About Mariposa

History & Prestige

Douglas Leigh skated under the direction of World Champion Hans Gersweiller for four years and World and Olympic Silver medalist Karl Divin for two years. He also had the opportunity to train under well known Canadian coach, Sheldon Galbraith who also coached Donald Jackson. His personal skating career as an amateur was short lived as he retired from competitive skating at 16 years of age and finished school. Doug had achieved a second place finish at the Junior Championships of Canada in 1966. In 1969 Doug began coaching and in 1973 he established the Mariposa School of Skating. Since the beginning of the school he has coached at 26 World Championships and 6 Winter Olympic Games.

Our Facility

The facility consists of a sixteen acre campus with a secondary school, a swimming pool, an off-ice conditioning area, a class room, a dance studio and administration offices on site. We have two ice rinks, one of which is an Olympic sized ice surface. In addition to our secondary school Co-op program for the competitive skater we have four universities an hour or less away. At Mariposa we offer assistance with arranging local accommodations for short term stays including hotels and summer residence. We also have a network of host families that provide room and board for skaters.

National & International Champions

These are just a few national and international skaters who have trained or are presently training at our school. We will continue creating champions at the Mariposa School of Skating.

Skating Disciplines

Singles

Our singles program is designed for skaters that wish to excel in the world of competitive figure skating. This program is coached by national, World and Olympic level coaches. We offer specifically tailored on ice and off-ice programs to help skaters achieve their goals.

Dance

The competitive dance program has been a part of the Mariposa School of Skating since 1988. Every year from 1995 to present there have been medalists (including many champions) at the Canadian Championships. We service every level of dance team from pre-preliminary to Senior. More recently we have also provided programs for competitive solo dancers.

Hockey Skill Development

Players will be introduced to concepts such as inside and outside edges, both forwards and backwards, as well as the ability to connect different directions and edges
This Program is designed by Paul Matheson. Exercises are based around detailed repetitions and progressions that will allow the player to build a solid foundation of basic skills.
Each session will be conducted by two instructors from the internationally renowned Mariposa School of Skating.

Co-Op Education Program

Mariposa School of Skating along with Innisdale Secondary School, offer a Co-operative Education program for high performance figure skaters. The Co-Op credits are offers 2 credits per year during Semester 1. This in-school academic program is in conjunction with an out-of-school competitive training component. The purpose of this program is to offer a secondary school program designed to meet the academic needs of school-aged athletes. Please contact the department leader John Dominques idomingues@scdsb.on.ca These athletes have been identified by qualified coaches as having the potential in the competitive stream of figure skating at the provincial, national and international level.

*Coaches who are members in good standing with skate Canada and/or have permission from Mariposa directors are welcome to coach their skaters on Mariposa Programs and Day Ice*