about the club

The Virginia Speedskating Organization started its short track speed skating team following the 2002 Olympics. In just a few short years, the program has grown to include over 50 members, ranging in ages from 6 to 60. Several US National team members and one two-time Olympian have trained at our annual summer speed skating camp. In an effort to support its impressive beginning, our club has served as a target market for US Speedskating Development to model growth for the sport of short track speed skating in the South.

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Dr. Steve Burton – Executive Director Steve co-founded Virginia Speedskating with Jim Mitchell following the 2002 Winter Olympics. Having never skated in the past served his largest hurdle; however, he envisioned a program that would welcome skaters of all ages and levels. He dedicated the next few years to learning everything he could about speed skating. In his quest he visited clubs from all over the country where he benefited from the experience of others and brought what he learned back to TeamVA. Steve has always been known for his out of the box thinking. His innovative marketing and development ideas served the club well as it grew from five members in 2002 to over 35 active members in 2007. His passion and creative approach to the sport was quickly rewarded at the national level as he was asked to serve as the Chairman of Club Development by US Speedskating after only two years in the sport. Steve’s vision remains that TeamVA should openly welcome skaters of all ages and abilities that want to skate for fun, fitness or to chase Olympic dreams.TM

Sun-Tae Chea - Head Coach In the summer of 2006 Sun-Tae Chea accepted the offer to help build on the Virginia Speedskating Program. Jumping in with both feet, Sun-tae moved his wife and two children to Richmond and serves the role of our head coach. Sun-Tae’s resume is impressive, having served as the Junior World Head Team Coach for the South Korean National Team twice. Membership has doubled during his tenure and the number of skaters participating in regional and national competitions has tripled. His work ethic is unending and his warm, caring demeanor is infectious. Sun-tae has truly made himself a home in our organization.

Ji-Young Chea – Assistant Coach Perhaps, the biggest surprise of the Chea’s move to Richmond was Ji-Young’s commitment to building an entry level speed skating program. Her dedication and hard work has resulted in an entry level skating program that rivals any in the country. Her patience and connection to entry level skaters of all ages has played a large part of the recent success in our program. Many programs around the country have quality, competitive-level coaching. Very few programs are fortunate to enjoy the same level of coaching commitment in their entry level program.

EunJi Jeong – Team Captain EunJi’s arrival last year was a welcome event for TeamVA. She was an internationally successful competitor in long track, competing at many World Cup events within the South Korean national team organization. Following her near miss for a spot on the 2006 South Korean Olympic team, she decided to move to Virginia and switch to short track speed skating. Her passion, enthusiasm and dedication to training has set an outstanding example for her new teammates.

Josh Burton – Team Captain Josh began skating when the team was formed in the summer of 2002. He quickly showed promise and has excelled at national level competitions since his first season. Watching him fly around the track has been the inspiration for many of the younger, entry level skaters. Winning a Silver Medal for his participation on the Men’s Relay Team at the 2006 National Championships was a highlight of his career. Leading by almost two laps, the team finished second again in 2007 only to lose the Silver Medal by a disqualification on the last exchange, but as the saying goes – the “unexpected” is one of the many thrills of short track speed skating.

Jim Rowdowski – North American Champion Jim is one of the newest TeamVA members. Jim is in his fourth season and has quickly risen to a level that few achieve in the sport. In 2007 he earned the Gold Medal at the North American Short Track Championships – his number one ranking propelled him to Category I ranking within US Speedskating this season, where he proudly wears the USA team uniform.

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