Peter Pan: The Beloved Children's Story Inspired By A Skater

"Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it." - J.M. Barrie, "Peter Pan"

Peter Pan made his first appearance in Scottish novelist and playwright J.M. Barrie's 1902 book "The Little White Bird", which was shortly thereafter adapted to a stage play and later expanded to the 1911 book "Peter And Wendy". Peter's adventures in Neverland have been translated to the silver screen in everything from a 1924 silent film to the 1953 animated Disney picture to Steven Spielberg's 1991 film "Hook". This autumn, Warner Brothers will release "Pan", yet another interpretation of the classic story sure to capture the imaginations of young and young at heart alike.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that the character of Peter Pan was largely based on a skater. You read that right. That skater was in fact J.M. Barrie's own brother David. When J.M. Barrie was a boy of six, he and his brother David went skating outdoors two days before David's fourteenth birthday. Much like in the Regent's Park Skating Tragedy (another UK skating tragedy) the omnipresent dangers of skating on frozen water prevailed and David was killed when 'a friend' knocked him onto the ice while they skated and he fractured his skull on the ice.

The death of David Barrie left his mother Margaret Ogilvy completely despondent. Of her children, she'd been particularly attached to David and to try to help his mother cope in her despair, J.M. (Jamie) Barrie would wear his deceased brother's clothing and even whistle like David. In an 1896 biographical account of his mother, Jamie recounted "She was always delicate from that hour, and for many months she was very ill. I peeped in many times at the door and then went to the stair and sat on it and sobbed." He remembered entering the room and hearing his mother say "is that you?" to which he responded "No, it's no' him, it's just me. Then I heard a cry, and my mother turned in bed, and though it was dark I knew that she was holding out her arms." Ogilvy apparently found great comfort in the fact that as David had died at thirteen, he would remain a boy forever, never to grow up and leave her.

Piers Dudgeon, the author of the book "Captivated" speculated in the 2008 Herald Scotland article "Tragedy behind Neverland: did JM Barrie cause brother's death?" that J.M. Barrie may have been that 'friend' that knocked his brother down to the ice, which might explain some reason to his despondent mother's distance and rejection of him. Dudgeon said, "I was looking all the time for motivation. I found that in Barrie's childhood he had had this rejection from his mother due to the death of David. Everything seemed to come back to that skating accident. It is speculative. But it does add to the emotional picture of Barrie. A terrible guilt, associated with an accident in which your brother died, is something you would carry with you for the rest of your life. It would, perhaps, cut deep enough to unsettle someone." Dudgeon hypothesizes that if this were true, the experience would have shaped David Barrie as the model for the character Peter Pan, a boy who never grew old and for whom as J.M. Barrie wrote in his famous story "to die will be an awfully big adventure".

A biography of J.M. Barrie written by The Peter Pan Moat Brae Trust, an organization dedicated to preserving his childhood home, states that "James tried very hard to replace his brother in his mother's affections, so much so that some people say he almost tried to become David. By a strange coincidence, at fourteen (the same age that David died) James stopped growing – and remained at a height of five feet for the rest of his life. There is much debate about parallels of stunted growth and stunted emotional development (most ably dealt with in Andrew Birkin’s biography, J M Barrie and the Lost Boys: The Love Story that Gave Birth to Peter Pan)." How's that for life imitating life?

However sad the stories of the survivors are in the case of the tragic death of David Barrie, it's incredible to think that his tragic death inspired the character of Peter Pan and has inspired generations of people around the world to dream big, live large and never grow old... and I think we can all agree that Barrie's words "Dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough. You can have anything in life if you will sacrifice everything else for it" speak an important truth.

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.

Interview With Valtter Virtanen

Sari Niskanen photo

Two time and reigning Finnish Champion Valtter Virtanen may hail from the south of his country, but his career has always been one that has been heading steadily upward. Incredibly, this twenty seven year old has won TWELVE medals at his country's National Championships (including three of them on the junior level) and has represented Finland in numerous international competitions including four European Championships. Fresh off a season that culminated in his best finish yet at Europeans, Virtanen took the time to talk to me about the ups and downs of his skating career, his demanding career path off the ice and much more in this fantastic interview:

Q: You're a two time Finnish Champion and represented your country on some of the world's biggest stages including the European Championships and World Junior Championships. You've also of course won medals internationally at events like the Nordic Games and Hellmut Seibt Memorial in Austria. Of everything you have accomplished so far as a competitive skater, what moments stand out as both the most special and the most difficult?

A: I have had many special moments during my career, but three moments have been somehow the most special. The first one was Junior Worlds in 2005 where I skated the best programs of my life and made it to the top twenty. The competition was in Canada and it was already a big moment to make it there. The second was the first title in Senior Nationals. Before the first title, I landed five times in top three without being the best. So for me, it was a huge proof that I am on the right way in my career. The last moment was the short program in Europeans this year. It was my fourth Europeans and before that, I didn't ever make it to the final. I skated a really nice short program and it surprised me landing in top fifteen. The thing was also that my parents were for the first time watching me skating abroad. Somehow, everything was perfect there on that day. The most difficult moment was in 2010 when I went through a foot operation and had three months of rehabilitation. I also changed coaches at the same time and it was really difficult to get back to the track and start preparing for the next season.

Q: You have trained both in Finland and in Germany. What can you share about your training regimen and current goals?

A: At the moment I'm practicing in Oberstdorf, which is one of the best places in Europe for figure skating. We have ice from eight in the morning until ten in the evening. For me, it makes it possible to combine my medicine studies with practice so that I'm getting progress in both. At the moment, my biggest goal is the 2017 Worlds in Finland. There, it would also be possible to get place for Finland in the 2018 Olympics.

Flavio Valle photo

Q: You started skating when you were five and are now twenty seven. What has kept you passionate about the sport and interested all of these things?

A: I really like all kinds of sports. It's more like a way of life. Of course when you are practicing three to five hours a day, you expect some progress. The last few seasons have been really good and I have showed everybody and especially me that it is still possible to get better in this age.

Q: Describe the ultimate day in your life. What would you eat, what music would you be listening to and where would you go? 

A: I really like nature and all kinds of fish. So on my ultimate day, I would be hiking in the mountains with my fiancée and listening to the sounds of nature and eating fresh fish from the lake or river.

Q: How do you think figure skating needs to change or grow to become more popular with the wider audiences of today and draw in more fans? 

A: I wish I had an answer for this question. In many aspects, figure skating is still really conservative and there should be something done to make it more modern and interesting for everybody.

Q: If you could recommend one book that EVERYONE needs to read, what would it be and why?

A: I don't really read any books other than medical books, so I would recommend human's anatomy books for everybody to get a better understanding how complicated we actually are.

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

A: Alexei Yagudin was my favourite skater when I was a kid. His skating was really masculine and strong which impressed me back that time. Later, I saw old videos from Kurt Browning and he impressed me with his amazing skating skills. But... Daisuke Takahashi had everything what makes you special in figure skating. Especially in the days when his quads were working, it was just a pleasure to watch his skating.

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

A: I think most of the people who don't know me well don't know that I'll be a doctor by Christmas.

Q: What is the biggest lesson figure skating has taught you in life?

A: Sport is just sport.

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.

A Woman's Right To Skate

Change doesn't happen unless people make it happen and figure skating owes a certain debt to Madge Syers, the first woman to glide out on the ice at the World Championships and give the men a run for their money. In doing so, Syers set a ball in motion that afforded women the right to compete... and assured her own place in the record books as the sport's first female Olympic Gold Medallist. Minnesota's Mabel Davidson, whose fascinating story of travelling to London and Paris via Canada to give skating exhibitions with her bicycle in the late nineteenth century, remains one of my favourite 'finds' to date. However, the story of how women became accepted to a sport that was once an old boy's club is full of fascinating figures and facts, and I wanted to share some more of these people's stories with you.

Maria Weigel

One woman's story the history books don't mention gives you a clear picture of just how controversial females taking on a male dominated really was back in the days before women's rights and suffragettes were 'a thing'... and be warned, the next part isn't exactly a happy story. In the northeastern Alsatian area of France lies a town called Colmar that was founded in the ninth century. In 1851, a German woman living in Colmar named Maria Weigel decided to join her male counterparts ice skating and got a pretty icy reception. In fact, she was stoned by her own neighbors and barely escaped with her life, coming home with a bleeding head. Class may have played an inportant role in Weigel's cruel treatment at the hands of the townsfolk. Weigel was the daughter of a court physician, so she wasn't exactly a peasant, but she wasn't nobility either.

In contrast, Henriette Sontag was an opera soprano married to an Italian count had skated publicly in the 1820's in Austria and 1840's in Germany and she certainly didn't get hailed with stones by spectators. Her class level perhaps would have afforded her a certain level of freedom to do as she wished. After all, we know that back in 1776, Marie Antoinette skated in Napoleonic France when she wasn't busy saying "let them eat cake" to French peasants.

By the 1860's, skating was becoming more culturally popular in Vienna, owing to (according to Mary Louise Adams' wonderful book "Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity And The Limits Of Sport") an Austrian actress named Auguste Willibrandt-Baudius who "not only skated with men in public but sometimes did so in trousers". Meanwhile in Canada, the Montreal Skating Club began accepting female members in 1860 although they had held elaborate ice balls and carnivals prior to that with female skaters included.

As the trend of women taking to the ice spread slowly and cautiously across Europe, over the coming decades skating would slowly grow to be considered a little less controversial for females in the decades to come... although there were certainly some pretty sexist overtones in the way female skaters were treated as "delicate". Check out these skating rules from the 1864 edition of Hall's Journal Of Health:

"1. Avoid skates which are strapped on the feet, as they prevent the circulation, and the foot becomes frozen before the skater is aware of it, because the tight strapping benumbs the foot and deprives it of feeling. A young lady at Boston lost a foot in this way; another in New York her life, by endeavouring to thaw her feet in warm water after taking off her skates. The safest kind are those which receive the forepart of the foot in a kind of toe, and stout leather around the heel, buckling in front of the ankle only, thus keeping the heel in place without spikes or screws, and aiding greatly in supporting the ankle.

2. It is not the object so much to skate fast, as to skate gracefully; and this is sooner and more easily learned by skating with deliberation; while it prevents overheating, and diminishes the chances of taking cold by cooling off too soon afterward.

3. If the wind is blowing, a veil should be worn over the face, at least of ladies and children: otherwise fatal inflammation of the lungs, "pneumonia," may take place.

4. Do not sit down to rest a single half minute; nor stand still, if there is any wind; nor stop a moment after the skates are taken off; but walk about, so as to restore the circulation about the feet and toes, and to prevent being chilled.

5. It is safer to walk home than to ride; the latter is almost certain to give a cold.

6. It would be a safe rule for no child or lady to be on skates longer than an hour at a time.

7. The grace, exercise, and healthfulness of skating on the ice can be had, without any of its dangers, by the use of skates with rollers attached, on common floors; better, if covered with oil-cloth."

In 1870, members of London's Skating Club allowed a restricted number of women (twenty) to hold membership on its new skating club on the flooded archery pitch in Regent's Park. Based on the horrible tragedy that had happened there only three years earlier, I'd thought apprehension about numbers period might have played a role in the number of skaters accepted into the club, but the Club had no problem accepting a disproportionate number of men's memberships: one hundred and twenty. Restrained sexism was still in full swing in Jolly Ol' England.

Trade card of woman skating, circa 1880. Photo courtesy Historical Society Of Pennsylvania.

Meanwhile on the continent, by 1875, Viennese skating club Weiner Eislaufverein was holding a women's only competition. In 1885, according to Allen Guttmann's "Women's Sports: A History", "one of the earliest club-sponsored races for female ice-skaters was held in Hamburg". This didn't stop women from being ridiculed for their decision to pursue athletic endeavours. Guttmann points out that "in France and Germany as in Great Britain and the United States, there was acrimonious debate between those who welcomed the prospect of women's sports and those who feared that female athletes jeopardized their anatomical destiny as wives and mothers. In the Revue des Revues for July 1900, the poet Rene Francois Armand Sully-Prudhomme expressed his 'horreur' at the athletic woman's tendency to 'borrow from men the virile qualities that denature her and negate her charm.' The novelist and intrepid political activist Emile Zola strongly disagreed. He was receptive to 'whatever physical exercises can contribute to woman's development - as long as she doesn't abuse them.' Zola denounced the tyranny of received opinion and refuted the argument that sports masculinize the female athlete."

"Cutting A Figure" by Winslow Homer. Photo courtesy Smithsonian American Art Museum.

We also know that the segregation of the sexes and discouragement of women in skating wasn't an "everywhere" thing. Accounts of female settlers skating in The New World predated Weigel's unfortunate attack by almost two centuries, as referenced in Charles Wooley's 1678 account of Dutch settlers in America: "And upon the Ice its admirable to see Men and Women as it were flying upon their Skates from place to place, with Markets upon their Heads and Backs." Of course, Lidwina, The Patron Skate Of Ice Skating had them all beat... she'd been out there doing her thing back in the fourteenth century... before it was cool!

"A Mistress Of The Art" by Hy. S. Watson, 1895

All of these examples of female skaters who'd been out on the ice before Weigel aside, I think the story of her absolutely disgusting treatment at the hands of her French neighbours drives home an important message to all skating fans. If you look people like Madge Syers or even in their own respects... skaters like Mabel Fairbanks (who pushed the color barrier), Rudy Galindo (an openly gay man who won a national title in a country that still has people who think people like Sarah Palin make any logical sense) and Toller Cranston (who pushed the boundaries of artistry in the sport), there are always going to be people resisting equality and change in the sport of figure skating just as there are "in real life". After all, it's 2015 and it's still called 'ladies' figure skating. How's that for outdated?

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 ISU In 1920: A Charleston In The Time Machine

Lace up your skates and strap yourself in. In today's Skate Guard blog, we're going back - WAY back - to 1920 to examine the International Skating Union's rulebook and taking a look at just what things were really like for skaters competing in international figure skating competitions in the roaring twenties.

The President of the ISU was Lieutenant Colonel V.G. Balck of Sweden and its secretary was another Swede, Herr Alex Lindmann of Stockholm. The ISU council consisted of two other primary members, Dr. G. Herbert Fowler of Great Britain and Dr. E. Von Szent of Hungary as well as two reserve members, Captain N.J. Backer of Holland and Herr H. Valar of Switzerland. There was zero female representation whatsoever. In 1920, the ISU had a membership of fourteen countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Holland, Hungary, Norway, Russia, Sweden and Switzerland. For all of you in the U.S. and Asia who are reading this, your federations were not yet members so if you aren't a fan of some of the rules, you'll have to be patient because your federation wouldn't yet have had a vote. So now that you have a little background about just who was responsible for taking the reigns and governing international skating at the time, I want to break down some of the most interesting parts of the rulebook piece by piece just so you can see how much things have changed!

ELIGIBILITY

It's interesting to point out that skaters would have lost eligibility as "amateur" skaters for participation in OTHER sports or physical pursuits where they may have been financially compensated. So for instance, let's say you won an equestrian competition or something. That alone could be enough for the ISU to strip you of your eligible status, never mind skating in a show. It's interesting how gymnastics and fencing instruction were excluded from the list. I don't know why those two sporting activities in particular would be singled out as exceptions? The selling or pledging of prizes for sporting events is another unusual reason that a skater could lose their eligibility. So, for instance, if Lionel Lutzington III donated a plaque or cup to be won in a tennis match, he'd be out too. Competing against another skater who was professional knowingly was another no no, so skaters really had to be on their toes and ask the right questions if they were taking part in smaller events. So for instance, if you were competing in a pretty low key event with skaters from Norway and Sweden only, you needed to be damn sure that none of them were stripped of their status for say, teaching other skaters, or you could be too. The fact that skaters were given a process by which to appeal to be reinstated to "amateur" status was an interesting inclusion as well. I love the fact they used the word rehabilitation and included a probation period. It just screams "alright, we're letting you come back, but you can't compete for a year. You better think good and hard about donating a plaque to a tennis match again!"

JUNIORS AND SENIORS

The distinction between junior and senior? It had nothing to do with age whatsoever and everything to do with results. If you hadn't won a national or international competition, you technically were considered a junior - or ELIGIBLE to skate as a junior internationally - in the eyes of the ISU. There would be an awful lot more juniors in the skating world today, wouldn't there be?

JUDGES AND DISPUTES

Some really neat points here regarding judges. There was clearly no standardized training for judges and it was really up to the federations to submit names and the council to decide who they wanted and who they didn't. The statement "if the number of judges sent does not amount to five, the Club or Association holding the competition has to complete the number up to five" suggests how heavily stacked panels with multiple judges from one country could have been allowed to happen. I also find number twenty one quite interesting - how ludicrous that anyone protesting a result would have to put up more money than they paid to enter to compete in the first place just to cry foul because the three Norwegian judges out of five at a competition in Norway voted for the Norwegian. Quite bizarre and hardly worth the effort or money.

COMPULSORY FIGURES

All figure skating events were required to comprise of compulsory figures and free skating. Figures were required to be contested before the free skating... and AT LEAST six had to be demonstrated by the skaters. The fact that the choice of compulsory figures that would be skated at any international event (including Worlds) would be ultimately left up to the host country would have absolutely given skaters home ice advantage. Without regulations governing this, Denmark's Kjobenhavns Skoitelober Forening (for example) could have easily been like "Okay, Europeans are in Copenhagen so you better be practicing your counters! Hint, hint there sweetie!"

JUDGING SYSTEM

I know we have some math buffs out there. I won't hold it against you, promise! Long before the IJS judging system replaced the 6.0 system, this rudimentary system was in place as a guideline for judges that were deciding the results in international events. Think ordinal flip flops were confusing? Try wrapping your head around this bad boy. You might need a mimosa by the end of it. I know I did. At least in 1920 they had wrapped their heads around the importance of the fact it was "desirable, if not actually to publish them to detail, to permit public study of the complete tables for some time." That would have included which judges awarded which results. Poor Ottavio would have just hated it. Good thing Italy wasn't an ISU member yet.

PSEUDONYMS

I kind of love that pseudonyms were permitted and this explains why Nikolai Kolomenkin was allowed to compete under the name Nikolai Panin when he and Ulrich Salchow got into it at the 1908 Summer Olympics. I'm thoroughly disappointed there wasn't a SINGLE men's world champion who used the pseudonym 'Miss Thing' while he had the opportunity. That would have looked fabulous in the history books.

SAME SEX PARTNERS

And now for the pièce de résistance - which I kind of thought was the best thing ever so I had to save it for last! In 1920, the International Skating Union recognized pairs teams that consisted of "a lady and a gentleman, two ladies, or two gentlemen". Whatever you may think of many of the International Skating Union's 1920 rulebook (and believe me, there were absolutely flaws) they didn't have a problem with same sex couples skating together back then. Chazz Michael Michaels and Jimmy MacElroy could have very well been champions had the ISU not changed its tune in the years to come. It only goes to show you how attitudes have shifted over time about social and gender norms and how in many ways such as this, skating has totally regressed. 

In 1920, figure skating was rebuilding from World War I and getting ready to embark on a new era. I like to think that the sport will continue to evolve and the ISU will eventually wrap its heads around the fact that the rulebook is always open to drastic change for the betterment of the sport. The real question has always been and will always be what is truly best for the sport, and to that question there are no easy answers. 

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 Skating Waiters Of St. Moritz

Sketchy judges, 5 AM practice sessions, spill after spill practicing jumps, freezing rinks and that haunting music of the Dutch Waltz on test days... if there's one thing that anyone who's found themselves at a figure skating competition or test day could use, it's a good stiff drink. Many find their libation of choice at the host hotel bar, but what if the drinks were served rinkside? Wouldn't that be so much easier because it was now and not later? If you were visiting St. Moritz, Switzerland in the twenties or thirties, you just might have got your wish.

The Grand Hotel in St. Moritz had a specialized school for waiters where, according to Lesley Blume's "Let's Bring Back: An Encyclopedia of Forgotten-Yet-Delightful, Chic, Useful, Curious, and Otherwise Commendable Things from Times Gone By", would be waiters "learned to ice skate while carrying trays heavily laden with ice, crystal glasses, and cold champagne to the fur-clad resort guests having lunch and cocktails at the rink. Photojournalist Alfred Eisenstaedt immortalized this scene with a 1932 shot of a waiter - attired in formal tails - sailing over the ice with a glasses-covered tray, one leg extended gracefully behind him, the snow-covered Swiss mountains in the background." Eisenstaedt's wonderful series of photographs of the skating waiters appeared in the December 7, 1936 edition of LIFE Magazine, which confirmed that "the little lakes are cleared for skating and waiters serve on skates".

Eisenstaedt's photographs piqued the curiosity in me and I was determined to find out more about these skating waiters in St. Moritz... and a great place to start was by learning what Eisenstaedt himself had to say about this fascinating scene he immortalized. Describing one of his famous photographs in the September 16, 1966 edition of LIFE, he said "This is at the Grand Hotel in St. Moritz in Switzerland - those are the Engadine Mountains in the background - and this is the headwaiter. He is showing how to bring a bottle of whisky at great speed. He could even jump over a chair and keep his tray steady. He was a great skater, that man. All the waiters were black tie and tails. I went back in '47. But the Grand Hotel had burned down and was never rebuilt. The old glitter was gone." The waiter Eisenstaedt was referring to was Rene Breguet and we know based on the photography of these skating waiters by both Eisenstaedt and Gerhard Riebicke that the skating waiters were in full force from approximately 1925 until at least 1936. We also know that somewhere along the line society got it wrong - instead of well dressed waiters in skates bringing you cocktails at the rink things degenerated to cheaply uniformed teenagers bringing you onion rings on roller skates in a parking lot. A slippery slope indeed, wouldn't you say?

All I know is that the next time I'm in a rink and am dying for a cocktail, I'm going to click my heels three times and say "there's no place like St. Moritz" and wait patiently for a well dressed man to show up with a fizzy. A sister can dream.

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 Violetta Afanasieva

If you want to talk about a talented AND fascinating skater, Violetta Afanasieva fits the bill. This fearless Russian born skater started her professional career as a teenager with the Bolshoi Moscow Circus On Ice, toured with Holiday On Ice and in 2006 won the Extreme Ice Skating World Championships with her husband and pairs partner Pete Dack of Canada. She wowed Canadian television audiences as part of the cast of CBC's Battle Of The Blades and now couples a professional figure skating career with the beginnings of a coaching career. I'm always enthralled by people and skaters who take "the road less travelled" and Afanasieva's story (and skating) is bound to have you on the edge of your seat wanting to read more:

Q:: You grew up in Russia and obviously have both skating and circus in your blood, your mother being a pairs skater and your father a graduate of the Russian School Of Circus Art. I understand that you actually started your professional career at the age of fourteen when you joined your parents to skate in the Bolshoi Moscow Circus On Ice. What can you share about your early career as an "amateur" skater and what brought you to the Moscow Ice Circus?

A: I started skating when I was about five years old. In Russia at that time any sport was free, but the coaches had a choice of taking you or not. One of my first memories of skating was being on the ice with a bunch of other kids while coaches observed us. Then I remember being picked out to join my coach's group. Training was very organized. My group stayed together through out the whole day. We skated in the morning then went to school together. We had our own school schedule which was different from other non-athlete children. Then more skating, then off-ice, then school home work and sleep. I never played on the street with my neighbours but I would play with my skating teammates between school or training. I remember having a lot of fun. My best friend now and then was one of my teammates. Our training was very strict. We all were afraid of the "worst thing that could happen" - being kicked off the ice. Staying by the boards or retying skates was not allowed. So was chatting. Parents were not allowed to be present by the ice, they would watch us through the little crack in the arena doors and would flee away if they saw my coach approaching them. I remember being very nervous at the competitions but I couldn't resist the feeling of joy of skating in the front of people! Very often when my parents would work in Moscow, I would come and watch them. Since a young age I was captivated by the idea of performing. My transition to Circus On Ice was very easy and desired but before joining the Circus I spent a year or so travelling, performing and competing with the Children's Ballet On Ice where I started learning to hula hoop. The Children's Ballet On Ice is a very popular activity in Russia even now.

Q: You joined Holiday On Ice in 1994 and toured with them for over ten years. I understand that is where you met your husband Pete Dack and developed your adagio pairs act. What can you share about your Holiday On Ice experience and the process of learning adagio pairs skating? 

A: My six years in Holiday On Ice were a non-stop creative, learning and fun experience. It was then when I understood the joy of pair and adagio skating. When I was competing, I'd been constantly told by my parents and many pair coaches that I would be good for pair skating. But for some reason, no one could make me skate with a boy. They tried. I have no reasonable explanation why I did not become a pair skater. Holiday On Ice hired me as solo hula hoop act and principal adagio and they found a partner for me. That was before Pete. My Holiday On Ice partner Sergei and I were given a lot of help from previous adagio performers and we learned a lot of tricks. Sergei (he is a Ukrainian pair skater) also taught me some pair skating. I learned that it was a lot of fun to share the ice with someone, interact during the performance, act, be lifted and fly high in the air. We had a lot of opportunities to act out the stories on ice, which I loved to do. I always say that in my parallel life (not the current one, because I love it) I want to be a stage actress. Actors fascinate me. Beside fun on the ice, Holiday On Ice gave me a lot of great friends. Pete and I were a part of a group that hung around together. We went sightseeing in every city the show travelled to. With shared interests, we had a fantastic time. We all still remain friends, even though I haven't seen some of our group in a decade. The wonder of social networking keeps us close.

Q: Since teaming up with Pete, the two of you had some pretty amazing accomplishments as a professional skater, winning the first Extreme Ice Skating World Championships in St. Petersburg in 2006 (and earning six perfect 10.0's in the process) and of course touring with Katarina Witt and in Canada, Europe, South Africa and South America. What have been some of the most memorable experiences from your professional career - both positive and negative?

A: I would say the thrill of competing in 2006 was the most memorable. We were trained and ready, but of course nervous. There were so many things that could go wrong. Hula hoops are very close to juggling and potential mistakes are countless. It takes a lot of concentration to keep everything under control, while performing and interacting with audience and each other. After skating clean and getting that desired energy charge from the audience, from the adrenaline and from feeling accomplished we both had a full range of happy emotions. These were great feelings that I will never forget. As for the negative memories, I can truly say I have no examples. Of course there must have been small bumps and maybe a couple of unpleasant moments, but negative does not really stay in my memory. It seems funny or silly with time. So when I look into my past or look at the present, I understand how lucky I am. I do what I love. I think my family, my husband and his family are the best. I can rely on my friends and I always had plenty of time to enjoy life and nature.

Q: What is one place in the world where you HAVEN'T skated that you would just love to? 

A: Oh, there are a lot of places, but number one on Pete's and my list would be New Zealand. My parents toured there with the Circus On Ice and they loved it!

Q: You were a huge hit on the CBC show Battle Of The Blades which was unfortunately cancelled after its fourth season (boo!), pairing up with hockey players P.J. Stock, Cale Hulse and Jason Strudwick. What were the biggest challenges of putting your trust in a hockey player and how did you make it work as well as you did?

A: There were no challenges in trusting my hockey partners at all. My job as a partner comes with a "built in" trust factor. After meeting each of them, I quickly realized how responsible and trustworthy all of them were. Their and Pete's part in this show, on the other hand, was much harder. Pete had to be always alert, teaching and checking technique and being on the lookout for potential malfunctions. I was simply enjoying my work with the hockey players, Pete, our choreographers and everyone involved in the show. The hardest part was on the shoulders of my partners and I am not only talking about my weight. They had my well being in their hands, while being thrown into unknown environment where everything was uncomfortable. I still can't believe what they were able to achieve in the short period of time. I also think it shows that while perfecting sport specific skills, sports teach us work ethics, ability to self motivate, discipline and responsibility. That was a great show to be a part of, Pete and I have tons of wonderful memories and many good friends because of it.

Q: If you were a contestant on Survivor, what would your strategy be?

A: Oh, I love Survivor! Pete and I watch it all the time and of course, I picture myself in their environment and try to question "what I would've done". I've been trying to answer this question for many years now and now answering you, I just don't know! Nice question, by the way! Really digs deep. It's like when someone asks you what books you like. The answer can reveal a lot of information. My strategy... First, enjoy the experience. I learned that through my skating career. Things go by very fast if you don't pay attention. Second, take the opportunity to hear what others have to say, I am sure with all the chit-chat that they do all day, a lot of interesting stuff about different lives will come up and it could help in the competitions. Then, observe as much as possible, and work hard. I probably would anyway. I am not a fan of sitting on the beach. I think, I feel not spoken energy of the situation well, so I would try to read between the lines. Find good people. But after I said all that, I would not make a good Survivor I think.

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

A: Kurt Browning! I think he has perfected all aspects of figure skating. His skating is excellent, footwork is outstanding and there seems to be no end to his creativity and flow. He has an unbelievable connection with audiences on and off the ice. His charisma is strong and the fact that he has been skating for many years without losing the spark and love for skating is amazing. Katia Gordeeva. She is my idol and my friend. In my eyes, her and Sergei are yet to be overcome by any other pair team. They had everything: flawless line, elements, charm, character, connection between each other... Off the ice, Katia is a super human. She is a fantastic mother, very down to earth and easy to speak to, very responsible and reliable, but besides all of that she is the life of the party. Katarina Witt! Katarina was my idol growing up. I always watched her with admiration and fascination. She was artistic and shined more than anyone in competitions. Like Kurt and Katia, she is super charismatic. Her post skating career revealed her as a very successful businesswoman. She is as smart as she is talented. There are definitely more skaters that affected me or I look up to or I find inspirational. When I was growing up, Victor Petrenko was one of them. Elvis Stojko, Brian Orser and Brian Boitano also. Now it is Jeff Buttle, Stephane Lambiel, Patrick Chan, Shae-Lynn Bourne, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Joannie Rochette, Carolina Kostner and of course many others.

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

A: I am an introvert. I think due to my profession and my behaviour in public, I come across as an extrovert.

Q: What can you share about your life as a figure skater today?

A: I can truly say I am getting a second wind in my involvement with figure skating. My husband and I still perform, but a bit less since we are starting to transition into the coaching community. While watching Worlds in Shanghai, I noticed that I was looking at the competition from a different viewpoint and it gave me a lot of new interest. At the moment, I have only completed the first step with my Skate Canada coach certification, so I cannot have students. What I do now is teach off-ice fitness, core strength, stretching/flexibility and I also teach hula hoop classes which are a fun way to get your exercises in.

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

A: First, discipline. Second, better understanding of people. Travelling and encountering different cultures really lets you see different motivation and reasons behind people's actions.

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.

2015 Stars On Ice Canada (Halifax, NS) Review

You'll have to forgive me... I'm still over the moon about the announcement that the 2016 Canadian Championships will be here in Halifax. It's huge! Simply put, we don't get to see near enough great live skating in these parts so that wonderful news coupled with Stars On Ice's annual visit to this Maritime city is kind of a big deal. The Metro Centre - sorry, it's called the Scotiabank Centre now (how deliciously corporate!) - never fails to pack right up with skating fans and skaters from all around the Maritimes - and let me tell you, as a people we like to have a good time and show these skaters some love. If you haven't experienced a Halifax crowd before in person, you wait until next year at Nationals. We're a rowdy, fun bunch that may or may not drink a little. There, our secret's out!

The cast this year was quite similar to last year's with Kurt Browning, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Patrick Chan, Shawn Sawyer, Joannie Rochette and Jeffrey Buttle all returning along with of course, 2015 World Champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and 2015 World Bronze Medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje. Although on the road to recovery, Canadian Champion Kaetlyn Osmond wasn't back again this year but we couldn't have asked for a better replacement in three time U.S. Champion Ashley Wagner, who was certainly missed last year after being her fabulous self in the 2013 show. As we all know, 2015 marks the twenty fifth anniversary of the Canadian tour and let me tell you, the show's skaters, choreographers and production team pulled out ALL of the stops to outdo themselves offer a show to truly remember! Let's be real here though. Would you expect anything less with a cast like that? Prior to the show, four time World Champion Kurt Browning told me "this year’s show will pay special homage to twenty five years of performing for figure skating’s greatest fans who have always supported the tour and myself personally. All of the skaters will relate their current numbers to past performances that Canadian fans loved. We will even present a special ensemble number that will feature music, choreography and costumes from past shows as well as a look into the future of this successful franchise."

Before I delve into a review of the show, I want to look back to the beginning of the Canadian tour as it celebrates twenty five years. This IS primarily a skating history blog, remember? Building on the success of the American tour, Stars On Ice's CANADIAN tour got its start back in 1991 with a much less elaborate effort than we see these days but a stellar cast nonetheless. The cast (who visited fewer than ten cities including Toronto, Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver) featured Olympic Medallists Scott Hamilton, Brian Orser, Toller Cranston, Rosalynn Sumners and Kitty and Peter Carruthers as well as Lea Ann Miller and Bill Fauver, Kathleen Schmelz and Susie Wynne and Joseph Druar. However, one of the skaters who participated in that very first tour isn't on that list and for good reason. Those skaters came, made their unforgettable impressions on audiences and moved on. Kurt Browning has not. As the show celebrates twenty five years, the four time World and Canadian Champion has remained a fixture and THE face of the tour and you know what? He's twenty five times more fantastic to watch NOW than he was back in 1991. This year, Kurt took on the direction of the tour and rather than building on pieces and ideas from the American tour created an entirely brand new show from scratch celebrating the rich and incredible history of Stars On Ice in Canada.

ACT ONE

The show started unusually with Kurt Browning reviving his much loved Rag Gidon clown character on a clean canvas of ice for some - get this - school figures. The piece, "Go Figure", put together by Geoffrey Tyler was a fitting look back into skating history to start the show. "Go Figure" segued into an intricately choreographed and show stopping opening group number to Coldplay's "A Sky Full Of Stars". Similarly to the "Somebody That I Used To Know" opening number from two years ago, there seemed to be a nice balance of "air time" (pardon the pun) for everybody.

Olympic Bronze Medallist and World Champion Jeffrey Buttle followed with an upbeat program to "Uptown Funk" by Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars that was choreographed by by David Wilson and Chucky Klapow. Buttle, as usual, was absolutely on point and looked confident in his jumping passes. One thing I'd like to point out is the fact this is the second year that he pulled out a rather steppy number and as much as I usually swoon over his edges and more subdued programs, as Martha Stewart would say, "it's a good thing."

Three time U.S. Champion Ashley Wagner kept the high energy going with a program set to "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit choreographed by Shawn Sawyer. Opening with a big triple flip, I had a nice chat with Ashley after the show and spoke with her about the CONFIDENCE she's brought to the table this season and how much I just went gaga over her free skate at U.S. Nationals. Although this "Rather Be" program was full of great energy (Shawn's choreography WORKS with her, by the way) the big Ashley Wagner news of the night was (straight from her mouth) she's keeping her fabulous "Moulin Rouge" program for next season. I love it.

Slowing things down with a tribute to Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz choreographed by Shae-Lynn Bourne (how does that work?), two time World Medallists Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje certainly skated on in character, performing those back kicks things that Shae-Lynn and Victor always did. Is there a name? I don't know but if there is let this sister know. Skating a modern interpretation of Romeo and Juliet to Des'ree's "I'm Kissing You", they were just exquisite. I'd have to say this was hands down their finest exhibition piece yet bar done. Inventive lifts, gorgeous choreography and girl, did they ever emote this piece beautifully.

A small part of me knew Canadian Silver Medallist Shawn Sawyer would pay homage to Toller Cranston in this year's show. An even smaller, more hopeful part of me hoped he'd pull out Toller's sickening The Firebird/Magic Bird Of Fire program. Instead, Shawn went in a different direction with a very soulful self-choreographed program to Hozier's "Take Me To Church". I was hoping it would mash into Annie Lennox's "I Put A Spell On You" a la Grammy's, but a girl can dream. All of the tricks we come to expect from Shawn - Cantilever, inventive spins and two - count 'em - two backflips but the jumps weren't all perfect. In the words of Dick Button, "WHO CARES!" I've said it before and I'll say it again. Shawn makes this tour in my opinion. Unlike many 'trick oriented' skaters or adagio skaters for that matter who kind of zoom from trick to trick, Shawn's musical interpretation is fierce and the fact he only did one solo didn't sit well with me.

"Love is a temple. Love is the higher law. You ask of me to enter but then you made me crawl and I can't be holding on to what you got when all you got is hurt..." Mary J. Blige's passionate duet with U2 to "One" is one of those pieces of music that gives you goosebumps and 2015 World Champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford used it masterfully to both put on a show and tell a story. Putting a new spin on a program they first debuted in December in Germany, the present of Canadian pairs skating paid homage to the past: Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler and Jamie Sale and David Pelletier... This program had all of the power that we are accustomed to from this pair but really managed to draw the audience in and take them on a journey through pairs skating's past as well. What a clever concept. They nailed it.

Kurt Browning's first solo program was a recreation of 1984 Olympic Gold Medallist Scott Hamilton's "One For My Baby (And One More For The Road)" with music by Kenny G and Frank Sinatra. Hamilton skated the program, choreographed by Sandra Bezic, in the mid nineties when he competed against Kurt at the 1995 Canadian Professional Championships in Hamilton. In PJ Kwong's March 15 podcast interview with Kurt and Geoffrey Tyler on Open Kwong Dore, Kurt talked about the process of revisiting a Scott classic: "There was a program that he skated a long time ago that really touched me. I thought when I'm older and I've been in the sport long enough and I hope I deserve it, I want a program like that... I gave up and said I want to do THAT program. So I got Sandra Bezic who choreographed it... we're doing it step for step. It's to the point where I'm actually learning triple toe from an inside three turn." No joke. In addition to that triple toe, Kurt brought back the backflip, an element we haven't seen in one of his program in eons. Let me tell you, this program was a MOMENT and a masterpiece; the craft of skating at its best... and not just a nod to Scott and Sandra, but a nod to the tour's past as Scott actually performed this very program in the 1995/1996 U.S. tour. He wasn't perfect but you know what? He was fabulous.

Kurt Browning's a tough act to follow but if anyone was up for the challenge it was Olympic Gold Medallists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. Skating to a Sam Smith cover of "How Will I Know?" Tessa and Scott were spellbinding as usual. The program, choreographed by Jeffrey Buttle, was lyrical and just so well suited to their strengths as skaters and the one thing that I have to say just resonated in my mind watching them this year is how much I enjoy their performances outside of competition. There was something fresh about this program that just screamed "no, don't come back, you're too good for something someone made up and called a twizzle."

Skating to Vance Joy's "Mess Is Mine", Olympic Silver Medallist Patrick Chan looked at ease and probably more relaxed than I've ever seen him. I'm sure that will all change when he gets back to hardcore training, but there was a sense of comfort like a warm cup of hot chocolate that resonated with this piece choreographed by David Wilson.

Next was Joannie Rochette's "La Vie En Rose" program choreographed by Marie-France Dubreuil. I have to say that this was easily one of the highlights of the show. Two triples and a double axel I think? I don't take notes (made that mistake years ago) and try to really focus on enjoying the skating when I go to shows. Joannie's skating just shined in this year's tour more than usual if that's possible and getting to see this gem live was a treat.

Closing out the first set was a FABULOUS treat - a reworked group number based around Kurt Browning's "Brick House" program featuring of course Kurt, Jeffrey, Patrick, Scott, Andrew, Eric and Shawn. So in other words, my favourite - men! This was just something to behold. Like Z snap, you best put down your drink and pay attention sweetie 'cause something mesmerizing is going down.

After the perfunctory World Vision speech (sorry, but I'm not a huge fan of the values of this particular organization) and a quick smoke break where I met a lovely former skater and coach at the Bluenose Skating Club and drank as much wine as one can during a twenty minute intermission, it was back to business.

ACT TWO

The second set opened with a very cleverly choreographed ensemble piece called "Bezic/Seibert Ice Dance System" set to "Hip Hip Chin Chin" by Club des Belugas. A lot of interesting things going on in this one and it was a great way to draw the audience back in.

Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir were back skating to "Good Kisser" by Usher choreographed by Sam Chouinard and Marie-France Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. Again, a good fit and definitely something out of these two's comfort zone. Taking risks isn't always easy but this program choice was something that paid off. And for the record, I'm no Usher fan so that's saying something,

Anyone who skates to The Beatles wins my heart but Patrick Chan already had it! Skating to "Dear Prudence" and "Blackbird" Patrick wasn't perfect in this piece choreographed by Pasquale Camerlengo but again looked at such ease out there flying around. Not to be rude to other skaters because there are so many great, great men out there, but I think they had better look out next season. Call it a hunch, but I think Patrick's going to kick ass and take names.

Cleverly pairing pairs and ice dancing in the piece "Hello" by Martin Solveig and Dragonette, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje were fantastic in this piece. Lots of clever choreography with switching partners and juxtaposing pairs elements with dance moves and just a lot of fun!

Joannie Rochette skated her second number to Avicii's "Addicted To You" choreographed by David Wilson and it was quite a contrast obviously to her "La Vie En Rose" piece. She kept the high energy going from the previous number and absolutely sold it. The elements? On the money.

Next up was World Champion Jeffrey Buttle skating to "Here's To Life" by Shirley Horn choreographed by David Wilson. You know, this was the same beautiful craftmanship we come to expect from a Jeffrey Buttle/David Wilson combination, however I have to be real here and say that the music didn't do it for me. But again, like in Tessa and Scott's Usher number, the quality of the SKATING won me over.

The closing number to the show was a twenty minute fifties fancy set to a medley of music by Supertramp. The concept "A Super Tramp's Tale" was conceived by Kurt Browning and Geoffrey Tyler on (of all places) a plane to South Korea. The skaters all played the various roles of workers in a flying machine factory. In his interview earlier this week with Andrea Nemetz in The Chronicle Herald, Eric Radford explained the creation process of the theatrical piece which almost had an otherworldly vibe as "like free verse, with us all bouncing ideas off each other that take shape slowly" adding that "it's so much fun to add a character dimension rather than being all about showmanship and steps. It’s really nice to think about how my face looks instead of how my edges are." You know, it's funny, my interest in the ensemble pieces on the tour waxes and wanes over the years depending on the concept and choreography - I'm definitely a solo kind of guy - but I really wanted to like this and just couldn't wrap my head around it. I'm all for abstract - trust me - but this almost reminded me of one of those early nineties free dances where you needed a brochure to explain what was going on. There were some parts that worked, Shawn Sawyer as the foreman on huge stilt skates and the final section to "Give A Little Bit" for instance but the more I look back on this piece, the more I was befuddled by it. I thought I got it, then I didn't, then I needed another drink (which I got).

A revival of a piece of music Todd Eldredge used on the 2005 Canadian tour, Former Take That star Robbie Williams' "Let Me Entertain You" served as the musical backdrop for four time World Champion Kurt Browning's second solo and the finale of the night. It offered a wonderful contrast to his soft and stunning "One For My Baby" program in the first act and a much needed happy ending after that Supertramp business, including a SECOND backflip from the man himself. I could watch him all day and I hope that someday that's an option.

And now... for a fitting end to one hell of a skating season! Thanks Ashley!

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.

Canada's Coming To Halifax!

Halifax, Nova Scotia isn't exactly the figure skating capital of North America. Aside from the 1990 World Championships, the city I live in and love dearly did host the inaugural Four Continents Championships back in 1999 but has only three times hosted the Canadian Championships and Skate Canada International. The last professional competition the city saw was The Gold Championships in 1996 and the last time the Canadian Championships were held here was back in 2007. I attended and let me tell you... it was a TIME!

Speaking of attending things, this very morning I attended a press conference at the Nova Scotia Sport Hall Of Fame on Argyle Street at the invitation of Skate Canada. On hand with a VERY exciting announcement to talk about were Olympic Silver Medallist Patrick Chan, Halifax's Mayor Mike Savage, Skate Canada's Chief Marketing Officer Mark Haliday and Scotiabank Centre's President and CEO Scott Ferguson. I'm sure you can put two and two together. Time to finally let the cat out of the bag to stretch its legs a little... The 2016 Canadian Tire National Skating Championships will be indeed be held RIGHT HERE in beautiful Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Considering the buzz about town this time last year was that Halifax was getting Nationals and they ultimately went to Kingston first, I couldn't be more thrilled this is finally happening. It will be great for the city and great for skating! CBC analyst, author, coach and skating AUTHORITY PJ Kwong told me that, "Halifax holds a special place in my heart. In 1990, I was in the audience at Worlds in Halifax and the mood in the building was electric. I remember hearing the voices of the announcers (one was announcing legend Wilf Langevin) and loving the way the audience was responding. I decided that week I wanted to be PA announcer. Thanks Halifax! I have been there a few times since and I think the skaters love coming there because they are so receptive."

Olympic Silver Medallist, three time World Champion and seven time Canadian Champion Patrick Chan expressed his excitement about returning to training and competition and going for an eighth Canadian title here in Halifax. "Who knows, maybe it will be nine? Ten?" he joked. Fellow Canadian Champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and Kaitlyn Weaver and Andrew Poje were also in the house and excited about the announcement.

Mayor Savage earned even more brownie points with this skating history buff when he shared his excitement (and knowledge) with me about skating in Halifax and the significance of Nationals coming back to the city: "Deeply rooted in Halifax’s culture and heritage, our community has a natural connection to skating through recreation and sport. From historical traditions of skating on our frozen lakes with blades made by Starr Manufacturing, to recent investments in permanent surfaces like the Oval, Halifax celebrates skating as a way to achieve a healthier, happier community. Halifax is proud to host many past and future national and international figure skating championships, welcoming competitive athletes from around the world and recognizing the importance of skating and its natural role in our community." 

This event offers enormous potential for our local economy as well, with an expected four to five million dollars in economic impact to the city and province. Hotel rooms will exceed three thousand, five hundred for skaters and families alone.

The opportunity to welcome so many of you while attending Canada's Nationals in person literally right down the road from me will be such a treat and I cannot wait! As the focus of the blog is so largely to share skating history, I'm very much thinking about organizing a meet and greet or a skating history lecture with special guests or something along those lines during Nationals week so I can catch up and meet with all of you who will be attending in person. I think it would be a blast. Something with wine and cheese and nibbly things... it would really be rude not to, now wouldn't
it?

So, what do you need to know? The dates are January 18 to 24, 2016 and tickets go on sale TOMORROW (May 2) at ten AM Atlantic time and all event packages range from one hundred and twenty five to one hundred and seventy five dollars (plus surcharges). You can book your tickets online at http://www.ticketatlantic.com, by phone at 1-877-451-1221 or in person at the Scotiabank Centre. There are tons of hotels and restaurants in walking distance as the event venue is right in the downtown core. And don't you worry, there are plenty of Tim Hortons too. You're covered. Now, if you'll excuse me... it's soon time to get ready, grab a bite to eat and head off to the very venue that will host the 2016 Canadian Championships for the kickoff of the twenty fifth anniversary of Stars On Ice tonight. Stay tuned for a full recap tomorrow!

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.