Learn all about the fascinating world of figure skating history with Skate Guard Blog.
Explore a treasure trove of articles on the history of figure skating, highlighting Olympic Medallists, World and National Champions and dazzling competitions, shows and tours. Written by former skater and judge Ryan Stevens, Skate Guard Blog also offers intriguing insights into the evolution of the sport over the decades. Delve into Stevens' five books for even more riveting stories and information about the history of everyone's favourite winter Olympic sport.
Hot dogs! Get your hot dogs here! You have no clue how good a nice chili cheese dog sounds right now to this blogger who has been tirelessly exercising and making better diet choices. The good news is that I've lost a decent amount of weight and gained some more muscle but the bad news is that I can't enjoy a nice frankfurter while I write about the subject of today's blog... baseball on ice. How rude!
As long as there have been skates, people around the world have been finding new ways to entertain themselves on ice. From figure and speed skating to curling, skate sailing, hockey and bandy, the ice has played host to plenty of recreational activities and sports over the years. Ice hockey was actually developed from field hockey which was first played in Persia around 2000 B.C. and other summer sports such as rugby and lacrosse have also been adapted to the ice over the years as well but the short lived boom of baseball on ice in the nineteenth century is a fascinating anecdote in skating history that's all but forgotten.
The popularity of ice skating in New York in the mid-nineteenth century left baseball enthusiasts wanting to get in on the action. Patricia Astifan's article "Baseball In The 19th Century" from "Rochester History, Vol I.XII" relates the tale of one such game played in Rochester, New York: "On January 16, 1860, ball players from the city's prominent clubs played a game on ice skates on Irondequoit Bay near the Float Bridge (Empire Blvd.) Another reported game was played on New Year's Day in 1861. This game was played at Washington Park, Brooklyn, by Brooklyn teams Billy Barnie against Henry Chadwick’s team made up of players from Adelphi and Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn." The popularity of the unique sport continued for a short time in the state. William Ryczek's "The 1867 Nationals Of Albany" noted that "in 1865, the Nationals played 14 games on spikes and three on skates - a version of baseball that achieved a degree of popularity in the 1860s. Ice skating was all the rage during that decade, and was combined with baseball for a game in which the players donned skates and the rules were slightly amended to account for the difficulties of playing on frozen ponds. Players were allowed to over-skate the bases, and a second catcher sometimes was employed to capture pitches that skidded past the first backstop." Record of these games being played in New York continue until the 1880's (though dwindling in participation by that time) then seem to peter off entirely but there are also accounts of similar games being played during the same era in Detroit, Michigan.
Ilia Kulik skating to "Baseball Cap" in 1999
Peter Morris' book "A Game of Inches: The Stories Behind the Innovations that Shaped Baseball" explains the rules of the game: "A game on ice played under rules which admit of five innings as a complete game, though more can be played if there is time. Then, too, only the square pitch or toss of the ball to the bat is allowable, no throwing the ball to the bat by the pitcher being admissable. The bound catch of a fair ball, too, counts; and each base runner makes every base simply by overrunning the line of the base, he being exempted from being put out in returning by turning to the right after crossing the line of the base. A very dead ball is used. The best skaters are required for the out fielders. Ten players on each side make a game, there being right short stops as well as the regular short stops." One of the most unique aspects of baseball on ice is that the stronger skaters had a clear advantage over the stronger baseball players. The Brooklyn Eagle reported that "it will be readily understood that the game when played upon ice with the skates is altogether a different sort of affair from that which the Clubs are familiar with. The most scientific player upon the play ground finds himself out of his reckoning when he has got the runaway skates to depend on, and the best skater is the best player." One player who found particular success both on land and ice was Dickey Pearce, a shortstop for the Brooklyn Atlantics team.
A contributing factor to the sport's demise was actually the response to these games by figure skaters! An 1865 article from The Brooklyn Eagle quotes a 'fancy' skater as saying "We hope we shall have no more ball games on ice. If any of the ball clubs want to make fools of themselves, let them go down to Coney Island and play a game on stilts." Apparently the skaters and clubs in existence in the area bore resentment to the baseball players for the damage these games caused to the ice surfaces.
By the final decade of the nineteenth century, baseball on ice became very rare, though it enjoyed a short revival in popularity in Cleveland, Ohio in the early twentieth century. A January 1, 1912 article in The Washington Post explained how plans were announced to form a league if Lake Erie froze over and this wonderful video from British Pathe shows a baseball on ice game being played by a group of skaters in Toronto, Ontario in 1924.
Will baseball on ice ever make a serious revival? According to a 2014 Harris Poll, major league baseball was the favourite sport of fourteen percent of Americans. Hockey has kept many a rink in this world alive... and this obscure, long lost sport might just be the ticket for arenas selling even more ice time. Stranger things have happened. You HAVE seen the IJS footwork sequences, haven't 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 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.
In the two plus years I've been authoring this little figure skating blog that could, I've interviewed hundreds of skaters from all around the world and one question I have asked in almost every single interview was "who are your three favourite skaters?" I find it extremely appropriate that the subject of THIS interview - which I intend to be the final standalone one as I focus the blog's attention strictly to researching figure skating history - is one of MY OWN three favourite skaters. Robin Cousins' credentials on paper are unquestionably impressive - Olympic Gold Medallist, three time World Medallist, European Champion, British Champion and World Professional Champion - but it is that undefinable sense of magic that he has created in every single one of his performances that makes him that 'skater's skater' that you just can't take your eyes off of. I want to thank my friend and former interview victim Doug Mattis for connecting Robin and I for this once in a lifetime chance to talk figure skating at length with a living legend. You're going to love this one! I guarantee it!
Q: I want to start by talking about your "amateur" career, which was nothing short of spectacular. You won four British titles, the free skate at three World Championships, the 1980 European title and of course, in 1980 the Olympic gold medal. Reflecting on it all now, what moments stand out as both the most challenging and the most cherished?
A: The beginning and the end! I remember standing on the podium as National novice champion when I was twelve. Even at that age, it was the sense of personal accomplishment I was most proud of. I didn't like 'competing' and couldn't bring myself to watch any of my competitor's skates so I had been taught to just compete against my last performance. It was never about beating someone else, but I was about 'pleasing' the audience and the judges and that never changed! The pressure coming into the World Championships in 1980 post-Europeans and Olympics was big but Carlo and Christa Fassi made sure I kept level headed and focused on the job at hand. I remember post-Olympics making a statement that, after the mistake (the triple loop) in Lake Placid, I wanted to go out with the perfect long. I already knew I would be done after Worlds. After Jan Hoffmann had skated, Carlo had done the calculations in his head and made the decision to tell me that I couldn't win. It was pure honesty and he knew me well enough to know I would be okay with that. He sent me off to start my long with the words "Give the audience what they came to see. Enjoy it." That's exactly what I did. I added jumps, got the standing ovation, another World medal and the reward of having done exactly what I set out to do a few weeks earlier!
Robin Cousins as Frank-N-Furter
Q: Since turning professional following the 1980 World Championships, your skating and career evolved from something fantastic into something fabulous. You set Guinness World Records, won a host of professional competitions, toured with your own performance company in the eighties, choreographed for an incredible range of shows, tours and skaters, commentated for BBC sport, starred in a range of theatre productions and acted as head judge on ITV's Dancing On Ice. What moments have been the most incredible to you since turning professional?
A: I have been incredibly blessed with the variety of work I have been able to do... so many great opportunities on and off the ice. I always knew there was going to be someone else after me who had an Olympic gold medal so I was never going to sit back and expect things to come my way. You have to allow yourself to be ready and available to try new things. No one could take away my history on the ice. Whilst the medal opened many doors, I was more than happy to either find the key and open a few more myself or be prepared to bang them down if necessary and then suffer the consequences! I love skating on theatre stages because they make you use your spatial awareness to be sparing with steps and movement with every piece of choreography serving a purpose, rules I have taken back onto larger ice surfaces. The intimacy of theatre after huge arenas is intoxicating and I think my comfort in the big spaces helped me transition to the theatre. Where two thousand seats freaks out an actor, it is intimate to me! My mantra for quite some time has been "All they can do is say 'no!'" My first real theatre audition was for Rogers and Hammerstein's "Cinderella" to be staged at the MUNY in St. Louis. Having got the job as ice choreographer, I was suddenly asked to sing for the director and there I was, my first time singing on stage and getting to skate as well, the dream combination. I could never have planned it. It paved the way for a future I couldn't resist. The cast were all Broadway superstars and my Dad in the show was played by Adolph Green who, with writing partner Betty Comden, had written "Singin' In The Rain" for Gene Kelly. You know, I was all over him for stories of his numerous times working with my hero! It was Adolph and his wife Phyllis Newman (who played my mother) who encouraged my to continue pursuing theatre work. I was asked to audition for CATS. I was in London, in front of the producers and full creative team. I had two options: freak out or embrace the fact I was getting an opportunity that many who have trained all their lives in musical theatre never have. I got 'the call' a day later and then spent three years on and off playing Munkustrap with that amazing show. It was my fist time as part of an ensemble and I loved it. I was happy to see the end of all the make-up only for my next part to be Frank-N-Furter in the London revival production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show! Another big highlight came in the summer of 2012, when I got spend my days at the Olympic Park as an Olympic Ambassador and mentor for Team Great Britain and at night was on stage as Billy Flynn in Chicago. It was pretty surreal!
Q: Just incredible! Speaking of incredible, how did you learn your incredible backflip?
A: I learned the backflip on the floor (in the back garden of the Wylie household pre-Olympics) with the help of my brother who was a sports coach. Being very gymnastic and loving to cartwheel and handspring helped! Taking it to the ice happened in Santa Rosa during one of Sparky's (Charles Schultz') ice shows with the help of the great Skippy Baxter. Being on the small ice meant there was no room for second thoughts. I had learned on the floor that tucking was not an option as I would feel like I was skating and unintentionally add rotation! The layout was the solution. As no one had even done it that way, it gave me even more a reason to try. Using my height and speed - lots of speed across the ice - it developed quickly and was in the show two days later.
Q: How did you come up with the concept and choreography for On The Frozen Pond? Your interpretation of music, expression, timing, slide spiral... I've got to be honest it just gives me chills.
A: Thank you for that. That's exactly what I wanted to elicit from the performance. I wanted to do something different and unique for my final season as a competitor at the World Professional Championships. I had made sure each year I was able to represent a different side to me as a performer and I think the various videos from my years in that event give a good overview of who I am. I have always said that you give the audience exactly what they want, just not in the way they would expect to get it! I had the idea and the part of the Wordsworth poem I wanted to use. After I had the base choreography set to a demo of the spoken words, I did the soundscape with Judd Miller (skater Lisa Carey's husband) and we let the words indicate what went where. I knew how the movement needed to flow. When I recorded the final words over the soundscape, I knew it would only take me a few hours to finish the choreography. It's still is one of my favourites too.
A: Speaking of favourites, if I had to pick just one of your performances as my absolute favourite, it would have to be your "Falling In Love With You Again" program. What programs both of yours and that you have choreographed with others are you proudest of?
A: My favourite was "Satan Takes A Holiday". I had no idea how taking it from the theatre stage to an arena setting would work and I certainly wasn't ready for the reaction. It's probably my most popular pro routine and again, needed to and did exactly what I wanted. In my show, it kicked off the finale. For other skaters, I very proud of taking a great skater, Denise Biellmann, out of her comfort zone with the aria from "La Wally". We had a wonderful few years building up a relationship that allowed her to grow and she was the most disciplined skater I have EVER worked with. I had to beg her not to do every jump and spin every time the music went on when we were creating programs! Q: What do you think your coach Carlo Fassi would think of the state of figure skating today?
A: He loved to teach and had such passion for his students. I'd like to think he'd do what all the great coaches have done and that is to adapt to the times without compromising his basic coaching principles.
Q: What do YOU think of the current state of competitive skating and what would you change if it were up to you?
A: I'd get rid of the grey areas. Either you land on one foot backwards on a running edge or you don't. You stand up or fall over. I believe in rewarding and encouraging youngsters for 'having a go' at the juvenile and intermediate levels but you shouldn't be rewarded for 'having a go' at the Olympics. By all means, take the risk but the consequences need definition. Either you do it and get the credit or you don't do it and don't get credit. I worry that there's too much shorthand going on just to get the instant result. My words to anyone who loves and knows what the foundation of our sport is - and if you don't know, get out! - and that's to simply teach people to skate and know that the IJS is the system by which your students are judged. It's not the system you should use to teach! I hate when you ask a skater to do a left inside counter and they look blankly until you show them and they say "oh, I know that step!" Obviously you don't! They do things because they can and not because they know how. Teach them HOW and more importantly... WHY! Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to all skaters, what would it be?
A: Trust your instincts and never do anything you wouldn't be happy to watch someone else doing. Learn by making mistakes. Just don't make the same one a second time!
Q: Earlier this year, the sport lost one of its greatest icons... your former competitor Toller Cranston. What is your favourite Toller story?
A: There are so many! A favourite Tollerism that was most often heard in rehearsals would have to be "Where's the coffee? Daddy needs fuel if he has to give birth to another double axel!" Q: Who are your three favourite figure skaters of all time?
A: Only three? Not fair! These picks are exceptional as I borrowed liberally from all three of them with no apology! John Curry, for showing the world why you should never be anything but yourself as a performer and not be pigeon holed into conformity. Toller Cranston, for putting a kaleidoscope of colour into the simplest of movements and for never leaving room for more! Janet Lynn... Oh, that half the skaters in the world could perform with such pure joy and natural emotion. Just thinking of her name has made me smile! But then there's Sergei Chetverukhin, Ron Shaver, Moiseeva and Minenkov, Torvill and Dean, Michelle Kwan, Scott Hamilton, Gordeeva and Grinkov... can I continue?
Q: You can do whatever you want! I do have another question though. What is one thing most people don't know about you?
A: I don't like team sports!
Q: What is the biggest life-lesson that figure skating has taught you?
A: A performance of any kind must never start in fear and end in relief.
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.
Like any self-respecting homo who grew up in the nineties, thanks to the good folks at PBS I watched my fair share of the fabulous British sitcom "Are You Being Served?" Okay, I'll come clean. I've probably seen every episode five times and if you asked me over for a marathon I'd have my shoes on faster than you could say "my husband will be home in five minutes". The BBC comedy ran for ten seasons between 1972 and 1985, was wildly popular in Great Britain and even spawned a movie and a two season spin off sequel "Grace And Favour" in 1992 that was actually ever bit as well written as the original and should have carried on far longer.
Casual viewers of the show will of course remember the flamboyant Mr. Humphries and the hilarious and brightly coiffed Mrs. Slocombe (played by John Inman and Mollie Sugden, respectively) but although the cast changed over the years, the core cast remained largely the same. Frank Thornton (Captain Peacock), Nicholas Smith (Mr. Rumbold) and Wendy Richard (Miss Brahms) also appeared in all sixty nine of the original series' episodes, alongside other long running memorable characters such as Young Mr. Grace, Mr. Lucas, Mr. Spooner and Mr. Grainger.
Are You Being Served? wasn't without its skating references. Mr. Lucas (played by Trevor Bannister), who often flirted with Wendy Richard's character on the show, arrived at Grace Brothers with a pair of skates around his neck in the second episode of the show's second season with a pair of ice skates around his neck. Mr. Humphries said to him: "Oh look! It's Sonja Henie!" One of the funniest moments on the series' final Christmas special was Miss Brahms' assumption that the Welsh singing festival Eisteddfod "had something to do with ice skating". In reality. Wendy Richard knew quite a great deal about skating.
She was a talented and quite versatile actress who had appeared in numerous television series in the sixties. She even found success as a singer reaching #1 on the UK singles chart in 1962. The year "Are You Being Served?" ended, she took on the role of matriarch Pauline Fowler on the popular British sitcom EastEnders, a character she portrayed for an incredible twenty two years, even concurrently with her reprisal of the role of Miss Brahms in "Grace And Favour", which was presented to U.S. audiences under the name "Are You Being Served? Again!" After being diagnosed for breast cancer in 1996, she had an operation and seemed to be doing okay but the cancer returned in 2002. She again went through treatment and went into remission, being given a clean bill of health by doctors in 2005. However, the next year, the cancer was back. Richard passed away on February 26, 2009 at a London clinic, living a remarkable life and touching the lives of many, but never getting to realize one of her greatest childhood dreams... to be a champion figure skater.
In a 2003 appearance on the ITV Wales series "My Favourite Hymns", Richard was interviewed by John Stapleton and asked about her skating aspirations. Richard explained, "Oh, yes, I used to go to ice skating classes down at Queensway Queen's Ice Rink. And I thought I was going to be the next Sonja Henie or something like that, but unfortunately it didn't work out." A childhood tragedy was the real reason Richard's skating career was cut short. Her father, a pub landlord, committed suicide when she was eleven. Only a young girl, she was the one that found her father's body, and as her mother wasn't really dealing that well with what went on she sent young Wendy off to a boarding school to live. Her interest in film and pantomime, which also played a huge role in her childhood, saw her go off to drama school, and she never laced up seriously again. She may never have been Sonja Henie, but she was every bit as much a legend in her own right.
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.
I've long admired Petr Barna's skating. Without question an example of a skater who was able to achieve both technical excellence and develop an artistic craft as a skater throughout his lengthy and successful career as a competitive skater, Barna's crowning achievements on paper were his 1992 Olympic bronze medal and European title. There's so much more to his story though. This seven time Czechoslovakian Champion was the first skater to complete a quadruple jump in Olympic competition, the first man to earn a 6.0 in the technical or short program in World competition and a skater who earned the praise of judges, audiences and peers alike for his masterful interpretation of music. When he was on, Petr Barna had 'the whole package'. Since turning professional in 1992, he's worn many hats: husband, father, professional skater and most recently, coach in Switzerland. It was my absolute privilege to have chance to reflect with Petr on his competitive career, talk about the current state and future of skating and life today in this short but sensational interview I'm thrilled to share:
Q: Your "amateur" career was such an incredible one. In addition to the Olympic bronze medal in 1992, you won four medals at the European Championships (including gold in 1992), were credited as the first person in history to land a quad jump at the Olympics and were also the first men's skater to earn a perfect score of 6.0 at the World Championships in the short program. Add to that eight Czechoslovakian titles, over ten international titles... Wow. Looking back at that time in career now, what moments are you the proudest of and which were the most challenging?
A: I think the most challenging was my bronze medal at Europeans in Birmingham, because I had skated with a sprained ankle on my right foot. I am happy about all my achievements, but of course the Olympic medal is number one on my list. I am proud that I was able to be competitive consistently for ten years on the highest level and give a challenge to the skaters from the U.S.A. ,Canada and Russia. I have to give thanks to my coach who was protecting me from the Communist system at the time.
Q: You actually started training in an outdoor rink in Czechoslovakia in the early seventies the same year that Ondrej Nepela won his Olympic gold medal. How influential was Nepela's skating on your own career?
A: Actually, I was not so much looking up to Ondrej as a skater but more as human being. He was always a very down to earth kind of person. He always treated me and other people very nicely and that is what I took from knowing him personally.
Q: You of course competed constantly against Jozef Sabovcik throughout your careers both as ISU eligible and professional skaters. Was there a friendship there, a rivalry, or both?
A: I think for me Jozef was more always more of a friend than a rival. He was a massive jumper!
Q: You turned professional in 1992 and had a successful career that spanned over a decade, touring with Champions On Ice and the World Cup tour and competed in countless professional competitions including the World Professional Championships, Challenge Of Champions and Miko Masters competition in France. What are you proudest of about your professional career and what would you have done differently?
A: I do not think I would want do anything differently. I would just want do it again. I do not regret what I have done. What I regret is what I haven't done. The best time as a skater is always when you get that standing ovation.
Q: Of all of the programs you have skated over the years, if you had to pick a favourite what would it be?
A: I like all my programs. They are part of me and my team who helped me to build them. The most memorable ones though would have to be "Paganini", "Hamlet" and "Chaplin".
Q: Was returning to eligible competition during the ISU reinstatement period before and after the Lillehammer Games something you ever considered?
A: In 1993, I was not thinking about it. When I think about it now, I would go for it. It would have prolonged my skating career but then again I would have missed many other things outside of skating.
Q: As a coach, you now have the opportunity to view the sport through a different lens. Do you like or dislike the direction that skating is going in these days and how do you perceive figure skating's future?
A: I think for coaches, it is easier. You do not have to be so creative. You know what needs to be in the program. There is not much time left for interesting stuff, though. I feel bad for the skaters. They have to do a one minute step sequence and three fifteen second spins. It is very energy consuming and that is why they have no energy to create masterpieces. Only very few are able to create memorable programs. I wish skaters would have more freedom, then they would be able to create memorable programs. They are so talented and they could do so much better. I think the future is in the quality rather than in the quantity.
Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and why?
A: Igor Bobrin was very inventive. Robin Cousins for his posture, flow and extensions. Brian Boitano for his dedication to training and jump technique.
Q: What is one thing most people don't know about you?
A: I started as skier before skating, I am very good in table tennis and have handicap of five in golf.
Q: What is the biggest lesson that figure skating has taught you about life?
A: Keep going and do not look back.
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.
Since I started writing this blog back in February 2013, I've interviewed hundreds of incredible skaters, reviewed competitions, written editorials and researched figure skating history... and I've loved almost every minute of it. That said, I wanted to announce some important changes that are coming with respect to content on the blog going forward.
OUT WITH THE NEW
For starters, last season I spent hours upon hours recapping and reviewing current ISU competitions. Although I got to enjoy more than my fair share of phenomenal skating, I'd rather just enjoy watching some of the competitions this season at my leisure. Picking apart skater's "GOE" or "PCS" scores and lamenting over the IJS judging system isn't something that appeals to me personally nor is it a direction I want to take with the blog going forward. I want to again recommend Jackie Wong's Figure Skating Examiner site and Claire Cloutier's A Divine Sport blog. They are two of several sites that offer some wonderful resources in this respect.
Standalone interviews are another area that I'm going to be stepping away from going forward although interviewing may continue to be a component of certain historical blogs when relevant. There are literally hundreds of amazing interviews with skaters from all around the world including dozens of Olympic Medallists and World Champions that will remain (with all of the content) archived in searchable format on the blog. I've saved some of the very BEST for last... and I think you're going to love the final two interviews with Olympic Bronze Medallist and European Champion Petr Barna and Olympic Gold Medallist, European Champion and World Professional Champion Robin Cousins. Although Petr's is short and sweet, I was so thankful for the opportunity. Robin's is quite in-depth and one that I have always wanted to do. Both will be posted this week.
IN WITH THE OLD
So, you're probably thinking ''if he's not doing event recaps and he's not doing interviews... what IS he doing?" Oscar Wilde once said that "anyone can make history. Only a great man can write it." I don't think it will come as any shock to any of you that my real passion lies in researching and studying figure skating's rich history. Throughout the 2015/2016 season and beyond, you can expect and count on AT LEAST two new blogs a week exploring a wide range of eclectic stories from skating's rich and colourful history... everything from anecdotes to revisiting competitions, shows and tours of yesteryear to skater biographies, lesser known factoids and shocking stories. Rather than follow in the vein of the majority of 'mainstream' skating blogs out there, I will continue to take MY inspiration from wonderful podcasts that follow in the exact same structure like Stuff You Missed In History Class, Footnoting History, Nate DiMeo's The Memory Palace and countless others. Which brings me to my final announcement...
I don't think it's possible for me to be any more excited about this one! Later this summer, the blog is going to be collaborating with The Manleywoman SkateCast on a unique six part audio series about skating history called Axels In The Attic. Allison Manley and I will be sharing 6.0 absolutely unique and deliciously little known stories from skating's decadent history in short form podcasts that you can download from this blog, Allison's site and hopefully iTunes and Stitcher.
I hear from readers of the blog how they enjoy reading new blogs as soon as they come out, catching up on weekends, in bed or in the case of loyal reader Jim, reading on commutes to and from work. The Axels In The Attic podcast series will allow you to even more freedom during the busy summer months to listen on the go while you're out walking, camping, driving, biking or just being your fabulous selves in the sun and as the episodes are quite long form for blogs but short for podcasts, you'll only be devoting ten to fifteen minutes of your day to learning about figure skating history... which is nothing compared to the time I've been spending the last couple years, believe me honey. On the blog, each episode of Axels In The Attic will also be accompanied with show notes which will consist of the full text transcribed as well as pictures, videos, etc. when available and pertinent to the topic... so if you're a visual learner more than audio one, you've still got the option to read along as you always do on the blog.
Two last points to make about all of this exciting news! Number one... please forgive my (sometimes thick) Nova Scotian accent. Number two... I'm going to stress again that the subjects of the Axels In The Attic series are just unbelievably fascinating listens. As always on the blog, I will not ever ask for compensation for my time and efforts in putting this all together but as The Manleywoman SkateCast is listener supported and the hosting of audio files is just insane in terms of bandwidth, it would really make me smile if you supported Allison's project if that's something you're able to do. Even if you're not, enjoy this series as much as Allison and I have in putting it together for you!
I hope you appreciate the changes in direction I will be taking with the blog going forward! The best is absolutely yet to come and I want to thank you ALL for your support!
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.
Liz's husband Bernie liked to pop - not chew - his gum and it irritated her so much that she took the shotgun off the wall and fired two warning shots... into his head. Annie was dating a man named Ezekiel Young from Salt Lake City and found out he actually had six wives so she poisoned him with arsenic. June's husband Wilbur accused her of screwing the milkman and met his demise by running into her knife ten times. Hunyak, a Hungarian ballerina, didn't speak a lick of English but one thing was for sure. She wasn't guilty. Velma caught her husband and sister sleeping together. That didn't go so well for either for them. Mona's boyfriend Alvin Lipschitz cheated on her with both men and women. In the end, he met his end as the result of artistic differences: he saw himself alive and she saw him dead. Those six merry murderesses of the Cook's County Jail could have easily been joined by another murderess who loved to perform - figure skater Yvonne de Ligne.
Before we talk about what she did, let's talk about who she was. Born September 19, 1907 in Brussels, Belgium as Yvonne Geurts, she grew up in an affluent Brussels family and made her international debut as a competitive figure skater in Budapest, Hungary when the 1929 World Figure Skating Championships for women were contested. The first ladies singles skater from Belgium ever to compete at the World Championships, she finished in last place almost seventy two points behind the winner who was of course Sonja Henie. Success was slow and fleeting for the Belgian skater. Her best results were sixth place finishes ahead of future World Champions Cecilia Colledge and Megan Taylor at both the 1932 Winter Olympics and World Championships and a fifth place at the 1933 European Championships. That same year, she slipped to eighth place in a field of nine at the World Championships. By her final competition, the 1936 World Championships, she was one of the older competitors in the field and had dropped to eleventh place. de Ligne was certainly a skater who had her up's and down's but not one who in hindsight is well remembered historically.
For her skating, that is. A teenage bride, Yvonne was the wife of Belgian speed skater Charles de Ligne, who was a decorated World War I cavalry officer and owner of a successful seed business. His sporting career wasn't exactly as impressive as his wife's though; his dismal times from the 1936 Olympics in Germany gave him the unique distinction of being the slowest speed skater in Olympic history. It's a shame too, because maybe if he was a little faster he might have had the sense to get away from his wife. During World War II, the married couple had been leaders of the Belgian underground during the Nazi occupation, helping smuggle hundreds of Allied fliers, downed over enemy territory, and Allied secret agents to getaway boats in the English Channel. Behind closed doors however, the marriage of the two skaters was turbulent at best.
Yvonne fell in love with a Dutch figure and speed skater coaching figure skating at a club in Antwerp, Belgium named Jacob Hartog. While her husband was away, de Ligne moved Hartog into the couple's second home... because that's a great idea, right? Charles returned from a dangerous underground mission to the couple's suburban 'getaway cottage', found Yvonne and Jacob living there, there was a scuffle and Charles kicked Jacob out. Shocker, right? Not so much. Yvonne, then forty two, had developed an obsession for Jacob (who was ten years her junior) and was furious that her older husband put a stop to her live-in affair. Much like the merry murderesses of the Cook County Jail, was out for blood. In November 1944 she decided to do something about her little problem.
Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine
Ellery Queen's April 7, 1957 true crime article "Murder In The Underground" explained that "she knew that if passion stood out as the motive, she would be the obvious suspect. So she set about creating a false motive that would send the police off on a wild-goose chase. This woman built her false motive out of nothing less than a world war. In fact, out of the war Yvonne de Ligne manufactured two false motives, so that, if one failed, there would still be another between the police and the truth. The time was November, 1944... In this climate Yvonne de Ligne set her trap for the Belgian police. She was in a unique position to do so. She and her husband Charles were national heroes... One of the underground with whom the de Lignes had worked against the Germans was a chemist named Timmermans. Yvonne went to Timmermans and confided in him that Charles, her husband, was 'anti-Belgian' and was using his underground connections to betray honest patriots to the Gestapo. Timmermans was deeply disturbed. He could not believe that de Ligne was a traitor, but here was the man's own wife accusing him. The chemist decided to send her to see one of the most dreaded of Belgium's underground operatives, Armand Michiels, who specialized in executions of traitors. On the afternoon of November 14, 1944, Yvonne and Charles de Ligne cycled out of Brussels to their little love nest. Shortly after 7 pm Armand Michiels entered the cottage and pumped five bullets into de Ligne's heart -convinced that Charles had betrayed Belgium. It was not true. Convincing Michiels that it was, so that if the executioner were caught he might convince the authorities, had been merely one of Yvonne de Ligne's red herrings. The other Yvonne offered to the police in person, after the shooting - she suggested that her husband might have been slain by an agent of the Gestapo! It seemed plausible. During the occupation the Gestapo had suspected de Ligne's underground activities, but they had never been able to catch him at work. The fact that the killing had been done with a German Luger seemed a confirmation. What the police did not know at the time was that Yvonne had given Michiels 3,500 francs to purchase a German-made weapon. But the cleverest criminal plans have a way of collapsing under competent police investigation and the criminal's own carelessness. By the spring of 1945 Yvonne was openly and gaily consorting with Jacob Hartog. The police raided his rooms and found a bundle of love letters to Hartog from Yvonne, with damaging dates and other evidence of their illicit love affair. Timmermans was questioned and his testimony led to Michiels. And Michiels confessed to the killing."
Michiels was sentenced to a fifteen year term in jail. As noted in the April 1, 1946 clipping from The Milwaukee Journal above, Yvonne, the real mastermind behind the cold-blooded murder, escaped the death penalty. She was instead sentenced to life in prison. For his knowledge of his lover's plot, Hartog was sentenced to a three year term but was released after a year because of advanced tuberculosis and died shortly thereafter. Six years into de Ligne's term, she too was released and died of tuberculosis in 1952. Three skaters, one murder and a plot every bit as bizarre (if not moreso) than the 'whack heard around the world' when Nancy Kerrigan was attacked in 1994, don't you think? One thing's for sure, unlike de Ligne and the six merry murderesses of the Cook's County Jail, if I'd been there, if I'd have seen it, I would NOT have done the same.
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.
In today's blog, I wanted to venture away from the usual fare on the blog for a bit and talk a little about an incredible resource that's very much out there and you may not even be aware of. Launched in 2008, iCoachSkating.com is probably the most comprehensive library of technical skating knowledge ever compiled. It's one thing to read about something but any of us who have ever laced up and got on the ice know that the majority of instruction you're going to receive and of course absorb comes from visual learning and actually getting out there and experiencing something. For those of you who are in no way familiar with what the site really is, it's a compendium of instructional videos from some of the BEST coaches out there walking you through (step by step) the elements of figure skating - from the bare bones basics to jumps, spins, footwork and even choreography and off ice training exercises. As a reader of the blog, you'll be familiar with many of the names. I've interviewed some of the featured coaches and choreographers like Michelle Leigh, Douglas Webster, Tom Zakrajsek and Sheila Thelen before. Whatever your background or interest level, some of the other names are just going to jump out at you: Frank Carroll, Pasquale Camerlengo, Kori Ade. In the words of Edina Monsoon, "names, names, names sweetie!" For a change, rather than me wax poetically about what makes this site relevant to EVERYONE (not just coaches and skaters) I thought I'd sit down and chat with the site's founder Trevor Laak and give you a first hand look at what makes iCoachSkating.com so important:
Q: Why did you decide to start iCoachSkating.com?
A: A: It was actually kind of a long process to develop the idea. Basically when I went from being a skater to a coach, I started to recognize that some of the things that I had been taught - or how I was taught - wasn't working with my skaters. For example, I was taught to step up into an 'H position' on an axel and if you watch in slow motion what actually happens with an axel, there is no 'H position'. I had a lot of questions and I started to seek information. I ran across Audrey Weisiger and the whole Grassroots To Champions team and I started to learn immediately from them. I had been doing a whole bunch of video analysis on my own before I met them and had developed all kinds of new teaching methods on my own but when I started to work with them I was like wow... I was like a kid in a candy store. There were so many new ideas and concepts. Essentially, I thought to myself if I'm so excited by all of this, there's got to be so many other people who are ALSO excited just to learn these new coaching techniques and ways of learning jumps and spins. So why don't we create an online resource that makes it easy for people to learn - that they can access at any time and from anywhere.
Q: It's such an interesting concept and something that hasn't been done before and one thing that really stuck with me when I was watching the videos was the value of these videos as a training tool for coaches. Were coaches your initial target audience or were skaters or both?
A: My initial target audience was coaches and in fact, I didn't have a way to limit skaters and skating parents from joining the site but I made it clear that the focus was on the coaches. The reason I did that was that I suspected the people using the material would be just like me; they'd be coaches that wanted to be better coaches. We initially launched the site in June 2008 and by 2011, the site had tons of adult skaters on and skating families also and many were asking for additional information. I said 'well, are you a coach?' and they said 'no, but please let me fly under the radar because this is so valuable to me.' In 2011, that's when we opened it up to everyone because we found that especially adult skaters, they want to know details about the sport that they don't get from their own coach. It's been a great relationship with adult skaters all over the world. Skating families as well! We hear from them that it's helped them become better skating parents and helped them understand what their coaches are saying and in some cases it helps them make better coaching decisions in terms of maybe staying with a coach, changing coaches or just becoming more informed and being a more educated consumer.
Q: Do you have many younger skaters who are using the information or is mainly adult skaters?
A: I would say for the skaters on the site, it is definitely weighted toward adult skaters but we do have quite a few younger skaters on the site. For younger skaters, it really depends on their personality. Even with the best intentions of their parents, some just don't like to learn skating from a video. But others love the site and get a tremendous amount of value from it because it makes their own lessons with their coach that much more impactful. They tend to focus more on the right things. For some young skaters it works, for some it doesn't. That's one of the reasons we have a guarantee. If it doesn't work for you, no problem. You get your money back.
Q: Where the focus of what I generally write about is skating history, one thing that jumped out at me in reviewing some of the videos on the site is how wonderful it is to have this archival footage of coaches like Frank Carroll, like Charlie Tickner demonstrating their coaching techniques. Do you think that these videos have appeal to non-skaters or fans as archival material?
A: I think there is some aspect of historical value because coaches like Frank and Charlie for sure show the traditional style of coaching. That's how I was taught to skate, and I learned those same methods of teaching at every coaching seminar I would go to. But I'm also really excited to showcase many newer ideas on iCoachSkating. The vast majority of skating coaches already know how Frank Carroll teaches because he's spent years sharing his knowledge. I think the website is valuable to the average coach and skater because it contains lots of non-traditional ideas that they are not as familiar with.
Q: Obviously the technical side is your priority but is exploring teaching choreography and that side of it something you want to focus on more in the future?
A: It definitely is. I'm actually fascinated by the creative side of skating and have been heavily involved with Grassroots To Champions and Young Artists Showcase so I'm fascinated by the creative process. It's challenging to convey that information. I could sit down and talk with Pasquale Camerlengo. He's an international choreographer and has choreographed a number of really fantastic programs for the Japanese men, for example, and when you talk to him about the process, it's still sort of this high level discussion. In some ways, it would be more value if I could get a video of Pasquale working with one of those high level skaters so people could actually SEE the process because for some reason, when people talk about the process they often leave all sorts of details out. 'I see what the skater can do.' Well, what does that mean to the average coach? It means what's the vocabulary the skater has in terms of movement and how can I apply that? Often times, an average coach doesn't have a strong movement vocabulary themselves so they are at a bit of a loss to interpret what someone like Pasquale is saying.
Q: It's certainly a challenge with the IJS with rules constantly changing every season. Let's take spins, for instance. Has this posed an issue with developing content for the site?
A: I think that's a really good question. Originally, we really wanted to provide information about the IJS and be like 'okay, here's the latest and greatest and here's what these rules mean' because honestly, it doesn't seem like anyone's really stepping up and providing that. You and I can go and read the rules and the way you may interpret it could be completely different than how I would. I mean, I could sit in a room full of top coaches and we'll all have different opinions about what those rules mean so it became clear pretty really on that that was going to be a dead end. I made sort of an executive decision to pull away from that and really don't have any IJS content on the site anymore. That's not to say we don't have training that's related to the IJS. We have a video on pretty much every spin position you can get into and how to teach those positions but we don't say what points they are worth this year and what combination of those positions are valid. We just help the coaches teach the positions so when they read the rules and have a clear interpretation of what the rules are, then they can apply the educational information that's on our website and help their skaters accomplish those elements to give them maximum points.
Q: Is pairs, for instance, something you'd ever consider branching out to?
A: I was a pairs skater and I'm absolutely fascinated by pairs and always have been. When I skated pairs, it was so much fun but the simple fact is that what I do takes time and effort and I have a limited amount of resources in terms of time and effort. The number of people in the U.S., Canada and around the world who would benefit from me putting out that information probably wouldn't be worth the time and effort. When it comes right down to it, if I publish something on pairs, probably one out of every ten might actually be interested in it or use it. It comes down to the question as to where I can really put in that time and effort to have the biggest impact on the sport.
Q: Wearing a skater's hat, what I love about these videos is that they really have the potential to supplement lessons. For instance, if you know that you're learning a flip/loop combination that day and only have say, a fifteen minute lesson, you can watch a video of a high level coach showing you the arm positions, what edge you should be on for take off, how you pick in for the flip and you kind of have a head start. Does that happen a lot?
A: That's another really good question. Originally, I would have thought the same thing. As it turns out, it's often more after the fact. For instance, the skater might have a lesson on back three turns from their coach and they didn't know they were working on back three turns in that lesson. But after that lesson, they get super motivated and want to know everything they can about back three turns and it seems to me, that's when they turn to us, use the search function and find the topic they're interested in. Others may be watching every video as it comes out and sort of storing that information away in their brains and going back and reviewing that information when they need it.
Q: One thing Sheila (Thelen) mentioned to me when I was speaking to her is the fact that a lot of younger or less experienced coaches have a hard time teaching a double axel, for instance, if they didn't have one themselves. Going back to what you were saying earlier about vocabulary, is that something you find with your coaching audience that's made the videos even more valuable?
A: Yes, it is. It's actually one of the most important functions that we play... allowing coaches to be even better coaches than they were as skaters. We think of teaching a double axel and if you can take that information and back out that information into how you teach an axel or even a waltz jump and you have the potential for that skater to make that much more progress when they do get to the double axel. What we're finding is coaches are not only better prepared when they are getting to double axels and triples that they themselves have never done before but the skaters themselves are ALSO better prepared because the skaters have the fundamentals in place so that a double axel or triple CAN happen.
Q: What is the price point on all of this? Are people paying for a monthly membership? A yearly one? How does that all of that work?
A: A monthly membership is $29.97 and an annual membership is $267.00 so you are saving more than 25% by joining for the whole year.
Q: Why should someone absolutely join?
A: I could give you the answer in one word and I'll give you the word and then explain it. The word is CONFIDENCE. We hear this over and over and over again not only from the coaches who are members of the site but also skaters and skating parents. When you have more information, it builds your confidence. For example, coaches who are on the site know that if they are teaching it the way some elite coach is, they are doing something right. In the areas they feel weak, they can strengthen those by going into the website and learning new ways to teach it so we are taking a weakness and turning it into a strength and that also builds confidence. It works similarly for adult skaters. They might tell us that their skating isn't improving as much as they thought it would, but they are developing confidence by knowing they are doing the right thing to get the progress that they want.
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.
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.
Less than a year ago, Claire Cloutier of Salem, Massachusetts started writing her blog "A Divine Sport" and I have to say, I think she's been doing a fantastic job. For those who aren't familiar, she focuses mostly on competitive pairs skating from a very analytical perspective and has a really refreshing take on things. She's also done some wonderful editorial pieces and approaches her subjects from a place of respect, offering intelligent insight into the sport and its 'players'. We talked about how the digital age has changed the way that people digest information about figure skating, why she decided to get into blogging, her plans for the future of her project, favourite skaters and much more in this interview I really enjoyed. Get to know the person behind a name I have a feeling you'll be hearing a lot more of!: Q: Thanks so much for agreeing to this interview! I want to start by talking a bit about your background in skating. I understand that you've been a huge fan of the sport since back in 1991. Have you ever skated yourself and is judging something that you ever considered exploring?
A: Well, skating is something that I did as a kid. I took lessons for a few years and learned all the basics. You know, basic jumps, crossovers, turns, that kind of thing but I never competed or did any testing. As an adult now, I'm kind of trying to get back into my skating. I've been skating for a couple of years now and I'm working on hopefully taking the pre-preliminary moves in the field and freestyle tests. Judging is something I have thought about, probably more in the past than now. As I've learned more about the sport and skaters, I feel like judging is such a responsibility. It can have such a big outcome for skaters. I think I'd almost be nervous about trying it but it's certainly interesting. Q: You started writing your blog "A Divine Sport" back in October and I have to say that in terms of critically analyzing competitive pairs skating in particular, it's one of the most well written skating blogs I've seen come out in the last several years! How did you reach the decision to start blogging about figure skating?
A: It was something I'd been thinking about for a while. I'd been active on skating forums for quite a long time but I was having the feeling that there were subjects that I might like to explore in a little more depth than you typically see on a forum. What I have to say really pushed me to really start the blog was Ottavio Cinquanta and his proposal last year to possibly eliminate the short program. So you can blame it on Cinquanta! When he came out with that proposal, I realized this was something I felt really strongly about, was opposed to and wanted to speak up about, but I didn't really have a forum to do that so I decided I'd like to have a place online on an issue when I felt like I had something to say. Q: Just as NPR and public radio have really taken off, independent blogs and podcasts have become a very real part of the figure skating 'media' landscape and with that, there has certainly been a bit of the good, bad the and the oh sweetie no... I like to think of it as there being something for everyone. That said, I'm quite curious to also ask you what you have found to be the biggest CHALLENGES of blogging about figure skating to be because let me tell you, after talking to many bloggers and podcasters who write about different topics entirely, I have personally found that it's a different beast ENTIRELY. What are your thoughts?
A: For me personally, my biggest challenge is the time to do the research and the writing. Very specific to skating, for me the hardest thing is finding that fine line between writing in a way that's interesting yet still being fair and considerate of other viewpoints. I want the blog to have a point of view but yet I don't want to be personally attacking any skater or anyone in the skating world. It's such a small world and people are so interconnected that you just want to sort of respect everyone's efforts and what they're wanting to do. Q: It certainly IS a small world after all and that's certainly something you have to always consider. So... you've waxed quite poetically about the problems the current anonymous judging system has generated for the sport: "I don’t like seeing so many unhappy, sad faces after performances. I don’t like seeing so many robotic, mechanical, uninteresting programs. I love competitive figure skating, but I feel like something needs to change. I think many others feel the same. The product we have now - competitive skaters’ programs and performances - could be so much better. The IJS needs major reform, in my opinion. I would never want to see the sport return to 6.0. But there’s got to be a middle ground somewhere that will take us back in the direction we want to go: Toward skating that is technically accomplished - but also beautiful, memorable, and joyful." If you could change one thing and one thing only about the way the sport is being judged, what would it be?
A: If I could any change one thing like this moment, I think it would be reducing the penalties on underrotations in jumping. I think that's one thing I would change right this moment mainly because I think it's having a very negative impact on ladies skating specifically. Underrotations aren't really much of a factor in pairs and even in men's, it's not nearly as much as it is in ladies. When the ISU rolled out the IJS, they weren't really marking underrotations and who knows? It could change tomorrow and negatively impact the other divisions too. Q: Speaking of judging, going all the way back to 1991, could you pick one judging result from a major competition that you would have reversed or changed?
A: That is easy and for me, like for a lot of people, it would definitely be the ladies event in Sochi. I definitely feel Yuna Kim should have been the Olympic Gold Medallist in Sochi. I've always been pretty honest about that. Obviously not everyone's going to agree with me, but that's definitely the one I would change. Going all the way back to 2007 Worlds, I would have liked to have seen Mao Asada be the World Champion that year. Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and why?
A: My favourite skater of all time definitely is Kristi Yamaguchi. She was the skater that made me a fan of the sport and brought me into the sport and I loved her skater as an amateur and a professional. She was so strong and consistent when she was competing and I really admired her composure when she was competing. Artistically, I loved the precision and delicateness of her style and how she explored so many musical styles and tried to grow as a professional. Second would have to be Gordeeva and Grinkov. To me, they're definitely the best pairs team of all time and I still cry whenever I see their 1988 Olympic long program. It was just so perfect. For a third choice, I have to pick two people. I might pick Yuna Kim. She was such an interesting skater and the speed and technical brilliance. I kind of think of her like a diamond - not always the most emotionally available skater but just so brilliant. But you know, I can't think really think of Yuna without thinking of Mao. I always kind of always put them together because they competed together for so long. Mao, I love, because she's always the most sheerly beautiful, graceful skater maybe that I've ever seen. Q: How do you feel about a skater like Michelle Kwan?
A: I loved Michelle. Looking back on her programs now, I'm just so impressed with the emotional quality and so many of the different things she DID with her choreography. Q: What is one thing most people don't know about you?
A: I'm kind of very competitive and a little rebellious. Q: Nothing wrong with that! I think I fall under both of those categories as well. What can we expect on "A Divine Sport" blog over the summer and during the 2015/2016 season?
A: I'm still kind of working on ideas. For next season, I'd definitely like to hopefully continue my pairs coverage as people are still interested in it. I really enjoy it. I like pairs and I like writing about it. My dream actually is that I would like to doing a few interviews, maybe with some skaters but I'd really love to start talking with some coaches and choreographers and exploring that perspective. Coaches have so much to say. If I am able to get any interviews going, I think that's where I'd like to concentrate initially. It would be a dream to talk to someone like Julie Marcotte, who does pairs choreography for Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford and some of the American pairs and just to hear how she decides on music and comes up with choreography... I just think that would be so interesting.
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.
