The 2014 Trophée Éric Bompard

"Four down, two to go!" That's what I said when I sat down to put fingers to keyboard to start putting together this recap of the fifth stop on this year's ISU Grand Prix. This year's Trophée Éric Bompard competition was held at the Meriadeck Ice Rink in Bordeaux, France and much like the four Grand Prix events that preceded it, featured a dazzling cast of the world's very best skaters. As always... a little disclaimer. Please keep in mind with all the coverage of any competition on Skate Guard as always I'll post videos of some of the most standout performances. Many of them might be geoblocked in your country, and for that I apologize. Around the time of major competitions, videos go up every minute and come down and get geoblocked just as fast. If you're unable to watch videos in your country, I've got some great advice for you. Go to YouTube, and under your search settings you can select 'Upload Date'. If you type in keywords for the competition or skater you want to see, you can narrow it down to 'Today' or 'This Week' and usually find just what you're looking for in minutes! And now, on to the event at hand...

Russia's Maxim Kovtun won the Cup Of China event ahead of an injured Yuzuru Hanyu, but I can't say that his performance in the free skate there reached out and grabbed me in any way, shape or form. When he lands his jumps, they're certainly beautiful but the musical interpretation kind of always seems to leave a little bit to be desired when he skates I find. The problem in China was that he didn't land all of the jumps and got propped up with that second mark. His short program in Bordeaux started out well with a quad/triple combination but falls on his second quad attempt AND the triple axel really left a flat impression at the program's end but nonetheless Kovtun was still up there in sixth place after the short... naturally ahead of Adam Rippon who delivered a lovely performance because, you know, that just makes sense... In the free skate, there's no questioning that he delivered the goods technically. Two quads, two triple axels and three other triples to boot certainly make for an exciting program and a deservedly high TES score. The third highest PCS score of the night though? Again, I don't think so. As great a skater as this guy is, I can't agree with that kind of judging. He won his second Grand Prix event and a ticket to the Grand Prix Final with a final score of 243.35.

Japan's Tatsuki Machida won Skate America with two outstanding performances and three quads. You gotta hand it to Machida... he's a very consistent skater who doesn't seem to have any trouble delivering when it counts and after winning both his Grand Prix assignments last year, I certainly had every expectation he'd fare well at this event. In the short program, he had errors on two of his three jumping passes but his PCS score was enough to keep him ahead of Konstantin Menshov, who delivered a spectacular short program with two different quads. In the free skate, he again unravelled and although he did land five triple jumps and has quite a fine program, I personally don't feel that his PCS score of 84.00 (the highest of the men) should have been higher than Denis Ten's, speed not withstanding. It's an apples or oranges type thing, though. I do think with all of the mistakes this silver medal and score of 237.74 was a little bit of a gift here. Machida's just so much better than the performances we saw here.

Olympic Bronze Medallist and World Silver Medallist Denis Ten had a rough outing at Skate America and finished just off the podium there, in fourth with a score of 224.74. He told me in my interview with him that he's very much in it for the long haul and that "my goal is PyeongChang 2018". Ten's short program at this event was outstanding. A quad toe, triple axel and triple lutz/triple toe all punctuated the refined choreography set to the vocals Joseph Callejia in his program brilliantly. A score of 91.78 placed him at the top of the leaderboard entering the men's free skate. I have to honestly say that I LOVE Denis' free skate this season. The choreography is nuanced, musical and original and it's just such a cut above what we saw from the other men at this event. I was so excited when I saw him land that quad/triple at the start of his free skate but with all of the pops he really left so many points on the dinner table and ended up dropping to third with an overall score of 236.28. I can't wait to see that free skate at it's best when he peaks though. Imagine it with all of the jumps landed... that's world title material right there.

Richard Dornbush was one of the men affected by the horse and pony show of a men's free skate at the Cup Of China. He won the bronze medal there and delivered quite a strong performance in the free skate, despite losing to a clearly very injured Yuzuru Hanyu who fell times and looked seriously disoriented after his warm up collision. It was clear with one look at him he was under the weather at this event and to go out and skate a clean short program in a Grand Prix event when you're not feeling your best is no small accomplishment. In the free skate, he unravelled though and dropped behind his teammate Adam Rippon who fared SO much better at this event than he did at Skate Canada... which made me really happy to see! Unfortunately, Douglas Razzano had some technical difficulties at this event and wound up in tenth place. There's another one who's a joy to watch when he's on!

After a rough short program that was in my opinion grossly overscored and then a nasty collision with Yuzuru Hanyu at the Cup Of China, Han Yan was back to compete at this event and his participation really revived the discussion about what happened in China and the ISU's typical avoidance and silence on hot button issues. Sochi anyone? The fact that in China he missed all three jumping passes yet still finished in third place in the short program there with a PCS score of 39.78 (ahead of a clean Misha Ge) and now in France landed one of his three jumping passes this time and earned a lower PCS score is just amusing to me. I'm sorry. His free skate wasn't much better (a little bit, a little bit of cold) and he finished off the day with a score of 216.85... in eighth place. As for that whole Cup Of China Yan/Ge scoring business, expect to hear more of that in a bit. I've got a blog on the way that takes a look at that, among other PCS scoring related issues.

Elena Radionova, Elena Radionova... Let me have a sip of a coffee. OK, you know what? ll give credit where it's due. This girl can jump and she can spin too. There's no denying that. Unfortunately her basic skating skills, posture, body line and musical interpretation leave a lot to be desired. This is figure skating, not figure jumping... and I can't say I agree whatsoever with the kind of PCS scores in any of the categories that are being doled out here. Radionova won both segments of the competition with technically challenging performances and a score of 203.92. Her free skate included a triple lutz, triple lutz/triple toe and triple loop/half loop/triple salchow combination. That said, her PCS score in the short program was only deemed the third best of the twelve ladies competing but in the free skate the judges rewarded her with the highest PCS marks over Lipnitskaia and Wagner. The illusion of art and art itself are two quite different things and I can't say that Radionova's technical prowess and youthful exuberance quite match up with Wagner's verve... but that's me.

After unravelling on some of the jumps in the free skate at the Cup Of China and finishing second to Tuktamysheva (and getting fined for missing the award ceremony), Julia Lipnitskaia proved she was indeed human. Who knew?! I jest. As with Radionova, I've been critical of Lipnitskaia's generous PCS scores and I think justifiably so, so entering this event I looked at the list of ladies competing and just assumed the title would go to whichever Russian lady stood up on the most triple/triple jump combinations. As we saw with Radionova's win, I was right. Lipnitskaia looked very on point in her short program (finishing second with a score of 66.79) but in the free skate she threw some points away. A double axel/triple toe/double toe was followed by a double axel/triple toe. She went on to attempt two triple flips, neither in combination and tack a double toe on the end of her final jump, the triple lutz. It was actually quite a gutsy skate technically but again, in terms of a whole package I'm not sure I'm buying it yet. Lipinitskia held on to second place in France with a score of 185.18.

After winning the silver medal at Skate Canada, two time U.S. Champion Ashley Wagner entered this event as the reigning Trophée Éric Bompard Champion but obviously faced some serious competition here. On her programs this season, she told me in our recent interview that "This year, my maturity was something that really came into play when trying to choose pieces of music. Some of these girls weren't even alive when I started skating, and they'll keep on getting younger and younger from now on, so it's up to me to find a way around that. I have a lot of experience in the sport and Raf and I decided it was time to showcase that. We chose pieces of music that were very strong and emotional, even passionate." In winning the bronze medal with a score of 177.74 at this event and even giving a valiant attempt at a triple lutz/triple toe in the free skate - at the END of her program - Wagner reaffirmed that the somewhat forced storyboards of U.S. ladies figure skating in 2014 don't always reflect reality. I really do feel that if she builds on these early season successes, Wagner could very well be again the frontrunner come U.S. Nationals. Time shall tell.

After a sixth place finish in the free skate, Courtney Hicks rallied back with a very gutsy free skate that included two triple flips and two triple lutzes to move up to fourth place overall in Bordeaux with a score of 172.58. After her disappointing sixth place finish in an Olympic year, I have to say that Hicks is looking to be in VERY good shape this season and her name is very much in the "medal conversation" heading towards the U.S. Championships.

France's Maé-Bérénice Méité finished ninth at Skate America in Chicago and competing on home soil hoped to put together two solid performances in this event. In my interview with her, she told me that the world needs "more tolerance... and optimism!" and it seems fittingly optimistic that she trained even harder after Skate America. The hard work paid off in a fifth place finish in her home country with a score of 169.46. A triple salchow/triple toe and double axel/triple toe highlighted her free skate and a step out on the landing of her triple lutz was her only noticeable error in that portion of the competition. The judges seem to be lowballing her a little on the second mark this season so I'm hoping that by the time of Europeans these programs will develop further and rack up some more marks. Although she's known as a powerhouse of a jumper, we have to consider that if some of the world's top men who barely acknowledge their music whatsoever consistently gain high PCS scores, there's a double standard going on here a little... when the Russian dynamos get those marks and other "technicians" like Méité don't.

Finishing fourth at Skate America less than five points shy of the bronze medal there, Samantha Cesario was definitely another skater to watch at this event. In my interview with her earlier this year, she told me "one of my main goals is to perfect a triple/triple and up my technical side to keep up with the talent we have here in the U.S. as well as internationally. Another main goal is to improve on my skating skills and speed while continuing to bring entertaining programs to the audience. I think the new program I am currently working on is something a little different for me and I hope it shows off my skating in a fresh and fun light." Easing up on the technical content in both programs didn't do her any favors in this event, but she stayed on her feet and looked confident and classy throughout this event. Cesario finished the event with a score of 161.70 in seventh place.

Canada's Veronik Mallet finished tenth at Skate Canada and after Alaine Chartrand's bronze medal win at the Rostelecom Cup, I was crossing my fingers and toes and hoping that she'd live up to her wonderful potential and lay down two solid skates in Bordeaux. She struggled a little in both programs here but did manage to move up from eleventh to tenth place after the free skates were all said and done. Although she backed off a little in the latter part of her free skate, she did go for the lutz, flip and loop and hey... nothing wrong with that! Her final score was 139.64.

The overwhelming favourites in the pairs event were Russians Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, who were fresh off a convincing win at the Rostelecom Cup in their home country. They did so by posting the highest score we'd seen from any of the pairs competing on the Grand Prix this season, and while their programs are in my opinion a huge improvement on their material last year, I never seem to be able to find that emotional connection in their skating or relationship to the music I see with Kavaguti and Smirnov or the excitement that we all see in Duhamel and Radford's skating. They went clean in winning the short program with triple toes and a throw triple lutz and attacked their free skate as well, completing a throw triple lutz and throw triple salchow as well as both of their side by side jump passes. Their final score of 209.81 decisively won them their second consecutive Grand Prix event.

China's Wenjing Sui and Cong Han were on fire at this event. Their short program to "Stray Cat Strut" was effortless and clean as a whistle and in their free skate set to the music of Tchaikovsky was exceptional. Like the Russians, every single jumping pass in both phases of the competition was executed flawlessly so it's no wonder their overall score of 200.68 wasn't really that far back from the Russians. While their quad twist is definitely an "ooo! aaa!" fireworks type moment, that tano twist in their short program is just as much of a highlight in my eyes.

Americans Alexa Scimeca and Chris Knierim finished just off the podium at Skate America in Chicago so hoped to rebound and post a strong result as the only American pair here. Although they were didn't claim the bronze medal which was won by China's Xuehan and Lei Wang, their free skate was quite strong and boasted side by side triple salchows and a throw triple loop. They ALSO landed their throw triple flip in both programs, so easy does it now... I think Denney and Frazier have some competition brewing.

Canadians Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro made their Grand Prix debut at Skate Canada and finished sixth of the eight pairs competing with a score of 158.82. As far as a competitive debut, it wasn't perfect but there was certainly potential there and as someone watching, I wasn't expecting them to come to this event and kill it. New partnerships take time and there's a huge learning curve to learning to perfect each element with somewhat new. Considering that many of the newer partnerships we've seen this season in pairs haven't exactly been smooth sailing, I think these two are actually doing pretty damn good in comparison. They did improve slightly on their Skate Canada score although they finished seventh at this event. With two side by side triple toes landed as well as both throws in the free skate, I certainly don't feel this team is on the same uphill battle as many of these other new pair teams this season. Once they find their stride and gain more confidence as a pair, the little kinks will iron themselves out. Their score in France was 159.13.

After winning the Cup Of China ahead of the reigning world champions, France's Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron entered this event on their home soil as the odds on favourites despite being up against two Canadian teams who had outranked them at last year's World Championships, a very strong American team, the Spaniards and Italians. One of two teams coached by Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon competing at this event, the attention not only to correct technique but put to presentation from this team is very evident. Their short dance score of 64.06 gave them a precarious lead of the field but their free dance sealed the deal. Their twizzles were excellent as was the first lift and I have no argument with this team winning here. Their final score was 166.66 and they'll be in Barcelona for the Grand Prix Final.

Canada's Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier finished a strong second at Skate Canada in Kelowna but were almost twenty points behind the French team with a score of 152.60 so certainly hoped to make up some ground at this event. They did. Their short dance earned them a score of 61.90 and second place but their very ballroomy free dance again didn't have the same magic that their "Hitchcock" free dance did for me. Piper looked a bit off of the twizzles in the free dance but I did find that they looked a little more confident here. Their free dance score of 95.68 was a new season's best and their total score of 157.58 was enough for second place here... meaning we'll be seeing them in Barcelona for the Grand Prix Final as well!

Americans Madison Hubbell and Zach Donohue finished third at Skate Canada and have a really unique and refreshing free dance this season which is a modern interpretation of "The Great Gatsby" depicting the relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan. The reviews have been really mixed but I actually like it... because I get what they are trying to do. I see a lot of Navarro and Bommentre in this team in that they are taking risks and experimenting and seem to be creating a body of work and not just very clinical "West Side Story"/"Carmen" type free dances. I'm not saying the free dance was textbook technically - there is room for some growth - but a season's best free dance score of 91.92 is still nothing to sneeze at. Coupled with their short dance score, Hubbell and Donohue won the bronze medal.

I think Spain's Sara Hurtado and Adrian Diaz are just fantastic. When I interviewed them last year, they told me their biggest goal was to be Olympians and not only did they achieve that in Sochi but a thirteenth place finish of the twenty four teams competing was absolutely nothing to sneeze at. This season, their free dance to "Atonement", "Meditation" and an original composition by Karl Hugo is a wonderfully abstract and intense piece with some innovative lifts and good edges but at both the Skate Canada Autumn Classic and Skate Canada International, they lost some ground with fifth place and eighth place finishes. As usual, the lifts were a highlight with this pair and the judges finally decided to cut them a LITTLE slack on the rest of it and dish them up a new season's best score in the
free dance. Their final score of 146.10 may not have been enough to move them up on the podium but the programs themselves (both of them) were a pleasure to watch.

Alexandra Paul and Mitchell Islam were tenth at last year's World Championships and their fifth place finish at Cup Of China with a score of 140.46 wasn't truly indicative of their talent, in my opinion. The ice dance field at their first Grand Prix outing was particularly deep and I was excited to see how they'd fare here in a more even playing field with their "Nocturno" and "Farruca Y Rumba" short dance and Frank Sinatra free dance. Unfortunately, they really seem to be losing some ground with the judges... and fast. Their final score of 138.99 is ten points back of their personal best from last year's Worlds and with Piper and Paul having such a massive lead on this team at this event, this team is going to have to dig in their skates and pull out all stops at Nationals. They've certainly got the talent to do it.

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.

Interview With Aleksander Liubchenko And Jean-Denis Sanchis

Gorgeous shirtless men lifting each other? Sign me up! Ukraine's Aleksander Liubchenko and France's Jean-Denis Sanchis have only been skating together as an acrobatic duo for a short time, but they are already earning a huge fan following in Europe and abroad and taking artistic and professional skating by storm. I was fortunate enough to speak with them leading up to the Xtreme Ice World Skating Championships in Russia, one of the few true live professional competitions out there offering an opportunity to acrobatic skaters worldwide to showcase their talents and compete in an ISU free zone of real creativity. We talked about their careers in competitive skating, what brought them together, how they learned some of the death-defying tricks they perform and much, much more. Get ready for an interview you are going to just love!

Alexandra Ilina photo

Q: Together you form one of the world's top acrobatic skating teams. What can you share about your skating background before you got into acrobatic or extreme skating and how you started in that vein of performing?

A from Aleksander: I began to skate when I was four years old because my father wanted me to become a hockey player. For this age, there was no difference in ages with the figure skaters and hockey players and I skated just to twelve years old in men's skating. I had all doubles and two triple jumps. After my federation decided to change my sport career, they gave me to the ice dancing. I can tell you that I was sure that ice dancing was not sport but after the first week of training, I understood that skating skills wise it is very, very difficult. I skated in Ukraine in the ice dancing pair and I made fix or six Junior Grand Prix and a lot of international competitions. I won a lot of them but after I decided to change my country because my Federation can't propose for me something great after my sport career. After two years of problems with Visa I came to France to skate with a French girl named Sarah Robert Sifaoui and so that's how I met JD. I made my first backflip on the ground at fourteen years old in the summer camp with my ex team so when I came to the new club in Bordeaux, I saw one crazy guy who made a lot of things on the ice and he is not so tall. I proposed just for a joke to make one lift from the pair skating but without technique or physical preparation and with our difference of weight of 15 kg (me 75 and he 60) it was not possible. We worked a lot and we learned some things I remembered from Besedin and Polishuk because when I was young I saw that they have already have been skating together and made a lot of things, so I proposed to make something like this. Our first presentation on public date of our acrobatic pair was on April 23, 2013.

A from Jean-Denis: I begin to skate ten years ago in Bordeaux Sport Ice just for fun at the beginning, I had my first partner at twelve years of ago and then when I was eighteen I was looking for a new partner and found Maria Stepanova from St. Petersburg but she did not have a Visa to change countries. In September 2012, I was at the Conservatoire de Bordeaux in contemporary dance C3 second year, to spend a DEC (Diplôme d'Educator Choreographer). In February 2013, Sarah Robert Sifaoui and Aleksander Liubchenko changed figure skating club from Paris and moved to the hometown of Sarah: Bordeaux. I sometimes helped Sarah and Aleksander in search of lifts, in the lobby. Sarah was extremely compact and agile but I saw HE easily did the work as a partner and he wasn't afraid of elements.

Q: How do you even create and perfect all of the crazy acrobatic tricks that you do? I imagine a lot of work happens off ice but have you worked with other male/male acrobatic pairs to perfect all of these risky elements as well?

A from Jean-Denis: One day Aleksander offered to me jokingly to do lifts. We learned a little technical ground is still hard PHYSICALLY to make up. Before, we could only do a backflip on the ground but we were excited about being acrobats on skates like Besedin and Polishuk.

A from Aleksander: Before we watched the tricks and elements in some videos, so for the beginning for us it was a joke and we worked together just when we wanted and in the garden or on the street but after invitation for the gala of the champions on the Grand Prix in Paris, we understood that it is interesting a lot of people and we began to have fans. We understood that we must work more and make more crazy things for impress public. So, in January 2014 we found one training place in our city and began to train and we had the progress but not so fast. In August 2014, we had found another place with a coach and real acrobats who won the French Championships and they were third in the World Championships in 2014. They are really great so we began to train with them and very, very fast we learn elements with high difficulty (like Besedin and Polishuk) but to transfer all of this on the ice we need more time, but you will see all this one day!

Q: You'll be joining skaters like Philippe Candeloro, Zabato Bebe, Marie-Pierre Leray, Annette Dytrt and Yannick Bonheur, Akop Manoukian and Aidas Reklys, Ievgen Lukashenko and Anton Kovalevski and American Open Champions Vladimir Besedin and Alexei Polishuk at this year's Xtreme Ice World Championships in Russia. What are your goals and secret weapons for this competition?

A from Aleksander: We are ice dancers, so no one from this competition can show more skating skills than we. This time we are changed and worked on our choreography a lot, so you will see something extraordinary. We have three new, new elements for example a backflip from my shoulders and two acrobatic lifts with the speed. Our goals are very simple. We want to WIN and now we are sure that we can!

Q: Aleksander, you hold the Guinness World Record for the longest ice skating backflip, which was done on the set of the CBBC show Officially Amazing in June of this year. Where did you get the idea to attempt to hold this record and how did you first learn the backflip?

A from Aleksander: I had learned my first backflip before our first presentation together. I could do it on the ground but on the ice it is different. You need to have good coordination. I did my first backflip perfectly for two days of training and for the next two days JD made exactly the same. I had sent one letter in June 2013 with one question to Guinness if anyone already had this record. I had an answer that Robin Cousins had the record in 5.48 meters which is really long. I wasn't sure I could beat it so I didn't answer Guinness. In May 2014, CBBC contacted me and proposed to me that I try to beat it and I said okay. I had a problem with my knee from the gym when I made the record. The exit was very bad the first two times. I tried to beat the record three times. The first time I made 5.28 meters. Here I realized all of the cameras from CBBC are on me and other French channels as well and I must win the record. The second time I had 5.50 and I won by .02 but understanding it was so close, I took the jump a third time with speed and got 6.09 meters, beating an Olympic Champion.

Q: How can "regular" skaters get more involved in acrobatic skating? There isn't exactly a how to book!

A from Aleksander: When I will put all of the gymnastic elements on the ice, I hope to open an ice acrobatic school but the message for now for everyone is try and don't be afraid.

A from Jean-Denis: There is a lack of skaters trying to repeat and improve acrobatics on ice. We aim at this, of course. but use common sense and self-preservation instincts to protect ourselves when doing acrobatic tricks like all of the world's best skaters like Philippe Candeloro, Surya Bonaly, Kurt Browning and others. We find working in the gym on new elements is important. We work on things in the gym to stop rotation of the body for fear of injury and proficiency. We use a special retainer for the neck. The MOST significant thing is stability. When we first transferred moves to the ice common sense and self-preservation instincts were not working and the first elements that were transferred to the ice FORMED the basis of fear. You have to spend the time in the gym practicing because when you perform adrenaline just rolls over you. If you stand on bare shoulders, the weight of the sharp blade and the risk of slipping and your carotid artery is very dangerous. You already know about the specifics of the lifts but speed with these tricks can cause injury. When you jump a somersault on the ground your feet and shoulder width are apart and you have to break up and wait when you turn. On the ice when you stick and you stick your toe pick and it is not parallel to the ice, there is an issue. To show acrobatics, you must test yourselves. Aim farther into the forest for the more wood!

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and why?

A from Aleksander: First, Kurt Browning. I think he is the best single skater ever. He made jumps but his performances and skating skills are great. I want to skate on the same ice with him! Secondly, ice dancing couple Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat. Then, pair skaters Volosozhar and Trankov. They are amazing. It is like Kurt Browning but in pairs. Of course, also my first coach who learned me basic skating in my home town in Kharkow, Tatiana Vasilievna Grusheva.

Q: What's one thing most people don't know about you?

A from Aleksander: We first made backflips with the blades for the ice dancing (MK Dance). I have education of the artists of ballet (classic choreography). I have finished ballet school and college so I am choreographing ballet classic and I am coaching now with JD and studying choreography.

Q: What do you love most about figure skating?

A from Aleksander: It is the speed... and the possibilities on the ice.

A from Jean-Denis: I love to and want for the future to push my abilities to maximum on the ice with Aleksander, to go to the highest possible level by showing you that skating can be more than what one sees on TV to give you always more fun!

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.

Robert Wagenhoffer: Remembering A Great

One of the aspects I love most about writing a figure skating blog is having the chance to share the stories of skaters who may not have won an Olympic medal or a World title but who without question left an indelible footprint on the sport and left the ice better than they found it. Robert Wagenhoffer was without question one of those skaters.

The son of Ada (Gustafson) and Michael Wagenhoffer, Robert Andrew Wagenhoffer was born July 5, 1960 in San Bernardino, California. His first skating efforts were actually on rollers. He once stated that he opted for ice skating because roller skating "wasn't as smooth and lyrical as the ice." His amateur career could not have been any busier. Following in the footsteps of fellow Californian Ken Shelley, he balanced careers in elite level singles and pairs skating and found success in both arenas, pardon the pun.

As a junior, he was both the U.S. men's and pairs champion in the same year. Moving up to the senior ranks, he won the men's competition at both the 1977 Grand Prix St. Gervais competition in France and Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany, which were held back to back at the time with many of the same skaters travelling via train from France to Oberstdorf to compete in both events. During this time, Robert was also practicing quadruple toe-loops in competition... around a decade before the first ratified quad in competition would be landed by Kurt Browning.

At the 1978 U.S. Championships, Robert turned his attention to pairs skating and finished just off the podium with his partner Vicki Heasley. The winners that year were Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner and the silver medallists were Gail Hamula and Frank Sweiding, who would go on to become a World Professional Champion with Anita Hartshorn. The following season, Robert would again go on to skate singles during the fall season and medal in an invitational event in then Czechoslovakia before winning the silver medal at the 1979 U.S. Championships and going on to finish sixth in his only trip to the World Championships as a pairs skater. Despite devoting his full attention to pairs skating the following season and medalling at both Skate America and the NHK Trophy, Robert and partner Vicki would finish off the podium at the 1980 U.S. Championships and narrowly miss a trip to the Lake Placid Olympics. Their partnership dissolved and Robert focused his undivided attention to singles skating.

Robert won a silver medal at the NHK Trophy in the fall of 1980 right behind Japan's Fumio Igarashi and skated very well at the 1981 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Diego, California to finish third right behind Scott Hamilton and David Santee. This result afforded Robert another trip to the World Championships, where he finished in the top ten. The following season would prove to be his final as an amateur and his finest. He started the season off with a silver medal at Skate America, sandwiched right between two future Olympic Gold Medallists - Scott Hamilton and Brian Boitano. From there, he went on to win the silver medal behind Hamilton at that year's U.S. Championships and again earn a spot on the World team. Robert's third trip to the World Championships saw him duplicate the sixth place finish he'd earned in pairs in 1979, proving without question he was every bit as good a singles skater as a pairs skater (if not better). Following those World Championships in Copenhagen, Robert turned professional and joined the Ice Capades. It was only once he turned professional the true measure of his genius on the ice would come to be duly appreciated.

Robert was both a showy and entertaining skater and a sensitive, creative artist. Highlights of his programs included his backflip, side cartwheel and wonderfully centered and cleverly ingenuitive spins. His career as a professional saw him tour with not only Ice Capades but also Tom Collins' Tour Of Champions, Gershwin On Ice (which he also choreographed) and the World Cup Champions On Ice theatre tour. He performed at Sea World and won the World Professional Figure Skating Championships in Jaca, Spain both in 1982 and 1989, the 1989 U.S. Open title and competed professionally at the World Cup Of Skating competitions held in the late eighties and early nineties in Canada as well. He choreographed for the Nutcracker On Ice tour and Brian Boitano's Skate Against Hate show and performed in fundraisers for AIDS research including Rock The Ice and Ice Fantastic. Robert had been touched very personally by HIV/AIDS, having lost his brother in 1992 and his partner Billy Lawe three years later. Tragically, the same disease that claimed the lives of two of the people closest to him would also take Robert from the skating world way too soon. He passed away on December 13, 1999 at thirty nine years of age.

In the 1999 "Chicago Tribune" Phil Hersh article "Skater's Death Raises Questions", Scott Hamilton is quoted in saying of his former competitor, "Robert was one of the most gifted jumpers and classiest competitors I have ever known. He made everything look effortless. He gave all of us competing against him something to think about."

I want to finish this off by sharing the words of American Open Champion Doug Mattis, who graciously and beautifully remembered his mentor and friend: "When I was a kid, I watched Robert compete with wide eyes. I didn't want to blink, lest I miss something that he did. His movement seemed to ooze with ease like hard sauce drizzling over pudding. And the jumps were... jaw-dropping. I remember hearing from the kids in the ultra-cool L.A. crowd that he probably could have trained a bit harder…that he was somewhat resistant of the competitive machine demanding that he be what they wanted, on and off the ice. There were many rumours that he was gay, hissed as asides by skating officials and coaches as both put-down and explanation of why he might not be an odd-on favorite to inherit the national title. Those rumours resonated with me - they made us comrades, even though we’d only met to say hello (I was kid in novice when he was in seniors). We faced the same hate for being who we were born to be. Even though I was closeted as a teenager, I felt like Robert and I were brothers (along with the other gay people in skating that weren't the subject of so much conversation). His ability made him, to me, like Merlin…how did he do triples and quads with such ease? Let alone his fluidity of movement, extension, and musicality? His story, as told to me by people as a tacit threat not to be like him…made him, to me, like someone I knew I'd befriend at some point. We were friendly over the years. We'd see each other at parties or at the club (after he'd turned pro, while I was still competing), and he'd always have an encouraging word to say and tell me some small thing that I’d done, skating-wise, that had impressed him. Robert Wagenhoffer being nice to me was such a very, very cool thing to me. I deeply appreciated it. We saw each other briefly after Rick Scarry (a skater and Robert's close friend) had died of AIDS…and I just remember bursting into tears - even though Rick and I were just casual pals. Robert hugged me and assured me everything would be okay… when it was his friendship with Rick that I was trying to reference in my words to him, 'I'm so sorry'.) I was young, completely afraid and Robert, whom I should have been consoling, gave me a hug and told me everything would be okay. We worked together for the first time in the early nineties. He choreographed some numbers for me in a show in Miami. Every day was a joy. Robert had an easy laugh and we both liked hard work, for hours and hours on the ice sometimes, to feel like play time. And it did. He was there with his partner, Billy Lawe. Seeing the deep connection they had... it was inspiring to me. I introduced he and Billy to the gorgeous guy I was dating over dinner one night and next day during a quiet moment between stints of choreography, he said, 'Don’t hate me. That guy? You can do better.' Later Billy showed up at the rehearsal and said to Robert, 'Did you tell him, yet?' and Robert nodded, laughed, and tucked his straggly blonde hair behind his ears (as he often did). Billy said, 'Doug, we think the world of you. You can do better.' I had new brothers. A new addition to my family. Robert made sure not to choreograph 'down' to me. He challenged me, made sure I could do all of his signature moves (as a means by which to make me see the work and abandon the notion that it was all 'magic'), and he made sure the numbers he did for me were tricky - deathly tricky - so I would go on stage… every night… nervous. 'That’s how you keep your self feeling alive on skates, brother!' he would tell me, laughing. A few years later, we both starred in the Santa Rosa Christmas show - he as the primary star, me as a featured skater. Billy's health wasn't great and Robert and I had talks about how he was handling it and getting through each day. Just a season later, I starred in that same headliner role… and did a number ("Can’t Cry Hard Enough") largely based on those conversations - a kind of tribute to both Robert and all of the men that we have loved in skating and lost to AIDS. The night I heard we lost Robert I cried and cried. Skating was everything to him - his primary demon and salvation. I could say one million times 'I wish' about the things I wish for Robert - that he'd survived though protease inhibitors… that the skating machine had been more kind to him while he competed... but I know Robert would just laugh at me, tuck his hair behind his ears, and tell me to get on with being happy in my life and spreading the love. So I will."

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 2014 Rostelecom Cup

With Skate America, Skate Canada and Cup Of China now completed, the attention turned to the fourth of six pitstops on a race around the world! Oh wait, wrong show! The attention actually turned to the fourth of six events on the ISU Grand Prix, each of which assigning skaters points and making or breaking their attempts to qualify for the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona, Spain this December. For some, The Rostelecom Cup at the Small Sports Arena of Luzhniki in Moscow, Russia would be their first Grand Prix assignment while for others this would be the make or break conclusion to their Grand Prix/autumn season. A little disclaimer before we get down to it. Please keep in mind with all the "coverage" of any competition on Skate Guard as always I'll post videos of some of the most standout performances. Many of them might be geoblocked in your country, and for that I apologize. Around the time of major competitions, videos go up every minute and come down and get geoblocked just as fast. If you're unable to watch videos in your country, I've got some great advice for you. Go to YouTube, and under your search settings you can select 'Upload Date'. If you type in keywords for the competition or skater you want to see, you can narrow it down to 'Today' or 'This Week' and usually find just what you're looking for in minutes! And now break out the Stoli... for my thoughts on the competition!

Of the four disciplines in this event, the men's field was without question the deepest field going. You had Javier Fernandez, Jason Brown, Max Aaron, Sergei Voronov, Takahiko Kozuka, Michal Brezina, Misha Ge, Stephen Carriere and of course Canada's Jeremy Ten all in the mix. The pleasant part of it all was to juxtapose the skaters simply skating from corner to corner attempting jumps, we saw some brilliant, passionate skating in this event from the men that really restored my faith in men's skating just a wee bit. I love being able to say that!

The pressure on Javier Fernandez at this event had to be unreal. He's basically the poster boy for the Federación Española de Deportes de Hielo and with Barcelona hosting the Grand Prix Final, you better believe that his face was expected to be on those event posters, honey. At Skate Canada, he delivered a high energy, entertaining and faultless short program but kind of melted down in the free skate. It was enough for silver but in order to make it to the Grand Prix Final, he NEEDED a strong result here. His "Black Betty" short program was AGAIN a showstopper (JUST love that program!) and he entered the free skate in first place with a score of 93.92. In the free skate, he earned a new Season's Best and although only one of his three quad attempts were flawless, the problems on the landings of the second two quads he went for were pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. He really sold the program and that reflected in his second mark. It was enough for him to trounce the competition here with a score of 265.01 and all but make his ticket to the Grand Prix Final in Japan official. I'm sure he and coach Brian Orser are breathing a sigh of relief.

European Silver Medallist Sergei Voronov of Russia finished second in the short program with a very strong program to "Danse Macabre" that featured a clean quad toe/triple toe, triple axel and triple loop. I was impressed because with the depth in this field I don't know why but I just wasn't figuring Voronov would deliver that well. His free skate to a mishmash of this, that and the other thing was full of fantastic jumps and his opening quad toe/triple toe combination was huge. He followed that up with two triple axels and three other triples and the choreography was as much of a grab bag as the music was. A little bit Viktor Petrenko chicken legs and finger pointing, a little bit Sotnikova Sochi showboating and a little bit "ooo... I liked that!" His PCS score of 80.44 was higher than Jason Brown's because why? If you know the answer to this question, please enlighten me. His overall score of 252.00 was enough for the silver medal here.

Bronze went to the Czech Republic's Michal Brezina, who mounted a great comeback effort from his first Grand Prix outing and landed two triple axels and a very nice quad salchow/double toe combination to move up from fourth to stand on the podium here. He looked right snacky in the process too, God love him. It was nice to see him have a good day.

After getting quite frankly shafted at Cup Of China, the judges finally woke up and smelled the java and were forced to reward the artistic, passionate and technically difficult performances of Uzbekistan's Misha Ge here. He again came out and threw down two gorgeous performances and what I loved about seeing this the most was knowing that he was so discouraged by the way he's been treated by the judges that he threw in the towel a while back. Technically, he's doing the jumps too, that's the thing. Standing up on two triple axels and two triple lutzes is nothing to sneeze at whatsoever and his PCS score of 78.78 was 0.20 back of Jason Brown which I agreed with completely. I agreed with the judges for once! What up with that? Ge finished the event in fourth place with a score of 238.05.

Nineteen year old Jason Brown was not perfect in Chicago at Skate America, but he was memorable nonetheless. Skating in front of hometown crowd can either make or break a skater and based on Jason's performances in Chicago, it in actuality did neither. He wasn't perfect, but he most certainly wasn't bad either. Problems on both the triple axel and triple flip/triple toe combination in the short program put him in seventh after the short program, but his free program here was better than his Skate America effort by a mile and included a clean triple axel, triple flip/triple toe and triple lutz/half loop/triple salchow, There were problems on two jumps but the program itself was artful and just a privilege to watch. That music has a touch of mystery, the jumps landed thrillingly enhanced the choreographed and program built with excitement, attention to detail and emotion. He ended the competition with a score of 159.24 in fifth place.

Former U.S. Champion Max Aaron won the bronze medal at Skate America with a less than stellar short program and a flawed but technically impressive free skate. I kind of watched and waited in the short program with bated breath hoping that there would be SOME sort of improvement when it came to selling the "Footloose" program and what I got as a viewer was quite frankly more of the same... although he did more relaxed and like he was having fun so there's something to be said for that. A foot down on the landing of the double toe on the back end of his quad salchow combination and a stumble on footwork saw Aaron finish sixth in the short program with a score of 77.09 but I have to give him props for squeaking out that triple axel landing. Although he landed two fine triple axels in his free skate, the two doubled quad attempts and a couple of other problems clearly took the wind out of his sails here and the overall impression of the program suffered greatly. His final score was 212.60 and the fact that his PCS score was almost ten points ahead of Jeremy Ten as well as higher than Righini and Carriere made me literally laugh out loud. We're not just talking laugh out loud, we're talking guffaw. Oh sweetie...

It's been a roller coaster the last few years for Jeremy Ten. After winning the bronze medal at the 2009 Canadian Championships, injury caused him to take two years to return to the national podium and the last two seasons he's unfortunately missed the podium at Nationals. He's got a beautiful free skate this season to Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" and he's stated will be his last season competitively. Ten has also made it clear that it's about the experience and not the results. He landed his triple axel in both programs at this event and had such passionate delivery of his free skate here that I got goosebumps despite the problems on the jumps. Ten's free skate was yet another reminder that there's SO much more to skating than the jumps and it was a treat to see Righini, Carriere and Ten all go out in a row and INTERPRET THEIR MUSIC before we saw Russia's Artur Gachinski skate from corner of the rink and attempt jumps. Ten finished the event with a score of 198.50 in tenth place.

I really can't say that Japan's Rika Hongo was a skater that was particularly on my radar heading into this event. When it comes to Japanese ladies skaters, the names on everybody's lips this season have really been Satoko Miyahara and of course Kanako Murakami, but Hongo really turned it out at this event and laid down two fine performances attempting two different triple/triples in the process. She moved up from second in the short program to take the win here with a score of 178.00. I can't say that there was much about her skating that left me particularly inspired though. The posture and the presentation in her "Carmen" free skate, to me, were adequate at best and her PCS score which was the highest of the ladies at 58.96 was 4.95 points higher than her PCS score at Skate Canada... and I'm left wondering why.

After claiming gold at Skate Canada with two outstanding performances, Anna Pogorilaya entered this event as a skater everyone had their eyes on. With Olympic Gold Medallist Adelina Sotnikova announcing her withdrawal from both of her Grand Prix assignments, the pressure was certainly on Anna here and she seemed to crack a little under it. After finishing third in the short program with iffy landings on both her triple lutz and a triple loop and scoring 59.32, she had problems on both of her triple lutz and double axel attempts in the free skate and ended up with a score of 173.43 in this event. She finished second with a PCS score of 58.56 in the free skate, which was in contrast to Hongo's PCS rise, 3.77 lower than her Skate Canada PCS score.

Canada's sole entry in the ladies event here was Alaine Chartrand. Alaine is a student of Michelle Leigh and is not one to shy away from going for her jumps when she competes, so I was excited to see how she'd fare here. She turned the competition on its head with an excellent short program that earned her 61.18 points and saw her take the lead in Russia in a field of eleven skaters including three Russians. As Bonnie Raitt would say, that was certainly "something to talk about". Although she unravelled a bit in the free skate and finished third overall at this event with a score of 110.82, I think Alaine made quite a strong statement in this event in showing that the same tired arguments that we hear time and time about Canadian ladies skaters are getting a little old.

After finishing sixth at Skate America, former U.S. Champion Mirai Nagasu came to Moscow as the favourite of the three U.S. ladies competing at this event. With a more refined and reserved look this season, her programs were both choreographed by Adam Rippon and showcase 'a softer Mirai'. As always though, the question on everyone's mind would be her jump landings and how the judges would respond with regards to evaluating her technique. She finished fourth in the short program and showed some of the best fight I've seen from her in some time to go clean on her jump landings but in the free skate, many of the landings again looked quite suspect and there were a couple of step outs although she did manage to stay on her feet. At the end of the day, Mirai's score of 165.88 left her in fourth place.

Olympic Gold and Silver Medallists Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov were the odds on favourites to win the gold in the pairs event but with Duhamel and Radford and Kavaguti and Smirnov turning in such fine performances already this season on the Grand Prix, I wanted to see how they factored into the mix. I'm not going to lie, this team looked well trained and prepared. They went clean with side by side triple toes and a throw triple flip to handily win the short program over their Russian teammates with a score of 69.09 and then delivered an excellent free skate with both the throw triple lutz and salchow landed cleanly to earn 211.97 and take the win at this event. To put things in perspective, Kavaguti and Smirnov's score at Skate America was 209.16 and Duhamel and Radford's score at Skate Canada was 210.74 so this team's score here was the highest we've seen posted from the pairs on the Grand Prix... so far. They proved that they're on top on their game and very much in the mix this season here and their "Notre Dame De Paris" program is a huge step up from their "Addams Family" free skate from last year in my opinion.

The other two Russian teams competing here were Evgenia Tarasova and Vladimir Morozov (love the last names!) and Kristina Astakhova and Alexei Rogonov. Now, don't get me wrong, these are two excellent teams and both pulled off clean and convincing short programs with the great attack and polish we always characteristically see from Russian teams. They won silver and bronze here, but one has to look at Tarasova and Morozov's silver medal winning free skate, which had three falls and a two footed landing on their final throw and shake their head a little. By 0.02, it was still considered better than Astakhova and Rogonov who certainly weren't perfect either and were a little hesitant at times but brought some nice expression to their "Master And Margarita" free skate. I gotta be honest,

In winning the silver medal at Skate America, Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier received a lot of praise for their confidence and free skate to "The Lion King". The judges concurred there and gave them Personal Bests for BOTH their programs in Chicago. Up against three strong Russian teams on their home turf here, problems on the side by side triple salchows in the short program put them in fourth place. A double from Frazier on the same side by side jump attempt in the free skate coupled with misses on the side by side double axel sequence from Denney in the free skate kept them there, a real shame considering the lovely throws. The program to me unfortunately didn't have the same spark here and their final score at Rostelecom Cup was 164.85, 18.99 points back of their Skate America score.

The shoe ins in the ice dance event were Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who dominated at Skate America with two programs that were for all intents and purposes lost on me when they performed them in Chicago. Their speed and the difficulty of the programs were certainly well rewarded by the judges here with an overall event score of 174.28, which was 3.25 higher than their score at Skate America. They won the title in Moscow with an almost fifteen point lead.

Remember when Pasha Grishuk and Evgeny Platov and Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin played musical partners and competed against each other at the World Professional Championships? I do. It was so good it was fattening! Well, we all know how the world so dearly loves a remake these days and Elena Ilinykh and Ruslan Zhiganshin and Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov did not disappoint in bringing the soap opera to life on home soil. In the end, Ilinykh and Zhiganshin ended up in second place to Sinitsina and Katsalapov's fourth. As a matter of personal preference, the latter of the two teams' steamy free skate to the music of Gary Moore captured my attention more but I agree with the judges in terms of the technical side of the performance in rewarding the former.

Britons Penny Coomes and Nicholas Buckland have a refreshing attitude about competition. They told me when I interviewed them that they "don't like to think about placements. We think that if you prepare right and skate as you do in practice the results will take care of themselves." After winning the bronze medal at the European Championships last year and finishing in the top ten at the Olympics and Worlds, they came into this event as medal favourites whether they liked to think about placements or not. Skating to "Exogenesis Part 1" and "Hurricanes And Butterflies" by Muse, they were in my opinion just a pleasure to watch. This free dance was a stark contrast to their Michael Jackson program from last season and although certainly angsty, well highlighted their ability to interpret music and bring passion to their skating. They actually finished second in the free dance with a score of 98.47 but remained third overall.

Do you know who I really like? Kaitlin Hawayek and Jean-Luc Baker. They're the reigning Junior World Champions and I don't know why, but I remember watching them at last year's Junior Worlds and going... these two remind me of a young Tessa and Scott. There is power behind their edges and a confidence that belies their years. Their programs are warhorses this season - "Malaguena" and "Romeo And Juliet" - but they are warhorses done quite well. They ended the competition in sixth place with 136.33 and are a team to watch in the future.

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.

Interview With Sinead Kerr

If you don't think Scottish ice dancers Sinead and John Kerr are one of the most underrated ice dance teams of life, then we simply can't be friends. Sorry bout it! The story of the Scottish brother/sister ice dance team that made to the Olympic Games while training on public sessions due to a lack of funding is nothing short of awe inspiring. In an 2011 article with The Independent, Sinead explained that "when we trained for the 2006 Olympics, we'd often have to do it during a public session. Our coach would go around saying 'Move to the sides please. They're going to the Olympics.' The best way to avoid paying for ice time, and we couldn't afford to pay, was to ask politely if people would let us past." Determination paid off for the pair. In addition to two Scottish and seven British titles, the duo from Edinburgh won two European bronze medals, competed at seven World Championships (placing as high as fifth in 2010) and placed in the top ten at both the Torino and Vancouver Winter Olympics. They even appeared on the television show Glee! Please note that SINCE this interview Sinead and John have been announced as part of this year's U.S. Stars On Ice cast, which I think is just wonderful. It was my absolute pleasure to talk at length with Sinead about her and John's competitive career, her stint on Battle Of The Blades, touring with Stars On Ice and much more in this interview I am simply thrilled to have had chance to do:

Q: You competed in two Olympics, seven World Championships and eight European Championships, in addition to winning two Scottish and seven British titles. Of all of your competitions and programs you skated during your eligible career, what were your favourite moments?

A: Two moments always stand out in my mind as favourites in my career. The first competition we really broke on to the international scene was the European Championships in Budapest in 2004. We skated to "The Matrix" and when we finished got such an amazing audience response! It felt amazing to be not only skating in a major championship - our first - but also to have the crowd behind us in that way. My favourite program was our free dance from the 2008/2009 season - "Ruled By Secrecy" from Muse. When we skated for the bronze medal in Europeans in 2009 it was our best performance because we felt so "in the moment" and that the crowd and judges weren't even there. We felt a lot of pressure going into that skate but were able to leave it behind for the performance which felt great.

 Q: My sister and I both skated and really bonded spending so much time together on the ice. Do you think your relationship would be the same had you not gone on this journey?

A: I think John and I definitely developed more of a bond skating together than we would have if not. It really helped us that we didn't actually skate together until we were aged nineteen (John) and twenty one. It meant we were more mature and knew who we were and what we wanted.  Ultimately we both loved skating and wanted to succeed at it.

Q: What are your plans for this year? Will you be back with Stars On Ice and the Ice Theatre Of New York? What does the future hold?

A: Our future will always be with skating as it's our passion and has given us so much. We love skating now in shows and will continue working with Ice Theatre of New York over the winter, though not their fall tour. We haven't heard yet about Stars On Ice but of course would love to skate in it again if we got the chance! We are also lined up for a TV special with all dance teams (headlined by Meryl and Charlie) and a cast from Dancing With The Stars. However, we are now starting to transition towards coaching a bit more too and for the first time have gone our separate ways. John is working in Miami with John Zimmerman and his pairs teams and also his new dance team who represent Kazakhstan. I am mainly interested in choreography and would love to develop along the lines of Jeffrey Buttle and Shae-Lynn Bourne. Working with Jeff as Assistant Choreographer on Stars On Ice this year was a great experience and I hope to do more work like that.

Q: Did you ever dream that you'd be touring with Stars On Ice and what have been your favourite experiences and cities you've visited while on tour with them?

A: When we were younger and training in Scotland, we would only hear of Stars On Ice and its cast, show numbers and glamorous tour! It seemed a too amazing and faraway thing for us to ever be a part of so it definitely was a dream come true to actually skate in it. The whole cast and crew was super friendly and we did really feel the Stars On Ice Family vibe! Traveling the Canadian tour was especially fun as we were together the whole time for a month. The U.S. tour was slightly different as we would get together every weekend for a couple of shows then break up again. The rehearsal time in Lake Placid from December 26th-30th was the most fun for me as it's a beautiful place - especially at that time of year - and everyone is excited to learn the new show and group numbers!

Q: I saw you skate live for the first time at Stars On Ice here in Halifax last year. Nova Scotia (New Scotland) obviously has a lot of love for Scottish music and culture - it's a big part of who we are here. When you did your Scottish number it brought down the house! Where did you guys come up with your "Coronach" program and how much fun is it to skate?

A: Skating our Scottish routine in Halifax was as much fun as if we were dancing at a big party! It felt like the audience wanted to join in too which is exactly the feeling we were looking for. We have always been super proud of our Scottish heritage and know that you can't really go wrong with a man in a kilt! Also, we are friends with the band who wrote and performed "Coronach" so it feels close to us. When the music starts on that program, I always smile and think of my home in Edinburgh. It makes me feel happy and that comes across to the audience.

Q: You were just fantastic on Battle Of The Blades! What was the biggest learning curve taking on the challenge of skating with Grant Marshall, a hockey player?

A: It was a great challenge taking on a hockey player in Battle Of The Blades and turning him in to a figure skater. However, Grant and all the other guys respected us and our sport so much and worked so hard that it was a lot of fun every day and the improvement rate was phenomenal. I was really lucky to be partnered with Grant in two ways. First, because I knew from the start that I could turn him into a dancer rather than a pair skater. He had soft knees, great edges (and spreads!) and could really show character on the ice. I also was lucky in that our personalities fit perfectly so we got on really well both on and off the ice right from day one.

Q: If you were backpacking through Europe and could only bring one book, one CD and one movie, what would they be and why?

A: If I was backpacking and could only bring one book, one CD and one movie they would be: book... "Neither Here Nor There - Travels in Europe" by Bill Bryson. It's a super funny travel book so would be both amusing and informative! CD... Jack Johnson's "In Between Dreams" as it's very easy going! Movie.... "Sunshine On Leith" - it's an awesome little movie set in Edinburgh to the soundtrack of The Proclaimers and totally reminds me of home!

Q: Who are your favourite ice dance teams of all time? Of today's top teams?

A: My favourite ice dance team of all time was Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay. Also Torvill and Dean had some of the most creative show numbers from their professional career! While we were competing, I admired (and was a bit intimidated by) Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski. Later of course, I loved Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. It was so hard to compete against them and Meryl and Charlie as they really both were in a league of their own!

Q: What's one thing about you most people don't know?

A: One thing about me most people don't know... I love walking and exploring so whenever I travel I will go out and walk everywhere, getting to know the town or city as well as possible! I know Manhattan really well now!

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.