12:45 p.m., Feb. 14, 2011----On Feb. 15, 1961, the U.S. Olympic figure skating world was shaken. All 18 members of the national team were tragically killed in the crash of an airplane that was heading to the 1961 World Championships in Prague.

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Nearly 50 years to date, many figure skaters -- including two members of the University of Delaware campus community -- are still feeling the effects of this terrible accident and are preparing to pay tribute to their fallen colleagues.

The 18 members of the 1961 team were inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame at the 2011 AT&T U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, N.C.

On Thursday, Feb. 17, Rise, a figure skating documentary that aims to capture the events of the tragedy and its aftermath, will be released.

UD figure skating coaches and national icons Ron Ludington and Barbara Roles-Williams were close friends with many of the skaters who were on the flight to Prague. Both are looking forward to the release of the film.

“What I'm hoping to see happening is a greater interest in the sport of figure skating. There were so many great skaters, coaches, and officials lost on that flight that it took us many years to recover,” said Ludington, a four-time national pair champion and Olympic bronze medalist. “I hope the skaters that watch the film will appreciate the passion these skaters had for the sport. I'm sure there will be a great rub off on their skating careers. ”

Roles-Williams, an Olympic bronze medalist and national champion, said she has similar sentiments. “I hope that the people seeing the movie will understand the love and passion these skaters had for the sport of figure skating.”

The film is to be featured in movie theatres all around the country starting Thursday.

While this accident will always be remembered as a tragic day, the coaches said they hope that Rise will bring new hope and inspiration to figure skaters of the future.

Both Ludington and Roles-Williams are coaches at UD's High Performance Figure Skating Center.

Ludington was inducted into the Ice Skating Hall of Fame in 1993; named to the World Ice Skating Hall of Fame in 1999; became the first ice skater to be named to the Delaware Sports Hall of Fame in 2000; joined the Professional Skating Hall of Fame in 2002; and was inducted into the Ice Skating Institute Hall of Fame in 2008.

Roles-Williams was inducted into the Professional Skaters Association Hall of Fame in 2010.

Both coaches were cited in a U.S. Olympic Committee article about Rise.

Article by Greta Gibboney
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson