Most of the dozens of ice skaters who got free lessons at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center on Saturday would tell you that the two major tricks to learning the sport are how to fall down and how to stop, hopefully without the falling down part or crashing into another skater. The free clinic was conducted by twins Amanda and Megan Edwards, figure skating coaches from Albuquerque, with the help of members of the Desert Ice Figure Skating team and Chavez Center instructors.

The role of a skater's backside seems to loom large in this sport. "The key is the wiggle in your butt," Kyle Brooke, 12, said of skating backward. Also, Amanda Edwards advised beginners to make sure they break their falls with their bottoms, not their faces.