renewal. For a complete list go to www.unitedskateschools.org/
CECs.html.

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Kids Corner
Our Kids Corner is where members share teaching ideas to help their younger students have fun and learn in their classes.

Here's a tip shared by
Phil Lenihan.

Use a paper or plastic picnic plate with a soft rubber ball as a prop to force the kids to keep their hands out in front of them. You don't always have to use the ball but it makes it a little more interesting.

What a great idea Phil!
Thank you!

(Note: If you have trouble viewing this email please go to
www.unitedskateschools.org/May-June2005.html

ussg e-newsletter
Volume Two
May/June 2005

Letter from the President

Dear ussg members,

Thank you to everyone for their support and kind thoughts over the past two months. As most of you may know, my 2 year old son fractured his right thigh bone and was in a body (spica) cast for over 6 weeks. My husband, Pat, and I truly appreciate your emails and cards. This challenging experience has led me to a new perspective on the importance of good health, daily awareness, and positive relationships. Our son has been out of his cast for exactly one week now and is regaining strength and balance. His skin has healed and he'll soon be running (and skating!) in the warm summer sun.

I hope you are enjoying the beginning of the skate season. I feel it's off to a very good start as seen with so many wonderful instructors joining together in the ussg community. The talent that you bring to the sport and give to your students is sure to increase participation in inline skating.

As always, please contact me anytime with ideas or questions. I truly do want to hear from you.

Most sincerely,

Janet

Janet Miller Sheehan
USSG- United Skate Schools Group
http://www.unitedskateschools.org

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Keepin' on Rollin'~
Since our last e-newsletter much has developed even with our time constraints. Our website, membership, and e-newsletter have grown. In this e-newsletter you'll find teaching and business tips, as well as, products created by your fellow members. Remember to check the News Board to the left for very important information.

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ussg members deliver!
Our members devote much time and effort to skate education. Check out what just a few of these talented instructors have developed and are available for you.

Books by Liz Miller

and Suzanne Nottingham.
lllllllll Video/DVD by Debbie Merrill

We love when you keep us posted on the resources you'd like to share with your fellow instructors so drop us a line and we'll include you in our next newsletter.

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New Instructors Wanted
The first ussg Instructor Examination Program (IE) will take place on July 23rd in Los Angeles. Additional programs are scheduled in Washington DC, Canada, and Seattle. More dates will be added to meet the demand for programs. Do you know any students in the education field or perhaps in the health and fitness industry? Look for skaters in your midst with good people skills. See if you can spark their interest and bring them to the world of skate education. Do them a favor and share what you know and love. For more information send them to http://www.unitedskateschools.org/ExamIEnew.html.

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Cover your Assets
Members should understand their insurance coverage. In the past, we all may have left our protection to chance because maybe we were too busy or just didn't want to think about it. This may have led to many of us being under-covered and unprotected. This year you need to make sure you have the proper coverage. ALL instructors who have the individual instructor insurance provided through an association from City Securities should take note that this insurance is for incidental instruction which is for small groups and for about a total of 150 students per year. If you have a skate school running more than that on a commercial basis which means that you're advertising your program, you have over 150 students per year and you are teaching more than just a few small group lessons you are strongly advised to consider the skate school commercial liability insurance. For more information please go to http://www.unitedskateschools.org/insuranceinstr.html .

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Getting Publicity for Yourself or you Skating School
Excerpt thanks to Phil Lenihan, AKA The Old Dude On Blades

It is time to forget all that stuff that mom taught you about humility. Hiding your light under the proverbial bushel basket just does not work. So let's think about getting publicity.

The first thing to ask is what interesting things do you offer? Review your newspaper and TV news broadcasts and see if any of these subjects match the coverage or area of interest of any of their reporters. Little suburban or community newspapers love this kind of stuff.

Start building your media contact list. Who covers health and fitness, who covers family activities, who covers special events, who's in charge of "What's Happening this Weekend" column? Get their contact information. Many times these are listed right in the paper or on their web site.

Now start listing what's interesting about you, yes you. Are you an ex-figure skater, did you just find skating and fell in love with it, did you loose 30 pounds on a skating program … What motivated you to become certified as an instructor? Put the information in short paragraphs or stories.

Now, how do we get this titillating information to the press? The vehicle we us is a Press Release. A Press Release is a standard format for getting news to the press. The press likes the standard format because it is quick to review and it insures all the information is there, who, what, when, where, why and how. If you don't use a Press Release format you run the risk of your submission being tossed without it ever being read. A week after you send out your Press Release, follow up with the key contacts by phone or e-mail to see if you can answer any questions. If you build a nice relationship with these people they may call you for story ideas or to quote you in a related story. Instructions and samples can be found on the Internet.

One last thing, if you are working with a Parks and Recreation Department, many times they have a publicity person that you can work with. They may have established press contacts that they might share with you or contact for you.

Good luck, let's get some ink! Skate safe! Cheers!

PHIL
phil@lenihan.org
http://www.lenihan.org

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If you'd like to share an article that you've written please email to ussg@unitedskateschools.org .

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USSG - United Skate Schools Group 2005.
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