Havard skating enthusiasts have something to cheer about once again because it's time for the 19th annual "Evening with Champions" skating exhibition.

The event, which will take place on November 4 and 5 at 8 p.m., and November 6 at 1 p.m., combines the talents of international and national champion skaters, Harvard skaters and skaters from the Cambridge area. All the seats have been sold, but some standing room tickets are available.

The list of champion skaters who will be appearing include Brian Boitano, the 1988 World and Olympic Men's Champion, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, the 1987 World Professional Pairs Champions, and Harvard's own Paul S. Wylie '90-91, 1988 U.S. Silver Medalist. For the 16th time, the Public Broadcasting network will run an hour-long special on the benefit. This year's television show is tentatively scheduled to air in December.

The event, sponsored by Eliot House, will donate all proceeds to the Jimmy Fund of the Dana Farber Research Institute. The fund is used to pay for the treatment and research of children's cancer. The show also donates 76 tickets to the Dana Farber Institute so that patients can see the show.

This year for the first time, 43 children and 28 undergraduates and adults who are involved with the Phillips Brooks House Big Brother, Big Sister Program, will get to see the show at a reduced rate.

Eliot House started its work with the Jimmy Fund when John M. Petkevich '71, a skater, injured himself while he was a junior. During his stay in the hospital, Petkevich, an Eliot resident, encountered some children who were being treated for leukemia. He then decided to help the Dana Farber Institute by organizing a show where his skating friends would perform to raise money for the research center.

Since 1971, the show has grown enormously from its humble beginnings. The exhibition generated $15,000 for the Dana Farber Institute in the first year and about $850,000 over the last 19 years. Jimmy Fund Co-Chairperson Mihail S. Lari '89 says that organizers hope to reach the $1 million mark with this year's show. Ticket sales contribute more than 50 percent of the show's profits, but exhibition t-shirts and mailed donations also make up a part of the show's proceeds.

In the past, the Jimmy Fund Committee has been exclusively made up of Eliot House members. Recently, however, committee co-chairpersons have tried to increase the numbers of outsiders on the committee. This year two graphics subcommittee chairpersons are from other houses.

Jimmy Fund Co-Chairman James M. Frates '89 says that he hopes house members will increase the numbers of non-Eliot residents involved in future versions of the show by telling their friends about it and encouraging them to see the exhibition.

"I think the best way to encourage people is to have them see the show," Frates says. "Public service is a personal thing and motivating people to come and do it is easier when you know the people. Because then you can encourage people to come out and have a good time with their friends while they're doing service."

Many of the skaters who will be appearing at Bright Arena this weekend have won prestigious competitions. But Lari says he and the other organizers look for more that a winning record when inviting skaters to participate. "Just because a person won a competition doesn't mean we'll invite him," Lari says.

The skaters who perform in the Jimmy Fund exhibition, Frates says, are definitely different from skaters in other shows. He says that the skaters who come to the exhibition are fun and care about other people.

"They [the skaters who perform in "An Evening With Champions"] have an interest in the people they're helping, the kids from the Jimmy Fund. Ninety-nine percent of the skaters visit the Dana Farber Institute on Friday afternoon," Frates says. "They're also fun to be with; they're really personable even early in morning."

The skaters who perform do not receive any fees for appearing in the show. Nonetheless, Lari says, the lack of compensation does not deter skaters from participating in the event. "Since this is probably the best skating exhibition in the country, a lot of people want to be invited," Lari says.

"Besides, we could never compete with the money that other competitions offer the skaters. And the money is really better used towards the Jimmy Fund," the Eliot house resident adds.