MONTICLAR, NJ- “I don’t want to lose my mobility. I want to keep my body weight,” said 59-year-old Sullivan County Legislator, Terry Bernardo. Bernardo is embracing a new athletic pursuit of happiness and health, trading her familiar roller skates for ice skates.
“I moved to Sullivan County, and there were no roller rinks. One winter, the lake froze where I live, so I put some ice skates on, and I knew that if I could get good enough at it to make it exercise, I would want to do it every day.”
The accomplished roller skater has begun an intensive training regimen with 2002 Olympian and instructor Alex Beletsky at the Montclair State University Ice Arena in New Jersey. He says she is doing very well on the ice and acknowledges that figure skating is very different than roller skating, but it isn’t hampering her progress.
“It is a pleasure to work with her because she is knowledgeable, and doing figure skating is one thing, but the other thing is she also tries to improve off the ice as well,” he said. The transition to ice presents its own set of demands, testing her balance and muscle memory in new ways. This endeavor highlights the legislator’s dedication to lifelong learning and personal growth, proving that new passions can be pursued at any stage of life.
“Don’t look at me and think, oh, I couldn’t do that. I didn’t start like that. Start and learn to skate with somebody like Alex, who has a special way of connecting with adults. He has a special system,” she said.
