The Best of 2023: A Skate Guard New Year's Spectacular

So much figure skating history has been made in 2023. This month at the ISU Grand Prix Final in Beijing, Ilia Malinin made history twice - becoming the first skater to land a quad Axel jump in the short program in a major international competition and the first skater to land every single type of quad jump in competition. In the spring at the World Championships in Saitama, Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara made history as the first pair from Japan to win a gold medal at the World Championships. Another outstanding duo, Sara Conti and Niccolò Macii, also made history this year as the very first Italian pair to win a gold medal at the European Championships and a medal at the World Championships. 

It has been a year full of amazing moments in figure skating, but sad ones as well. As we look back on the year, we all will take a moment to honour the memories of many members of the skating community we lost this year, including Oleg Protopopov, Jutta Müller, Alexandra Paul, Doug Mattis, György Czakó, Michael Botticelli, Marilyn Ruth Take Wittstock, Jane Garden and Todd Reynolds.

Despite the very much ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, figure skating has continued to thrive as a world-class sport and 2024 promises to be even more exciting, if the skating we have seen so far this season is any indication.

What a fun year it has been from a content creator perspective too! I was delighted to have contributed some interesting articles for "Skating" magazine and to have published three new books this year: "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps", "A Bibliography of Figure Skating" and "Jackson Haines: The Skating King". I also started a newsletter, which has been a lot of fun as well.

As is the case every year here on Skate Guard, I like to close out the year by doing a little countdown of 10.0 of the most compelling stories that you may have missed over the course of the past year. A Happy New Year to you and here's to more fascinating figure skating history in 2024! 

10. CAMEL SPINS IN CAIRO: A LOOK AT EGYPT'S UNIQUE SKATING HISTORY

I never cease to be amazed at how parts of the world we don't traditionally think of as skating hotbeds actually have incredibly interesting skating histories. Back in March, we explored the very unique history of skating in Egypt.

9. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE CANADIAN SKATER

Who doesn't know and love "Skating" magazine? It's the oldest continously published figure skating periodical in the world and it's pretty fabulous. Did you know Canada had a lovely glossy figure skating magazine of its own once upon a time? In February, we looked at the story of the short-lived but much-loved periodical "Canadian Skater".

8. BEYOND ONE JUMP: THE NATE WALLEY STORY

You've heard of the Walley jump. Do you know the story of the skater behind it? In February, we looked back on the incredible story of Nate Walley, a Minnesota born skater who made an impact as a figure skating coach in England, Australia, Canada and the United States.

7. SONJA AND THE EXTORTIONIST

Did you know that three-time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie was the target of criminals more than once? In July, we remembered an exortion attempt on the Norwegian skating great that made it all the way to the case files of the FBI.

6. A BRITISH AMERICAN CHAMPION: THE ROSEMARY BERESFORD STORY

Back in April, we explored the fascinating life story of Rosemary Beresford, the only non-North American woman to claim the U.S. women's title.

5. ZERR WOMAN: THE HELENE ENGELMANN STORY

Austria's Helene Engelmann came from an incredibly talented Viennese skating family and soared to victory with her partner Alfred Berger at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix. An uncovered interview brought her story to life on Skate Guard in August.

4. NINETIES NOSTALGIA: FIGURE SKATING TOURS IN THE 90'S

In decade of Milli Vanilli and Murphy Brown, who didn't love going out and watching a fabulous figure skating tour in action? In November, we took a fond look back at the history of figure skating tours in the 1990's.

3. IT HAPPENED IN SUN VALLEY: A HISTORY OF FIGURE SKATING IN SUN VALLEY

The outdoor ice rink at the resort in Sun Valley, Idaho has played host to a who's who of figure skating over the years. This month, we took a look at the history of figure skating in Sun Valley and the casts of the resort's iconic summer ice shows.

2. TIME TO TALK TYKE: THE T.D. RICHARDSON STORY

A larger than life figure in the sport, Captain T.D. Richardson was an Olympic figure skater, judge, author, historian and so much more. We explored his immensely interesting story on the blog back in September.

1. CONTRAPTIONS AND CONTRIVANCES: FIGURE SKATING'S ODDEST INVENTIONS

Figure skating history is peppered with bizarre tales of inventions gone wrong. In May, we looked back at the weirdest and wackiest of them all.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

It Happened In Sun Valley: A History Of Figure Skating At The Legendary Resort

Nestled in the mountains of Idaho, the historic resort of Sun Valley was developed by W. Averell Harriman, the chairman of the Union Pacific Railroad and later Governor of New York, during The Great Depression. Capitalizing on the interest in winter sports generated by the 1932 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid, Harriman hoped to increase the popularity of train travel to the Western United States and make Sun Valley a tourist destination. From the very beginning, skating played a significant role in its history. With huge thanks to Kelley Moulton, the Regional History Librarian at The Community Library in Ketchum, Idaho, today's blog will take a look back at the fascinating skating history of Sun Valley.

Skating scene set for "I Met Him in Paris". Photo courtesy The Community Library, Ketchum.

It all started not long after the resort opened its doors in December 1936, when Paramount filmed the skating scenes for the comedy "I Met Him In Paris" at the resort. In her 1980 book "Sun Valley: A Winter Wonderland", Dorice Taylor recalled, "Because of subterranean hot springs several spots on the skating rink would not freeze over no matter how much water was sprayed on. At the last minute before filming Fetge was inspired to build an ice bar around the holes an add skating waiters to the cast." Academy Award winning actress Claudette Colbert did her own skating scenes in the film. However, it was a later film released during World War II, starring three-time Olympic Gold Medallist and ten-time World Champion Sonja Henie, that really put Sun Valley on the map.

Poster for "Sun Valley Serenade"

Incredibly, Sonja Henie never even stepped foot in Sun Valley during the filming of "Sun Valley Serenade". Her skating scenes were filmed in a sound studio in Hollywood. When 20th Century Fox crews arrived on location to film the skiing scenes at the resort, Olympic Gold Medallist skier Gretchen Kunigk [Fraser] acted as Sonja's double. They had to retake one of the scenes when Gretchen was away competing in a race, so they plopped a blonde wig on a local schoolboy named Jackie Simpson. who was about Sonja's height.

Baron von Petersdorff, one of Sun Valley's first skating professionals

Though the film industry did much to popularize the idea of Sun Valley being a skating destination, it was the boots on the ground work of a number of early professional skaters and coaches, notably Harry Doose, the Baron von Petersdorff, Audrey Peppe, Hans Johnsen, Herman Maricich and Bruce Clark, that really helped popularize skating at the resort. Two draws of Sun Valley were the fact it offered ice year-round and that it became something of a playground to the stars.

"I Love Lucy" star Lucille Ball skating with Sun Valley professional Herman Maricich. Photo courtesy The Community Library, Ketchum.

The novelty of artificial outdoor ice and year-round skating really took off in America in the 1930's. In 1933, the St. Paul Auditorium in Minnesota staged a popular ice carnival, starring U.S. Champion Robin Lee, the Shipstad Brothers and Oscar Johnson. The Shipstad's and Johnson, of course, went on to develop the hugely popular Ice Follies tour. Productions at the Tropical Ice Gardens in Westwood Village, Los Angeles, drew a who's who of skating royalty. It was also during the 1930's that New York's famous Rockefeller Skating Pond opened its doors. In the span of less than two decades, year-round skating became such a huge novelty in America that by 1954, there were fifty-three American rinks open in the summer.

Program for Sun Valley's 1940 Summer Ice Carnival. Photo courtesy The Community Library, Ketchum.

Perhaps the biggest draw of Sun Valley were its famous ice carnivals, which got their start in the late thirties not long after the resort opened its doors. Precious little is recorded about the very first ice shows in Sun Valley, because the only newspaper printed in the area at the time (based out of Hailey, about fifteen miles south of Ketchum) did not really much about the happenings in Sun Valley. The resort didn't start its own publication until a few years after it opened. 

Photos courtesy "World Ice Skating Guide"

The first ice carnivals were directed by Audrey Peppe and Sun Valley's website recorded that early on, the shows "featured skaters who could barely make their way around the rink. Young people employed by Union Pacific to work at the resort in other capacities [waitresses, bus boys and guides] were given a costume, a pair of skates and instructions that were often as sketchy as, 'just move around!' Guests were also engaged in the chorus numbers and their photos printed in the society pages of the local newspaper back home." During World War II, the ice carnivals raised funds for the Red Cross and other wartime charities and hospital staff and military personnel took part. 

Photos courtesy The Community Library, Ketchum

Because of the inexperience of many of the show's early skaters, sometimes the ice carnivals became something of a comedy of errors. Dorice Taylor recalled, "Mistakes did happen. One evening someone scheduled a new act in which Herman Maricich was to skate in a trio immediately after his solo barrel-jumping number. While he frantically tried to get in his new costume, the other two did an impromptu duo for five minutes. When Herman joined them, they managed to skate the rest of the number to music designed for a chorus later in the program. And no one laughed when a great feather in Audrey Peppe's hat got stuck right across her eyes and she went gallantly on to a beautiful finish around the rail. Except that she couldn't see the end of the rail and ended flat on the ice. In the Western chorus number, the audience was a bit curious when the lights suddenly went out. When they came back on, one of the cowboys was skating alone. Spectators never knew that his cowgirl had forgotten to button her skirt, which fell off and left her standing in her scanties."

Photo courtesy The Community Library, Ketchum

In 1955, Sun Valley's small 125 X 65 summer outdoor rink was replaced with a larger 180 X 90 rink and during the fifties, the resort's ice carnivals started drawing in some first-class elite skaters as guest stars. In 1956, Tenley Albright made history as the first Olympic Gold Medallist to perform in a skating carnival in Sun Valley. Other well-known skaters who performed in Sun Valley in the fifties included Jimmy Grogan, Karol and Peter Kennedy, Suzanne Morrow, Scott Ethan Allen and Peter Dunfield. 

Video courtesy Frazer Ormondroyd

In 1957, World Champion David Jenkins was the headliner and who could forget that famous newsreel footage of him landing a triple Axel in Sun Valley? It was history in the making.

Photo courtesy The Community Library, Ketchum

Peggy Fleming came to Sun Valley to train for the 1965 World Championships in Colorado Springs and fell in love with the resort. Peggy starred in a number of shows in Sun Valley over the years and even staged a television special there, called "Peggy Fleming At Sun Valley". The special won Emmy Awards for both Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Comedy, Variety or Music and Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming - For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television. 

Photo courtesy "World Ice Skating Guide"

The Peggy Fleming special further popularized Sun Valley as a skating destination and by 1975, there was so much interest in the resort's summer skating school, test days and Summer Skating Championships that an Olympic-sized indoor rink opened at the resort to complement the famous outdoor one. The summer ice shows continued to flourish, with Peggy Fleming being joined by a host of other skating stars, including Dorothy Hamill, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Karen Magnussen, Linda Fratianne and JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley.

It was in the 1980's that the summer ice shows in Sun Valley really exploded. Rainer Kolb, a former Director of Recreation at Sun Valley recalled, "Suddenly we had quite a few big, big shows. Scott Hamilton came up every year when he was the World Champion. Kitty and Peter Carruthers, who were the U.S. Pair Champions for four years and Olympic Silver Medallists, skated here. Then that group became professionals after the 1984 Olympics and we were dealing with agents instead of skaters, coaches and moms. But we were able to bring up the new amateurs and the pros came back year after year. They started networking with other pros, telling each other how much fun it was to skate in Sun Valley." Scott Hamilton made his professional debut in Sun Valley on July 14, 1984. Over two dozen Olympic Medallists and World Champions performed in Sun Valley in the 1980's - everyone from Katarina Witt and Brian Boitano to Toller Cranston, Robin Cousins and the legendary Russian pair of Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov. Many skating fans made the trip to Sun Valley in the summer because it not only gave them a chance to see their favourite skaters perform, but it was a wonderful place for a relaxing vacation to boot.

World Professional Champions Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding performing their incredible Enigma program in Sun Valley in 2006

Professional competitions exploded in the aftermath of the 'whack heard around the world' in 1994. Sun Valley played host to its first professional competition that fall, billed as as the Sun Valley CBS Outdoor World Professional Figure Skating Championships. When televised on CBS, the 'World Professional' was dropped so as not to conflict with Dick Button's World Professional Championships in Landover, Maryland. A separate event, the U.S. Amateur Ladies Skating Challenge, was held the following day. Brian Boitano won the professional event; a very young Michelle Kwan won the amateur one. In recent years, Sun Valley has played host to one of the very few professional competitions remaining - the ProSkaters Open.

Olympic Gold Medallist Nathan Chen performing his fabulous "Caravan" program in Sun Valley in 2021

Sun Valley's summer ice shows have remained popular to this day, and in the woefully incomplete table below, you can find a list of the amazing performers who have graced the shows over the years. If you have any information to fill in the missing details, please don't hesitate to get in touch!

Year	Skaters
1937	(not recorded)
1938	(not recorded)
1939	Baron von Petersdorff, Audrey Peppe Benner, David Benner, Oscar L. Richard, Suzanne Mum, Harry Doose, Patsy Merifield, Buford McCusker, Bob Boyle
1940	Audrey Peppe Benner, David Benner, Britta Lundequist, Harry Doose, Evelyn Doman, Helen Havenga, Lois and Carole Ann Moedl, Margaret Venable, Bob Kimpston
1941	Hans Johnsen, Oscar L. Richard, Betty Abbott, Carol Ann Moedl, Evelyn O'Keefe, Jack Simpson, John Johnson, Vern Daugherty, Mary Louise Fletchner, Mary Ellen Gleason
1942	Oscar L. Richard
1943	(not held due to World War II - resort taken over as convalescent hospital)
1944	Audrey Peppe, Peter Killam, Margaret Venable, Captain F.M. Rohow, Olga Deutenmiller, Lois, Mona and Carol Ann Moedl, Dolly Slavesky, Bob Styer, Hailey and Mary Jane Griffith
1945	Lois, Mona and Carol Ann Moedl
1946	(not held due to aftermath of World War II)
1947	Audrey Peppe, Carole Lee Kilby, Frances Craven, Cindy McCrea, Carol Ann Moedl, Ray and Mona La Brecque, Doug Mercer, Bruce Clark, Jack Simpson, John Stuckey, Alice Hamby
1948	Carol Ann Moedl, Obb Olson, Dick Peterson, Tom Gilshannon, Patsy Ann Buck
1949	Jane and Jean Coulter
1950	Fritz Dietl, Frances and Sherry Dorsey
1951	Karol and Peter Kennedy, William Lewis, Patsy Ann Buck
1952	Suzanne Morrow, Charles W. 'Lefty' Brinkman, Sonja Wold, Lynne Immes, Sandy McCrea, Nina Engl, Virgie Gunderson, Jackie Joppa, Doris Hansen, Martin Coonan, Johnny Lister
1953	Jacqueline Joppa, Susie Roubicek, Virginia Gunderson, Sandy McCrae
1954	Jimmy Grogan, Peter Dunfield, Jacqueline Jaenisch, Charles W. Brinkman III, Pauline Walford
1955	Janet Gerhauser, Bruce Clark, Patsy Buck, Sharon Constable and Johnny Hertz, Patty Wentz, Connie and Diana Lapp
1956	Tenley Albright, Hugh Graham Jr., Sharon Constable and John Hertz, Jane Gage, Roy Pringle, Beth Sundene, Mary Lou Raymond, Jack Nankervis
1957	David Jenkins, Claralynn Lewis, Grace Clarke, Hans Johnsen, Johnny Lister, Herman Maricich, Pamela Willman, DeAnn Beideck
1958	Robert Lee Brewer, Karen Howland, Scott Ethan Allen, De-Ann Beideck, Kristin Mittun, Lynn Thomas, Anne Lapeyre, John Hendrickson, Carl Olson, Jacquie Koukal, Douglas Duffy, Herman Maricich, James Waldo
1959	Andree Anderson and Donald Jacoby, Eddie Collins, Jim Short, Lynn Thomas, Dick Vraa, Mary Lou Raymond, Bill Hickox, Lorna Dyer, Marshall Campbell, Alanna and Kristin Mittun, Karen Howland, Anne Lapeyre, Virgie Gunderson, Susie Roubicek
1960	Vivian and Ronald Joseph, Judianne and Jerry Fotheringill, Shirra Kenworthy, Karen Howland, Judy Boner, Jane Dystel, Ann Glenn, Judy Saunders, Don Bartelson, David Edwards, John Hendrickson, Jack Nankervis, Dick Vraa
1961	Barbara Wagner, Jimmy Grogan, Judianne and Jerry Fotheringill, Karen Howland, Shirra Kenworthy, Dick Vraa, Leslie and Pamela Boyer, Jane Dystel, Karilyn and Marilyn Frampton, Ann Glenn, Michele Monnier, Lynn Thomas, Don Bartelson, David Edwards
1962	Maria and Otto Jelinek, Jane Dystel, Ronny Scott, John Bartelson, Ann Glenn, Herman Maricich and Hugh McCauley
1963	Ann Glenn, Yvonne Drummond, Virginia Stearns, Don Bartelson
1964	Jimmy Grogan, Lorna Dyer and John Carrell, Yvonne Drummond, Dick Haskell
1965	Ricky Inglesi, Charleen McLaren, Dale and Terry Marzoni, Carol Johnson, Janet Smith, Jeanie Kondo, Petra Buechel, Ann Glenn, Mary Beth Braun, David Mitchell
1966	Tina Noyes
1967
1968	John Carrell
1969	Petra Buechel, Bob Crowley, Mike Helmers, Ludine Crowford and Robbie Austin, Herman Maricich and Dick Salter
1970	Peggy Fleming, JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley, Cathy Steele and Willy Bietak, Eric Waite, Paul Sibley, Walt Wagner, Mike Neun, The Willis Sisters, Natalie Brown, Michael Garren, Toni Camel, Teri Beckerman, Jim Thane, Michele Urbany, Debbie Williams
1971	Judy Schwomeyer and Jim Sladky, David Santee
1972	Karen Magnussen, Patrick McKilligan
1973	Dorothy Hamill, John Carlow Jr., Gale and Joel Fuhrman
1974	Dorothy Hamill, Michelle Ford and Glenn Patterson
1975	Terry Kubicka, Melissa Militano and Johnny Johns, Kathy McDonald, Penny Wilkins
1976	Peggy Fleming, Michelle Ford and Glenn Patterson, John Tichner, Herman Maricich and Dick Salter
1977	Linda Fratianne, Suzie Brasher, John Carlow Jr., Kathy Gelecinskyj
1978	Linda Fratianne, Michelle Ford and Glenn Patterson, Greg Bell, Holly Blundt
1979	Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Scott Cramer
1980	Charlie Tickner, Lisa-Marie Allen, David Santee, Terry Kubicka, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Sandy Lenz, Jimmie Santee, Kim Krohn and Barry Hagan, Beth and Ken Flora
1981	Scott Hamilton, Brian Pockar, Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert, David Santee
1982	Scott Hamilton, Dorothy Hamill, Charlie Tickner, Rosalynn Sumners, Terry Kubicka
1983	Dorothy Hamill, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, David Santee, Kay Thomson, John Carlow Jr.
1984	Scott Hamilton, Robin Cousins, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Elizabeth Manley, Ron Shaver, Melinda Kunhegyi and Lyndon Johnston, Sandy Lenz
1985	Scott Hamilton, Robin Cousins, Rosalynn Sumners, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Toller Cranston, Charlie Tickner, Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert, Debi Thomas, David Santee, Ron Shaver, Jimmie Santee
1986	Scott Hamilton, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Elizabeth Manley, Debi Thomas, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Charlie Tickner, Brian Pockar, Lisa Carey and Chris Harrison
1987	Robin Cousins, Scott Hamilton, Rosalynn Sumners, Debi Thomas, Elizabeth Manley, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Brian Pockar, Simone Grigorescu
1988	Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, Elizabeth Manley, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Linda Fratianne, Charlie Tickner, Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert, Gary Beacom, Lea Ann Miller and Bill Fauver, Natalia Annenko and Genrikh Sretenski, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Holly Cook, Jamie-Lynn Kitching Santee, Jimmie Santee
1989	Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt, Scott Hamilton, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Viktor Petrenko, Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov, Midori Ito, Debi Thomas, Brian Orser, Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin, Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert, Rosalynn Sumners, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Christopher Bowman, Kristi Yamaguchi and Rudy Galindo, Gary Beacom, Mark Cockerell, Gia Guddat
1990	Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt, Robin Cousins, Scott Hamilton, Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev, Brian Orser, Rosalynn Sumners, Debi Thomas, Elizabeth Manley, Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Jill Trenary, Evelyn Grossmann
1991	Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt, Scott Hamilton, Robin Cousins, Debi Thomas, Brian Orser, Linda Fratianne, Steven Cousins, Gary Beacom, Natasha Kuchiki and Todd Sand, Jimmie Santee, Jamie-Lynn Kitching Santee, David Liu, Stephanee Grosscup, Gia Guddat, Nick Maricich
1992	Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Brian Orser, Linda Fratianne, Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov, Gary Beacom, Steven Cousins, Calla Urbanski and Rocky Marval, David Liu, Tracey Solomons and Ian Jenkins
1993	Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Brian Boitano, Katarina Witt, Kurt Browning, Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev, Brian Orser, Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay, Nancy Kerrigan, Paul Wylie, Lu Chen, Linda Fratianne, Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin, Jozef Sabovčík, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Gary Beacom, Jimmie Santee
1994	Katarina Witt, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, Oksana Baiul, Viktor Petrenko, Brian Orser, Linda Fratianne, Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov, Gary Beacom
1995	Scott Hamilton, Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, Oksana Baiul, Viktor Petrenko, Nancy Kerrigan, Elvis Stojko, Linda Fratianne, Jozef Sabovčík, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Steven Cousins
1996	Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Oksana Baiul, Kurt Browning, Brian Orser, Nancy Kerrigan, Linda Fratianne, Jozef Sabovčík, Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný, Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov, Steven Cousins, Elizabeth Punsalan and Jerod Swallow, Gary Beacom, Darlin Baker and Andrzej Dostatni
1997	Oksana Baiul, Brian Orser, Nancy Kerrigan, Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov, Mandy Wötzel and Ingo Steuer, Jozef Sabovčík, Yuka Sato, Surya Bonaly, Rudy Galindo, Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Steven Cousins
1998	Katarina Witt, Ilia Kulik, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Alexei Yagudin, Tara Lipinski, Nancy Kerrigan, Elizabeth Manley, Jozef Sabovčík, Rudy Galindo, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Steven Cousins
1999	Kurt Browning, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao, Oksana Baiul, Alexei Yagudin, Nancy Kerrigan, Jozef Sabovčík, Surya Bonaly, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Elena Khvalko and Andrei Khvalko
2000	Katarina Witt, Ilia Kulik, Brian Orser, Jozef Sabovčík, Surya Bonaly, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Steven Cousins, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko
2001	Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Nancy Kerrigan, Jozef Sabovčík, Surya Bonaly, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko
2002	Brian Boitano, Elena Berezhnaya and Anton Sikharulidze, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Sasha Cohen, Angelika Krylova and Oleg Ovsiannikov, Irina Slutskaya, Jozef Sabovčík, Surya Bonaly, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Lucinda Ruh, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Takeshi Honda
2003	Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano, Viktor Petrenko, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Sasha Cohen, Jozef Sabovčík, Timothy Goebel, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Steven Cousins, Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Elena Sokolova, Takeshi Honda
2004	Brian Boitano, Alexei Yagudin, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Elvis Stojko, Sasha Cohen, Jozef Sabovčík, Surya Bonaly, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Johnny Weir
2005	Brian Boitano, Alexei Yagudin, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Elvis Stojko, Surya Bonaly, Timothy Goebel, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, Sasha Cohen, Evan Lysacek, Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, Steven Cousins, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Johnny Weir
2006	Evan Lysacek, Xue Shen and Hongbo Zhao, Evgeni Plushenko, Alexei Yagudin, Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Sasha Cohen, Philippe Candeloro, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, Jozef Sabovčík, Irina Slutskaya, Todd Eldredge, Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Rena Inoue and John Baldwin Jr.
2007	Brian Boitano, Evan Lysacek, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Nancy Kerrigan, Sasha Cohen, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, Jozef Sabovčík, Todd Eldredge, Surya Bonaly, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, Ryan Bradley, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Alissa Czisny, Emily Hughes
2008	Brian Boitano, Kurt Browning, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Evan Lysacek, Sasha Cohen, Jeffrey Buttle Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, Ryan Bradley, Mirai Nagasu, Alissa Czisny, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Johnny Weir, Rachael Flatt
2009	Brian Boitano, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Viktor Petrenko, Evan Lysacek, Nancy Kerrigan, Sasha Cohen, Jozef Sabovčík, Jeremy Abbott, Ryan Bradley, Alissa Czisny, Johnny Weir, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Brandon Mroz, Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding
2010	Brian Boitano, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Nathan Chen, Evan Lysacek, Viktor Petrenko, Sasha Cohen, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, Jozef Sabovčík, Jeremy Abbott, Ryan Bradley, Alissa Czisny, Johnny Weir, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Dan Hollander, Rachael Flatt, Craig Heath, Ashley Clark, Darlin Baker
2011	Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Nathan Chen, Evan Lysacek, Sasha Cohen, Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto, Jozef Sabovčík, Mirai Nagasu, Johnny Weir, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Alissa Czisny, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Ryan Bradley, Craig Heath, Ashley Clark, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Dan Hollander, Darlin Baker, Irina Grigorian
2012	Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Nathan Chen, Evan Lysacek, Jozef Sabovčík, Jeremy Abbott, Maia and Alex Shibutani, Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman, Johnny Weir, Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, Ryan Bradley, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Craig Heath, Ashley Clark, Darlin Baker, Natalia Zaitseva and Jeremy Abbott, Jason Graetz
2013	Kurt Browning, Nathan Chen, Evan Lysacek, Surya Bonaly, Ashley Wagner, Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier, Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, Ryan Bradley, Alissa Czisny, Johnny Weir, Jozef Sabovčík, Craig Heath, Ashley Clark, Darlin Baker, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Natalia Zaitseva and Jeremy Barrett, Joshua Farris, Agnes Zawadzki
2014	Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Nathan Chen, Evan Lysacek, Jason Brown, Jozef Sabovčík, Ashley Wagner, Gracie Gold, Mirai Nagasu, Alissa Czisny, Johnny Weir, Joshua Farris, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Craig Heath, Ashley Clark, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Natalia Zaitseva and Jonathan Hunt, Ryan Bradley, Erin Reed, Jason Graetz
2015	Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner, Gracie Gold, Maia and Alex Shibutani, Ryan Bradley, Johnny Weir, Joshua Farris
2016	Brian Boitano, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner, Adam Rippon, Maia and Alex Shibutani, Gracie Gold, Johnny Weir, Polina Edmunds
2017	Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Nathan Chen, Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Karen Chen, Gracie Gold, Johnny Weir, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Ashley Clark, Craig Heath, Kimberly Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Natalia Zaitseva and Jonathon Hunt, Erin Reed
2018	Nathan Chen, Adam Rippon, Mirai Nagasu, Maia and Alex Shibutani, Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, Alexa and Chris Knierim, Bradie Tennell
2019	Nathan Chen, Jason Brown, Ashley Wagner, Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue, Alysa Liu, Ryan Bradley, Jeremy Abbott, Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding
2020	(not held due to ongoing COVID-19 pandemic)
2021	Nathan Chen, Madison Chock and Evan Bates, Alysa Liu, Mariah Bell, Ryan Bradley, Anita Hartshorn and Frank Sweiding, Craig Heath, Stephanee Grosscup
2022	Nathan Chen, Jason Brown, Mariah Bell, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, Alysa Liu, Ryan Bradley, Ashley Cain and Timothy LeDuc, Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue
2023	Nathan Chen, Jason Brown, Alexa Knierim and Brandon Frazier, Mariah Bell, Ryan Bradley, Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker, Isabeau Levito, Craig Heath

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

The 1992 European Figure Skating Championships

You couldn't walk down the street without spotting scrunchies, stone-washed jeans and slap bracelets. Movie-goers lined up to watch Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Kindergarten Cop" and Kathy Bates in "Misery". Parents filled lunchboxes with Lunchables and Fruit Roll-Ups and from Brighton to Brussels, music lovers were singing along in the shower to Whitney Houston's hit single "All The Man That I Need". From January 20 to 26, 1992, less than two weeks before George H.W. Bush and Boris Yeltsin officially declared the end of The Cold War, a who's who of figure skating gathered in Lausanne, Switzerland for the 1992 European Figure Skating Championships.

Fittingly returning to Switzerland to mark the ISU's one hundredth anniversary, the 1992 European Championships also marked the first time the city on Lake Geneva played host to the event, which had been held numerous times previously in Davos and St. Moritz. One hundred and thirty competitors from twenty four countries participated in the 'dress rehearsal' for the Albertville Winter Olympic Games and spectators packed the stands at the Centre intercommunal de glace (CIG) de Malley. The event was broadcast on Eurosport and in North America on NBC and CBC.

At the 1991 European Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria, gone were the school figures and a divided Germany. This time they were missing the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. The ISU had initially decided to title the team of former skaters from eleven former Soviet states 'the Commonwealth of Sovereign States' but later 'the Commonwealth of Independent States', or 'CIS' for short. Skaters from Yugoslavia, which was in the process of its collapse, did not participate.

Estonia and Latvia had applied to ISU for membership and having met the requirements of the Constitution, were readmitted as Provisional Members in the autumn of 1991 - just in time for the event. Olga Vassiljeva was the only Estonian skater to compete in Lausanne, while Latvia sent two skaters, Konstantin Kostin and Alma Lepina. The only time either country had been previously represented at Euros was in 1934, when Hildegarde Schwarz and Eduards Göschel placed second to last in the pairs event representing Latvia.

Now that we've set the stage, let's take a look back at the most important aspect of this event... the skating!

THE PAIRS COMPETITION

Soviet pairs had won twenty four of the last twenty six European pairs titles and swept the podium in 1991. Gone was the iconic red flag with star and anchor but the three teams that medalled in Sofia returned as heavy favourites in Lausanne. Suffering from the flu, World Champions Natalia Mishkutenok and Artur Dmitriev had to settle for second behind their teammates Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov in the original program.

Reprising their beloved free skate to Franz Liszt's "Liebestraum", Mishkutenok and Dmitriev were again less than perfect in the free skate. Mishkutenok two-footed the side-by-side triple toe-loop and fell on the double Axel but the pair landed two throw triple jumps and had as usual superb lifts, spins and choreography. Some felt a 6.0 for artistic impression from the Italian judge for a program with two mistakes a trifle generous, while others believed it was appropriate and the World Champions managed to surpass Bechke and Petrov for the gold. Both teams trained in St. Petersburg and were coached by Tamara Moskvina and choreographed by Alexander Matveev. Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov moved up to take the bronze over Czechoslovakia's Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný, exactly duplicating the sweep from the year prior.

Swiss teenagers Leslie and Cédric Monod delighted a hometown crowd with their free skate to music from the musicals "Tommy" and "Jesus Christ Superstar" and placed a creditable eighth in their European debut. Unfortunately, the Swiss Olympic Committee and National Committee for Elite Sport required them to place at least sixth to be considered for an Olympic berth. During the medal ceremonies, the three winning pairs were represented by the ISU flag and three ISU fanfares. Elena Bechke told reporters, "We thought it would be the Soviet flag. We hadn't realized that it had changed. It wasn't pleasant to hear the [ISU] anthem."

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Marina Kielmann, Surya Bonaly and Patricia Neske

A notable absence in Lausanne was Evelyn Grossmann, European Champion in 1990 and silver medallist in 1991. After placing a disastrous fifth at the German Championships, she was left off her national team. Skating early due to an unlucky draw, eighteen year old defending Champion Surya Bonaly landed a double Axel, double toe-loop/triple toe-loop combination and double flip in her winning original program to The Broads' cover "Sing Sing Sing", "Dixie Kidnaps Vera" from the "Cotton Club" soundtrack and "Topsy" by Meco. The clean but technically conservative program earned her marks ranging from 5.3 to 5.6. Germany's Simone Lang and Czechoslovakia's Lenka Kulovaná rounded out the top three. Kulovaná had only recently started working with Petr Barna's coach Frantisek Pechar.

In her matador themed free skate, Surya Bonaly omitted a planned quadruple toe-loop attempt in favour of a superb triple toe-loop/triple toe-loop combination. She wasn't perfect but in a relatively weak field was able to stay on top by a mile and defend her European title with ease. With mistakes of their own, Marina Kielmann and Patricia Neske (fifth and fourth after the original program) managed to move up to take the silver and bronze. Lang, who tied with Neske in factored placements, was fourth in the free and overall.

Lenka Kulovaná, Laetitia Hubert, Marie-Pierre Leray, Yulia Vorobieva, Joanne Conway and Zuzanna Szwed rounded out the top ten. Swiss teenager Nathalie Krieg, who had been sent to the event instead of national champion Nicole Skoda, wowed with her spins but was "paralyzed" by nerves and placed an unlucky thirteenth. Following her win, Bonaly told reporters, "I was confident but you still have to be careful. I still have to work from now 'til Albertville to make it cleaner."

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Viktor Petrenko, Petr Barna and Alexei Urmanov. Photo courtesy Petr Barna.

Battling injuries and boot problems since the previous season, Viktor Petrenko was fresh off a disappointing third place finish at the final Soviet Championships in Kiev when he arrived in Lausanne. His troubles continued in the original program with a flubbed triple Axel combination that saw him in fourth place behind Petr Barna, the runner-up for the last two years at Europeans, and Viacheslav Zagorodniuk and Alexei Urmanov - the same two skaters that had defeated him in Kiev.

Petrenko rebounded and won the free skate with an outstanding performance that featured two triple/triple combinations. Barna landed a rare quadruple toe-loop but made other mistakes to finish second in the free but first overall. His win marked the first time a non-Soviet man had claimed the European title since 1986, when his former rival Jozef Sabovčík won in Copenhagen. Urmanov, Zagorodniuk, Grzegorz Filipowski, Nicolas Pétorin, Steven Cousins, Eric Millot, Konstantin Kostin and Henrik Walentin rounded out the top ten. Sixteen year old Patrick Meier, Switzerland's sole entry, placed a disappointing nineteenth. He lamented, "For me it would have been better for Oliver Höner to continue his career and allow me to unfold in his shadow."

THE ICE DANCE COMPETITION

Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko

The Duchesnay's had planned to unveil their brand new "West Side Story" free dance in front of the international judges in Lausanne but were forced to withdraw due to an injury to the abductor muscle in Paul's right thigh, aggravated during a runthrough of their Polka OSP. From their training base in Oberstdorf, Paul told reporters, "It's a big disappointment to miss the Europeans, but we definitely don't want to miss the Games. All we can do at the moment is just wait and see." Christopher Dean, their choreographer, added, "It's a handicap not to be able to take part in an official competition just before the Games but it's out of the question to send Paul if he's operating only at 50 or 60 per cent."

Twenty five year old Marina Klimova and thirty one year old Sergei Ponomarenko, coached by Natalia Dubova, dominated the dance event from start to finish as predicted. Their Bach free dance earned four perfect 6.0's for artistic impression and assured them their fourth consecutive European title. Klimova and Ponomarenko trained twenty two hours a week in Moscow and were making their ninth appearance at the event.

Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin and Oksana Grishuk and Evgeni Platov delivered strong performances of their own to take the silver and bronze. Usova and Zhulin in particular were crowd favourites and some in attendance felt the couple received even more audience applause than the winners.

Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin

Stefania Calegari and Pasquale Camerlengo, Klara Engi and Attila Toth, Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko, Dominique Yvon and Frédéric Palluel, Sophie Moniotte and Pascal Lavanchy, Kateřina Mrázová and Martin Šimeček and Jennifer Goolsbee and Hendryk Schamberger rounded out the top ten.

Switzerland was represented by French born Valérie Le Tensorer and Swiss American Jorg Kienzle. The couple placed sixteenth but captured the imagination of the Lausanne crowd, skating to strains of Kienzle's own music in the OSP.

In the gala, Petr Barna debuted his signature "Chaplin" program, choreographed by Daniel Wiesner, a former soloist with the National Theatre Ballet in Prague and Marina Kielmann payed homage to the ISU's one hundredth anniversary with a nod to skating history, performing in a fur-lined dress and muff.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Shadows In The Snow

Sonja Henie modelling off summer fashions in 1939

Once a well-known art critic and literary editor of the "Los Angeles Times", Willard Huntington Wright was compelled to pen detective stories he hated writing under a pseudonym to keep himself in the lifestyle to which he was accustomed during the Great Depression. By all accounts, he was a raging alcoholic with few redeeming qualities, and at the height of his infamy, he'd burned almost all his bridges. It seemed his luck was turning around on April 7, 1939, when Twentieth Century-Fox bought a manuscript he'd written, with plans of turning it into a major motion picture. He died four days later.

In July of 1939, the bigwigs at Twentieth Century-Fox announced that Willard Huntington Wright's manuscript would be reworked into a film called "Shadows In The Snow"... and the star would be none other than Sonja Henie. Sonja was slated to play the role of Ella Guthar, the companion of a rich emerald fancier's invalid daughter... who was having an affair with her charge's brother. Though Sonja was to be the star, the main character in the script was Philo Vance, a gumshoe detective popularized in a series of radio plays and short films released by Warner Brothers in 1931 and 1932 . Though the manuscript (of course) had a skating scene for Sonja's character, the film - a murder mystery - would have been a huge departure for her and could have potentially taken her career in a different direction.

Darryl Zanuck planned to film start filming "Shadows In The Snow" in December of 1939, not long after Sonja finished work on the drama-comedy "Everything Happens At Night" with Ray Milland, but the project was put on hold. By January, Sonja was touring with her Hollywood Ice Revue... and was in the thick of her New York Supreme Court case with Dennis R. Scanlon, who was trying to get twenty percent of her earnings out of her, claiming he had helped her secure employment as an actress.

Ultimately, Willard Huntington Wright's manuscript was released by Charles Scribner's Sons as the S.S. van Dine novelette "The Winter Murder Case" but its adaptation for "Shadows In The Snow" went through so many revisions that it wasn't even the same film when it finally made it to the silver screen.

The end result of the rewrites was Sonja Henie's biggest silver screen success ever - "Sun Valley Serenade" - and Willard Huntington Wright never saw a dime, let alone a writing credit.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

The 1964 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

President Lyndon B. Johnson had just announced the "War On Poverty" in his first State Of The Union address. The latest food fads were cheese fondues and grotesque lime gelatin aspics with tuna, celery and olives. Record players blared "Sugar Shack" by Jimmy Gilmer and the Fireballs and The Twist was quickly being overshadowed by The Shake.

From January 9 to 12, 1964, America's best figure skaters gathered in Cleveland for the U.S. Championships. It was the second time in history the Ohio city played host to the U.S. Nationals, the first being twenty-four years prior during World War II. The competition determined entries for the 1964 Innsbruck Olympic team. 

Back (left to right): Monty Hoyt, Tommy Litz, Cynthia Kauffman, Vivian Joseph, Ron Kauffman, Ronald Joseph, Tina Noyes, Christine Haigler. Front (left to right): Scotty Allen, Judianne and Jerry Fotheringill and Peggy Fleming. Photo courtesy World Figure Skating Hall Of Fame.   

Months prior, the USFSA had voted in their autumn meeting in Chicago to send the top three in each class to the Olympics, which (along with the expense of sending officials) would cost a whopping eighteen thousand dollars. Less than a month before the event in Cleveland, less than a quarter of those funds were raised. To help make up the difference, the Cleveland Skating Club sold pins and badges, but a good portion of the proceeds came from ticket sales. A whopping eight dollars and fifty cents for a 'season reserved seat' to all events was outlandish by sixties standards, but it got the job done.

The figures, the initial rounds of the dance event and the new compulsory connected pairs (short) program were held at the Cleveland Skating Club's rink in Shaker Heights. All other events were contested at the eight thousand seat Cleveland Arena, located in the city's downtown. Practices were held at both rinks, as well as the Northfield Plaza rink in Warrensville Heights. Social events included ice dancing sessions and two buffet dinner-dances. The Cleveland Skating Club's rink had their own dining room and 'grille' and skaters and judges had a free shuttle from the host Wade Park Manor hotel at their disposal. Let's take a look back at how the competition played out!

THE NOVICE AND JUNIOR EVENTS

Gail Newberry and Bobby Black

In the novice men's and women's school events, the victors were fourteen year old Bobby Black of Melrose, Massachusetts and thirteen year old Gail Newberry of Niagara Falls, New York. Though Black faced stiff competition from a young John 'Misha' Petkevich in the free skating finals, his lead in the figures was so insurmountable that Petkevich's performance was almost irrelevant. Black had started skating after seeing an ice revue with his family.

Gail Newberry (center) with her parents and younger sister

Gail Newberry shared a passion for skating and a coach (Ede Király) with her younger sister Carol. She hung on to lead in figures to win the novice women's title, aided by the fact her father owned an ice rink where she had free reign to practice day and night. Winners in junior pairs were fifteen year old Barbara Yaggi and nineteen year old Gene Floyd of Troy, Ohio.

Fifteen year old Tim Wood of Detroit decisively beat his club mate Duane Maki in the junior men's event, four judges to one. Besting Taffy Pergament in a very close junior women's event was Carol Stephanie Noir of East Orange, New Jersey. Noir had medalled in novice and junior in 1960 and 1961, finished fifth in senior in 1962 and won a medal at a senior international competition - the Richmond Trophy in England. ISU historian Benjamin T. Wright recalled, "It [was] probably the only known instance of a skater 'going back down,' as it were, to a lower class, but she was after all, still only fifteen."

Photos courtesy "Skating" magazine

Eleven teams competed in Junior (Silver) Dance. Sixteen year old Dale Lynn and twenty-two year old Russell Bowen of New Haven, Connecticut won the initial round. In her book "Figure Skating History: The Evolution Of Dance On Ice", Lynn Copley-Graves recalled, "Silver Dance still had no free dance. After the winnowing out of the Initial Round, the top two couples were tied after six dances. Kristin Fortune, 17, and Claude Sweet, 25, from Northridge and representing the LAFSC, emerged on top by the slimmest of margins to the credit of their pro, Bert Wright." Second and third places went to Lynn and Bowen and Sandra Schwomeyer and James Pennington.

THE PAIRS COMPETITION

The unlucky Patti Gustafson and Pieter Kollen were forced to withdraw prior to the pairs event due to a serious head injury suffered by sixteen year old Gustafson during a practice in Lake Placid the week prior to the competition. They had managed to place in the top ten at the previous year's World Championships after withdrawing from the North American Championships due to another injury sustained in a practice.

The defending champions, nineteen year old Judianne and Jerry Fotheringill of Tacoma, Washington, were the children of a Northern Pacific railroad conductor. As in the year prior in Long Beach, they faced stiff competition from Vivian and Ronald Joseph of Highland Park, New Jersey. Vivian was a high school student at South High School in Denver; Ronald a twenty one year old freshman at Northwestern University who earned his letter in track and field. Seattle high school students Cynthia and Ron Kauffman were also a factor. They had won the U.S. junior title the year prior and had spent the summer training - and improving by leaps and bounds - in Lake Placid.

Despite a tumble by Judianne, the Fotheringill's managed to defend their title by one point. It had been even closer between them and the Joseph's in 1963 - one tenth of a point. The Kauffman's took third, skating commendably to best Michigan's Joanne Heckert and Gary Clark. After winning, the Fotheringill's told an Associated Press reporter, "It was the hardest routine we've ever done." The 1964 pairs event marked the first and only time in history a trio of sibling pairs swept the senior pairs podium at the U.S. Championships.

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Scotty Allen. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Men's was the only senior discipline in Cleveland where all three medallists from Long Beach in 1963 returned. In the school figures, fourteen year old Scott Ethan Allen of Smoke Rise, New Jersey took a slim lead over nineteen year old 1962 Champion Monty Hoyt of Denver and defending champion Tommy Litz of Hershey, Pennsylvania. It was a very close contest. Allen had three firsts to Hoyt's one. Litz had two seconds, two fourths and a sixth. When told of the sixth place, Litz responded, "Holy smoke!" The judge who placed Litz sixth had Billy Chapel, who came fifth, first. Chapel had passed his Eighth Test during the off-season, despite losing his home rink - the famous Polar Palace in Hollywood - in a fire.

Tommy Litz. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

In the free skate, Tommy Litz skated tremendously well, attempting over twenty jumps in his performance. It was a tremendous effort considering he'd missed the 1963 World Championships due to an ankle injury suffered in practice after North Americans. Scotty Allen followed him, skating impeccably well but putting a hand down on a triple jump attempt. He later told reporters, "I knew I had to give it my all and my program was a new one... [After the mistake] I told myself I have to get moving again." When the marks were tallied, Allen was in first overall - by a fraction of a point. Litz and Hoyt settled for silver and bronze, ahead of eighteen year old Gary Visconti, Billy Chapel, David Edwards and Buddy Zack.

In winning, Scotty Allen became the youngest senior men's U.S. Champion ever and broke a long-standing 'jinx' in U.S. men's skating by becoming the first man to win the senior men's title without having won the junior title first. Allen's win also marked the closest margin by which a reigning senior men's winner was dethroned in the history of the U.S. Championships. Allen wasn't just a pro on the ice either. During the off-season, he had won the Greenwood Lake Sailfish Regatta in New Jersey.

The event wasn't all roses for everyone. In his book "Falling For The Win", Gary Visconti recalled, "February in Cleveland was bitter cold outside and intense inside on the ice as the competition level was keen. We had high expectations and I performed extremely well... [and] many people in the know said [Monty Hoyt] should have been sixth... Leaving those Olympic Trials (the Nationals) as the alternate was devastating. The bronze had been the goal and I fell just short. We had a big family meeting and Mr. Don felt the National Association let us down big time. Maybe they didn’t want us on the team? Maybe we were not what they wanted in a potential champion? So many thoughts and doubts filled my mind. We were all very down and beaten. Going back home empty-handed seemed so shallow. We were ready to stop the quest."

THE ICE DANCE COMPETITION

Darlene Streich and Charles Fetter, Jr. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Defending U.S. Champions Sally Schantz and Stanley Urban did not return to defend their Gold Dance title. Urban had injured his leg during an intramural football game and spent close to two months in a cast, while Schantz had turned professional to teach at the St. Lawrence Figure Skating Club. Newlyweds Yvonne Littlefield and Peter Betts had also retired from competition to coach. All eyes were on Lorna Dyer and John Carrell, 1963 bronze medallists who had spent the summer in Victoria, B.C. working with World Champion Jean Westwood. John was a junior in high school, Lorna a freshman at the University Of Washington.

The compulsory dances were the Rocker Foxtrot, Blues, Westminster Waltz and Paso Doble. A third place finish took Dyer and Carrell out of the running. It was clear the competition was to be a two-way race between Darlene Streich and Charles 'Bucky' Fetter Jr., the Silver Dance runners-up from 1963, and Carole MacSween, the Silver Dance winner in 1963, and her new partner Robert Munz. Streich was engaged to World Champion Otto Jelinek and Munz was a pre-law student at John Carroll University. After the marks from the free dance were tallied, Streich and Fetter emerged victorious over their rivals... but it was close. Both of the top two teams received two firsts and two seconds. The fifth judge had Dyer and Carrell first.

Charles Fetter, Jr.

In her book "Figure Skating History: The Evolution Of Dance On Ice", Lynn Copley-Graves recalled, "Darlene Streich, 20, and Bucky Fetter, 21, skated to 'Down by the Riverside,' 'Rain on the Roof,' and the overture from 'Irma La Douce'. Bucky, from Kentucky, attended college at the Indiana University Extension. He and Darlene trained at the WC of Indianapolis with Ron Ludington. Unlike Midwesterns, Darlene and Bucky edged out Carole MacSween and Bob Munz from Cleveland, even though Carole and Bob's free medley to 'Third Man Theme,' 'Summertime,' and 'Tropical Meringue' scored higher. Lorna Dyer and John Carrell from Seattle won the other berth on the World team. Too many foxtrot/blues variations had little to offer in terms of excitement and innovation."

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Christine Haigler. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Much fuss was made about 'the state of women's figure skating in America' following the Sabena Crash in 1961, as has always been the fashion. However, the senior women's event in Cleveland was a thriller from start to finish. All but maybe one of the eight competitors were world-class skaters and with only three spots on the Olympic team, the school figures proved to be a real nail-biter.

When the marks from figures were were tallied, sixteen year old Christine Haigler was in first, followed by seventeen year old defending Champion Lorraine Hanlon and a pair of fifteen year olds - Pasadena, California's Peggy Fleming (coached by Peter Betts) and Boston, Massachusetts' Tina Noyes (coached by Cecilia Colledge). In "The New York Times", Lincoln A. Werden recalled, "Miss Haigler did [her loop] so well that the spectators applauded. Applause is generally unknown and frowned upon in the setting of silence that prevails during the school-figures competition." In a terribly disappointing sixth was twenty year old mother of two Barbara Roles Pursley, who had come out of retirement after the Sabena Crash to win the 1962 U.S. title but taken the 1963 season off to give birth to her second child. The judges had split their votes between the top four women, allowing for an exciting climax in the free skate.

Top: Christine Haigler, Tina Noyes and Peggy Fleming. Bottom: Peggy Fleming rinkside with ABC's Jim McKay. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Skating to the strains of "Prima Ballerina", Peggy Fleming brought down the house with a superb free skating performance and earned first place marks from three judges - just enough to give her the gold. Her parents Albert and Doris, who had driven all the way from California to watch her compete, were elated. After the results were announced, her father told a reporter, "Cleveland is special to Peg. This is where she learned to skate - here at the Arena - when she was nine years old." 

The silver went to Tina Noyes and the bronze to Christine Haigler. The champions from the previous two years - Lorraine Hanlon and Barbara Roles Pursley - finished off the podium and missed the Olympic team. The women's event in Cleveland went down in history went down as one of the biggest shockers in U.S. figure skating history, and Carol Heiss had called the fact that Peggy Fleming was going to win it.

Peggy Fleming. Photo courtesy "Life" magazine archives

In her book "The Long Program: Skating Toward Life's Victories", Peggy Fleming recalled, "My parents and I stayed in a cheap motel, the kind where someone flushing in room #1 can wake up everyone down to room #20. But it was all we could afford, and the excitement of being there more than made up for the low-rent accommodations. Cleveland was the place where just a few years before, Harriet Lapish had first seen some promise in my skating. I was back again, still a young girl, but now I was competing with the best in the country... I was in no way prepared for what followed."

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.