Ice skater Madison Chock’s parents helped launch her Olympic career by moving from Redondo Beach to Michigan
by Garth Meyer Barbara and Wes Chock couldn’t be present when daughter Madison finished fourth with partner Evan Bates in ice dancing, and earned a silver medal in the team competition at the Beijing Olympics. But they helped make it happen. Madison Chock, who spent her first 12 years in Redondo Beach, skates with partner Evan Bates, of Ann Arbor, Mich. in the U.S. Championships earlier this year. The two have been skating partners since 2011. Photo by Jay Adeff/U.S. Figure Skating. Barbara and Wes Chock took Madison, their only child, to the Promenade Ice Chalet in Palos Verdes for the first time when she was five. Afterwards, she wanted to go again. And again after that. By the time she was in seventh grade at Manhattan Beach Middle School, Madison was a competitive singles skater. But she wanted to become an ice dancer. Madison’s coaches at the Skating Edge Ice Arena in Harbor City told her parents that their daughter was talented. But to get into ice dancing, she would need to be where the training was. “We decided to let her try it,” said Barbara. “To find the top ice dance coaches,” said Wes. The choices were Texas or Michigan. The Redondo Beach family chose Michigan…
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