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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.
Divided pond with behind Main Street in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia with areas blocked off for hockey and figure skating, circa 1961. Photo courtesy Tatamagouche Heritage Centre.
"The old people of New Annan often used to tell how on a Sabbath that their Pastor was not to preach there, they would skate on the ice to Tatamagouche and even to River John, attend two services and return home the same day." - Frank H. Patterson, "A History Of Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia", 1917
Do you know what's a good time? History. Do you know what's an even better time? Food. Today, we will blend the two with a brief look at the history of The Tatamagouche Figure Skating Club and a selection of delightfully eighties Nova Scotian recipes from the 1985 cookbook "Cherished Recipes Of The Tatamagouche Figure Skating Club".
Clipping courtesy Tatamgouche Heritage Centre
Back in 1971, plans were drawn up to build a multi-purpose arena in Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia. By 1973, the first phase of the project - a natural ice rink enclosed by a fence - was completed. In 1975, the North Shore Recreation Centre officially opened an indoor rink in a steel building with an artificial ice plant. That winter, Dr. Austin Creighton called a meeting of local citizens interested in developing a skating club and the Tatamagouche Figure Skating Club was born. At the club's first Annual General Meeting in April 1976, Mrs. Marjorie Hatherly reported that the club had been registered with the CFSA and had two hundred and fifty members. Skaters from Halifax came to Tatamagouche that year to reproduce their carnival and the following year, Susan Crowell arrived from Truro to provide the skaters with professional instruction. In the years that followed, Doris Byers organized a series of annual carnivals consisting primarily of local talent and classes were held for both beginner and intermediate skaters. By the late eighties and early nineties, many of the club's skaters joined the competitive skating arena... and in 2009 John Mattatall became the first skater from Tatamagouche to win a senior medal at the Canadian Championships. Now that you have had a quick primer on the club's early history, without further ado, a taste of Tatamagouche from the pages of a tried, tested and true skating club fundraising tradition... the cookbook!
Clipping courtesy Tatamagouche Heritage Centre
HADDOCK CASSEROLE (Sheila Elderkin)
1 lb. frozen haddock fillets
1/2 c. finely chopped onion
1/4 c. butter or margarine
2 tbsp. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 c. milk
1 c. shredded cheese
1-1 1/4 oz. env. sour cream sauce mix or 1/-1/2 c. dairy sour cream
1 c. frozen peas, thawed
1-4 oz. can mushroom stems & pieces, drained
1 1/2 c. soft bread crumbs
In a large skillet, barely cover haddock with water. Simmer gently till fish flakes with a fork, 12-15 minutes. Drain. Break fish into large chunks; set aside. Meanwhile, in a large saucepan, cook onion in 2 tbsp. butter or margarine till tender, but not brown. Blend in flour, salt and pepper. Add 1 c. of milk, all at once. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat. Add cheese, stir till melted. Use remaining 1/2 c. milk, add sour cream, cheese sauce, fish, peas and mushrooms. Turn into casserole dish. Melt remaining 2 tbsp. butter, toss with bread crumbs to combine. Bake, uncovered at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes.
CHICKEN THIGHS OR PIECES (Susan Crowell)
5 lbs. chicken pieces
2 medium onions, sliced
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 tbsp. hot dry mustard
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. water
Salt and pepper to taste
Garlic powder
Layer chicken and onions in Dutch oven. Mix together rest of ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake for 2 hours at 375 degrees (covered). Stir around a bit after an hour. If too much liquid, leave uncovered for the rest of baking time.
GRANOLA COOKIES (Janet Mattatall)
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. white sugar
1/4 c. melted honey
1 c. shortening
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. soda
1 tsp. salt
1/2 c. wheat germ
1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. rolled oats
1/2 c. coconut
Mix in the order ingredients are given. Drop on cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees. Nuts and raisins may be added if desired.
1 small can pineapple juice
1/4 c. soya sauce
1/3 c. vinegar
1 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. cornstarch
1/2 c. water
2 c. bite size pineapple
1 medium green pepper
Combine first 8 ingredients. Form into small balls. Fry in oil until light brown. Combine pineapple juices, soya sauce, vinegar and brown sugar. Bring to boil, add 1/4 c. corn starch which has been blended with water. Cook and stir until thick and clear. Add meat balls, pineapple and green pepper. Heat about 3 minutes.
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 Peace Bridge Arena. Photo courtesy Fort Erie Public Library.
Built in 1928 and owned by wealthy philanthropist and industrialist Frank Burkett Baird, the Peace Bridge Arena in Fort Erie, Ontario was really an answer to the members of the Buffalo Skating Club's prayers. Prior to the rink's construction, members had practiced once a week (weather permitting) on natural ice at the Nichols School Indoor Skating Rink.
On the artificial ice at the Peace Bridge Arena, figure skating flourished in the late twenties and early thirties. Ormonde B. Haycock, a former Canadian Champion, was hired as the new club professional and ice time expanded from one day a week to three days. The Weigel sisters - Mary, Estelle and Louise - each won U.S. novice or junior national titles in the early thirties and brought considerable attention to the club, which had been in existence since 1921. The 1935 Buffalo Skating Club carnival, held in conjunction with the Niagara Falls Skating Club at the Peace Bridge Arena was a complete sell-out and the social event of the winter season. The March 18, 1935 issue of "The Niagara Falls Gazette" boasted, "For several days before the affair was scheduled tickets couldn't be had for love, money or influence. Society for miles around, skating enthusiasts and hundreds who had never before enjoyed the colour, rhythm and skill of the great performance simply jammed the big arena."
The Buffalo Bisons hockey team. Photo courtesy Fort Erie Public Library.
Then, just as figure skating in Buffalo was at the height of its popularity, it all came crashing down... literally. With a huge roar, the roof of the Peace Bridge Arena collapsed at 9:30 AM on March 17, 1936. Under the weight of thirteen inches of heavy, wet snow during a freak St. Patrick's Day blizzard, huge steel girders came hurtling down seventy feet to the ice surface, side walls tumbled down and a part of the front of the rink was forced forward. No employees were in the arena at the time of the disaster, however members of the Buffalo Bisons, an International Hockey League team, were just arriving for their morning practice session. The March 18, 1936 issue of the "Syracuse Port Journal" reported, "One player, Jarvis, was dressed and ready to step on the rink when the roof buckled under a load of snow." Miraculously, many of the hockey players preparing for the practice hadn't arrived yet and those who had all escaped without serious injury. The incident harkened back to a similar incident twenty one years prior in Port Colborne, Ontario. A play-off hockey game that ran late was so packed that the rink didn't clear out completely until midnight. Only two hours later, the rink's roof collapsed under a heavy snowfall.
The Peace Bridge Arena after collapsing in 1936. Photo courtesy Fort Erie Public Library.
The afternoon of the disaster, members of the Buffalo Skating Club held a special meeting. For you see, the 1936 Buffalo Skating Club carnival had originally been slated to be held on March 21. 1936. As it was an Olympic year and figure skating was at the height of its popularity with the Sonja Henie craze, ten thousand tickets had already been sold for the carnival and a who's who of North American skating had been invited to participate. Had the collapse happened only four days later during the carnival, thousands of people would certainly have perished. Among those who would have been in attendance were the show's director Gustave Lussi, Ormonde B. Haycock, the Weigel sisters, Audrey Peppe, Eleanor and Margaret Wilson of the Granite Club and the Toronto four... Mrs. Spencer Merry, Elizabeth Fisher, Hubert Sprott and Ralph McCreath.
The Weigel Sisters of Buffalo
Despite having lost their rink - and nearly their lives - the members of the Buffalo Skating Club persevered. A history of the club penned in 1971 through material submitted by Mrs. Bryant Glenny, Mrs. Beryl Poutie Wilkinson, Mrs. Edward Weigel Atwill, Rita Lowery, John R. Smith and The Nichols School noted, "The Carnival was rescheduled for April 1 at the Niagara Falls, Ontario Arena. During the two week interim, rehearsals for the show were held at Mr. William W. Weigel's private skating rink at Pratt St., which was the first artificial rink built in Buffalo. Following the 1936 season the club suspended operations for a year and a half, though some members carried on their skating at the Weigel's private rink and at Niagara Falls. In the Fall of 1937, a group of club members coordinated with The Nichols School in equipping their rink with artificial ice making facilities. The compressors came from the old Broadway Auditorium and are still being used to make ice at the Dann Memorial Rink, in addition to an artificial compressor needed for a much larger ice surface."
Although the perseverance and 'the show must go on' attitude of the Buffalo Skating Club's members was incredibly admirable, the Peace Bridge Arena collapse could have certainly been one of the biggest tragedies in figure skating history. It's certainly a reminder that when it comes to skating... timing is everything.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
"There is one great advantage of figure skating as a sport, and that is age is not a potent factor of success, as past history shows that many of our best-known experts were men well on to middle life. It certainly is an enemy of dyspepsia and kindred troubles, and is the most exhilarating though not the most violent sport known in this country." - George Dawson Phillips, "Harper's Weekly", January 7, 1893
Born September 9, 1856 in New York City, George Dawson Phillips was the son of James and Mary (Seguine) Phillips. He practically grew up on the ice and on December 1867 at the age of eleven won his first skating title - a one mile speed skating race - on 46th and 5th Avenue, the future site of the grand Windsor Hotel which burned to the ground in a devastating fire on St. Patrick's Day, 1899.
Like that fire, George raced through his early skating career, dominating American speed skating competitions for twenty years from 1867 to 1887. He competed against Norway's Axel Paulsen, won the Championships Of America in the two hundred and twenty yard, five, ten and twenty five mile distances and set records which remained unbeaten until the late nineteenth century. In his book "How To Become A Skater", writer Frederick Toombs recalled, "During 1883 and '84 G. Phillips created a furor by sprinting one hundred yards in '10 3-58, 220 yards in 22 3-58, and a quarter mile in 44 1-5s, from a running start and without wind." At only five foot five and between one hundred and twenty and one hundred and thirty five pounds, George earned himself the nickname 'The Spider'.
In 1886, near the end of his speed skating career, George reinvented himself as a figure skater. Acclaimed for his cross-cut vines, he finished third at the Championships Of Canada in February 1890 behind Louis Rubenstein then tied with him at the 1891 Championships Of America. In 1892, he claimed the American title with a fifty one point lead over his closest rival. "Harper's Weekly" noted that he gave a "very clever exhibition" at the event but that without Rubenstein in attendance the event "was something of a disappointment". He returned to win the Championships Of America in Hoboken in 1895 and at the St. Nicholas Rink in New York City in 1897. However, his third win was shrouded by controversy. On January 27, 1897, The New York Tribune reported, "It was learned last night that one of the contestants will challenge Phillips. This man maintains that Phillips managed the Ice Skating Palace last winter, and therefore is a professional. Phillips asserts that his only relation to the Palace was as a broker in getting a loan for it. The protestant, however, will tonight exhibit two receipts, which purport to have been given by Phillips for salary paid him as a manager."
Competitors at the 1897 Championships Of America
A businessman by trade, George was also an accomplished oarsman with the Hudson Boat Club and long time member of the New York Athletic Club. An 'old time fancy skater' through and through, he prided himself on precision and strong technique and looked down upon the trend for 'showiness' amongst skaters around the turn of the century. In "Harper's Weekly", he wrote, "There is no recognized sport in which in the fine points are so little understood by the general public as in figure skating. This is proven by the applause which frequently follows the exhibitions of showy skaters as compared to finished and methodical competitors. In many of our amateur championship competitions this has been the case, and reporters of our daily papers have been the worst offenders, often putting their ideas in print when they have been in direct opposition to the judges' decisions."
Further evidence that George resisted the trend for 'showy' skating presented itself in the January 30, 1901 issue of "The New York Daily Tribune". They reported, "Something new appeared at the local rinks last night, and while the performance was going on George D. Phillips, the old-time figure skating champion, and Dr. A. G. Keane, the present champion, fairly held their sides. Everybody else who saw the contortions of the skater were convulsed. Somebody said. 'Ragtime stunts on ice.' and the onlookers accepted the expression as the proper thing under the circumstances. At the end of the hockey game at the St. Nicholas Rink there was the usual scramble by the men. women, boys and girls to get upon the ice and enjoy skating themselves. Then an innovation appeared in the form of a youth of probably seventeen years. He wore skates of the old fashioned Dutch rocker sort, with short iron plates and with regular sleigh runner twists In front. Possibly the skates had something to do with the gyrations, and then again it may have been a nervous twitch of the muscles, combined with an erratic temperament. Whatever it was. the performance was one of the most remarkable ever seen on the ice. Cross-cuts were made backward and grapevines sideways. A spread eagle would suddenly turn into pirouettes, and hoops and ringlets were made as they were never made before in the memory of the oldest fancy skater. The young fellow did not mind the attention he created, but continued to cut those queer capers on the ice until it was time to close the rink. Several of the experts who tried to imitate him nearly broke their necks."
Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine
By the late nineteenth century, George finally retired from competitive skating. After the death of his first wife Charlotte Berry Corbett, he married Kentucky born Julia Biddle Coakley on April 29, 1905 and got in the ice manufacturing business. Julia got in the business of inventing space saving furniture. George also became involved with the International Skating Union of America, helping develop a committee for the Eastern Skating Union.
George Dawson Phillips (middle) with fellow judges at the 1898 Championships Of America
In November 1928 at the age of seventy two, George was honoured for his skating achievements by the Amateur Athletic Union at a gala banquet in New York City. He passed away on May 7, 1933 in Manhattan, New York at the age of seventy six. During his heyday "The Weekly Transcript" claimed, "In athletic circles, particularly skating, George D. Phillips is, without a doubt, one of the best known men in America." On January 5, 1959, George's wife Julia passed away the age of eighty eight. In her will, she left a bequest of ten thousand dollars to one Norman Thomas with a special provision: that the money be used "to promote peace and love among the people of the world and destroy hatred." A beautiful end to a fascinating story if there ever was one.
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.
"If you allow yourself to become the victim of superstition, every single thing is a sign indicating a positive or negative result." - Toller Cranston, "Toronto Star", Friday, February 13, 1987
A black cat crossing your path, spilling salt, walking under a ladder, opening an umbrella indoors and breaking a mirror are are all sure signs of bad luck to the superstitious among us. Those in search of good luck rarely walk down the aisle without something old, new, borrowed and blue. They have lucky rabbit's foots, horseshoes and pennies, break bottles over the bows of new ships as they are launched and cut the hair from a dog that bit them.
Not all superstitions are as 'simple' as the signs of good and bad luck. There are those who make the trek to Ireland to kiss the Blarney Stone, in hopes of earning the gift of eloquence. There are shopkeepers that refuse to sweep the sidewalk in front of their stores before the end of the day, lest they sweep away the day's trade. Centuries ago in Ireland, many believed that if you didn't make the sign of the cross and close your baby's mouth before they yawned, the Devil could rush into their body. According to old English lore, stirring your tea 'widdershins' (from right to left) foretold a fight, and if two women drank tea from the same pot, one of them would become pregnant.
Many actors refuse to use real flowers on stage or peek through the curtain at an audience before a play. They say "break a leg!" instead of good luck and never mention the exact number of lines they have, for fear they'll forget some. They never refer to the play "Macbeth" by its name, opting to call it "The Scottish Play" instead... for fear of death. Though actors have historically earned a reputation for being some of the most superstitious folks out there, they really have nothing on figure skaters!
Long before figure skating competitions were 'a thing', residents of Utah always placed their skates on top of something solid after carving out fancy figures on a pond. They feared that if their skates were hung from a hook, they would fall through the ice and drown the next time they skated. Not long after skaters began competing, the superstitions really began. Tropes like "a poor practice means a good competition to come" and "it's bad luck to draw first in the starting order" have been around since the days of Ulrich Salchow and Gillis Grafström.
Sonja Henie
Three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie once claimed a paper cutter, with a blade as sharp as her skates - brought her the good luck to win her first World title in Oslo, Norway in 1928. During her competitive career, the media went bananas with stories about how - although she brought many pairs with her - she just had to wear her 'lucky skates'. In reality, they were simply the pair she was using at the time. In her autobiography "Wings On My Feet", she lamented, "Much more was said about the fact that father took special care of them for me than was mentioned about my technique or skating background." Later, during her professional career, she refused to wear new laces in her skates when she started working on a new film. She once quipped, "Superstitions give your courage such a nice fake boost."
Cecilia Colledge and her 'lucky zoo'
One of Sonja Henie's rivals, Cecilia Colledge, wanted to wear a green satin dress for her free skating performance at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Though she always felt she skated best in the green dress, her mother insisted she wear silver. Not even her 'lucky zoo' of stuff animals saved her from finishing the event in second place. One of Cecilia's successors, Daphne Walker, started wearing a green elephant talisman at the age of eight for good luck and collected over three hundred elephant ornaments. Like Cecilia, she often wore green dresses in competition, flying in the face of the superstition that green was an unlucky colour.
Jack Dunn and Sonja Henie. Photo courtesy Minneapolis Historical Society.
Interestingly, two of Great Britain's top men's skaters during the thirties tragically passed away in their twenties... their deaths both linked to 'cursed' objects. Freddie Tomlins was killed over the English Channel while serving with the Royal Air Force in 1943. In 1937, he had been presented with an eighteen carat gold watch by Adolf Hitler. It was inscribed with the words, "To our dear Freddie Tomlins in remembrance of his skating in the Berliner Sports Palast, March 29 to April 4, 1937". Jackie Dunn, a 1936 Olympian who had gone to America in hopes of finding success on the silver screen, contracted tularemia, a rare disease spread by rabbits, and passed away after wearing a supposedly cursed ring once owned by Rudolph Valentino. He had been set to play Valentino in a film.
The professional skating boom during World War II wasn't without its superstitious skaters. Canadian Champion Norah McCarthy, who toured with the Ice Follies, wouldn't take the ice unless she was wearing her lucky yellow anklets. Backstage at the Center Theatre, coffee was nowhere to be found. Freddie Trenkler, one of the ice clowns who starred in the show, recalled drinking coffee the first time he took a nasty spill and insisted that only tea was drank by the cast. Joan Hyldoft, who skated with Freddie at the Center Theatre, had a bad habit of whistling in the dressing room. Her Irish dresser, Kitty, would send her outside and make her say two curse words before she would let her back in... to drive away the bad luck.
In 1946, Patricia Molony, the first Australian woman to compete at the World Championships, wouldn't take the ice unless she was wearing a bracelet of Australian charms and a New Zealand tiki. She always wore the same red socks (inside out) in her boots and - like Cecilia Colledge and Daphne Walker nearly a decade prior - considered green her lucky colour, wearing it for both figures and free skating when she competed.
Barbara Ann Scott and Sheldon Galbraith. Photo courtesy Library And Archives Canada.
Some believed that Barbara Ann Scott's appearance on the cover of "Time" magazine on February 2, 1948 would 'jinx' the young skater's chances at the Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, but the Canadian darling proved them wrong when she won Canada's first Olympic gold medal in figure skating. Barbara Ann was one of the most superstitious skaters in history. She thought it was bad luck to whistle in the dressing room and to place skates anywhere but on the floor when they were not in use. She had a lucky stuffed koala bear named Junior and some ivory elephant figurines she took everywhere with her. Her mother also bought her a good luck gnome in Stockholm, which she described as a "little carved wooden man, the ugliest little man I've ever seen, with a great long nose and a funny little hat on." She too considered green her lucky colour. In her book "Skate With Me", she recalled, "I have, I think some reason for being superstitious about the number five, because several times when I was growing up I came in fifth in a competition the first year I entered and then, the next time the competition was held, went back and came in first. And I like to draw the number thirteen, because I think that is lucky for me. My armband at the Olympic Games was Number 13 and I skated on Friday the 13th in the World Championships in '48."
Two time Olympic Gold Medallist Dick Button had a miniature gold skate pin that he wore in every competition. It was given to him after he won the U.S. novice title in 1944 and every time he achieved a new milestone in his career, his father had a diamond added. Olympic Silver Medallists Karol and Peter Kennedy became superstitious after a black cat crossed their path on the way to their rink when they won the 1951 World Championships. Olympic Gold Medallist Barbara Wagner was superstitious about the number thirteen. An article that appeared in "Imperial Oil" magazine in October 1957 noted, "When she started school, she came home with a 13 for her mother to sew inside her coat and she graduated from St. Clement's girls' school last June 13. In most competitions she manages to find a 13 either on a hotel room or a street number. Always on the watch for her lucky number, Barbara was happy when she found out she had been assigned no. 58 in the World Championships in Colorado Springs. 'After all,' she points out, 'eight and five make 13, don't they?'"
Maribel Vinson Owen's daughter 'Little Maribel' won the U.S. pairs title in 1961 with Dudley Richards and perished in the Sabena Crash shortly thereafter. She carried a silver four leaf clover with her wherever she went.
Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill
Olympic Gold Medallists Peggy Fleming and Dorothy Hamill had more than the same coach in common. They both tied their left skate first. One of Dorothy's competition rituals involved setting up a collection of stuffed animals on the boards when she competed in school figures - a koala, a troll and a monkey. After the figures at 1976 World Championships, her good luck charms disappeared. She took it as a sign her childhood was over.
Toller Cranston. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library.
During his competitive career, Toller Cranston was obsessed with numbers, believing for instance that if the went through a ticket wicket at an airport numbered five, he'd end up fifth at his next competition. In his book "When Hell Freezes Over", he recalled, "Throughout my skating life, I was haunted by the frightening sense that everything I did - how I got on the ice, my numerical starting position, the colour of my costume, the way I laced my skates - was fraught with earth-shattering importance. If I made the wrong choice, everything would blow up in my face. I was tap dancing on a volcano. One wrong tap might activate the lava flow." In 1986, he changed hotel rooms in Paris because the first room number "didn't add up to the right number." He also had a lucky costume he used for ten years and once quipped, "In a pinch, I will always go to that costume. I swear it jumps by itself and never falls down."
Robin Cousins had a four leaf cover sellotaped to his skate bag, given to him by a fan at the 1976 Winter Olympics in Innsbruck. John Curry and Dorothy Hamill were also both given one at the same time. Tai Babilonia has long worn a lucky crescent moon pendant given to her by Stevie Nicks. She received it in the mail a month before the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, and wore it every day leading up to the pairs competition. Concerned it may become unfastened during her performance with Randy Gardner, coach John Nicks asked her to take it off. That same day, bad luck befell the pair and they were forced to withdraw due to Randy's groin injury.
Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean
For years, Jayne Torvill always wore the same pair of socks in every major competition. After they became so disintegrated she couldn't wear them anymore, she continued to carry them around with her. Christopher Dean had a pair of lucky pants... and a thing about skate guards. He always placed he and Jayne's guards parallel on the boards and would keep watch to make sure no one disturbed them.
Katarina Witt needed Jutta Müller to pat her on the back of the hand before she skated. She also had three stuffed animals given to her by friends that she carried in her skate bag for good luck. One was an angel. In her book "Only With Passion", she explained, "The angel always had to lose both of its wings every season. One of the wings had to come off at the European Championships, and the other wing had to come off at Worlds. Believe me, in an Olympic year we had a dilemma: three competitions and only two years. Then every year I sent the angel to be repaired so the wings could be ready to fall off the next year. It was tricky, because my therapist wasn't allowed to pull the wings off. They had to fall off by themselves, with a little encouragement. She had to be rough on the angel, to loosen the wings, but not too rough."
Liz Manley always had a superstition about cleaning and organizing before any competition. Even at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, when she was sick as a dog, she did all of her laundry and tidied her room as if she'd never been there before going out to perform the free skate of her life.
Brian Boitano would carry a bent nail from the stage at the San Francisco in his skate bag for good luck. Brian Orser wouldn't allow family members attending his competitions to sit together. He would always put his left skate on first and had to have a walk before he competed. He kept a certain stuffed animal in his skate bag for ten years, given to him by a skater who he helped pass a dance test. He also believed it was a good omen if a friend from Orillia showed up at the last minute and let him know he was in town.
Kurt Browning carrying the Canadian flag. Photo courtesy Library And Archives Canada.
There was a superstition in the nineties that Canadian athletes who served as flag bearers at the Olympic Games were jinxing themselves in their quest for medals. In 1992, decathlete Michael Smith was forced to withdraw from the Summer Olympics in Barcelona due to injury, and Kurt Browning - who was flag bearer at the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer - finished off the podium. At the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Charmaine Crooks placed a disappointing eighteenth in the 800 meters. Ironically, Kurt was actually the only Canadian figure skater in history who served as flag bearer at the Olympics and didn't win a medal. The honour proved to be a good luck charm for Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, Brian Orser, Karen Magnussen, Bob Paul and Norris Bowden.
Michelle Kwan wearing her lucky necklace
Kurt Browning's good luck charm was a pair of skate guard covers. Elvis Stojko's was a necklace given to him by his mother, with a charm added by his aunt and uncle. On one side of the charm was the Olympic logo, on the other it read "Elvis, you're number one!" Fellow nineties stars Michelle Kwan and Jennifer Robinson also had lucky necklaces. Jennifer's had a photo of her future husband inside, and Michelle's was a dragon necklace with special family significance. Tara Lipinski always would step on ice with right foot first; Oksana Baiul her left. Both skaters won gold medals in the nineties in their first trips to the Winter Olympics. Oksana claimed her lucky number was three, and that was the number she drew in her group's starting order in the women's free skate at the 1994 Winter Olympics.
Since 2000, skaters haven't let up a bit in their superstitions. Evgeni Plushenko never shaved on the days he competed. Irina Lobacheva had a doll she'd put on the boards while competing. Joannie Rochette's mother would always put a prayer necklace in her skate bag. Jamie Salé put her left skate on first and would take off her lucky necklace, touch it and say a little prayer before she competed. Sasha Cohen had to be first on the ice for every warm-up. Marina Anissina wouldn't take the ice without a cross made by partner Gwendal Peizerat's grandmother around her neck. Yuna Kim always wore a rosary ring. She forgot to bring it to the 2010 World Championships, and went out and bought one just for the competition. Scott Moir often wore new socks for every event and Tessa Virtue would always sit her water bottle on the same place on the boards. Barbara Fusar-Poli always put her blades in the same position in the dressing room to dry. In a March 23, 2001 article in "The Province", Maurizio Margaglio was vague about his superstitions, only revealing he always tied his skates the same way before every performance. He joked, "We have [superstitions], of course - every skater has... I think it's psychological, and in Italy, we have a little bit of superstitions. But I'm not taking red peppers in my pocket or anything like that."
Skaters competing today aren't any less superstitious. Nathan and Karen Chen are both members of the 'left skate first' club, Kaetlyn Osmond has to have a glass of orange juice before she takes the ice and Yuzuru Hanyu's famous lucky Pooh Bear almost pales in comparison to his elaborate pre-competition rituals. Whether an attempt to ward off bad luck or bring good luck from the Skate Gods, the rituals of skaters serve as reminders that no matter how hard you train, the ice is slippery... and a little bit of superstition isn't always a bad thing.
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.
From January 30 to February 2, 1958, Zimný štadión in Bratislava played host to the first post-World War II European Figure Skating Championships to be held entirely on indoor ice. A whopping seventy entries from eleven countries participated. The event, organized by the Czech State Committee For Physical Training And Sport, marked the first time the Europeans were held in Czechoslovakia since 1948, ten years prior. Vladislav Cáp, a Czechoslovakian engineer who competed at the 1948 European Championships, designed the event's emblem - the letter 'E' with a skate blade.
Alain Giletti, Karol Divín and Alain Calmat in Bratislava. Photo courtesy Archív TASR.
The event marked the first time in history that the European Championships were televised in eleven countries - three of them in Eastern Europe - via Eurovision. Over the course of four days, a total of approximately ninety minutes of coverage was aired, though the BBC pre-empted coverage of the medal winning free dances in favour of football and pheasant shooting
Considering the anti-German sentiment and post-War expulsions of Germans in Czechoslovakia following World War II, the West German contingent of skaters was treated exceptionally well. Heinz Magerlein recalled, "The reception [in Bratislava] was very touching when, after a long journey, the German team got out of the passenger train shortly before midnight and delegations from sports clubs and companies had arrived. Poems and welcome speeches were recited in hard German, and from the Gesidern the joy shone, that we had come. In the shop windows of the prisoners we saw everywhere indications of the ice sports event, sculptures made of dough, fabric decorations, etc. However, the very spacious sports hall had a drawback: from an open piece of the roof soot fell on the ice and had left a fine layer that looked like emery and damaged the expensive ice skates badly."
Let's take a look back at how things played out on the ice in Bratislava! THE MEN'S COMPETITION
Men's medallists in Bratislava. Photo courtesy Archív Múzea telesnej kultúry SR
Nineteen men from ten countries competed in the men's event. Karol Divín defeated Alain Giletti in a four-three split of the judging panel in the school figures. British Champion Michael Robert Booker placed a strong third.
Michael Booker
Alain Calmat, who had been fifth in figures, won the free skate over Alain Giletti with eight first place ordinals and an impressive double Axel. Divín received the ninth first place ordinal from the West German judge W. Stanek. That same judge was the only one to place Calmat fourth in free skating. Divín narrowly defeated Giletti overall, with Calmat moving up to take the bronze over Booker. It was the first time in history a Czechoslovakian man won a European title, and Divín
fittingly managed to do it in his home country... defeating the defending champion in the process.
Norbert Felsinger of Austria placed fifth and a trio of West Germans finished sixth through eighth. Tilo Gutzeit, the top skater of the bunch, received second place ordinals in the free skate from the Czechoslovakian and Soviet judges.
Tilo Gutzeit
Manfred Schnelldorfer, who placed seventh, suffered a wardrobe malfunction. Heinz Magerlein recalled, "In the freestyle, Manfred picked again, as so often, the starting number one. I had fastened Manfred's silver-shimmering tie with a small safety pin on the high waistband of the coat trousers. His spinning spurred the spectators on to hurricane applause. The tie had come loose from the attachment and struck him in front of his eyes, his nose, his mouth... In between it wrapped itself once or twice and around his neck and it did not wiggle. What was worse: looking for me or skating for Manfred? He did not fall, but he fought a desperate fight with the tie, which shook his sight and direction. One could see that he was close to bursting.... I blamed myself and decided to check everything out ten times since and have kept that tie to this day." THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION
Hanna Walter and Ingrid Wendl. Photos courtesy Bildarchiv Austria.
Defending champion Hanna Eigel had turned professional, leaving the European women's title up for grabs. Eight judges had her compatriot Ingrid Wendl first in figures, while the Italian judge tied her with Hanna Walter, who finished second. Joan Haanappel was a unanimous third. France's Dany Rigoulot earned ordinals ranging from fourth to seventeenth in figures... highlighting the nightmarish judging that was to come in the free skate.
Left: Dany Rigoulot. Right: Joan Haanappel. Photo courtesy Dutch National Archives.
Ingrid Wendl decisively won the free skate with seven first place ordinals but that was about the only thing the judging panel could seem to agree on. Six judges had Hanna Walter in the top three; the Swiss judge had her eleventh. Jidrinka Kramperova had ordinals ranging from second to fifteenth. Five judges had Karin Frohner in the top three; the Czechoslovakian judge had her eleventh. The West German judge had Regine Heitzer in a tie for first, while the Polish judge had her a tie for eighth. Strangely enough, when the overall marks were tallied all but one judge had Wendl first, all but one judge had Walter second and every judge had Haanappel third. Yet Jana Docekalova of Czechoslovakia, who earned two first place ordinals in the free skate, finished eleventh overall. THE PAIRS COMPETITION
Věra Suchánková and Zdeněk Doležal
More than fifteen thousand spectators showed up for the pairs event... and the bizarre judging continued! Though Věra Suchánková and Zdeněk Doležal defended their title unanimously, no less than eight teams received top three ordinals. Nina and Stanislav Zhuk, Joyce Coates and Anthony Holles and Marianna and László Nagy, who placed second through fourth, were three of those teams. The Zhuk's and Coates and Holles' medal wins were both considered surprises as they had only finished fifth and sixth the year prior at Europeans.
Joyce Coates and Anthony Holles
Another team earning a top three ordinal was Marika Kilius and Hans-Jürgen Bäumler, who one judge tied for second and another placed thirteenth. Heinz Magerlein recalled, "They had left the hotel in good time with car, but a railway barrier had considerably delayed the journey. Since they had pulled start number 1 - which also had their share in fifth place! - of course, they were resented in the rink, which was filled to capacity... Lacking concentration and still under the impact of the annoying [delay] they milled about the ice, and their performance fell short of their potential."
Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov, who received no first place ordinals, were tenth with scores ranging from fourth to thirteenth. It was the young Soviet couple's first appearance at the European Championships. Perhaps most dramatic were the scores of the Austrian team who finished eleventh. The British judge had them second, while the Polish judge had them fifteenth and dead last. THE ICE DANCE COMPETITION
One has to doubt whether any of the ice dancers complained when only five judges sat rink side to judge them instead of nine. In contrast to the women's and pairs events, the judging in dance was somewhat less controversial... at least near the top. To no one's surprise, defending champions June Markham of Durham and Courtney Jones of Bournemouth were the unanimous winners of both the compulsories and free dance. In his book "This Skating Age" Howard Bass recalled, "The cost of travel and accommodation for two people from London to [Bratislava and Paris - the site of the 1958 World Championships] can be reckoned at well over one hundred pounds. The sum actually allowed them by the N.S.A. was twenty pounds each. So patriotic Britons must thank the fact that Courtney and June happened to be able to raise sufficient money themselves to pay for the privilege of winning these titles for their country! As their compatriot, I feel like hiding my head in national shame. How humbling, how utterly humiliating!"
Though France's Christiane and Jean Paul Guhel managed to defeat Barbara Thompson and Gerard Rigby in the free dance, they weren't able to move up to take the bronze. Catherine Morris and Michael Robinson and Thompson and Rigby joined Markham and Jones on the podium in the fifth consecutive British sweep of the ice dance podium at the European Championships. Interestingly, the
teams who placed fifth through seventh each received ordinals ranging from fifth through tenth.
Svetlana Smirnova and Leonid Gordon made history as the first Soviet dance team to compete at the
European Championships. They placed dead last.
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.
Born February 25, 1960 in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, West Germany, Heiko Fischer was what we in the skating world like to call a 'late bloomer'. Although he started skating at a young age with the support of his mother Helga, Heiko was a studious young man. He passed his Abitur (a designation used for the final exam taken at the end of a German student's secondary education) at the Leibniz-Gymnasium at seventeen and showed great interest in both physics and computer science. However, like many skaters these days around the world, finding the balance between school and skating proved a challenge. Training at both the Waldau rink in Stuttgart and National Training Centre in Oberstdorf under the tutelage of (later disgraced) coach Karel Fajfr, he earned the distinction of sports master of Baden-Württemberg. He divided his time between studying physics - and later, computer science - and made time for skating.
Heiko's interests in physics and computer science reflected in the calculated way he approached skating. In a February 5, 2010 "Stuttgarter Zeitung" article, his mother Helga recalled that his coach "has always said he has a computer brain." Heiko used this 'computer brain' of his to win bronze medals at the West German Championships from 1979 to 1981. He made his first big splashes on the international scene in the fall of 1981 when he managed victories at both the Grand Prix St. Gervais and Nebelhorn Trophy competitions in France and West Germany, a pair of competitions held in conjunction with each other that often featured the same skaters travelling between St. Gervais, France and Oberstdorf, Germany by train to compete in both events back to back. That same season he won his first West German title, beating former champions Rudi Cerne and Norbert Schramm and making it loud and clear that West German men's skating was a three way race. He followed his win up with a sixth place finish at the European Championships in Lyon, France.
Though consistently dinged by the judges in his artistic impression marks, Heiko did have two very important things going for him: a stable of consistent triple jumps and excellent school figures. Looking at his competitive record, his many wins or top three finishes in international competitions in the figures make for a strong argument that he was moreso a figures specialist than someone who excelled in free skating. He was a tall, slim athlete, who at six foot three and one hundred and sixty five pounds called himself "the tallest international skater in the world". However, his left leg was three quarters of an inch shorter than his right leg and he had to wear lifts in the heels of his skates and shoes to avoid back injury. The October 11, 1982 issue of "The Globe And Mail" explained, "A small girl ran into him and knocked him down, causing him to land on his back. Three weeks later, he fell on his back in practice." In fact, Heiko suffered injuries during much of his career. However, the German magazine "Der Spiegel", dismissive of his history, blamed his "lack of confidence and a lack of assertiveness" for many of his competitive losses.
The 1982/1983 season was understandably a challenging year for Heiko but he persevered with determination. At Skate America, he won the silver medal behind Scott Hamilton despite only making it through his full free skate for the first time a week before the event. At Skate Canada in Kitchener, a second place finish in figures allowed him to hang on through the short program and free skate to claim the bronze behind Brian Boitano and Brian Orser. After successfully defending his West German title, he moved up two spots to fourth at the European Championships and nabbed a top ten finish in his first trip to the World Championships.
Although Heiko started the 1983/1984 season strongly with wins at the Nebelhorn Trophy in Germany and St. Ivel in England, where on the basis of his strong figures, he narrowly defeated Gary Beacom, Bobby Beauchamp and East Germany's Falko Kirsten, Heiko lost his West German title in 1984 to Norbert Schramm and dropped from fourth to fifth at the European Championships in Budapest. Although he finished sixth in the figures at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, he dropped to tenth overall in a very deep field. It was at the Sarajevo Olympics that Heiko suffered perhaps one of the embarrassing moments in skating history. In his book "Jumpin' Joe", Jozef Sabovčík recalled, "Dressed in a baby blue unitard, Heiko towered over the other skaters. But what drew our attention was that a seemingly unaware Heiko was sporting an erection that befitted his huge body. I looked up to the one area of the audience that had a clear view and could see them laughing, as were all the other skaters. Frankly, the sight would have been difficult to miss." His embarrassing moment behind him at the World Championships in Ottawa, Heiko was actually third in figures behind Scott Hamilton and teammate Rudi Cerne and ahead of Jozef Sabovčík, Alexandr Fadeev, Brian Boitano and Brian Orser but again dropped in the standings down to seventh. Notice a trend here?
With Norbert Schramm and Rudi Cerne retiring following the 1984 World Championships, the following season had every potential to Heiko's best yet and he didn't disappoint. Reclaiming his West German title, he moved back up to fourth at the European Championships and earned the best finish of his career at the World Championships in Tokyo, finishing sixth - ironically solely on the basis of his free skating as opposed to his figures.
The following season started strongly for Heiko with a win at the Golden Spin Of Zagreb and another West German title, however his chronic back injury forced him to withdraw from the European Championships. Although he did manage a seventh place finish at the World Championships in Geneva (this time once again based on a top three finish in the figures) the severity of his chronic back injuries caused him to seriously contemplate retirement. After finishing a disappointing fifth at Skate America that autumn, he missed the rest of the 1986/1987 season with a hernia and a pulled groin muscle on top of his pre-existing back problems.
The thought of Heiko mounting a comeback in time for the 1987/1988 Olympic season seemed unlikely at best but he pulled a rabbit out of his hat, which is no surprise considering he had a reputation off the ice as a prankster. His comeback was no joke; he even took lessons from his former competitor Jozef Sabovčík,
After finishing second behind Petr Barna at Czech Skate, Heiko tied with Paul Wylie for first after figures and short program at St. Ivel in England, but dropped to third behind Wylie and Kurt Browning in the final standings. He returned to win his fifth and final West German title before heading to the European Championships in Prague and placing sixth. Determined to make a go of a second 'once in a lifetime' trip to the Olympics in Calgary, Heiko scrapped both of the programs he skated at the European Championships. He started fresh with new music and choreography for his short program and brought back and reworked his 1985 and 1986 "West Side Story" free skate.
In Calgary, Alexandr Fadeev and Brian Boitano were first and second in all three figures but Heiko managed to place third on the first figure ahead of Brian Orser. A rusty performance on his final figure, the loop, left him in fourth overall. Quoted the February 19, 1988 issue of "The Globe And Mail", he said, "I don't know what happened. My first two figures were really good, but the last was a real mess. I just couldn't do it. It was perfect in warmup. Usually the loop is my best figure." He was proud of his finish though, remarking that "the judges know the old man can still do figures." The oldest of the men's competitors in Calgary at twenty eight, he predicted in the "Toronto Star" that Orser - not Boitano - would win the gold: "He's the strongest free skater and if he's consistent enough, he'll win. Boitano is excellent too, very consistent because he never misses anything. But if Orser is at his best, he'll win." Heiko wasn't correct in his prediction, but he gave two of the best performances of his career in Calgary despite dropping to ninth overall.
Heiko's final competition, the 1988 World Championships in Budapest, saw him drop from fourth to Orser's fifth in figures down to seventh overall. However, he pulled up his socks and managed to give some of the best performances of his career when the chips were down.
Retiring from amateur competition following the 1988 World Championships, Heiko married and continued his studies in computer science while coaching young skaters on the side. On November 21, 1989, he collapsed during a game of squash with friends. He was taken to Sindelfingen Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. It was revealed that he suffered from chronic myocarditis.
Heiko's death came a huge shock to everyone close to him, as he was a very active person who spent what little free time he had off the ice playing tennis and squash. Family, friends and fellow skaters were devastated; he was a friend to even his closest rivals. His mother Helga stated, "He enjoyed his life whenever [there was time.] Heiko was a very happy person." So beloved was Heiko as a sportsperson in Stuttgart that when police had blocked off the Neuen Friedhof Degerloch cemetery after his death, people sat on the road and cried.
Horst Klehr, a pharmacist who was responsible for creating one of the first lists of banned substances specific to sport, referenced Heiko in a 2009 speech about athletes involved in doping. He said, "Many fatalities could still be alive today if the officials in the West had not closed their eyes."
When Heiko died, his wife was seven months pregnant. Because he had gone the education route when he had no substantial offers to skate professionally, he left his wife almost penniless. She was forced to survive on an insurance payout and financial support from Sports Aid and the Federal State of Baden-Württemberg. In 1990, a charity gala was organized to raise funds for Heiko's widow. Among the performers was two time Olympic Gold Medallist Katarina Witt. The following year, an international competition was established in his memory called the Heiko-Fischer Pokal. Among its past winners? Carolina Kostner, Stefan Lindemann, Alban Preaubert, Valentina Marchei, Peter Liebers, Eva-Maria Fitze, Sarah Hecken and the late Sven Meyer.
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.
