The enthusiasm isn’t unusual, he said. Every Olympic cycle, the center sees a boost of a couple of hundred people enrolling in its programs, from hockey and curling to ice skating.

“We did watch parties while she was there, and we had a room full of people watching it live on TV. It was a great time and that energy has just carried right on through,” he said.

Just after 5 p.m., the center geared up for its first Learn to Skate classes of the evening. The rink transformed from a quiet bustle of regulars taking private lessons and free skating to a lively flood of young athletes crowded around the lobby’s benches and floors, lacing up bright white skates and pulling on ear muffs and gloves.

Kids hobbled around on thin blades, greeting friends and impatiently clutching the walls of the rink, watching the Zamboni machine smooth over the ice.

“Figure skating definitely grows after the Olympics, because I feel that there’s people that get inspired after watching,” said Laura Lipetsky, who has been coaching group and private lessons at Oakland Ice Center since 1995. She taught Liu’s first group lessons in 2010 and worked with her in private lessons for a decade.

Banners celebrating Olympic champion Alysa Liu hang above the rink on March 10, 2026, at the Oakland Ice Center in Oakland. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)

Liu, she said, “has been inspiring a lot of kids [to think] ‘Wow, it’s possible, and it’s someone that came from the Bay Area, the Oakland Ice Center.’” She said she’s had young students come to her and say, “I want to be a champion, too.”

Joyce Elangovan, 8, began skating two years ago in the same group lessons. Her mom had been a skater growing up in Minnesota, but said she had tried to keep that under wraps until Joyce started watching the sport on TV, and begged to take classes.

“I just figured I’d let her give it a shot and see if she liked it. And she has,” Kristen Odegaard told KQED. “She’s really driven it herself. Like, despite my love for it, she really loves it herself.”

The exterior of the Oakland Ice Center on March 10, 2026, in Oakland. The rink is where Olympic gold medalist Alysa Liu trained for years as a young skater. (Gustavo Hernandez/KQED)

Now, Elangovan also takes private lessons with Liu’s coach, DiGuglielmo, and has caught the competitive bug. Joyce grinned, remembering her last competition, when she ended her routine with a two-foot spin.

“It felt really good,” she said, to see her coaches and family excited for her.

Elangovan also loves getting to watch other skaters practicing at the rink — especially Liu.

“Most skaters aren’t as positive as her on the ice,” she said. “She’s always so fun and happy, and she is never hiding herself. It feels really fun to watch.”