Roller-Skating Titlist To Turn Professional After Another Year

ROLLER-SKATING TITLIST TO TURN PROFESSIONAL AFTER ANOTHER YEAR

Ann Arbor now can boast of a national champion roller-skater.

Miss Irma C. Barnard, 1943 Jackson Ave., won the national novice mixed pairs title at the National Cavalier arena in Richmond, Va.

She was paired with Douglas Milne of Detroit. The national titles were decided in a meet held by the U.S. Amateur Roller-Skating Association which is affiliated with the Amateur Athletic Association.

Fifteen couples competed in the mixed pair competition which included entrants from all parts of the country.

Miss Barnard also placed third in the ladies, junior figure-skating contest and was fourth in the senior ladies’ pair-skating, where she skated with Loretta Reuhle of Detroit. Loretta placed first in the women’s junior singles.

Miss Barnard has been coasting around on the rollers for a number of years. In recent national competition she represented the Rollercade Skating Club, Whitmore Lake, simply because Ann Arbor does not have a suitable rink.

In 1944 Miss Barnard placed fourth in the national novice singles. In 1945, a junior, she was third. Last year she placed seventh among the mixed pairs.

Intending to continue her amateur competition for at least another year, Miss Barnard is looking forward to turning professional after another 12 months.

She also plans to give ice-skating a whirl this winter, to determine if it is possible for her to adapt herself to cutting the fancy capers on the frozen water that she does with rollers on the hardwood.

PHOTO CAPTION: Another National Champion For Ann Arbor: Ann Arbor’s Irma C. Barnard is the new co-holder of the national novice mixed pairs roller-skating championship. Her partner in the Richmond, Va., competition was a Detroiter, Douglas Milne.