September 24, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Qian Yang, 617-493-8172

Skating towards a cure for cancer

CAMBRIDGE – Top Olympic and world skaters will do triple axels and toe loops to benefit the Jimmy Fund at An Evening with Champions on Friday, Oct. 10, at 8 p.m. and Saturday, Oct.11, at 7 p.m. in Harvard University's Bright Hockey Center. A silent auction will take place 30 minutes before each show, and a prize drawing will take place after intermission.

Paul Wylie, the 1992 Olympic silver medalist and class of 1990 Harvard graduate, will host the show, which will feature junior world champion Adam Rippon, and national medal winners Matt Savoie, Scott Smitt and Dan Hollander. Ladies include Ashley Wagner, the 2008 National Bronze Medalist, and Katrina Hacker, a Boston local who placed 6th at 2008 Nationals. Pairs skaters taking the ice for An Evening with Champions include 1964 and `68 Olympic gold medalists Ludmilla and Oleg Protopopov, and Jessica Rose Paetsch and Drew Meekins. Plus, national synchronized skating champions the Haydenettes of Massachusetts and the international Theatre on Ice champions Act I of Boston will both perform. Additional skaters may be added.

An Evening with Champions was founded in 1970 by former US champion John Misha Petkevich. Since then it has been run entirely by Harvard University students, raising more than $2.4 million for the Jimmy Fund, which supports adult and pediatric cancer research and care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. On Saturday afternoon, pediatric cancer patients from the Jimmy Fund Clinic will have an opportunity to skate with the performers.

Tickets are on sale now, costing $32 for adults, $12 for children and senior citizens and $8 for undergraduates. Group rates are also available for groups of 10 or more. Sponsored by Cetrulo & Capone LLP and Early, Ludwick & Sweeney LLC, An Evening with Champions will be held at Harvard's Bright Hockey Center located on 79 North Harvard Street in Allston.

For more information, updates on performers and to purchase tickets, visit www.jimmyfund.org/skating . Tickets can also be purchased through the Harvard Box Office at 617-496-2222.