Beyond One Jump: The Nate Walley Story

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

Born January 4, 1907 in St. Paul, Minnesota, Nathan 'Nate' Evans Walley was the son of William and Mabel (Munger) Walley. He grew up in Minneapolis, where his father was Superintendent of Field Engineering for the Mahr Manufacturing Company, an oil burner business. He was the oldest of eight children. As a young man, blonde haired, grey eyed, fix foot six Nate worked as a jobber in a machinist shop. He learned to skate outdoors on frozen ponds and 'prided himself' on never taking a skating lesson in his life.

The Mahr Manufacturing Company. Photo courtesy Minnesota Historical Society.

In the early thirties, Nate started teaching in Minneapolis. After a short while, he moved to California and became one of first professional instructors at the Skate and Ski Club of San Francisco. While there, he skated his famous 'goofus' comedy number with Douglas Duffy in the first amateur ice carnival on the Pacific Coast in 1933. 

Nate Walley, Dunbar Poole and Howard Nicholson at the 1934 World and British Open Professional Championships at the Hammersmith Ice-Drome. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.

Nate moved to England in 1934, where he won the British Open Professional title twice consecutively, defeating the likes of Howard Nicholson, Jacques Gerschwiler and Edi Scholdan. Back in those days, the competition consisted of both school figures and free skating - not something we think of today when it comes to professional events. It was his spectacular free skating that helped him prevail on both occasions. While in England, he taught at Streatham Ice Rink for a time, passed the National Skating Association's Gold test and appeared in the revue "A Night In Cafe Montmartre" with Phil Taylor and a young Freddie Tomlins, who was his pupil for a short period.

The following two years, Nate taught at the Melbourne Glaciarium during the summers and Granite Club in Toronto in the winters. While in Australia, he gave several exhibitions and even worked with the Victorian Ice Hockey Association's teams. An account of one of his performances from the May 11, 1936 issue of "The Age" stated, "Mr. Nate Walley... gave an exhibition of spins and jumps with an ease and grace and phenomenal speed of a type never seen before at the rink. His work was also connected up by dance steps and his jumps included the Lutz and the difficult flying Axel-[Paulsen], but it was his spins that held the audience spell-bound. He entered a spin at a normal speed but then worked into a pace until he seemed like a top unloosed from a string." Nate's exhibitions and teachings helped generate pre-War interest in figure skating in Australia. It was also he who brought siblings Gwen Chambers and Ron Chambers to Canada to coach in Montreal and Toronto.

Samuel Jarvis and Nate Walley. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Not long after returning to America to teach in Lake Placid prior to World War II, he married Edythe Dustman, a Powers model from West Virginia who once worked as a designer for a marionette show. Edythe decided to take up skating after she did a modelling photo shoot on the ice. The two met as teacher and student.

Photos courtesy "Skating" magazine (top) and "Skating World" magazine (bottom)

The married couple became skating partners, starring in shows on the Ice Terrace at the Hotel New Yorker. Nate also appeared in the "Ice Frolics" at the International Casino in New York alongside Guy Owen, Evelyn Chandler and Bruce Mapes and in carnivals doing a comedy drag act called 'Mr. and Mrs. Go To Town' with Samuel Jarvis during this period. He supplemented his performing career by teaching in Cleveland, working with U.S. Champion Eugene Turner. Edythe later became a coach herself, teaching alongside her husband at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs.

Edythe and Nate Walley

After starring in "Varieties On Ice" at the Boulevard Tavern in New York City, Nate and Edythe joined the cast of the Ice Capades, dazzling audiences throughout North America well after the War ended. Nate took young Chuckie Stein under his wing and developed several popular comedy acts that played upon their extreme height difference. During this period, Nate also served as President of the newly-formed American Skaters Guild, which evolved into today's Professional Skaters Association.

Nate and Edythe's daughter Deborah was born in August of 1947 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. They divorced in 1953 and Nate remarried to Carol Lynam in 1962. His daughter Deborah went on to become a Hollywood starlet who appeared in "Gidget Goes Hawaiian" with James Darren, "Spinout" with Elvis Presley and several beach party films in the sixties.

Deborah Walley

In the sixties, Nate was employed as the figure skating director for both Holiday On Ice and Ice Capades and teaching at the St. Paul and Land O' Lakes Figure Skating Clubs in Minnesota's Twin Cities. 

Photo courtesy "World Ice Skating Guide"

In his book "Blazing Ice: The Real Story Of Show Business", R. Scott Carlton recalled, "To say Nate's reputation preceded him would be a meaningless understatement... He demanded the highest standards from his students, although I never heard anyone accuse him of being difficult or arrogant. Nevertheless, in his golden years he developed one peculiarity which probably drove the Holiday On Ice bosses crazy: he refused to work with any skaters he didn't like, a privilege accorded very few coaches. So which skaters did Nate like? He offered his services to those skaters who were willing to work hard and do so with a strong, positive attitude. He disliked skaters who were lazy or exhibited negativism toward their art. You couldn't ask for anything more fair or democratic than that."

Photo courtesy "The National Ice Skating Guide"

Though he's probably best remembered for his namesake jump (the Walley), Nate also made another very important contribution to figure skating during his lifetime. He collaborated with the USFSA on a comprehensive table of jumps and spins, categorizing everything from the well-known Axel and Salchow to the often underappreciated toeless Lutz and one-and-a-half flip. This table, adapted and republished around the world in dozens of languages, helped expand the possibilities of free skating to countless skaters and coaches. Nate passed away on October 15, 1975 in Minneapolis at the age of sixty-eight, his contributions to the figure skating world rarely given the due they are deserved.

Want to learn more about Nate Walley and the history of his namesake jump? There's a whole chapter devoted to it in the new book "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps". Get your copy today!

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 1930 Canadian Figure Skating Championships

It was a long, bleak winter in the Prairies. The effects of the Stock Market crash the previous October were starting to be felt. Unemployment and hunger were on rise and as the expense of relief for indigent immigrants skyrocketed, the Winnipeg City Council tried unsuccessfully to get the federal government to help shoulder the costs. That February, Manitobans gathered around their radios to listen to The Governor-General's Throne Speech from Ottawa. Lord Willingdon spoke of the problems of Canadian National railway system, the Royal Commission on Radio Broadcasting, Great War veterans and changes to the Elections and Bankruptcy acts. The snow outside, coupled with the doom and gloom on the radio and in newspapers, dampened the spirits of the people of Winnipeg. They needed a lift... and that lift came in the form of figure skating.

Collage of expected competitors in the women's event in Winnipeg

The 1930 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, then also referred to as the Dominion Fancy Skating Championship, were held February 21 and 22 in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It was the first time the Canadian Championships were held west of Ontario. Two venues were used. The school figures were contested at the giant Amphitheatre between Whitehall Avenue and Colony Street, with all other events held at the Winnipeg Winter Club's indoor natural ice rink on Smith Street, which measured one hundred and seventy by seventy five feet. 

The Winter Club had recently expanded its facilities, adding a brick and concrete building to the property that housed a swimming pool with diving springboard, ten badminton courts, two squash courts, a dining room, kitchen and showers. The Club was a private, members-only affair and the fact that the premises were opened to the general public, with a limited number of tickets sold for the Canadian Championships, was a pretty big deal at the time. Seats were arranged on the ice for spectators, with the option to instead watch the competition from either the upper or lower cloakrooms available as well.

Local newspapers covered the competition on the Society pages, because figure skating wasn't yet largely regarded as a 'serious sport'. Accounts of the event focused more on the dresses skaters wore, and who attended the social events held in conjunction with the competition, than the skating itself. These social events included a tea hour hosted by the daughter-in-law of Sir Clifford Sifton, a prominent Canadian politician who medalled at the Canadian Championships in fours skating in the roaring twenties, an awards banquet hosted by the Winnipeg Winter Club's President Jack Crichton Green-Armytage and a formal dance. How did the best in the west fare against the Eastern skaters? Let's take a look back!

THE JUNIOR COMPETITIONS

Though now recognized as junior events, they were actually referred to as 'novice class' competitions at the time. There were no age requirements, the only stipulation being that they were open "for those who have not been placed first or second in a national or international championship competition." Instead of a gold, silver and bronze medal, the winner received a silver medal and the runner-up a bronze. The third place finisher presumably just received a hearty handshake and a "good show!"

There were only two competitors in the men's event. The winner, Lewis Elkin of Winnipeg, handily defeated Hubert Sprott on the strength of his school figures. Five women vied for the women's title. Mary Littlejohn of Toronto came out on top, ahead of Ruth Forrest of the Granite Club, Audrey Garland of Winnipeg, Aidrie Main of Montreal and Eileen Noble of Calgary. All five women wore velvet dresses, elegantly trimmed with satin, chinchilla, swansdowne and ermine. Fur was not only worn for fashion. It was also worn for warmth. Although the Club's rink was heated by electric fans connected with an oil furnace, it was notoriously drafty, and the weather outside was positively frigid.

THE SENIOR COMPETITIONS

The fours event, a favourite of skaters and audiences alike, was won by the Toronto four, which consisted of Mary Littlejohn, Elizabeth Fisher, George Edwin 'Ted' Beament and Hubert Sprott. The Winnipeg four - Margaret Winks, Maude Porteous, C.W.J. Vincent and Donald Henderson Bain - came second. Toronto siblings Constance and Montgomery 'Bud' Wilson defended their Canadian pairs title, defeating Margaret Winks and Lewis Elkin by a wide margin. Constance won the Waltzing event with  A.D. Duncan. Bud won the Fourteenstep with Betty Holden, defeating Mary Littlejohn and Donald Henderson Bain. All three of these partnerships consisted of a Torontonian and a Winnipegger, as the whole idea of these informal dance events was for the visiting skaters to have a go at dancing with the host Club's members. The women's event was supposed to have been a showdown between. Bud Wilson had no trouble defeating Lewis Elkin, who 'skated up' in the senior men's event after winning in the junior event the previous day, and defending his men's title. The women's event was to have been a showdown between three-time Champion Constance Wilson Samuel and two-time Champion Cecil Smith. The two Torontonians had been friendly rivals for years. At the World Championships earlier that month in New York City, Constance (the defending Canadian Champion and a new bride) had finished fourth. Cecil had a placed a strong second behind Sonja Henie. A rematch on home soil was not in the cards. Cecil opted not to make the long train trek to Winnipeg. With her strong Axel jump, fast spins and powerful style, Constance easily defeated Elizabeth Fisher and Dorothy Benson of Montreal, winning the Devonshire Cup for the fourth time. 

Enjoy reading about the 1930 Canadian Championships? Have I got the book for you! "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating" features short biographical stubs of hundreds of Canadian figure skaters, coaches, judges and builders, as well as complete results from the Canadian Championships going back to before the very beginning. Get your copy today!

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 Rise And Fall Of The Canadian Skater

It is sometimes difficult to step back and remember a time when information wasn't right at our fingertips. Whether we want to know what music a skater just performed to, the results of an international competition or who a skater's coach is, we've got peers on Facebook and Twitter, heaps of great websites and blogs to read and a bevy of talented sports journalists that can help answer our questions. In the days before social media, much of this information was gleaned from magazines... and in Canada, no true skating fan would have been without a subscription to the "Canadian Skater".

In 1967, the CFSA formed its first Public Relations Committee, having realized the importance of communicating information both to the media and internally to its clubs and members. The first person to join the committee was a British Columbian woman named Anetta Pagliaro. Anetta had started the B.C. section's publication "Thin Ice" less than a decade earlier and grown it from a one-page newsletter to a small magazine. She also produced the first skater biographical sheets issued to the media and developed a system to run press rooms at competitions. As the Public Relations Committee chair, Anetta's first recommendation was for the CFSA to print a quarterly magazine, which would be mailed to all clubs free of charge as part of a pilot program. The idea had been tossed around previously, but no one had the gumption to take it on. There had also been skepticism as to whether or not some clubs would have much use for a magazine, and some opposition regarding the cost of printing and distributing it.

Prior to 1967, the USFSA's magazine "Skating" had included Canadian test records and results free of charge. Theresa Weld Blanchard, the editor, had more than once encouraged the CFSA to take more advantage of the opportunity. A letter to the CFSA's board from the managers of "Skating" in 1968 that stated Canadian test results would only be published at fifty dollars a page going forward was perhaps the impetus needed for the "Canadian Skater" to proceed. Seventy-five thousand copies of its first eight page tabloid style issue were printed in December of 1968. Though the first issue was well received, George Blundun - the CFSA's Past President at the time - expressed concern about the cost, which exceeded two thousand dollars. A motion was put forward to discontinue the magazine, which was defeated.

In its first few years, the "Canadian Skater" featured everything from skater interviews to history, competition results and educational information for coaches. The highlight of the very first issue was an amusing article by Dick Button about what it is like to be a skating commentator called "Don't get mad at me, folks". There was a preview of the 1972 World Championships in Calgary and the first North American interview with the ISU's new President Jacques Favart. In 1973, an issue containing full coverage of the World Championships was published just three days after Karen Magnussen struck gold. A translation service was hired so that Francophone readers in Quebec and New Brunswick would be able to enjoy a French version of the magazine. Though there were criticisms that some of the articles in the magazine were gossipy in tone and further motions to discontinue the magazine because of cost, it survived the seventies relatively unscathed.

Anetta Pagliaro left the magazine in 1973, declining an offer to move to Ottawa when the CFSA centralized in the Canadian capital. Mary Gallant was chosen as the magazine's new editor, and her first order of business was to revamp the format of the magazine, adding more features. In 1974, the "Canadian Skater" was named the "Sport Magazine Of The Year" by the Sports Federation of Canada. Lynda Stearns took over from Mary Gallant in 1976, making the magazine "a glossy". Teresa Moore, the CFSA's long-time Public Relations maven, took over in the late seventies.

By the early eighties, criticisms about the amount of money being syphoned into the magazine's production had increased significantly. There were many naysayers who argued that the bulk of potential readers were recreational skaters and clubs who didn't relate or have interest in coverage of elite level skating. Advertising income suffered as the number of subscribers dropped at the same time the frequency of the magazine's printing was increased to six issues per year. The CFSA tried offering a special membership fee of thirty dollars, which included subscription to the magazine, and updating the magazine with several 'modern' looks to entice readers. All of these strategies failed, and in 1984, the CFSA's board voted to discontinue the magazine. CFSA President Barbara Ryan later recalled, "The 'Canadian Skater' was expensive. It cost us thousands of dollars, but it was money well spent. Its very quality and elegant, beautiful presentation made people assume that the Association that produced it was also of that same quality. Sometimes we were, sometimes we weren't, but it always gave that image."

In the years that followed, the CFSA partnered with National All Sport Promotions and the St. Clair Group to produce annual magazines called "Canadian Figure Skating Magazine" and "Today's Skater". Both magazines had more of a marketing tone than the "The Canadian Skater", and largely sat around the offices of skating club under piles of records and cassettes. Later, a paper newsletter called "Keeping In Touch" was produced. For whatever reason, none of these successors had the same appeal as the "Canadian Skater".

If you found this blog on the "Canadian Skater" interesting and want to learn more about skating magazines, I know you will love the new book "A Bibliography of Figure Skating". Not only does it have a comprehensive catalogue of current and past skating periodicals, but there are pages upon pages of listings of non-fiction skating books, tips on how to track down hard-to-find skating literature and much more. You can order your copy today in Kindle E-Book, paperback and hard cover editions on Amazon.

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 Pegasus And The Owls

Without question, artistic depictions of skating have played a valuable role in the early documentation of the sport. Today, we will take a look at two fascinating examples from all the way back in the seventeenth century!

THE AMSTERDAMSCHE PEGASUS

Published in 1627 by Cornelis Willemsz Blaeu-Laken, the book "Amsterdamsche Pegasus" served as a rare collection of rural Dutch pastoral songs of the period. Interspersed with music and lyrics in the book were ten engravings by Jan van de Velde the younger, a Dutch Golden Age painter, etcher and engraver who came from a multi-generational family of renowned artists. van de Velde was well-known for his depictions of landscapes and his art greatly influenced many renowned Dutch artists that would follow, including the legendary Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn.

Two of the ten plates that he contributed to the "Amsterdamsche Pegasus" depicted ice skating scenes. The first depicts a skater traversing on a frozen river that flowed through a town scene towards an open expanse dotted with other skaters. The second, perhaps a continuation of the first, shows a crowded river packed with well-dressed skaters forging out onto the ice, poles in hand to help steady their balance on ice and propel them along on their curly-toed iron blades.

THE SKATING OWLS

A contemporary of van de Velde The Younger, Adriaen Pietersz van de Venne, was an extremely talented allegorical painter whose extensive body of work is peppered with several stunning skating scenes. My favourite, "Schaatsende uilen" ("Skating Owls"), has been the subject of dry scholarly debate for many years.

An interesting scholarly analysis of the piece appeared in Brigham Young University's Journal of Undergraduate Research in 2015. Authors Sarah James Dyer and Martha Peacock argued that the work depicted a "moralizing message condemning the vice of adultery and warning the male audience about the dangers of cunning women." Whatever your interpretation of these two feathered friends might be, I'm certain that John James Audobon, skating history's resident ornithologist, would have approved.

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.

Japanese Technical Firsts Under The IJS System

Yuzuru Hanyu. Photo courtesy Andy Miah, shared via Creative Commons license, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

When the IJS System was introduced, it was a 'wiping of the slate' in a way. Never before had jumps been evaluated individually by a technical panel to determine their cleanliness. Today we'll take a little look at some more recent history - the first Japanese skaters to land each triple or quadruple jump in senior ISU Championships held under the IJS System. 

Sōta Yamamoto and Shoma Uno. Photo courtesy Chika Ezechi, shared via Creative Commons license, Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0).

JUMPING FIRSTS UNDER THE IJS SYSTEM

Solo and combination jumps receiving a 0 or positive GOE were considered when compiling this data. In cases where multiple skaters successfully landed the same jump in the same competition, the starting order was used to determine which skater achieved the jump first.

Element	Olympic Games	World Championships	Four Continents Championships
Triple toe-loop (men's)	Daisuke Takahashi (2006, free skate)	Nobunari Oda (2006, short program)	Daisuke Takahashi (2005, short program)
Triple toe-loop (women's)	Kanako Murakami (2014, short program)	Miki Ando (2005, qualifying round)	Yukari Nakano (2005, short program)
Triple Salchow (men's)	Daisuke Takahashi (2006, free skate)	Daisuke Takahashi (2005, free skate)	Kazumi Kishimoto (2005, free skate)
Triple Salchow (women's)	Shizuka Arakawa (2006, free skate)	Miki Ando (2005, qualifying round)	Yukari Nakano (2005, free skate)
Triple loop (men's)	Daisuke Takahashi (2006, free skate)	Nobunari Oda (2006, qualifying round)	Kazumi Kishimoto (2005, free skate)
Triple loop (women's)	Akiko Suzuki (2010, short program)	Miki Ando (2005, qualifying round)	Yoshie Onda (2005, free skate)
Triple flip (men's)	Daisuke Takahashi (2006, free skate)	Daisuke Takahashi (2005, qualifying round)	Kensuke Nakaniwa (2005, free skate)
Triple flip (women's)	Miki Ando (2006, short program)	Fumie Suguri (2005, qualifying round)	Yoshie Onda (2005, short program)
Triple Lutz (men's)	Daisuke Takahashi (2006, short program)	Daisuke Takahashi (2005, qualifying round)	Kensuke Nakaniwa (2005, free skate)
Triple Lutz (women's)	Shizuka Arakawa (2006, short program)	Miki Ando (2005, qualifying round)	Yoshie Onda (2005, short program)
Triple Axel (men's)	Daisuke Takahashi (2010, short program)	Daisuke Takahashi (2005, short program)	Nobunari Oda (2006, short program)
Triple Axel (women's)	Mao Asada (2010, short program)	Mao Asada (2009, free skate)	Mao Asada (2008, free skate)
Quadruple toe-loop (men's)	Yuzuru Hanyu (2014, team event short program)	Daisuke Takahashi (2008, free skate)	Daisuke Takahashi (2005, short program)
Quadruple toe-loop (women's)	none	none	none
Quadruple Salchow (men's)	Yuzuru Hanyu (2018, short program)	Yuzuru Hanyu (2014, free skate)	Daisuke Murakami (2015, short program)
Quadruple Salchow (women's)	none	none	none
Quadruple loop (men's)	Yuma Kagiyama (2022, team event free skate)	Yuzuru Hanyu (2017, short program)	Yuzuru Hanyu (2017, short program)
Quadruple loop (women's)	none	none	none
Quadruple flip (men's)	Shoma Uno (2018, short program)	Shoma Uno (2017, short program)	Shoma Uno (2017, free skate)
Quadruple flip (women's)	none	none	none
Quadruple Lutz (men's)	none	none	none
Quadruple Lutz (women's)	none	none	none

If you found this information interesting, have I got the book for you! "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" includes a table that is identical to this one, but highlighting international firsts, of which Japanese skaters play an important role. 

You will also find chapters on the waltz jump, toe-loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz, Axel, backflip and pairs throws, side-by-side jumps and twists and plenty of other interesting data and material. The foreword is written by 1962 World Champion Donald Jackson, the first skater to land a triple Lutz jump in competition. You can get your copy in Kindle E-Book, paperback or hard cover editions on Amazon.

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. 

Black History Month 2023

 

February is Black History Month in Canada! Skate Guard celebrates key milestones of black and brown people in figure skating with extensive timelines from Canada and around the world and a required reading list of past stories featured on the blog. 

You can find all of the Black History Month content by tapping on the top menu bar of the blog or clicking here. For an extensive timeline of American firsts not listed here, pull out your copy of the February 2022 issue of "Skating" magazine.

You can also check out Skate Guard's Black Lives Matter Pinterest board, for photographs, newspaper clippings, videos and more. 

To nominate black and brown skaters to the Skate Canada Hall Of Fame, click here. 

Free Book Promotion

From now until January 31, the Kindle E-Book edition of "A Bibliography of Figure Skating" is available through a special promotion for a free download on Amazon. 

Download your free copy of this fascinating catalogue of figure skating books and magazines and leave an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads!

The link to download the free E-Book in Canada is: https://a.co/d/cE9ekFp

If you are in the United States, the link is https://a.co/d/fSviebW

In Japan, the link is https://t.co/KMtAXz76fZ

For other countries, simply head over for Amazon, search for "A Bibliography of Figure Skating" and click on the Kindle E-Book edition, then download.

If you enjoy the book, please consider adding "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating" to your library!

Off The Charts

On January 25, "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating" hit 1-2-3 on Amazon.ca's Best Sellers list for Ice & Figure Skating Books. Thank you all so, so much for your support and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I loved writing them. If so, please consider leaving an honest review on Amazon or Goodreads so that more people can find the books.

If you haven't ordered copies yet and want learn more about all three books before deciding which one(s) are best for you, click here.

The 1962 European Figure Skating Championships

On February 27, 1962, Vietnamese President Ngô Đình Diệm survived a failed assassination attempt. Fifty four miners in Yugoslavia weren't so lucky - they perished in the Tito Coal Mine collapse. The atmosphere was much lighter at the indoor Patinoires des Vernets in Geneva, Switzerland, where spectators hummed Joey Dee & The Starliter's new hit "The Peppermint Twist" on the first day of the European Figure Skating Championships.

  

The venue's surface was two hundred and thirty feet by one hundred and thirty and the rink had room for upwards of twelve thousand spectators. The event was the first major ISU Championship since the Sabena Crash the previous year that claimed the lives of the entire U.S. figure skating team. Three of the defending champions, Alain Giletti of France and Doreen Denny and Courtney Jones of Great Britain, had moved on from the competitive ranks, opening the door for new winners in the men's and pairs events. Let's take a look back at how things played out!

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Two time European Champion Karol Divín of Czechoslovakia, competing in his first European Championships since 1959, narrowly defeated France's Alain Calmat five judges to four in the school figures. Divín had a massive thirty three point lead after the first four figures but botched his fifth, the change loop. Malcolm Cannon of Great Britain won the change loop, while West Germany's Manfred Schnelldorfer took the sixth, the back paragraph bracket. After all six figures were performed, Divín's lead was decimated to only ten and a half points and a small majority of ordinals.

Left: Karol Divín. Right: Malcolm Cannon. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.

The tables turned in the free skate when all but Italian judge Ercole Cattaneo had Alain Calmat - who had the skate of his life - first in that phase of the competition. Cattaneo gave first place marks to East Germany's Bodo Bockenauer. Bockenauer actually defeated Divín in the free skate, but he was so far back in the figures that he could only manage sixth place overall. Divín took the silver; Manfred Schnelldorfer the bronze. A pair of Austrians, Peter Jonas and Emmerich Danzer, were fourth and fifth. Danzer's program included a triple Salchow attempt. Great Britain's Robin Jones and Malcolm Cannon, placed seventh and twelfth. Schnelldorfer had to be the unluckiest skater in Geneva. In the weeks leading up to the event, he injured his foot in Frankfurt and his back in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. When he took to the ice for his free skate, there was a problem with his record and his music was played at a tempo so fast he never would have been able to keep up with it.

Photo courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive

One unusual judging discrepancy were the marks given to Soviet skater Valerii Meshkov. The Hungarian judge had Meshkov third in the free skate, while no other judge had him higher than ninth. There was no Soviet judge on the men's panel in Geneva, but there were most certainly Soviet officials in attendance.

THE ICE DANCE COMPETITION

Photo courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive

After fourteen couples danced the Foxtrot, Viennese Waltz, Kilian and Tango, France's Christiane and Jean Paul Guhel earned four first place ordinals to Great Britain's Linda Shearman and Michael Phillips' one. The Swiss judge - preferring to stay neutral - tied the two couples. In the free dance, the Swiss judge tied Shearman and Phillips with Czechoslovakia's Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman. The Italian judge had Shearman and Phillips first, the French judge had the Guhel's first and the rest voted for Romanová and Roman. By two ordinal placings, the Guhel's narrowly defeated Shearman and Phillips to take the gold. Despite winning the free dance, Romanová and Roman were only able to  move up to take the bronze over Great Britain's Mary Parry and Roy Mason, who had defeated them in the compulsories. It was the first time ever a British couple didn't stand atop the European podium.

In her book "Figure Skating History: The Evolution Of Dance On Ice", Lynn Copley-Graves recalled, "The free dance attracted 8,000 (3,000 more than for the ladies' final!). The Guhel's earned a 5.3 and some 5.4's in an elegant but not overwhelmingly difficult program with a cha-cha section. Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman... [Dennis Bird thought they] were 'easily best in the free,' incorporating unusual touches in a program that 'looked like pair skating without the jumps'. Howard Bass thought the top three couples were "virtually inseparable in quality"... Ann Cross and Len Williams had neat footwork a la Len Liggett, but their personalities did not come across. The crowd cheered for Györgyi Korda and Pál Vásárhelyi, twelfth, who skated a Csárdás - a national Hungarian dance of passionate character and changing tempo. They excited the audience and paved the way for incorporating folk dances in the free dance, causing [Dennis Bird] to remark, 'The adaptation to the ice of other national dances from Eastern Europe or Spain would be a welcome variation in the somewhat limited programmes seen at present". Royston Sidley thought the judges were too generous with Eva and Pavel, but NSA roller Gold Test Judge Ralph Hullah preferred them over the British. 'The Czechs ... did skate, and we did get some rhythmic undulating edge running from them, instead of all that prancing up and down on toe-rakes we had to suffer from others... For the first fifteen seconds [Shearman and Phillips] didn't cover more than a square yard of ice - they just pranced up and down on their toe-rakes. How the referee knew when to start his stop-watch is beyond me, because normally it is started from the first edge to be skated . . . later the man practically knelt on the ice while the girl went into orbit around him. This to me wasn't free dancing.'"

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Karl Schäfer watching his student Helli Sengtschmid practice her figures in Geneva

Defending European Champion Sjoukje Dijkstra earned five first place ordinals in the figures, while the British and Czechoslovakian judge placed Austria's Regine Heitzer first. Heitzer won two figures, the forward loop-change-loop and the backward paragraph bracket. Dijkstra was no stranger to Switzerland. Though she spent much of the year training in England, she'd often practice in Davos during the winter months with her Swiss coach Arnold Gerschwiler.

Video courtesy Frazer Ormondroyd

In the free skate, seven judges again had twenty year old Dijkstra first. This time it was the British and French judges who had her second. Both had Austria's Helli Sengtschmid, first in the free skate. Some felt that Sengtschmid gave the performance of the evening. One reporter from "Le Nouvelliste" remarked, "By her admirably rhythmic program, by the daring of her figures and her natural grace in the eyes of the public, [she] surpassed the title holder."

Sjoukje Dijkstra and her father. Photo courtesy Dutch National Archives.

Despite the four second place ordinals (two in figures and two in free skating), Dijkstra was still unanimously first overall. Heinz Maegerlein noted, "In contrast to the previous year in Berlin, this time she also skated a glamorous [program], interspersed with high single and double jumps and was balanced and [performed a] difficult combination of steps."

Photo courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive

Regine Heitzer, Karin Frohner and Helli Sengtschmid occupied places second through fourth. Great Britain's two entries, Diana Clifton-Peach and Jacqueline Harbord, finished fifth and ninth. A young Gaby Seyfert, competing in only her second Europeans, placed twelfth and Tamara Bratus (Moskvina) was nineteenth.

THE PAIRS COMPETITION

Twelve teams, including defending Champions Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, vied for gold in Geneva. The event marked the ISU's first experimental trial of a two-program format. Sonia Bianchetti Garbato remembered, "The free program [was performed] twice on consecutive days, with the first performance being marked closed - that is with no marks displayed. The result was calculated but not announced. The draw of the starting order for the second performance was based upon the result of the first, with the better pairs placed skating in the last group. The second performance was marked open in the usual manner, but the final result was based upon the combined marks for both performances." Dennis L. Bird recalled that the first round of competition "was virtually a series of exhibitions, lacking the zestful atmosphere of public marking, and skated before a small and unenthusiastic audience." The fact that the couples were kept in the dark over the results of the first round in the twenty four hours between skates undoubtedly psyched some of them out.

The results tell the story of a very close competition. Kilius and Bäumler had four first place ordinals, Soviets Ludmilla Belousova and Oleg Protopopov three and West Germans Franz Ningel (Kilius' former partner) and Margret Göbl two. Less than five ordinal placings separated the top three, and Kilius and Bäumler managed to defend their title by the slimmest of margins, much to the delight of their coach Erich Zeller. Disappointingly, Valerie Hunt and Peter Burrows were forced to withdraw prior to the first program due to illness. Great Britain's only other entry, Vera Jeffery and Peter Webb, placed dead last. Webb was an accomplished speed skater.

Photo courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive

As is often the case, there was a little more to the story of the pairs event in Geneva than the results would suggest. Heinz Magerlein noted, "Göbl and Ningel were given serious prospects for the European Championships in Geneva... The first day in Geneva's new splendid indoor stadium seemed to support this prediction. The first day... because for the first time the couples fought on the ice on two days... the rating should have been secret, but it was not... Obviously, in the world of figure skating nothing can remain secret... It was clear the morning after the first skate that Göbl and Ningel would have won the title. On the second day, they lost the title because they were nervous, probably in the consciousness of being suddenly clear favourites. When the otherwise clean Franz Ningel fell [twice], the big chance was gone. Belousova and Protopopov skated best that evening, but Kilius and Bäumler won as the pair with the better average of both programs, becoming the European Champions for the fourth time."

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 1953 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

Jukeboxes were playing Teresa Brewer's hit "Till I Waltz Again With You" and Americans were embracing the latest food fads - the TV dinner, Kraft Cheez Whiz and Kellogg's Sugar Smacks. The year was 1953, and from March 25 to 28, the Sports Arena in Hershey, Pennsylvania played host to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

It was the first time that Hershey played host to the U.S. Championships. Chaired by William O. Hickok IV, the event was held was held in conjunction with the celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the community known as the 'The Sweetest Place On Earth' for its ties to chocolate production. The Sports Arena where the event was held was located in Hershey Park and was part of the Milton Hershey Recreational Center. The ice surface was 90 X 190 feet, with seating for up to six thousand. Skaters and officials were housed at two hotels - The Hershey Hotel and Community Inn, the latter within walking distance of the Arena. 

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

At the competition, Benjamin T. Wright made history as the first USFSA certified Chief Accountant to be in charge of the accounting room. Social events included a Buffet Supper and Dance at Park Golf Club and the Judges and Officials Dinner at The Hershey Hotel. At the dance, Maribel Vinson Owen and Robin Greiner showed off their Charleston-Valentine combination and everyone performed the "Mexican Hat Dance Shuffle". But what happened on the ice that long weekend in March? Let's take a look back and find out!

THE NOVICE AND JUNIOR EVENTS

Thirteen women entered the novice women's competition and five were eliminated after the school figures. The free skating caused great division among the judges. Ultimately, five judges scattered first place ordinals between the top four women. Diane 'Dee Dee' Wayland of the Blade and Edge Club, who won the bronze, was the only one of the four to earn two first place ordinals. The gold was won by Los Angeles' Janice Marie Crappa and the silver by Carol Heiss' sister Nancy. Fourteen year old Muriel Reich of Lake Placid finished fourth. Crappa, who took an unusual fall on a spin in her free skating program, was a tiny fourteen year old eighth grade student at Mount Vernon Select School in Pasadena, California.

Barlow Nelson

Excellent free skating performances launched Barlow Nelson and Robin Greiner ahead of the winner of the novice men's school figures, Richard Swenning. Less than four points separated the top three men. Bradley Lord, who finished sixth, would go on to win the U.S. senior men's title and perish in the Sabena Crash in 1961. Robert Lee Brewer, who placed dead last, later represented the U.S. at the 1960 Winter Olympic Games in Squaw Valley. Nelson was a sixteen year old sophomore at Will Rogers High School who enjoyed sailing and developing his own films. He was the first man in history from the state of Oklahoma to win a U.S. title at any level.

David Jenkins

David Jenkins moved up from fourth (and last) after figures to win the junior men's title with a difficult free skating performance. One judge gave him a 9.5 and a 9.7. Six foot tall Guy Nick of the Lakewood Winter Club, first after figures, took the silver and Tim Brown the bronze. Jenkins, the younger brother of the reigning World Champion, was five foot four, sixteen years old and a junior at the Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado.

Rose Mary Lyons and Joseph Nowack of California won the initial round of the Silver Dance competition, but their performance in the finals dropped them down to third. New York siblings Katrine and William Neil, who narrowly lost the title the year prior, were the winners. Andree Anderson, who would go on to win the U.S. title and medal twice at the World Championships, finished dead last with partner Arthur Dammkoehler. Katrine Neil was a twenty-four year old secretary; Bill Neil a nineteen year old geology student at Union College in Schenectady.

Patricia Firth

The junior women's event was so close that the accountants had to add up each skater's total points to determine the winner. Seventeen year old Patricia 'Patsy' Firth won 1013.5 to 1010.2 over sixteen year old Catherine Machado. Mary Ann Dorsey moved up from fourth after figures to win the bronze. Georgina Sutton, the young woman who finished fourth, had ordinals ranging from third to seventh place. Seventeen year old Firth hailed from Seattle. Her older sister Mary taught skating in Toronto. Off the ice, she enjoyed ballet, Spanish dancing, opera and horseback riding. The summer after winning the title, Firth was chosen as the Good Posture Queen for the State of Washington during Good Posture Week. I love that Good Posture Week was a thing!

Five teams from five different clubs competed for the Joel B. Liberman Trophy in junior pairs. With four first place ordinals, Norma McCullagh and Robert E. Goodfellow, Jr. of the the Rye Figure Skating Club were victorious. McCullagh was an eighteen year old stenographer at an engineering firm and Goodfellow a senior at Iona Preparatory School. Both had a roller skating background, and Goodfellow was a national senior champion in baton twirling!

THE ICE DANCE COMPETITION

Dancers performed four compulsories - the Three-Lobe Waltz, Argentine Tango, Kilian and Viennese Waltz - in addition to a free dance. Carol Peters and Danny Ryan of Washington Figure Skating Club managed to pull off a win but they faced stiff competition from the second place team Virginia Hoyns and Donald Jacoby of Philadelphia, who earned two first place ordinals. Carmel and Ed Bodel, fourth after compulsories, moved up to claim the bronze over New York's Phyllis Schroeder and Martin Forney. The judge from Baltimore dared to place the winners dead last in the Finals.

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Hayes Alan Jenkins

As expected, Hayes Alan Jenkins was first after the school figures, followed by Hugh Graham Jr., Dudley Richards and Ronnie Robertson. Jenkins won the free skate and gold medal, completing the 'triple crown' or 'grand slam' of World, North American and U.S. titles. His flawless free skating performance to Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade" featured double Axels and double loops. Robertson rebounded to take the silver and win Oscar L. Richard Trophy with a program that featured double Axels, flips, loops and Salchows, not to mention dazzling spins. Harvard undergrad Richards took the bronze, but had two second place ordinals, and Graham dropped to fourth.

When an Associated Press photographer snapped an innocent shot of Dick Button congratulating Hayes Alan Jenkins after his win, an arcane USFSA rule in place at the time was broken. Technically, amateurs were prohibited from even having their picture taken with professionals. Nothing of consequence ever came of it.

THE PAIRS COMPETITION

Carole Ann Ormaca

Carole Ann Ormaca and Robin Greiner of Fresno, California won the senior pairs title. In "Skating" magazine, Sandy Thomas recalled, "[Their] number... sang out 'smooth' from start to finish. [They] 'work' the rink in an unusual oblique manner which is sheer pleasure to watch." Tulsa siblings Margaret Anne and Hugh Graham, Jr. finished a disappointing second after a fall, one spot ahead of Kay Servatius and Sully Kothman of Colorado Springs. The senior pairs was the only discipline at Nationals where all five judges completely agreed on their placements of every skater or couple. Ormaca was a sixteen year old junior at Roosevelt High School and Robin a twenty year old junior at Fresno State College. She loved to sew; he loved to play the piano and dance. It was the pair's first trip to Nationals together.

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Tenley Albright and Hayes Alan Jenkins in Hershey

As expected, Tenley Albright her defended her national title with considerable ease. Earning unanimous first place ordinals and one score of 9.9 in her free skating, she made history as the first American woman to complete a 'triple crown' of World, North American and U.S. titles. Writing in "The New York Times", Lincoln A. Werden recalled, "After she had finished skating to the music of Offenbach's 'Fantasy', the crowd realized the importance of her triumph, the first of its kind in American annals. From all parts of the arena, waves of applause greeted the smiling girl long before the judges walked out on the ice with raised score cards that signified authentic approval in proper mathematical fashions."

Thirteen year old Carol Heiss of Ozone Park, second in figures, also skated sensationally in the free skate. Where Albright's program showcased maturity and poise, Heiss' highlighted youth and daring. Her program included Axels, a double loop and double flip. Margaret Anne Graham, a cheerleader at Tulsa University, took the bronze ahead of Miggs Dean and Kay Servatius.

Carol Heiss and Tenley Albright. Photo courtesy Hershey Community Archives.

Interestingly, the judge from Tulsa - George B. Jenkinson - had Graham ahead of Heiss and was the only judge to do so. Five foot six, seventeen year old Nancy Minneard of Akron, who finished dead last, won the Oscar L. Richard Trophy for most artistic performance. Off the ice, she collected windblown glass figurines.

The Bedell H. Harned Trophy for the club winning the most points was shared between the Los Angeles and Boston clubs after both teams tied. The Tulsa Figure Skating Club, which finished third, was only one point behind the winning clubs.

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.