Interview With Fabian Bourzat

I'll make no bones about it. France's Nathalie Péchalat and Fabian Bourzat are one of my absolute favourite ice dance teams in recent memory. There's such conviction, imagination and complexity to their work. In a lot of ways, they've taken things from other French ice dance greats - teams like the Duchesnay's, Anissina and Peizerat and Delobel and Schoenfelder - and built upon those great exploratory choreographic styles, creative lifts and footwork sequences and brought that to to the now. The fact that they've decided to retire from "amateur" competition leaves me more than a little sad. That said, 'as they say' all good things must come to an end and Nathalie and Fabian's career has most certainly been chock-full of the stuff dreams are made of. Teaming up in 2000, their more than a decade long career saw them win two junior and five senior French ice dance titles, seventeen medals (five of them gold) at Grand Prix events, five consecutive medals at the ISU Grand Prix Final, two European titles, two World medals and three trips to the Winter Olympic Games. Finishing just off the podium in fourth place with a magical free dance that I certainly feel deserved them a medal at the Sochi Winter Olympics in February, I really feel Nathalie and Fabian proved time and time again throughout their career that they earned their spot in the history books among ice dance's elite. It was my pleasure to catch up with Fabian around the end of May to speak with him about everything from his competitive career, his future, his opinion on the criticism that he and Nathalie received for going to perform in North Korea, the iconic free dance to "The Mummy" and so much more in this must read interview.

Q: Fabian, thank you so much for agreeing to do this. You're fantastic! To say you and Nathalie's competitive career has been incredible is really the understatement of the century. You've won two medals at the World Championships, two European titles, competed at three consecutive Olympic Games and have won five French titles, five medals at the Grand Prix Final and thirteen other Grand Prix medals. Looking back on your competitive career, what would you have to say are your proudest moments and most special memories?

A: There are just so many moments but I would say our first time qualifying for the Olympics, our first European title, moving to Zhulin and Igor and the response of the audiences in Nice and Saitama during our free dances have stood out the most.

Q: Over the years, you have worked with a who's who of ice dancing: Igor Shpilband, Angelika Krylova, Pasquale Camerlengo, Alexander Zhulin and Muriel Boucher-Zazoui among them. Looking back on your whole journey and experiences working with so many talented coaches and choreographers, why was Igor Shpilband ultimately the coach for you and Nathalie?

A: Well, we've learned from the best as you said but Igor was the last touch to our skating skills and he and his team brought back the envy of skating. As we trained for so long, the passion faded and we got it back in the last eight months of our career.

Q: I'm not going to sugar coat things. I have always been a HUGE fan of you and Nathalie and in my opinion, both your Fosse short dance and "Le Petit Prince" free dance this year were nothing short of brilliant. If we're talking about a performance making you FEEL something and having the whole package, I really feel that you both deserved Olympic medals and a World title this season. Having had time to digest and process it all, how do you feel about Olympics and Worlds?

A: We did what we had to do. We were dedicated in practice and happy to compete each time. We did the job by delivering strong performances and if we didn't get rewarded so be it.

Q: You indicated prior to Worlds in Saitama that you planned to retire from competition and pursue coaching with Shpilband. Is that still the plan and do you and Nathalie plan on continuing to perform together in professional shows and tours in the future?

A: Of course! We actually just performed in Denis Ten's show then we are off to Japan for Fantasy On Ice beginning of June and again at the beginning of July. The rest of it is still ongoing.

Q: I loved your "Mummy and Pharoah" program. You started off skating a "Mummy" exhibition piece in 2007 and it later developed into a competitive program for you during the 2011/2012 season that won you a European title and your first medal at Worlds after three consecutive top five finishes in the years leading up those 2012 Worlds in Nice. Where did the inspiration for the "Mummy" theme come from and who decided to translate it into a free dance?

A: It has been a long time since anyone explored Egypt in figure skating so we decided to go for it, plus I really loved the second part of the exhibition to Martin Solveig. We both thought of it as a program that could be a good free dance because in exhibition you don't go as far in research as for a competitive program. We already worked with Kader Belmokhtar on the exhibition and it was a pleasure to work again with him that season.

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

A: (laughing) Maybe that I might be smart actually!

Q: In 2011, you and Nathalie got criticized in the New York Times for performing in North Korea along with several other skaters. You responded by saying "traveling there was not a political act at all. We came as open-minded people, who wanted to discover and exchange." What did you take from this rare experience of going behind those 'closed walls' and what did you learn about figure skating in North Korea? 

A: First of all, it was not the first time we had performed there and we were able to witness the way the country has evolved. It's so annoying to me that people criticized that choice because what a leader is doing in a country such as North Korea shouldn't impact or prevent the citizens from opening up to different aspects of the world. We are sportsmen and artists above all and we don't pay attention to narrow minded people like that. We brought music they've never heard, daring costumes and we gave them a peak at what's going on somewhere else. We were able to convince the North Korean Figure Skating Federation to send their sportsmen abroad with the help of other skaters... which happened in Nice.

Q: You've competed against the some of the best of the best since 2000 - Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon, Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Isabelle Delobel and Olivier Schoenfelder, Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski and so many other great teams. Aside from yourselves, who are the nicest people you've competed against? The most fun? The most fiercely competitive?

A: Well, we spent quite some time these past six years with Virtue and Moir and Davis and White and we always have fun moments around each other. The nicest ones are definitely Patrice and Marie-France. We trained with them and they exchanged a lot with us in our beginnings as a team. The most fiercely competitive one? I have no clue, probably our elders but were not that close to them.

Q: If you were stranded on a desert island and could only bring three things with you, what would they be?

A: One girl, some music and a boat to escape!

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

A: Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay and Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean for what they brought to ice dance.

Q: What's the biggest lesson that figure skating has taught you as a person?

A: Discipline is the most important but also being able to overcome everything.

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.

ISU Congress, Janine In Apartment 3B And A Solution

Anna McGoldrick's musical tours aren't the only unnerving thing to come out of Ireland recently. When it comes to the push to reform the current state of skating, part of me feels compelled to offer some comment on the recent #CinquantaGate vote at the ISU Council in Dublin to retain anonymous judging. Another part of me just doesn't want to talk about it anymore. I wouldn't say I'm throwing my arms up in the air in exasperation. I'm simply accepting the reality that the governing body of figure skating continues to demonstrate zero desire to change or address the issues that are pissing off the general populace.

JANINE IN APARTMENT 3B

Imagine you lived in an apartment building and the landlord's daughter lived in apartment 3B. We'll call her Janine. After being 'that person' who complained to the landlord ten times about their disruptive daughter making too much noise, nothing happened and nothing was done. When an effort to voice your concerns ultimately is treated with dismissal time after time, a time does come when you have to say 'this isn't going to change. I'm moving on.' Are we even remotely surprised things went down the way they did with the ISU Congress vote on Anonymous judging and the dismissal of the Korean Skating Union's grievance about the ladies results in Sochi? No. Are we surprised that South Korea (the country that submitted the protest against Russian judge Alla Shekhovtseva) voted to KEEP anonymous judging? To say that it is perplexing at best is an understatement. We couldn't feign surprise however if we were in the shoes of the tenant packing their belongings in boxes as Janine stayed put in apartment 3B banging on pots and pans at all hours of the morning. 

REAL TALK

In my opinion, anonymous judging is completely unacceptable and unaccountable. Transparency is really the only fair way to go. I think the cookie cutter choreography, aesthetically craptacular spins and awkward looking footwork sequences IJS has inspired are pretty unpleasant too for the most part. That said, figure skating is not dead though nor is all of the skating coming out of IJS skating poor. All it takes is - for example - watching Jason Brown's free skate at 2014 Nationals to see that all has not 'been lost'. There are a million other examples of skaters who have excelled and skated masterpieces in a judging system that almost seems to work against creativity in choreography. I think with lyrics next season, we are going to see many more. Still with those who flock above the sea of sheep, who's to say if they'll earn enough points with their Riverdance or Bolero or Lilies Of The Valley to finish ahead of a fourteen year old with some kickin' triple/triples flailing their arms around in a complete disconnect to their music? 

A SOLUTION

One part of the solution as I now more clearly see it is not to attempt to lobby these federations and the ISU to reform what they clearly seem to think is just fabulous anymore. Like Janine's mother (the landlord) they don't all really seem to want to hear it, now do they? After all, who are we but the people paying their bills by attending events, keeping figure skating in the public consciousness and paying for subscriptions to sites like IceNetwork, right? What do we know?

As I alluded to though, there is a solution right now and that solution comes from professional skating. If even five to six live professional competitions with none of these IJS rules and judges that are well known former skaters and coaches resurfaced again, we just might be onto something. Why can't the PSA revive the U.S. Open? Where's the next Candid Productions or Michael Burg? Now - let's look at the good once again - YAS, Quest For Creativity, ice theatres, Sun Valley, Stars On Ice, all the great shows in Asia right now... Artistic skating is indeed alive and thriving in various formats and we owe very much to the people who are making that happen. Translate that into a competition model (or a professional Grand Prix type series) without a million rules that allows skaters to prudently and creatively present work that's uncluttered and entertaining while still challenging them technically but not promoting a quad race. Why not? Why not give skaters an alternative? Not a pro-am sanctioned by the ISU, not an adult competition run by the ISU that forces professional skaters to be judged by this system of their own design... But honest to goodness professional competitions that have nothing to do with the ISU or any of its member federations. To prove that an event like this would be successful, I'm going to invent a fictional professional competition.

Let's say someone funded an event similar to the Landover World Professional Championships that survived and thrived for decades. In 2014, who would compete? The possibilities are endless: Alexei Yagudin, Jeffrey Buttle, Stephane Lambiel, Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek, Shawn Sawyer, Joannie Rochette, Surya Bonaly, Kurt Browning, Shizuka Arakawa, Sasha Cohen, Kimmie Meissner, Sinead and John Kerr, Tatiana Navka and Roman Kostomarov, Margarita Drobiazko and Povilas Vanagas, Kim Navarro and Brent Bommentre, Ryan Bradley, Philippe Candeloro, Sarah Abitbol and Stephane Bernadis, Zabato Bebe, Adam Blake, Ilia Kulik, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Sarah Meier, Laura Lepisto, Irina Slutskaya, Tatiana Totmianina and Maxim Marinin, Michael Weiss, Elvis Stojko, Alissa Czisny, Takeshi Honda, Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski and countless, countless others who are actively performing in shows could easily fill out those rosters. Take many crazy talented skaters who have recently left or are still among the ISU ranks and would easily flourish in a professional format and you have an easier crazier competition... skaters like Jeremy Abbott, Yuna Kim, Carolina Kostner, Patrick Chan, Nathalie Pechalat and Fabian Bourzat, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov, Qing Pang and Jian Tong, Akiko Suzuki, Mao Asada, Rachael Flatt, Daisuke Takahashi, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford, Alena Leonova, Tomas Verner, Brian Joubert, Evgeni Plushenko. I purposely included dozens of skaters here and could have gone and on and on. The fact of the matter is that there is a very real case for professional skating competition in 2014 and no shortage of skaters who could really shine if it came back. The skaters could have complete technical and artistic freedom to include the jumps they wanted to, feature moves like backflips and Detroiters and use props, costuming and lighting that allowed them to fully express their music, skate entertaining programs and draw the audience in. I think we really have to critically think about what we want to SEE in a figure skating competition to realize that professional skating competitions returning are the answer.

Last year, I wrote a three part article called Return To Open Pro Competitions (part one, part two, part three) that took a very in depth look at the U.S. Open, Jaca World Professional Championships and American Open. In putting these articles together, I heard so many wonderful arguments for just why OPEN professional competitions would work in this day and age as well:

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING

When asked what figure skating is missing by not having open professional competitions like the U.S. Open and Jaca World Pro available to skaters of the current generation when writing these articles, the answers were resounding. Author and CBC Sports commentator P.J. Kwong explained that "the thing that I always liked about the old pro-ams and even just the pro competitions is that it gives us a way to see our favourite skaters perform in a way that isn’t simply show skating. I think that bringing a legitimate pro competition to life would give skaters the chance to train with a goal in mind without having to commit for additional seasons. Good for the skaters who want to do it and great for the fans (like us) who would love one more chance to see them compete.” Debi Gold said "There are a lot of chorus and understudy skaters in Disney On Ice and Holiday On Ice that would love to do competitions like this. It would only help lift them to higher ranks in their touring companies. They have only their amateur laurels to rest on. Touring companies could send scouts to check out the competitions for new talent! Plus, having application only (rather than invitation only) pro competitions gives other pro skaters (not just high level pros) a chance to compete again - especially when they are medium-size fishes in small ponds like I was." Anita Hartshorn, who with partner Frank Sweiding won the pairs title at the 1988 U.S. Open and 1990 Jaca event, said "in my opinion, the lack of pro competitions has really hurt the popularity of our sport. Most of the skaters who are ready to leave the 'eligible ranks' but still would like to compete have nowhere to go. All professional skaters have less possibilities to expand their untapped potential of theatrically slanted competitive programs. Now that the ISU has approved the pro-am Japan Open, there is at least one competition for the audience to see their favorite skaters like Kurt Browning and Surya Bonaly compete. It doesn't matter how many shows you do, the feeling of doing a competition is different and everyone prepares harder for an event where you get judged." Former Jaca and U.S. Open competitor Craig Heath said, "I think there is a huge void. I was so fortunate to be able to participate. I have some of the best memories of my life from these competitions. I feel sad that the current skaters are not able to have that experience." Former Jaca competitor and U.S. Open Challenge Cup champion Doug Mattis said of professional competitions, "Absolutely there should be more pro skating competitions! I would love to see more that are specifically focused on artistic achievement... as well as some that would be specifically about jumps — like a skating version of golf’s "skins game." You land that triple axel the most times? You get the money. I think that kind of format would be fun—back-to-back with an artistic event."... And the message continued to come through loud and clear from every skater I've asked this question of. The figure skating world is ready for professional figure skating competitions to make a comeback and you're crazy if people think otherwise.

YEAH, WELL WHO'S GOING TO DO IT? HUH?

So you're sitting there reading this thinking "well, this is all well and good but who's going to put these competitions together? You didn't think about that, did you?" For years, the Professional Skaters Guild Of America and later the Professional Skaters Association financed the U.S. Open competition. Television stations like FOX and CBS could potentially be receptive to broadcasting events such as these that provide great entertainment and are relatively low cost to produce as compared to high budget series, reality shows and sporting events. They did for years and years before. The game's changed with the internet now too. There's no reason at all professional competitions couldn't live stream from a website... and viewers could even have a live vote like on the Great Skate Debate and in YAS. Touring companies like Holiday On Ice or Disney On Ice or even Stars On Ice could put something like this on. There's Scott Hamilton. He tried to get something going as well. I think the ticket is not trying to co-operate with the ISU to make these events happen, it's just accepting that there's always going to be frustrations when it comes to anything Cinquanta has his hands in and like a true autocrat, he has no intentions of going anywhere until he's good and ready. If the prize money was minimal and an event like this was minimal to start with, I don't think it would cost a fortune. If you'll excuse me I guess I'm going to have to scare up a man with one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel who wants to 'save figure skating'. I'm not sleeping with him though. One of you guys is going to have to do it.

ISkate 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 Lejeanne Marais

Fresh off the 2014 South African Figure Skating Championships in May, South Africa's Lejeanne Marais has represented her country internationally since 2004 and has done so while not only putting countless hours on the ice training hard at the ice but also studying architecture at Tshwane University Of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa. Both have paid off in dividends. In addition to recently winning her sixth national title, Marais has also started working at an architecture firm. She took the time to talk to me about her competitive skating career, love affair with architecture, her favourite skaters and much more in this fantastic interview.

Q: You've won the South African national title five times and represented your country at four World Championships, seven Four Continents Championships and international competitions from Germany to Turkey to Mexico and everywhere in between. What are your proudest or most special moments from your competitive skating career?

A: There are three competitions that really stand out: the Youth Olympic Festival in Sydney. Australia, the Winter Universiade in Erzurum, Turkey (the opening and closing ceremonies where held in a huge stadium packed full of supporters and the atmosphere was electric, as well as staying in a 'student Olympic Village' amongst athletes from different winter sport disciplines) and the 2012 World Championships in Nice, France where I qualified through the preliminary round was also a highlight in my career.

Q: You were solely coached by your mother before deciding to also work with Laurent and Natalie Depouilly. How hard is separating your relationship as mother and daughter from your relationship as coach as student?

A: My Mom and I have an amazing relationship. She is my best friend, mom and coach and somehow it manages to work perfectly. We do have our disagreements on the ice, especially when I was younger, but we make a point not to take anything from the ice rink back home.

Q: You studied architecture at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria, South Africa. What draws you to architecture and what do you consider the three most stunning or fascinating pieces of architecture that have ever existed?

A: I have grown up taking an interest in architecture. My Dad is an architect and has always made me notice and appreciate my surroundings. I have been especially fortunate to travel all over the world and see in real life what many other people would only be able to see on the internet. I was fortunate to visit The Walt Disney Theatre by Frank Gehry when I was at the World Championships in L.A. I went to the Sydney Opera House by Jorn Utzon when I was on the trip to the Youth Olympics and then the multiple buildings in Dubai such as the Burj Al Arib which I had seen when we flew through Dubai enroute to a competition. There have also been many other amazing cathedrals and of course the architecture in Europe is something to admire.

 

Q:  From 2010-2013, you decided to keep the same free skate for three seasons. What did you love about "The Holiday" program that made you decide to keep the program and allow it to continue to develop?

A: I absolutely love the music. It allowed me to go into my own world and to just enjoy what I was doing instead of worrying about what step or element came next. I was also very fortunate to work with Shanette Folle in 2012 and she choreographed a new short program to new music and then choreographed a new free program to my existing music.

Q: What are your goals and plans for the 2014/2015 season and beyond when it comes to competitive skating? Have you given thought to or started working on new programs?

A: I am very excited to see what this season brings in terms of vocal music but I have not yet given much thought to new programs as I have been so busy with the South African National Championships. This has been a very long season and unfortunately a very difficult one as I have been battling with an injury. I have the start of a fracture in my lower spine - an Odema bone - and it has been giving me pain since August of 2013. At the moment, I am managing it as best as I can but I cannot afford to take six months off of training as I have been advised by my specialist. I plan to take a couple weeks break now after Nationals to allow it to start recovering.

Q: What can you tell us about how skating has progressed in your country?

A: Skating in South Africa is progressing in leaps and bounds. We are getting a lot more international interest and a lot of the up and coming skaters are looking very promising. We are still in a constant battle with the ice rinks in South Africa to get the figure skaters more training time but we are slowly making progress. Unfortunately all the ice rinks are public rinks and from 8 AM to 5 PM they are off limits to figure skaters so we need to train before the public comes from 5 AM to 8 AM and then some evenings from 5 PM to 7 PM if the hockey players haven't booked the ice.

Q: What is the most challenging part of competing and the most rewarding?

A: The most challenging part is that you only get one chance - four minutes - to prove yourself and to represent all the hours and hours of training. The most rewarding is when you skate a clean program and the absolute enjoyment of it all. There is no better feeling than standing on the ice in your end position and knowing you did it brilliantly.

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

A: Carolina Kostner is one! I have been very fortunate to get to know her and not only is she an amazing skater but also such a great person. Also, Gracie Gold for her precise and beautiful jumps and Alena Leonova for the way she pours all of her being into every move she performs on the ice.

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

A: I am getting married in April 2015 to a triathlete and South African half Iron Man competitor, Bryce Hennessy. We are both obsessed with sport so we get along very well!

Q: Life is full of 'love/hate relationships'. What do you love the most about figure skating and what do you like the least?

A: I love the challenge of figure skating. It is so technical and requires so much attention to detail. I love trying new things and I love the way landing a triple feels. What I don't like about figure skating is that everyday is never the same, sometimes an element is so easy it requires such little thought and the next day it a struggle to do the same thing. It is like the famous speech 'Inch By Inch' from the movie Any Given Sunday. Life is all about inches and you need to fight for those tiny inches in order to succeed because in the end of the day it is that one inch that sets you apart from the other person who let that inch slip away.

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.

Maya Angelou And A Day Away From Figure Skating

Every human life has value and every person has an important story. You know, it's funny... as a society that's been 'raised by the media', we at times feel so connected to those people who have achieved fame as a result of their talent or good work that when they pass away, we mourn and remember them almost like a dear friend sometimes. Think about it though... especially in the case of the artists we've lost in our lifetimes whose art has touched us personally. We have enjoyed private moments with their music and books, we have danced to their songs, we have admired their speeches and artwork; we have cheered them on from the sidelines. Simply put, something they said or did or in their lives touched us on some deeper level and made us feel connected with them personally. A prime example of one of these people who touched so many of us was Maya Angelou, who passed away on May 28, 2014 and will be forever remembered for not only her poetry and writing but the full, robust and passionate life she lived. Angelou wore countless hats in her eighty six years - writer, actor, fry cook, sex worker, civil rights activist, director, journalist, chanteuse, nightclub dancer, producer and public speaker - and drew from all of these experiences a profound understanding of the world we live in that she passed on to us through poetry and prose. I'm proud to say that I have four of her books in my extensive library: "Poems", "Wouldn't Take Nothing For My Journey Now", "Singin' And Swingin' And Gettin' Merry Like Christmas" and "The Heart Of A Woman" and I just cherish her writing and strong voice. So what does Maya Angelou have to do with figure skating you ask? Where could he possibly be going with this one? I want to talk about 'a day away' from figure skating and I'll start by sharing Maya's "A Day Away":

"A DAY AWAY" BY MAYA ANGELOU

"We often think that our affairs, great or small, must be tended continuously and in detail, or our world will disintegrate, and we will lose our places in the universe. That is not true, or if it is true, then our situations were so temporary that they would have collapsed anyway. 

Once a year or so I give myself a day away. On the eve of my day of absence, I begin to unwrap the bonds, which hold me in harness. I inform housemates, my family and close friends that I will not be reachable for twenty-four hours; then I disengage the telephone. I turn the radio dial to an all-music station, preferably one, which plays the soothing golden oldies. I sit for at least an hour in a very hot tub; then I lay out my clothes in preparation for my morning escape, and knowing that nothing will disturb me, I sleep the sleep of the just. 

On the morning I wake naturally, for I will have set no clock, nor informed by body timepiece when it should alarm.  I dress in comfortable shoes and casual clothes and leave my house going no place. If I am living in a city, I wander streets, window-shop, or gaze at buildings. I enter and leave public parks, libraries, the lobbies of skyscrapers, and movie houses.  I stay in no place for very long.

On the getaway day I try for amnesia. I do not want to know my name, where I live, or how many dire responsibilities rest on my shoulders. I detest encountering even the closest friend, for then I am reminded of who I am, and the circumstances of my life, which I want to forget for a while.

Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us. We need hours of aimless wandering or space of time sitting on park benches, observing the mysterious world of ants and the canopy of treetops. 

If we step away for a time, we are not, as many may think and some will accuse, being irresponsible, but rather we are preparing ourselves to more ably perform our duties and discharge our obligations. 

When I return home, I am always surprised to find some questions I sought to evade have been answered and some entanglements I had hoped to flee have become unraveled in my absence. 

A day away acts as a spring tonic. It can dispel rancor, transform indecision, and renew the spirit."

A DAY AWAY FROM FIGURE SKATING

Whether we are skaters, coaches, choreographers, judges, writers or simply lovers of the sport, it's so easy to get so incredibly consumed by and wrapped up in figure skating. Why? It's pretty damn amazing and attractive to those of us who have such affection for it. I don't skate or judge anymore and after being 'removed' from the sport for so many years. I don't think I really had any clue what I was really getting myself into when I decided to dedicate myself to writing a blog about the sport I love. Between writing, conducting and editing interviews, researching and sharing news from the sport, I won't lie... I spend a lot of time doing what I do. I'm taking just a day away today, like Maya Angelou suggests, to smell the roses and take some time for myself. We all need to take that day away and that time for ourselves sometimes and I urge you all to make that time for yourselves sometime soon too. After a day of 'breathing', I'll be back, renewed and ready to write up a storm again. As Maya also said, "There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you" and I have so many more stories to share.

ISkate 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 Paul Binnebose

Paul Binnebose's story is quite simply put one of the most inspiring stories I've ever heard in the world of figure skating. Just at the peak of his career, the World Junior and U.S. Medallist seemed poised to make a move in the U.S. pairs skating ranks just when the unthinkable happened - a horrific practice accident that saw Paul seriously injure himself to the point that he had to have emergency brain surgery and be put in an induced coma. His heart stopped twice. Although he still now suffers facial paralysis and other effects of his accident, incredibly Paul returned to the ice and the skating world. He is now a proud father of two and popular coach in the Denver, Colorado area who has a new outlook on life and an admirable perspective on the challenges life has given him. It was an absolute privilege to speak to Paul about his competitive career, the accident that changed everything, the current judging system, fatherhood and much more in this interview you're going to want to stop everything and read:

Q: Your competitive career started off so strongly. You won the bronze medal on the junior level at the U.S. Championships with Jacki Davidson, then teamed up with Laura Handy and won the Nebelhorn Trophy, the silver medal at the World Junior Championships and the bronze medal at the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships on the senior level. What are you proudest of when thinking your competitive career?

A: I have a long winded response for you, get ready here it comes! My competitive career began long before Jacki. When I was twelve, I was working on a triple toe. When I took off and pulled in the blade on my left foot went through my right boot and my feet were stuck together, when I hit the ice my legs got stuck in the ice. I broke my leg in early June 1990. I was in a cast from June to the very start of September. I got out of my cast and got straight to work. By April, I won the Juvenile/Intermediate Nationals in intermediate boys figures. It was only the second time that competition was held. The next year I started skating pairs with a young lady named Nicole Bateson-Rock. We started working very hard and I was competing in singles as well. When the season was over, Nicole and I had won the triple crown (Regionals, Sectionals and Nationals) and I won a bronze medal in novice men's figures. Because of traveling logistics, Nicole and I didn't have a second season. I went on a partner search and started skating with a girl named Sara Ward. She had no pair tests so we had a lot of ground to cover to say the least. We worked as hard as we could, but after the last test session of the summer we didn't pass our junior pair test. That meant I needed to go back to the same event I had just won and Sara and I both knew what was expected of us for the year. At the close of the season, Sara and I had done exactly what Nicole and I had done the year before. That was the first time that a skater won Nationals back to back years with different partners. Sara and I stayed together and knew we had a leap to make so we could make a splash in juniors. That season had the improvement we were looking for, we went to Germany and skated in Blue Swords and finished sixth. We also were named on the U.S. Figure Skating World Junior team where we placed ninth. We finished out the year earning a bronze medal at the 1994 US Championships. Even though that year was full of success and improvement, I did not believe that Sara had the potential for more difficult jumps. So, against the advice of my coaches I never went back to Delaware from Nationals. I drove to L.A. and found a new partner. That is when I began skating with Jacki Davison. We spent our first year training out on the west coast. By the time Nationals came around, the disrespect that I had shown to my former coach was paid back in spades. Jacki and I were ninth in the event I had just won bronze in the year before. So with my tail between my legs I went back to Delaware and took Jacki with me. After that season, my coach felt that Jacki didn't have the body style that was needed to succeed and I switched to a girl named Tristan Vega. We trained that summer and fall, but injury kept us from competing at 1997 Nationals. After the season, a girl that I had competed against in years prior became available. In the spring of 1998, I started skating with Laura Handy and during our time together we won International medals, a World Junior medal, and we were characters in the fall heard around the world. The truth is, I have only fallen on one lift. It was a big one, but it wasn't a habit of mine. The proudest moment of my career came more than ten years after it was over. When I admitted to myself that everything that was given to me was a gift from God, and NOT because I had done a thing.

Q: The accident saw you have emergency brain surgery, be put in an induced coma and your heart stop twice. I can't even begin to imagine that. How do you put it all in perspective? What did you take from it all spiritually and personally?

A: The accident was a coming of age for my soul. It was a tragic, upsetting, faith testing event for everyone that was close to me. I count it as a blessing that God did not have me go through any of that. I do not even remember skating the day of the accident. I went to bed on September 28th and had some amazing experiences about God and life, then I woke up and found out what had happened. Even though I had questions about what had happened, I was answering questions about what is going to happen. No one can be where I have been and not be sold out to Jesus Christ.

Q: Returning to the ice after the accident... was there a fear there? 

A: I never had any fear about going back to the ice. I have been a skater longer than I can remember. I was thrilled to go home.

Q: You're now coaching and living in Denver, Colorado. What is the most rewarding part of coaching?

A: Anytime I get to see a skater "get it", and I know that I helped make that connection it's amazing. Helping somebody become successful makes me feel success when I see them make it. If only we could get the whole world to seek that kind of satisfaction.

Q: Through coaching, you not only met your wife but the mother of your children. How did the two of you connect?

A: Lisa and I trained together in Delaware. She is an amazing woman and she loves BOTH of our sons with no equal. Ethan is four and Eli is two.

Q: Figure skating has changed so much since you competed, with the 'new' judging system, anonymous judging and so many rule changes along the way. What do you think of it all? Do you think the sport is in good or bad shape?

A: I love skating, but I do not subscribe to any group. Skating has only changed the judging system so they could confuse the people involved. In my opinion, this new judging system is just as corrupt as the old one. We just haven't broken the code..... Yet.

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

A: One of my three favourite skaters is Joel McKeever. He taught me that you can and should keep your cool when things go wrong, or even when they go right. He taught me the only one in control of me is me. Shepherd Clark is another. He taught me that you can maintain a constructive attitude about yourself no matter what is going on. He taught me that you need to respect yourself, no matter what they say. Scott Wendland as well. He taught me to keep improving yourself even if you can already land all the jumps in your long. He taught me to keep improving even when people are telling you that you have what you need. These are my favorite skaters because they all had a lifelong effect on the way I approach problems in my life.

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

A: Most people don't know I'm divorced. You never saw that coming did you?

Q: What advice would you give someone fighting back from something like you have had to in life?

A: As far as people that have trials to overcome... never quit. Doctors told my family that IF I came out of my coma, I would be in a hospital for the rest of my life because of the oxygen deprivation the two times I was dead. Humans are NOT in control. I try to stay away from religious dogma; that scares people away. What I can tell you is that if you breakdown the word universe into its latin parts 'uni' is one, and 'verse' is spoken sentence. So with one spoken sentence God created everything. Also, for every person that is here saying "I can't believe they're gone", there are more than twice as many saying "Here they come". Ryan, thank you.

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 Triple Loop Tarot: A Three Card Spread

What many of you probably don't know about me is that I'm about as much the "new age" type as it gets. I'm surrounded by candles, incense, crystals, wood and rocks and when I take the time to write these blogs, I usually have Tracy Chapman, Natalie Merchant, Fiona Apple, Emm Gryner or something ethereal playing. My bedroom has three giant bookcases full of books which include a host of wonderful classics, an anthology of pretty much everything Margaret Atwood has ever written, a small and growing collection of historical skating books and hundreds and hundreds of books on everything from spirituality to reincarnation, life after death, holistic healing, angels, Tarot cards, numerology, astrology, dreams, angels, meditation, astral projection, karma and texts on just about every religion under the sun. I am fascinated by different viewpoints; I have this inner drive to delve into "the unknown".

I also have a treasured deck of tarot cards. The origin of Tarot cards remains vague and shrouded in mystery and more questions than answers. Some claim the cards to have originated with the ancient Egyptians, others with the mystery cults of the Mithras in the first centuries after Christ, while still others find parallels with pagan Celtic beliefs and romantic poetry cycles of the Middle Ages in Eastern Europe. The first documented decks of Tarot cards, however, are known to have come from the latter part of the 15th century and were painted in Italy. The new world-view of the time and the conflict with the Church that ensued placed the cards in wide disrepute  socially, and they became associated with 'the Devil', as did any form of divination or termed "witchcraft". Yet, their use has transcended and survived centuries and the cards have been used as counsel and forms of divination for people of virtually every religion, race and walk of life.

Now, before you all call me crazy, I have a story to share with you. I was extremely close with both of my grandmothers and idolized them, along with my parents, my whole life. They both passed away in 2007 within six months of each other when I was going through a really rough patch already and I had a really, really hard time with it. A few years later, I went to Kelliena, a wonderful and reputable psychic (not the first one I've been to) and not only was she able to tell me things about myself and my loved ones that had passed on that no one else would know, but she was not only able to clearly identify both grandmothers but know that I called them both 'Nanny'. There was no poking, there was no prodding, there was no leading me there... this was the real deal. Having had experiences with charlatans as well, I can tell you that with everything else in life, there are honest and dishonest people. This was honest and this was real and I treasure that conversation and experience.

I am not a psychic or a medium but I do absolutely believe in the power and the experience of divination. One of the simplest Tarot readings you can do is a three card reading to allow you to gain perspective on three key points and their connection, for instance, past, present and future, strengths, weaknesses and advice or opportunities, challenges and outcome. To lightheartedly apply the context of Tarot divination, I decided to do a three card spread and take a look at opportunities, challenges and outcome as they related to the life of one of the most iconic skaters ever in the history of figure skating, three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie.

OPPORTUNITIES: THE SEVEN OF PENTACLES (REVERSED)

The Seven Of Pentacles (reversed) speaks to a return on an investment. It signals a need for clarity about what success means to the person and what the 'current situation' will provide for in the future. Such would certainly be relevant to the opportunities that Sonja Henie afforded in winning three Olympic gold medals and ten World titles. Henie's father, known to many simply as 'Papa Henie' was a wealthy furrier and both he and Henie's mother Selma had also inherited wealth as well. Her father had invested large sums of money in Henie's success, ensuring that she was educated by the best tutors and even hiring Russian prima ballerina Tamara Karsavina of the Imperial Russian Ballet to work with his daughter. In the height of their daughters success, both 'Papa' Wilhelm Henie and Selma gave up their own pursuits to travel exclusively with their daughter and act as agents, demanding 'expenses' for Sonja's exhibitions even under the strict "amateur" rules of the time that did not allow ISU eligible skaters to be paid for their performances. The fame and star success that Henie as a result of her competitive career more than returned on the investment her parents made in her skating. After turning professional following the 1936 World Championships, Henie became not only a star of the ice but of the silver screen and earned as much as two million dollars a year, making her one of the richest skaters of her time.

CHALLENGES: THE FOUR OF CUPS

The Four Of Cups symbolizes re-evaluation; a feeling that situations or circumstances have lost their appeal or luster - and the senses of boredom, disillusionment or unfulfilled expectations. The card forces one to retrace their steps and look at the changes that need to made in order to have - or maintain - what is desired. The latter part of Henie's career was not all roses. In the early 1950's, after a decade long series of hit movies starring Henie had lit up the silver screen, Henie returned to the touring life and produced her own tours. Things weren't as they once were and challenges seemed to be at every turn. Having broken ties with Arthur Wirtz who acted as her financial advisor for years, 'Sonja Henie's Ice Revue' was in direct competition with Wirtz's shows who featured Canadian sweetheart Barbara Ann Scott. The market was becoming saturated, the collapse of a section of bleachers during a 1952 Baltimore shows left Henie's tour in legal and financial hot water and a later 1956 tour in South America was a flop. Henie was drinking heavily and it was affecting her ability to meet the demands of touring. Forced to re-evaluate the direction her skating and life was going at the time, she retired from skating in May 1956.

OUTCOME: THE THREE OF SWORDS

The Three Of Swords represents the process of sorrow or grief, and a lack of focus, of bitterness and of disappointment - also of mistrust. Henie, who was famously obsessed with money, status and in some accounts the possessor of a strong temper, was diagnosed by doctors with leukemia but her husband Niels Onstad reportedly kept the illness from her. Sonja was told she had anemia and the blood transfusions she was receiving regularly were for that reason alone. She planned to make a big comeback for a TV special, even taking to the ice to rehearse a program set to "Lara's Theme" from Dr. Zhivago but passed away aboard a flight to Oslo, where she was to receive another blood transfusion. Her will specifically disinherited all members of her family. Her two closest aides who served her for over twenty five years didn't receive a bequest. Instead, Henie bequeathed ten thousand dollars to the cemetery where her father was interred and sent her prized jewels to the Sonja Henie Foundation. Interestingly relevant to the process of sorrow and grief about one's life is this story I wrote for my Skate Guard Hallowe'en Spooktacular:

"In the height of 3 time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie's career in 1939, a 7 bedroom, 8 bathroom mansion was built at 243 Delfern Drive, across the street from the real Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, California by Old Hollywood architect Paul Williams. Dubbed Chez Henie by the superstar that contracted the house's design, this mansion was every bit as luxurious as you'd expect. A sweeping circular driveway, a dramatic staircase, a swimming pool, sunken tennis courts and even a small private indoor skating rink built in the house's attic were included in the house's design. Actress Connie Stevens purchased the home in 1974 for $250,000 (a complete steal) from Sonja's late husband, Niels Onstad. Over the years, the home has been leased to legendary musician Herb Alpert and even played host to the filming of the motion picture Postcards From the Edge, based on Carrie Fisher's novel about a smart, drug prone actress much like Carrie herself and her intense Debbie Reynolds-like show business mother. In a feature on BIOGRAPHY's Celebrity Ghost Stories, Stevens recounts the sounds of someone walking around in the attic and going upstairs to investigate and finding beautiful old drawings of little Norwegian children playing and having fun and the remains of an old skating rink upstairs. Stevens believed it was an insight into Sonja's soul. Never having had children of her own, being childlike and loving children, this very well could have been Sonja's tribute in a way. She believes that the spirit of Sonja lives on in that attic, which was converted to a roller skating rink for Stevens' daughters. Attic lights flick on on their own, especially when Connie has guests are over for outside parties. About a year before her Sonja's death on October 12, 1969 at age 57, she was planning on making a grand comeback in the form of a television special she was planning right up until her death. She went to the local rink at least 3 times a week getting back in shape, skating with one of her old skating partners from the early days, enjoying herself and completely unaware that the tiredness from her believed anemia was actually leukemia, a fact her husband and personal secretary never told her about, right up until the day of her death. Is the ghost in the attic really the ghost of Sonja Henie, still drawn to her attic ice rink and oblivious to her illness?"

Henie's life, like the advice of the Tarot Cards, was shrouded in mystery, interweaving stories and thought provoking connections. Whether you believe in divination or not, the cards in this case certainly seems to help ME make sense of Henie's story.

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 Henna Lindholm And Ossi Kanervo

Finnstepping their way onto the podium at the Bavarian Open, Finns Henna Lindholm and Ossi Kanervo became the first ice dance team since legendary ice dancers Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko to win a senior ice dance medal in international competition in almost twenty years. The duo has won three Finnish titles and Ossi even earned honorable mention in my coverage of the ice dance competition at the 2014 World Championships. A couple to certainly watch, it was my pleasure to speak with them about their success story, working with Rahkamo, Kokko and Maurizio Margaglio, their goals and more in this Finntastic interview:

Q: Teaming up in only 2008, your career has really been such a success story so far. You've won three Finnish national titles, competed at three European Championships and just made your second trip to the World Championships. You've also had some great outings in international competition including medal wins at the Nordic Championships, Bavarian Open and Cup Of Nice. What are your proudest and most special moments so far in competition and what have been the biggest challenges or hurdles?

A: We're proud of every Finnish national title we have won and a very special moment was getting to the podium at the Bavarian Open 2014. It was the first ISU international competition podium for a Finnish ice dance team in seniors since Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko so it was proud moment for Finnish ice dance and all the work we have done so far. Of course, we are proud anytime when we represent Finland. The 2012/2013 season was difficult for us. We were not able to perform our best in competitions and we were second in Finnish Nationals and didn't go to Europeans or Worlds.

Q: I really enjoyed the Finnstep section in your Short Dance this season set to music by Duke Ellington and Frank Sinatra and found it fitting that you'd previously worked with Susanna Rahkamo. The Finnstep being invented by Rahkamo and Petri Kokko, European Champions and fantastic skaters in their own right, did you have chance to speak with Susanna and Petri about the dance and how has their skating influenced your career?

A: Susanna and Petri are fantastic people and every time they see us skate, they give feedback. Susanna was working on the Finnstep with us during the season. She gave lot of great tips and advice for the Finnstep. We wanted to do a great Finnstep because we wanted show our respect to Susanna and Petri and for all the work they have done.

Q: You are coached by World Champion Maurizio Margaglio. What is your relationship like with Maurizio and how has he brought out in the best in you as a team?

A: He's an awesome coach and our relationships is working great. He has coached us now for three seasons and we have learned to understand each other better and better. He is really good at seeing the big picture. We are really happy for all the work he has done for us and the whole of ice dance in Finland. He is challenging us and pushing us out of comfort zone.

Q: How have skaters like Laura Lepisto, Kiira Korpi and yourselves brought popularity to skating in Finland and do you see the sport growing in the coming years in your country?

A: Laura Lepisto and Kiira Korpi have made skating really popular in Finland and almost everybody knows who they are. There are a lot of single skaters but the ice dance is still in a state of grow and I think we need to achieve more to get more attention. Of course, we are working to get Finland among the top nations in figure skating!

Q: What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses as an ice dance team - and as people?

A from Ossi: We are hard working. We set our goals and we give 100% to achieve them.

A from Henna: We work really hard. I'm pretty stubborn, which is sometimes a strength but unfortunately also a weakness sometimes.

Q: What are your goals for the 2014/2015 season and what areas do you most plan of focusing on in your training?

A: Our main goals are winning Finnish Nationals and being in the top fifteen at the European Championships and in the top twenty at the World Championships. We hope to improve our ISU ranking and get into the Grand Prix circuit. Our new programs are a work in progress at the moment.

Q: Who are your three favourite ice dance teams of all time?

A from Henna: My favourites are Virtue and Moir, Davis and White and Faiella and Scali.

A from Ossi: My favourites are Torvill and Dean, Fusar-Poli and Margaglio and Virtue and Moir.

Q: What is one thing most people don't know about each of you?

A from Ossi: When I was six years old, I did my first main role in our club's spring show. I started skating only year before.

A from Henna: Besides skating, I´m studying cosmetology.

Q: What do you love most about ice dancing?

A from Henna: I love that you have a partner to share everything from the practice to competitions with. I love doing different characteristics of different dance styles and my favourite elements are absolutely the lifts.

A from Ossi: I really like that you have your partner with who you can share all ups and downs.

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.

Juri Scheljabuschski's "Katok"

In these days of 3D, HD, DVD, AC, DC and all of that technological mumbo jumbo, it's really hard to imagine that a crudely animated 1927 film about an ice skating stick figure would have ever been a smash hit. Well, it was. Juri Scheljabuschski's "Katok" ("Ice Rink") was a classic example of early Soviet animated films and one of - if not the earliest - animated film pieces storied around ice skating.

The protagonist of Scheljabuschski's popular film was a small stick figure with only a line for a body, arms, boots and a winter hat. The plot of "Katok" follows this little skating ice figure as he spies on a stick-figure woman skating with as much grace as a stick-figure can have with a Rubenesque NEPman who (having already paid for his ticket to skate) felt he had 'first dibs' on the female stick-figure gracefully performing on the ice. Without enough money to pay his admission to the skating session, the stick-figure 'hero' tries to enter the rink and is stopped by both a portly guard. The stick-figure hero does find a way past the forces preventing him from skating that day with the help of a big, strong man (who doesn't love one of those?), creates a single skate for himself and provides a bit of slapstick when he enters the ice rink and the 'public eye' on his one skate and inadvertently wins a skating race.

Scheljabuschski's "Katok" (also sometimes translated) as "On The Skating Rink" has all of the characteristics of Berlinale Soviet animated films of the era. It shows the natural oppression of the capitalist system, the comedy of the dominating class' extravagance and the success of the underdog or trickster. The success of 'the trickster' was a central theme in animated Russian film after film during that era. Emelya, Ivan Durak, Karlsson and Shapokliak are all examples of animated tricksters that found success in Russian animated films of the era.

Following the success of "Katok", Juri Scheljabuschski went on to find success in other film projects including the 1930 Soviet film "The New Life (Drugaja schisn)" about how a gold boom provided an era of luxury for the people of Azerbaijan. Although many of his other works had a more serious tone, his lighthearted "Katok" remains an old favourite and it no doubt drummed up interest in ice skating amongst the Soviet people in between World War I and II. The Soviet Championships in figure skating had only been held beginning in 1920, and during that period, skaters like pairs team Maria Laskevich and Igor Vonzblein, Yuriy Zel'dovich, Ivan Bogoyavlenski and Tatiana Tolmacheva (Granatkina) would hold court in skating circles.

It wouldn't be until 1964 when Ludmila and Oleg Protopopov won their first of two consecutive Olympic gold medals in pairs skating that the Soviet/Russian stronghold in figure skating would begin... and you have to wonder if "Katok" inspired some of the skaters before them to sneak into an ice rink and pave the way.

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 Stéphane Walker

Two time Swiss Champion Stéphane Walker is most certainly a skater to watch. He's represented his country on some of the world's biggest stages, medalling internationally at events like the Gardena Spring Trophy and Warsaw Cup and representing Switzerland at the World Junior Championships, European Championships and World Championships, where he this year qualified to compete in the free skate. The promising twenty three year old took the time away from his busy life of studying and skating to talk to me about his career to date, focuses in training, favourite skaters, coach Myriam Loriol-Oberwiler and more in this great interview:


Q: You've had such a successful career to date, winning two Swiss National titles and medals at both the Gardena Spring Trophy in Italy and Warsaw Cup in Poland as well as representing Switzerland at the World Junior Championships as well as the European and World Championships. What would you say are your proudest or most special memories from your skating career so far?

A: There are so many good memories. The first time I landed a triple jump was just a great moment for me. I realized that I would be able to jump triple jumps and this would bring me on a new, higher level. Also, with the first triple Axel I perfectly landed was a great feeling, almost greater because I worked so hard on this jump... almost 4 years! Of course, to win my first Swiss title was a nice feeling too. It took me several attempts to finally stand on the top of the podium. This past 2013/2014 season makes me very proud. I achieved (in my opinion) so much. In April 2013, I was third at Gardena Spring Trophy. Even if it was not a very big event, it was an awesome feeling to be (for the very first time) on an international senior podium and scoring 193 points. I couldn't believe that I was third. I checked the result sheets several times. It shows me (or confirmed) that I do have the capacities for making good results. Then, Warsaw Cup was just another great moment in my skating career. I finally managed to do both programs almost clean, won the competition and on top of it got the points for worlds. That was great! Finally, the world Championships in Japan... it was a very nice and special experience for my first participation far away from home and first time in Asia. I went there without having practiced my programs for two weeks because of injuries. I couldn't put on my skates. It was too painful. Therefore, I'm so proud and happy for reaching the final and doing a personal best in the short program even if I used all of my resources for the short. Unfortunately, I couldn't show what I am  'normally' able to do in the free.

Q: You're coached by Myriam Loriol-Oberwiler, a former Swiss National Champion herself in 1982 and 1984. What is your relationship like with Myriam and why is she the best coach for you?


A: It is a good and close relationship with my coach because we spend much time together in competitions and training. We have experienced a lot of things with all the travelling around the world. We could almost write a book with all our experiences! She already 'saved my life' when I had a bad infection during a Junior Grand Prix event in Cape Town. She is best coach for me because she has great experience as an athlete (she did the Olympics in Sarajevo, Worlds etc.), is an ISU technical specialist, judged many competitions including the 2010 Olympics and therefore knows by heart the whole rules and is one of the best coaches in Switzerland.

Q: Who is your favourite singer, actor and writer?

A: My favourite music band is Maroon 5 but I don’t really have a favourite singer. I like Adele, Lady Gaga and James Blunt. One of my favourite actors is Robert Downey Jr. and I also really like Natalie Portman. I am definitely not a bookworm. I don’t have a favourite writer.

Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and who is one skater whose style you most respect or want to emulate in your own skating?

A: I like Evan Lysacek because he is rather tall for an ice skater but is able to do awesome performances on the ice with nice jumps. It gives or gave me hope that it's possible even if I'm tall. I really like Jeffrey Buttle's style but I love Carolina Kostner. She is a great artist. She respects every single note of the music. She has so much speed and beautiful jumps with the perfect position in the air. I would love to able to one day interpret the music like she does.

Q: What is the most beautiful place to visit in Switzerland?

A: There are so many beautiful places in Switzerland. It's a beautiful country and I think it's worth visiting the whole country. Of course, my favourite place is my hometown (Sion) which is located in the middle of a valley (therefore the canton is named Valais in french). It is surrounded by the Alps.

Q: Looking towards the 2014/2015 season, what are your main goals or objectives and how are you working to achieve them in training?

A: For the next season, I wish to improve my skating skills and interpretation... the second part of the mark, the components. I will also work harder on the quadruple jumps. I would like to represent Switzerland (as I did this year) in the major events of the season (Europeans and Worlds). I know this means much work. I will continue to work my body in off ice training) and also continue to take dance lessons. Perhaps I also will increase the practice hours on the ice.

Q: What are your favourite quotes?

A: "A champion is someone who gets up when he can't.", "Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement." and "If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat." by Herschel Walker. It's funny because has the same name!

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

A: That I'm first of all a student in economics at University of Neuchâtel and that figure skating is my hobby. I create the many parts of my own programs, for examples the steps.

Q: What do you love most about being on the ice?

A: I am a rather shy and introverted person. I need a space for feeling good, being efficient and creative. Figure skating offers me the perfect opportunity. The ice is a place just for me alone when I skate, with enough freedom for being creative. I just love everything about figure skating.

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