PROFILE

Rohene Andre Ward
Born: June 28, 1983 -- Minneapolis, Minnesota
Height: 5'8"
Level: Senior
Home Club: Starlight Ice Dance Club of Minneapolis
Hometown: Minneapolis, MN
Training Town: Minneapolis, MN
Coach: Page Lipe
Choreographer: Rohene Ward

Notes:

• One of only a few U.S. men who has landed a quad jump (toe loop) in competition in both his short and long programs
• One of a select group of skaters to have passed the Ice Skating Institute's (ISI) FS 10 test
• Has the ability to spin and jump in both directions
• Invited to perform in the Duluth and Minneapolis stops of Tom Collins' Champions on Ice tour in late June of 2006
• Skates in Jackson ProFlex (hinged) boots with removable Matrix blades
• 2004 Puerto Rican National Champion (elected not to compete for Puerto Rico)
• Works as a coach and choreographer; has coached Junior Ladies' competitor Kirsten Olson since June 2007
• Has been coached by Page Lipe since 1994
  

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The Rohene Ward Story

As recounted by his long-time coach, Page Lipe, in late 2003

I first met Rohene in 1993, when he was ten years old. He was skating occasionally in a summer camp that I ran and his coaches (Gailene Norwood and Richard Zander) told me that he was a talented little kid and that he couldn’t afford to skate so, “Would I please give him a scholarship?” I was team coaching with Richard at the time and thought “Sure, what the heck.” I really had no idea back then, that a simple gesture on my part would turn into the life altering experience it has become.

Richard decided to stop coaching about a year later, so Gailene asked me to take Rohene on as a full time student. She would still be coaching him, but she wanted me to hone his technical skills. I can still remember the first lesson I gave him because we have it on video. I think what really drew me to him was his total JOY. He had this HUGE grin and also, every time he would fall on a jump, he would LAUGH.

The other thing that really stands out in my mind was that I gave him a ride to the bus stop and when he got out of the car, he took with him the small amount of garbage that had been left there by another student and threw it in the trash on the curb. I was really impressed by that. So, the three things that made me decide to take him on as a student were that he was a) talented, b) funny, and c) kind. I knew that this was going to be a ton of sacrifice on my part, but I thought with those three traits, he could go far.

So, it’s ten years later and it’s been an incredible journey of character tests and lessons as well as hilarious moments and quite a few rewards along the way for both of us. I’m looking forward to watching the future unfold!

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Competition & Program History

Note: Rohene's qualifying and non-qualifying (club) competition results (including scores) from 2004-2007 are compiled in his Latino International Skating Coalition bio page.

2007-2008
SP music (2008 Nationals): "Eleonore" by Maxime Rodriguez
SP music (prior to Nationals): "The Messiah Will Come Again" by Roy Buchanan
FS music: Selections from the film soundtrack of "Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story"
U.S. Nationals (St. Paul, Minnesota), 18
Midwestern Sectional, 2nd
Upper Great Lakes Regional, 1st

2006-2007
SP music: "Eleonore" by Maxime Rodriguez
FS music: "Primavera Portena," "Oblivion" and "Tango Ballet" by Astor Piazzolla
Midwestern Sectional, 6th
Upper Great Lakes Regional, 1st

2005-2006
SP music: "The Messiah Will Come Again" by Roy Buchanan
FS music: "Primavera Portena," "Oblivion" and "Tango Ballet" by Astor Piazzolla
U.S. Nationals (St. Louis, MO), 17th
Midwestern Sectional, 3rd

2004-2005
SP music: "The Messiah Will Come Again" by Roy Buchanan
FS music: Selections from "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Webber
2005 Midwestern Sectional, 6th
June 2004 Puerto Rican National Figure Skating Championships, 1st

2003-2004
SP music: "Vamos a Bailar" by the Gipsy Kings
FS music: Selections from the film soundtrack of "Glory"
2004 U.S. Nationals (Atlanta, GA), 16th
2004 Midwestern Sectional, 3rd
2004 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 1st

2002-2003
SP music: Michael Jackson medley
FS music: Violin Fantasy on the opera "Turandot" by G. Puccini (performed by Vanessa-Mae)
2003 Midwestern Sectional, 5th
2002 Karl Schaefer Memorial (Vienna, Austria), 8th

2001-2002 - Senior level debut
SP music: Michael Jackson medley
FS music: Violin Fantasy on the opera "Turandot" by G. Puccini (performed by Vanessa-Mae)
2002 U.S. Nationals (Los Angeles, CA), 14th
2002 Midwestern Sectional, 3rd
2002 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 2nd

2000-2001 - Junior
SP music: "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)"
FS music: "Romeo & Juliet" by Prokofiev
2001 Triglav Trophy (Jesenice, Slovenia), 2nd
2001 U.S. Nationals (Boston, MA), 6th
2001 Midwestern Sectional, 1st
2001 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 2nd

1999-2000 - Junior
2000 Midwestern Sectional, 6th
2000 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 1st

1998-1999 - Junior
1999 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 6th

1997-1998 - Junior
1998 Midwestern Sectional, 7th
1998 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 1st

1996-1997 - Novice
1997 North American Challenge Skate, 1st
1997 U.S. Nationals (Nashville, TN), 5th
1997 Midwestern Sectional, 3rd
1997 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 4th

1995-1996 - Juvenile
1996 U.S. Junior Championships, 3rd
1996 Upper Great Lakes Regional, 1st