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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.
1994 wasn't just the year of Lillehammer, of Tonya and Nancy and Oksana and Nancy or of the fabulous 'oversatuation' of skating on television I'd give anything to see back on my big screen. 1994 was the year of Jere Michael. The young skater from Colorado won both the U.S. junior title and the bronze medal at that year's World Junior Championships in Colorado Springs. Now one part of an unstoppable two part coaching duo in California with Alex Chang, Jere was kind enough to take the time to talk with me about his own competitive career, his coaching philosophy, favourite skaters and much more. Here's an interview you'll just love!:
Q: I want to start by talking about your competitive career. In 1994, you won the U.S. junior men's title and the bronze medal at the World Junior Championships. After moving into the senior ranks, you won the bronze medal at the 1997 Piruetten competition in Norway before retiring from competition following the 1999 U.S. Nationals. Looking back on it all now, what moments and performances stand out as the most special to you? Which were the most challenging?
A: My favourite moment and performance of my career would have to be my short program at the 1994 National Championships. The program itself is very personal to me because it was choreographed by my beloved coach Brian Wright, who has since passed away. I was so scared to depart from my comfort level and skate to classical music (Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini), but Brian convinced me and the result was a program that represented who I was at that moment in my career perfectly. My other favourite program was my 1997 short program, choreographed by Lori Nichol to a honky-tonk piece called "Funky Mama". I skated great at Nationals and the Nashville crowd (a very music-friendly town) went nuts! One of my most challenging moments happened during the 1996 U.S. Nationals. Right before Nationals my beloved coach, Christy Krall, had told me she was retiring and this would be our last Nationals together. I had a hard time with this because I adored her and probably focused too much on my uncertain coaching future when I was at that Nationals.
Q: Going back to the medal win at Junior Worlds in 1994, you actually beat 2002 Olympic Gold Medallist Alexei Yagudin AND 1998 Olympic Gold Medallist Ilia Kulik that year. How cool is that?! Do you get chance to brag about beating two Olympic Gold Medallists to your students?
A: Of course! Seriously, it's an honor to even be in the same sentence with these two great athletes. Q: You now coach with Alex Chang at Paramount Iceland and work with U.S. pewter medallist Courtney Hicks. Your other students have included Nix Phengsy, Amanda Gelb and Sophia Adams. What do you consider to be your coaching philosophy within the IJS system?
A: I would say my philosophy is honesty. My business partner and best friend, Alex Chang, taught me a great way to describe our combined philosophy – we teach our kids to have a positive relationship with both success AND failure. Ownership is also a big deal for me that I try to teach these kids. My job is to make sure I understand the rules fully and get my athletes to achieve their goals within the IJS system.
Q: One of the perks of both skating and coaching is the travel! Of all of the places you've visited over the years, what was your favourite? What's one place you've never visited that you've love to?
A: Junior Worlds in Australia was my favourite place as an athlete. Chinese Taipei is my favorite as a coach. I can't wait to go to Japan! Q: Is performing something you miss and can you see yourself getting out there and taking center ice to perform in the future?
A: I had a great and long career. When I retired I was ready. I have no regrets and had great success. But no, I have no need to perform on the ice again. Q: Who are your three favourite skaters of all time and why?
A: Brian Boitano - his performance at 1988 Olympics showed me what I really wanted out of skating – freedom to be me! Jeri Campbell - she's a dear friend and skated from honesty and integrity. Michelle Kwan - her calm demeanor and amazing consistency. Q: What's one thing most people don't know about you?
A: I would have loved to be a highly successful DJ, where I would want to be main stage performing! Q: What's the biggest lesson that your students have taught you?
A: Oh, so many things... but I think they remind me how much I love the sport of figure skating. There is nothing else in the world I'll ever want to do besides coach athletes on how to achieve their skating goals, and also help them along the bumpy ride that is growing up.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
If you're an animal lover like I am, this tale might leave you a little squeamish. Don't say I didn't warn you! Ralph Lefevre's 1903 book ""History of New Paltz, New York and its old families (from 1678 to 1820) including the Huguenot pioneers and others who settled in New Paltz previous to the revolution" recounts the story of an eighteenth century New York settler named Cornelius Dubois and how he skated for his life... quite literally.
The river in New York that is now known as The Wallkill River has had many names. The indigenous people of the area called it the Twischsawkin and European settlers called it the Palse River after the New Paltz area but when settlers travelled the river all the way down to the area which Dutch settlers called the Waal after the Waal River (a branch of The Rhine), they realized it was bigger than originally believed and it became known as the Wallkill. At any rate, parts of the river were often used for skating both for pleasure and transportation and the area was, as you might expect back in the eighteenth century, a little more wild than it is today.
Lefevre explained that "Wolves and bears were quite numerous, especially on the west side of the Wallkill. Cornelius (Dubois), the youngest of the name, brother of Josiah (Dubois) of Poughwoughtenonk, had a narrow escape from being killed by wolves. He was skating on the Wallkill. alone, when two wolves came out of a pine, on the east side of the Wallkill, near Libertyville, and chased him. By skating he kept ahead of them, but growing tired he bethought himself of the dogs at a neighbouring house, near the stream." I don't know about you, but the idea of trying to outskate a pack of angry wolves doesn't sound like my idea of a nice afternoon on the ice.
Here's where things in Cornelius' encounter with the wolves on the ice take a sad turn. Lefevre explains that "he whistled to the dogs. They came and fought with the wolves. The dogs were killed, but Mr. DuBois escaped with his life." I'm not quite sure if that's a happy ending or not. It certainly was for Cornelius but for the wolves? Not so much. The moral of the story: "If you go out in the woods today, you might be in for a big surprise... and you better skate fast because it might be a good one!" One thing's for sure, he's lucky he didn't find grandmother's house and there wasn't another one inside.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
A member of the Canadian, U.S. and World Figure Skating Hall Of Fame, Jean Westwood is not only a two time British, two time European and four time World Champion but was also one half of the sport's very first team to win the World Figure Skating Championships in ice dancing at the 1952 event in Paris, France. She went on to a hugely successful professional career as a coach in North America, coaching national and international champions from both Canada and the U.S. She lost both former students and her former professional pairs partner Bill Kipp in the 1961 Sabena Crash that claimed the lives of the entire U.S. figure skating team, tackled judging controversy face to face and now lives in Canada where she is highly involved in dog showing and as President of the All Breed Dog Club administration. It was my absolute honor and privilege to talk in depth with Jean about her competitive and coaching careers and I guarantee you that you are going to just love reading this one.
Photos courtesy "Skating" magazine (left) and "Skating World" magazine (right)
Q: You and Lawrence Demmy won two European titles, two British titles and four World titles, including the very first official World title in ice dancing in 1952. Before all of this wonderful success though, you started at the very beginning like everyone else. How did you first get involved in skating?
A: I was born in Manchester, England in 1931 in a Scottish family. My father was a medical and dental doctor and my grandfather was a Presbyterian minister. I started skating at age six under duress as my sister wanted to skate so I had to give up my involvement with horses and entering Gymkhanas. I was fortunate in my individual coaches as they all believed my talent was beyond their capabilities or I was too troublesome to control and forwarded me on to a more senior coach.
Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine
Q: What can you share about your early years in skating?
A: My first coach was Peri Levitsky. I believe she was Czech. I became mascot of the hockey team to bring out the puck onto ice. I was a "brat" spoiled by all and Ms. Levitsky handed me over to the senior coach, Ellen Dallerup from Denmark, who was understood to be the first to do a one foot spin! I rapidly progressed and the senior area judge judging all my tests was actively interested in my progress - Ethel Muckelt who competed in the Olympics with Jack Page. She was my first mentor and judged most of my British tests in singles, pairs and dance... Phil and Megan Taylor also trained in Manchester. Phil was killed in the war but Megan, competing with Cecilia Colledge, won Worlds. The Manchester Ice Palace was closed during the war years and used for airplane repairs. I was fortunate to meet and watch both Megan and Cecilia and met them both later when I was coaching in the U.S. At eight years of age I gladly gave up skating and went back to horses. Occasionally a group of us went to Blackpool for the day to skate. I went back to skating after the war. My sister Ann was much more dedicated than me. In all of my singles events, my sister Ann finished first, Muriel Kay Fulton was second and third place went to yours truly. Quite happily, I might add. My competitive streak came later. Muriel Kay was chosen by Reginald Wilkie to exhibit ice-dancing across Europe. Mr. Wilkie (formerly partnered with Daphne Willis) invented the Paso Doble, Quickstep and Argentine Tango and was British Dance Champion as well. He was my second mentor.
Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine
Q: So after the war, you really gave a lot more focus and time to skating when you returned to the ice. Was that also when you turned your focus to ice dancing?
A: When the war was over with many bad memories best forgotten, skating resumed and Ann and I started ice dancing as well as singles. My sister became the youngest silver dance medallist (at twelve years old) at that time. She had much more talent than me. When I was fourteen and my sister was seventeen we were sent to Cheltenham Ladies College, which was a lost cause for me! My sister tragically died that summer. She was accidentally given a drug overdose by a doctor. I returned to skating during the holidays and Ellen Dallerup transferred me to Jack Wake, the rink manager. In 1950, most nations at this time held their Nationals AFTER Worlds and selected their next year's World Team. In England, all their dance couples had retired, split up or turned professional. It was decided to hold a trial and select a team to enter the International Dance Competition, the forerunner of the World Dance Championship in Milan during the World Figure Skating Championships. In October, I was involved in a serious car accident while attending Liverpool University and was hospitalized for a month then had to undergo physiotherapy. The new partnership of Lawrence Demmy and myself was formed and we decided to enter the trials. It was not judged but two couples were selected - ourselves and John Slater (my previous partner!) and Joan Dewhirst. So off we went to Milan where Lawrence and I won the first competition we entered - which just happened to be the equivalent of a World Championship. It was some way to start a career! Returning to England we did not win the National title, nor for the next two years even as reigning World Champions.
Photo courtesy Joan Noble
Q: You became the first official World Champions in ice dancing in 1952, a title you defended for the next three years. You also won two British and European titles as well. What changed during that time and how did you come to work with the legendary coach Gladys Hogg?
A: We started dance instruction from Len Liggett in Liverpool. He and Mr. Wilkie were both wonderful dancers with soft syncopated knees. Mr. Liggett partnered me through my dance tests stating Lawrence was not good enough. Lawrence as World Champion was NOT impressed. Jack Wake did an extraordinary thing. He explained to my parents that my talent was such that it deserved coaching from a top level coach in London. I was to select the coach from three names then explain to him the reason for my choice. I was only to observe their methods. I chose Dame Gladys Hogg as she taught all students in their own style. At this time, I was on my gold figure test. Len Liggett joined an ice show in 1953 so it was natural that we asked Miss Hogg to also train us in dance. Mr. Liggett taught me syncopated rhythm and soft knees like Reginald Wilkie. Jack Wake taught me to place the future of the pupil ahead of his credit of my talent. Dame Gladys Hogg taught me to teach myself and do the choreography for the pair. This also taught me choreography to give my students. Nowadays coaches also have a choreographer or trainer. That is the reason so many of her pupils became top international coaches in North America as she trained us to do it all. I even did embroidery on my students costumes. Some of her previous students becoming top coaches - John Nicks, Doreen Denny, myself, Bernie Ford and Joan Dewhirst Slater to name a few. The biggest gift she gave to all of her students was to teach ourselves. A great lady. In 1965, she congratulated me on my pupils winning silver and bronze. I replied that she had trained the top five couples.
Q: What are some memories that really stand out from the competitions themselves during that period when you and Lawrence were literally 'on top the world'? A: I can't remember which year but Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier (who were European and World Champions from Austria) presented us with a bouquet of liquor filled chocolates. We were in awe as they were legends. In 1951, we were novices and our only concern to beat the other British couple and we were unaware we had won. We heard our names called as we were leaving the arena! After my accident, I was still walking with a cane. In 1952, I remember standing center ice with the Union Jack flying and the anthem playing. It made up for not going to Olympics. In 1953, Gladys Hogg had forbidden us and the Nicks' to ski. So we luged down instead! Guess who met us at the bottom? The media took a wonderful photo of us to remember. At the 1954 Europeans in Budapest, for accommodations we were put on an island with tunnel access only.As the only World Champions there we had special privileges. Our friends Laszlo and Marianne Nagy were permitted to drive us around. Everyone else was confined to the hotel. It was horrifying to see such poverty... people sweeping in the streets for pennies. At the Worlds in Oslo, I remember smiling in the mirror to freeze the expression before skating outside in twenty six below weather and balancing on a small metal podium with two other couples with awards and protecting our skates.
Silent footage of Westwood and Demmy included around 3:14
Q: After your "amateur" career ended, you became an elite level coach (coaching skaters like Otto and Maria Jelinek, John and Donna Lee Mitchell, John and Betty Ann McKilligan, Don Phillips and Joni Graham and Victor Kraatz) and acted as Head Coach of CFSA's National Dance Seminars for almost fifteen years. Can you tell me about your early transition to coaching?
A: In 1955, I turned pro to teach in Lake Placid that summer (and the next four) and Arctic Blades in California for two winters. Coaches also have mentors as they start teaching. Again, I was luckier than most. In my first job at Lake Placid, I was guided and advised by Otto Gold, Howard Nicholson and later by Gus Lussi. He insisted I attend all of his lessons with Ronnie Robertson. This was in 1956 in California. How lucky could I be! Among many pupils (I was fully booked) were Maribel Vinson Owen and Ron Ludington (to learn the Rumba!) and more notably Otto and Maria Jelinek. Gus Lussi recommended them to work with me after seeing the lifts I did in free dance. Otto did his first overhead lift with me. I continued working with them for many years. I also took the U.S. Dance Tests with Bill Kipp. When I went to California, fate took a hand that placed me as a successful coach. My pupils won the Senior and Junior (Gold and Silver) Ice Dance titles. Roland Junso and Joan Zamboni successfully unseated the Bodel's going on to fourth in Worlds. Chuck Phillips and Margie Ackles were a couple I paired together who three yrs later won Seniors. I was also teaching Pat and Bobby Dineen and Rhode Lee Michelson who all perished in the tragic Air crash in 1961. Bill Kipp joined me in California to form our professional partnership and also perished in this crash. Bill and I had done some skating together in shows and tried out for Ice Follies but turned down their offer.
Photo courtesy "Ice Skate" magazine
Q: I don't think I can really imagine how hard losing not only your former students but your former partner Bill Kipp in the 1961 Sabena tragedy must have been. Can you share a bit more about what your coaching career in the late fifties leading up to that tragic turn of events?
A: In 1956, I was persuaded to leave California and start teaching in Toronto at their new club which was just opening. I was thrilled to join Sheldon Galbraith on staff and meet his pupils and study his teaching and training methods to add to what I had observed with Gus Lussi. Here I coached Bill McLachlan and Geraldine Fenton after starting with them in the summer at Lake Placid. They danced their way (with my help) to be the first North Americans to win a silver medal. They held that the next year and a bronze in 1959 before Gerrie retired. In 1959, I coached the entire Canadian team for Worlds and North Americans. Bill and Gerrie won North Americans and were third in Worlds. Ann Martin (Shaw) with Eddie Collins were third in North Americans and fifth in Worlds. I also coached Eddie in Singles at Worlds that year. At this time I was approached by Ice Follies to be Skating Director and Assistant Choreographer. After much soul searching, I accepted to further my knowledge. This it did. It helped me produce club shows in the future at the Broadmoor and in Victoria especially in lighting, props, group production and costumes. The cast of the show welcomed me to instruct them. Richard Dwyer learned overheads and death spirals. Also I managed to sign up without an audition Frank Carroll. They took my word he had the talent. He is still one of my closest friends. My three reminders from Follies are my mink stole, my first Chihuahua and a corvette. As a coach, I was always wanting to change and improve thus keeping students alert. This was not possible in a show due to cues for lighting and props. So frustrated, I returned to coaching in 1960. I drove west to teach in Vancouver and coached John and Donna Lee Mitchell, became good friends with Dr. Hellmut May and renewed my close friendship with Linda Braukmann. In the winter of 1960, The Mitchell's made the North American and World teams for 1961. However, after North Americans I decided to take my pupils for R&R to my parents house in Manchester, England. The very next day we were informed of the tragic air crash and the loss of the entire U.S. team. Several days later my pupils and I went to Brussels and joined Mr. and Mrs. Kendall Kelley for the memorial service to represent the skating fraternity. Q: As tragic as those events were, life and skating went on and your coaching career flourished in the 1960's both in Canada and the U.S. What can you share about this important time of your life?
A: In the summer of 1961, I taught in Victoria and started my association with Lorna Dyer with her first partner King Cole. They placed third in the U.S. and made the world team that year. The Mitchells were second in Canada and also made the World Team. In 1963, I stayed teaching in Victoria, travelling to Vancouver two days a week to work with the Mitchell's and they came to work in Victoria as well placing second in Canada and North Americans. Lorna Dyer now had teamed with John Carrell and trained with me at the same time placing third in the U.S. but not in North Americans. They came eighth in Worlds in their first year thus being ranked the top U.S. team. The Mitchell's retired in 1964 but John and Lorna still trained in Victoria coming third in the U.S. and fifth in Worlds. 1965 was an exciting year as a coach for me. A new partnership was formed - Dennis Sveum and Kristin Fortune. With John and Lorna, the four of them stayed with me to train in Victoria. A good battle began and they all improved. At this time, Thayer Tutt of the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs contacted me offering to sponsor the two teams. I had two other offers but decided it was better to be in the U.S. so off we all went including my two singles students working on their gold figure tests. Q: So at this point you and your top teams have all relocated to the Broadmoor but you also have two top teams who are huge rivals and would both go on to win U.S. dance titles. How difficult was that experience?
A: I played neutral (like Gladys Hogg and Marina Zoueva) training each couple in their own style but both teams were very strong. At Nationals, Dennis and Kris were first and John and Lorna second, at North Americans they reversed placements and at Worlds John and Lorna were third and Dennis and Kris finished fourth. Davos in 1966 I will never forget. I was approached by an ISU official to see if I could arrange either of the North American judges to place Carrell and Dyer in first as the Eastern bloc was behind them. I refused. I have never played politics and never will. I would not favor one of my couples over the other and I would never approach either of the two judges involved even though’ I knew one did favor Carrell and Dyer. Also, in every practice with Carrell and Dyer, we were observed by Russian judges, skaters and coaches. It was a very high compliment. So the games began and there was a fierce battle between the judges! In the first and second compulsory dances, there was the same result: Towler and Ford first, Sveum and Fortune second and Carrell and Dyer third. There was chaos in the third dance when Towler and Ford fell so going into the fourth dance, Carrell and Dyer were first, Sveum and Fortune were second and Towler and Ford were third. All 3 three couples were that close, By the time the free dance was over the judges battle was finished, the first dance result held up. Gladys Hogg congratulated me on my two teams and I replied that she had been the coach of the top five teams!
Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine
Q: It was actually after this event that Kristin Fortune and Dennis Sveum retired from competition but your students Lorna Dyer and John Carrell continued on for a year. Is that correct?
A: Yes. In 1967, Sveum and Fortune retired and I returned to Canada to teach at Hollyburn with Carrell and Dyer. I also commenced teaching Graham and Phillips and John and Betty McKilligan in pairs. Carrell and Dyer won U.S. Nationals and went on to win North Americans and finish second in Worlds. Graham and Phillips won Canadian Nationals and were second in North Americans and fourth in Worlds that year. The McKilligan's won pairs at Canadian Nationals and competed in North.Americans and Worlds. Carrell and Dyer then retired. Q: What came next after both of your two top U.S teams had retired from competition?
A: The McKilligan's successfully defended their national title and were on the Olympic team in 1968. Phillips and Graham also successfully defended their title and were invited by the ISU to demonstrate dancing at the Olympics. They also came fourth in Worlds that year. In 1969, my four Canadian Champions retired. I still taught at HCC but travelled to Seattle to teach Brad Hislop and Joan Bitterman who placed second in the U.S. and competed in Worlds and North Americans. I also started training Kevin Cottam and Linda Roe who came to Vancouver to work with me. In 1970, I returned to teach in Victoria but continued to travel to Seattle to teach Brad Hislop with his new partner Debbie Ganson who placed third in the U.S. and made the World Team. In 1971, they placed fourth in the U.S. and in 1972 retired. In 1970, Kevin and Linda won Canadian Junior Dance and I felt they had excellent potential for the future. Unfortunately in 1971, entering Seniors for the first time they skated excellently and well deserved to make the North American team. They had always placed how they deserved but this time they came across politics and placed fourth. This result devastated them and they concluded the other couple must have been better so they had no future. I could not make them see reason and they decided to retire. During the next year both of them wanted to still compete and asked me to look for new partners. I explained that it was better to contact another coach to see if they had one available, then the two of them decide where and with whom they train. Linda successfully contacted Bernie Ford and teamed up with Michael Bradley who she eventually happily married. Kevin was contacted and went to tryout with a new partner and her coach for a month. They decided to team up and came to Victoria to work with me and the girl decided to train with me. Although Kevin worked hard in 1974, they were only able to place fourth in Canadians so retired. I had a long discussion with Kevin to forego looking for another partner and advised looking elsewhere with his talent in skating. He went to coach in Australia but returned and successfully turned to choreography. I did not coach or have competitors at Worlds but for the next fourteen years was a Head Coach at the National Dance Seminar and also attended the National Singles Seminar with two of my students. Q: What is your philosophy when it comes to coaching?
A: My belief is that there are no dumb champions. Education is vital for essential quick reaction. Champions are born, not made. A top coach may help them to achieve earlier while a lesser coach may inadvertently prevent their success. A good coach puts their pupils wishes ahead of their own ambitions, for example attending national and international events. A true champion will eventually make it regardless. I am a strong believer in fate and destiny for competitors and coaches: the destiny of being in the right place at the right time with the right pupil or adversary. I hold myself more fortunate than most future coaches due to ALL of the coaches I was exposed to. I successfully competed in all three disciplines which set me up to coach successfully in these three disciplines. Q: What don't most people know about you?
A: I was presented to Queen Elizabeth II and curtsied without falling down. I was British Junior Pairs Champion and North of England Singles Champion. We also skated in the Olympic pair trials and although placing second were not selected for the team in case we endangered our dance title! We were not impressed - politics again! When I retired, the British Association requested my father to refund the expenses they had forwarded. This was third class rail fare to each of the venues of our World titles. They never had supported us and backed the other British team who were British Champions in 1951 and 1952. Mind you, of the two titles we preferred the Worlds! My father refunded the requested amount.
Photo courtesy "Canadian Skater" magazine
Q: What is life like today for you?
A: In 1970, I became a permanent resident of Canada. I am now a citizen. I still reside in Victoria with my successful show dogs. I am busy with my dogs' training, showing and going to vets. I am also President of All Breed Dog Club administration and that takes a lot of time. Many of my former students keep in contact and I watch skating on television. I am very glad I neither compete nor coach or choreograph the current skaters. I would not know where to start! Q: If you could offer one piece of advice to any skater today, what would it be?
A: My lesson to all skaters and coaches is to have the balance between confidence and humility. Never forget how and where and who helped you achieve your goals and confidently fulfill their trust.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
Kickstarter really is THE PLACE for creative crowdfunding. Don't believe me? Ask Josh and Chuck of Stuff You Should Know podcast! They wouldn't lie to you, God love them. In their November 2014 episode explaining the deal with this huge success of a website, they talked about the potato salad party that raised over fifty five thousand dollars and being a lover of a nice potato salad, I was enthralled. Creative people tend to do some pretty fun things that are perceived by the masses as a little wacky. I should know... I've written about how creepy Anna McGoldrick's musical tours are, interpretive danced to Janis Joplin at a country jamboree exhibition replete with oxen and cows and skated to "Song 2" by Blur. It's all about living a lot instead of a little as far as I can see. When Matt Harkins and Viviana Olen, two New York City comedians, started their Kickstarter campaign "The Tonya Harding And Nancy Kerrigan 1994 Museum" a few days ago, they set the modest goal of raising seventy five dollars to build a shrine and operating museum dedicated to Tonya and Nancy in their apartment. With their goal met and construction underway, these Big Apple bananas took the time to briefly talk with me about their unique project: Q: You've already surpassed your $75 goal and raised $312 on Kickstarter. Specifically, why should a figure skating fan donate to your campaign?
Q: There probably aren't many museums dedicated to figure skating? We do want to celebrate the athleticism of it all. It's not a trash piece. Q: I want to start by asking about your backgrounds. Where can people see you entertain?
A: We're both trained from UCB Theatre here in New York. That's also where we met. We've got some other groups we've worked with. Viviana is a part of Former Business Partners, an all female sketch team whose show was a New York Times Critics Pick. Matt is a former member of Lloyd Night at the Theatre which is a house improv team and half of the sketch duo We're Gonna Be Fine. We've been working together a lot this last year and have some videos up on YouTube. We do a movie review show called "Feel This Movie" which is reviewing movies and then just making it all about ourselves. We're GREAT at that!
Matt and Viviana's review of Into The Woods because Meryl Streep
Q: Why Nancy and Tonya?
A: Once you really get into it and the documentary is great, there's no more American a story than that is there? Tonya and Nancy both representing these dualities of womanhood. Tonya having this incredible talent and just having all these terrible people around her and this event happens and she just loses everything. Q: What can someone taking a guided tour of the museum expect?
A: We're still working the kinks out on that! Q: Of the two, who is your favourite skater and why?
A: I mean, there's definitely more to play with with Tonya. As a comedian that's more attractive. Q: The figure skating community generally tends to have some pretty strong opinions about the whole Nancy/Tonya thing being rehashed constantly. Are you worried about a negative backlash?
A: We hadn't thought about it? This was honestly a silly idea that got big fast. The bigger it gets, the more serious we're taking it. We are open to educating ourselves on how the community feels and would like certain things represented. When it gets to the core though the point of the thing is to have a fun, silly idea fully realized. Q: In the Huffington Post interview, you said you'd quit your jobs, dedicate yourselves to the museum and buy Tonya Harding a really nice dinner. What do you consider a nice dinner?
A: Sushi! Unless Tonya wants steak. Q: What's your best Nancy and Tonya joke?
A: This.
Want to support Matt and Viviana's project? If you pledge thirty dollars or more, you get the Oksana Baiul Package. Your name goes in a Friends Of The Museum book and they send you a picture of it, you get sent a video guided tour of the museum when it is complete and a video call at a scheduled time where you "have to be wearing clothes... and we can talk about Tonya and Nancy or really anything you want to talk about. We've been watching a lot of Empire on Hulu, we would love to talk about that." Bigger spenders can get t-shirts, Diet Coke, guided tours, weekend stays, TED Talks about Tonya and Nancy, cupcakes, tea service and much more. I don't know about you but I think this is hilarious. I'm a firm believer figure skating needs to take itself a little less seriously... and this is a wonderful reminder of that.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
On June 7, 1893 in Stockholm, Sweden, Anna Charlotta Grafström (nee Börjesson) gave birth to Gillis Emanuel Grafström. The father was Claes August Grafström, a property owner. Young Gillis took up skating at an early age like most and was a member of the Stockholm public skating club (SASK), where he competed in his first competition at the age of fourteen. Making fast progress, he was Sweden's junior men's champion only two years later. He became a senior men's skater in 1911 and in 1912 in Gothenburg won the silver medal behind that year's European Champion Gösta Sandahl, an early success that brought a lot of due attention upon the promising young skater. An account by Olof Groth from the National Archives of Sweden states that as a young athlete he was "the most successful figure skater skating has ever known and one of the cleverest. He learned much of Ulrich Salchow, especially in the school skating but never reached his extraordinary racing mood... He was an artist and an eccentric with a sometimes exuberant boy temper... He carried himself throughout with consummate grace."
Finishing his studies at the East reallärov and KTH, Gillis made his first of only four trips to the World Championships in Helsinki in 1914, where Sandahl won his only World title. The World Championships would be cancelled for the next several years due to World War I and during that time, he was busy winning a trio of senior men's titles in Sweden and honing his craft with dedication and precision.
Photo courtesy National Archives of Poland
I think it is prudent to talk about why Gillis' career focus was on the Olympics and not in winning scores and scores of World titles like Salchow. Gillis made his first of four Olympic appearances at the 1920 Summer Olympics, where he decisively won the title with first place finishes in both school figures and free skating, besting ten time World Champion and 1908 Olympic Gold Medallist Ulrich Salchow in the process, whose disappointing free skating effort dropped him all the way from second in the figures to fourth place overall. One of his blades actually broke during those 1920 Games and he actually had to go shopping in downtown Antwerp for another pair, which ended up being those old fashioned skates with the curly toes.... hardly the MK Blades of today and he managed just fine! Two years later in his hometown, he would win his first of three World titles (the other two being in 1924 and 1929, both in England). In 1924, he would also win his second Olympic title (and first in the Winter Games) in Chamonix, France. During those Games, he was quite ill with influenza and actually finished second to Willy Böckl in the free skate but his strong lead in the figures gave him the advantage overall. The following year, he'd move to Germany to study architecture at the Technical University Of Berlin. His new training bases would be the Volkspark Friedrichshain and the Bornstedter See when it was frozen. Gillis had been the only Swedish figure skater to compete at the 1924 Winter Olympic Games and his participation angered the powers that be in Swedish figure skating. This caused an ongoing struggle between him and his Federation and played a major part in why he didn't compete in more World Championships.
Left: Gillis Grafström carving out a figure. Right: Magda (Mauroy) Julin and Gillis Grafström.
Gillis became the first and only man to win three Olympic gold medals in 1928 at the Winter Games in St. Moritz, where he managed wins in both figures and free skating despite ice conditions so poor due to unseasonably warm weather. They were so bad in fact that red markers had to be staged around the outdoor surface to mark the especially tricky parts. Less than two months after he won his third Olympic gold medal, his father sadly passed away. Perhaps pushing his luck and going for an incredible fourth go at glory in 1932, he would be handed his first and only Olympic defeat by Austria's Karl Schäfer, who himself would win two Olympic gold medals. It would really be a case of comparing apples with apples, Both skaters were by all accounts very musical and cognisant of creating complete programs with thoughtful interpretation of music. Gillis, skating one incorrect figure and a colliding with a photographer during his free skating performance, would unfortunately be his own undoing. He'd have to settle for silver in Lake Placid and it would be his last competitive performance.
Gillis was one of the first competitive skaters of his era to recognize the importance of skating to music and crafting a nuanced, cohesive package of a program. Maribel Vinson Owen once stated that he skated "almost superhumanly to music". Groth stated "nor has anyone been dancing so easy on the ice and so rhythmically and musically smooth"; T.D. Richardson said his "personality combined the greatest knowledge of the art skating possessed by any living soul, with a rare intelligence, intense artistic feeling, perfection of technique and supreme athletic achievement." In her superb book "Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport" (which was an invaluable source in researching this particular blog), Mary Louise Adams too lauded his excellence: "His edges were sublime. His technically innovations, like the change-foot-spin, complex. Other skaters found his performances spell-binding; they were clean, subtle, and erudite. (He) was the skater's skater. There was nothing of the spectacle or the showman about him." Even John Curry felt his style was in the tradition of the Swedish sensation.
Left: Gillis Grafström, Julius B. Nelson and members of the Minneapolis Figure Skating Club in 1932. Photo courtesy Hennepin County Library. Right: Gillis Grafström in his finery.
In addition to the change foot spin, Gillis also invented the flying sit spin, the forward inside spiral and the back outside edge 'Grafström-pirouette'. In addition, he was the first man to perform the double Salchow jump in the twenties. He also made the Axel jump the standard in free skating during his era.
So we've got this gifted skater by all accounts who is a pioneer technically but even more so artistically, pushing the boundaries of his sport to such an extreme his contemporaries are singing his praises. Yes, that actually happened before Janet Lynn, Toller Cranston and John Curry! Who knew? But who was this guy... really? As Olof Groth touched on in the biography on file with the Swedish National Archives, Gillis was by some considered a little eccentric, a label that seems to be put on all true creative visionaries at some point in their careers, right? His studies in architecture in Berlin led to a career as a professional architect and he was also a talented poet and painter. After his competitive career ended, he even coached the first woman to do an Olympic three-peat, Sonja Henie, for a time.
While in Germany, Gillis married Cecile Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, the great granddaughter of famous composer, pianist and organist Felix Mendelssohn. Their mutual passion for art translated to a massive collection of historical skating art. Steve Milton's book "Figure Skating's Greatest Stars" talks about this impressive collection: "He and his wife Cecile Mendelssohn-Bartholdy began their legendary collection of skating art and artifacts by touring the antique shops of Holland, where skating first became a social and artistic force. At one point, Gillis and Cecile owned the three oldest skating books in print... Much of the collection was donated by the Grafströms in parts, to the World Figure Skating Museum: the first part was donated to the Museum while at its original Boston location, while the rest went to Colorado Springs when Cecile officially helped open the Museum's new home there in 1979." The collection would go on to be called The Skating In Art Collection and before being donated to the World Figure Skating Museum would be exhibited at the Nordic Museum in 1963 and the Altonaer Museum in Hamburg in 1966.
Despite the fact he seemed to face some sort of setback at every Olympics he competed in - whether it was an equipment problem, illness, bad ice or a collision with a photographer - Gillis' life was so successful it is really hard to find a lot of tragedy when you dig in and do the research. That's only until you talk about his death.
Only six years after competing in his final Olympic Games, Gillis died on April 14, 1938 in Potsdam, Germany at the incredibly young age of forty four. At the time of his death, he had been working as a coach in Munich and had been called to Berlin to coach Germany's national team. In a a 2010 article from "Potsdamer Neueste Nachrichten", his stepdaughter noted that his death was from a heart muscle inflammation, not blood poisoning which has been claimed repeatedly in modern sources. He's buried at the Bornstedtler Cemetery alongside his widow Cecile who passed away in Hamburg in 1995. Her dedication to continuing to build the collection they started together and generosity to preserving skating history in memory was simply put... beautiful.
The most touching story related to Gillis came many years after his death in the form of a tribute by his widow Cecile as recounted in Mary Louise Adams' wonderful book "Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity, and the Limits of Sport". When John Curry won Olympic gold in 1976, Cecile joined Ulrich Salchow's widow (who gave Curry his 1908 Olympic medal) and presented him with a small gold skate engraved with a congratulatory message. According to The London "Times", Cecile sang Curry's praises saying he "turned back the clock to the unhurried, graceful, elegant days of the 20's" and that his skating reminded her of her late husband's because of his musical interpretation. Much like the Salchow's trophy that Dick Button started the tradition of passing down through generations, there's something touching about Cecile's comparison of Curry to Gillis and her tribute to his artfulness by presenting him with that golden skate. That same year, Gillis was posthumously inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall Of Fame.
Here's the good news. Although Gillis Grafström and John Curry are so sadly no longer with us, their passion for musical interpretation and artistry lives on in those skaters that came after them... including the precious few competing today who make room for true musical interpretation in the cookie cutter competitive performances the current judging system dictates. Everything comes full circle... and our next Gillis Grafström is probably in a rink somewhere in this world today, skating precociously and with great virtuosity to the music playing on a practice session when the other skaters are busy focusing on their haircutter spins.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
The high drama connected with figure skating most certainly didn't start with the salacious story of Tonya Harding or "the French judge" Marie-Reine Le Gougne at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The controversy surrounded one figure skater from a relatively forgotten era in figure skating may not be a story widely known in skating circles but it is most certainly one that was out there 'in the world outside'.
In his book "From Küssnacht to Argenteuil", author Leo van Audenhaege pens an incredible story that really changes the way we look at Belgian royal history. van Audenhaege purports that during the winter of 1939-1940, the married Landbeck was invited to teach the royal children to ice skate and that her and the King fell 'in love at first sight'. He claims that Landbeck had an affair with the late King Leopold III, who was married himself at the time to Princess Astrid of Sweden. This affair produced a child, Ingeborg Verdun, who would in fact be an illegitimate half sister to Albert II, who reigned as King Of The Belgians from 1993 until his abdication from the throne for health reasons in July of 2013. Ingeborg Verdun was born in December 1940 in Antwerp and was raised without having any clue of her family ties to the Belgian royal family. Verdun now lives in the U.S. and did not learn the truth until she was fifty years old. In an interview with the Belgian magazine Humo, she stated "I was fifty when I first heard that my father is not my father. Fifty, you know what that means? That destroys your life."
Sadly, it seemed almost as if little clues to unravel this mystery were obfuscated in plain sight. Ingeborg shares a name with King Leopold III's then mother-in-law Princess Ingeborg of Sweden. When she was born, Liselotte Landbeck's hospital room was purportedly "filled with flowers from Laeken" and "a signed photograph of the 'biological father' of her baby was prominently on display." After his wife Queen Astrid died in a car accident in Switzerland - a car Leopold was at the wheel of - he ultimately married commoner Lilian Baels, the daughter of an Ostend shipping magnate and governor of West Flanders Province in 1941 and he wasn't exactly forthcoming about that either. Leopold and Lilian's wedding was held in secret and was considered in violation of Belgian law. van Audenhaege further suggests that Ingeborg Verdun wasn't the only illegitimate child that King Leopold III fathered. The handsome Monarch is said to have cheated on Lilian as well after World War II. He suggests that an unnamed half-brother to King Albert II was born of this affair. But wait... like any juicy story, that's not all! In his book "A Throne In Brussels", Paul Belien suggests that yet another illegitimate child was fathered by Leopold! The claims that this third suggested illegitimate child (Count Michel Didisheim, who was born in 1930) was fathered by Leopold were denied by Count Michel himself, who interestingly worked as Albert's private secretary for many years. It's all certainly a twisted web to say the least.
After abdicating from the throne himself in 1950 while his country was on the brink of civil war, Leopold travelled the world and dedicated his time and efforts to anthropology and entomology until his death in 1983. He is buried next to both of the wives he allegedly cheated on producing illegitimate children. What became of Liselotte Landbeck? No one really knows. After apparently spending time in both Stockholm, Sweden and in Belgium, van Audenhaege claimed at the time of his book's publication in 2011 that Landbeck was now living in a nursing home in an undisclosed location in a Southern climate. If she is in fact still alive, she would now be ninety nine years of age.
Can we with absolute certainty trust van Audenhaege's claims? Although it has been argued that van Audenhaege has 'no proof' and without disclosing where Landbeck is in fact specifically living now, we can hardly hear 'her side of the story' which she very well may not wish/have wished to be known. At any rate, it's certainly an intriguing and fantastical story that affects generations of Belgian royals and implicates one skating champion of a bygone era whose life we really ultimately know so very little about.
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 post U.S. and Canadian Nationals blog, I introduced a new format for event recaps: The Good, The Bad And The #NoSheBetterDont. To repeat my reasoning behind the brevity, this autumn I spent hours upon hours recapping all six ISU Grand Prix competitions and the Grand Prix Final in detail. Here's the thing. Agonizing over Suzie Salchow's take-off edge on her flip and the level of her spin combination really isn't my bag any more than jamming my hand in a car door is. I wanted to enjoy the competitions for the rest of the season rather than extrapolate the results to death but still wanted to represent all the major competitions with content on the blog as well. After all, whether I'm a big fan of the IJS system or not, there's some spectacular skating going on that I'd be absolutely negligent as a blogger by not talking about... and this year's European Figure Skating Championships in Stockholm, Sweden did NOT disappoint:
EL ÉXITO DE ESPAÑA: The success of Javier Fernandez has unquestionably put Spain on the international figure skating map in a big way. In winning his third European title in Stockholm with a superb short program and a free skate that though imperfect featured a quad toe-loop, triple axel and five other triples, Fernandez was quite obviously a great ambassador for skating in his country. However, he wasn't the only one. After making their debut in 2011 as the first Spanish ice dance team to compete at the European Championships, Sara Hurtado Martin And Adrian Diaz Bronchud have slowly but surely climbed the ladder in their results, cracking the top ten at last year's Europeans in Budapest. Their results this season have been a little bit more of a grab bag though. An eighth place finish at Skate Canada contrasted greatly with a fourth place finish at Trophee Eric Bompard. A spectacular free dance in Sweden to music from "Zumanity", "Atonement" and a composition by Karl Hugo moved them up from sixth to fifth place overall and showed the judges are finally ready to start taking the threat they pose a little more seriously.
OR POUR LA FRANCE: Although Russians and Italians have topped the leaderboard the two previous seasons at the European Championships, this year it was again France's turn... and girl, did they ever do it in style. Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron. Winning both phases of the ice dance event with a score of 179.97 - ahead of the reigning World Champions Anna Cappellini and Luca Lanotte - re-established the fact that this fast climbing French team's improvement this season might be enough to twizzle their way onto the podium in Shanghai. After all, their bronze medal at the Grand Prix Final coupled with this result set them up on paper as the team from Europe to beat this year. I can't gush enough about how much I love this team's free dance this season! It's understated and captivating like a painting you can't turn your eyes away from... and I love those lifts!
HISTORY FOR ISRAEL: In finishing a surprising fourth, Israel's Alexei Bychenko made skating history with his country's highest ever finish in men's event. Born in the Ukraine and currently training in the States, Bychenko has been steadily climbing the ranks over the past few seasons and this particular result coupled with his win this fall at the Tallinn Trophy in Estonia confirm that he's a skater who is certainly in the top ten conversation looking towards Worlds in Shanghai.
BACK IN BUSINESS: After starting off their comeback season very strongly with a win at Skate America with a free skate that included a throw quad salchow, Yuko Kavaguti and Alexander Smirnoff appeared unstoppable... but a last place finish at the Grand Prix Final after a marred short program gave the impression that they were starting to unravel a little. Their third place finish at the Russian Nationals was just enough to get them on the team for Europeans and once in Stockholm they absolutely blossomed. After finishing a strong second in the short program to their teammates Ksenia Stolbova and Fedor Klimov, Kavaguti and Smirnoff took advantage of their competitors blunders and coasted to victory with an impressive score of 207.67. Their side-by-side jumping passes were on point and they DID land a throw quad salchow but their program, however expressive, wasn't perfect. To compare their free skate score with Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford's 230.19 would appear the Canadians have a strong edge, but keep in mind with the usually generous scoring at ANY domestic competition, it's still anyone's game. That said, I'd still give the Canadians the edge personally. All in all though, a fine skate for this team and nice to see them reclaim the European title that they first won in 2010.
MARATHON WIN FOR TUKTAMYSHEVA: It seems the theme of Elizabeta Tuktamysheva's 2014/2015 season has been utter and complete domination. Treating the year almost like a marathon instead of a sprint, she has entered an unheard of nine competitions and won all but two of them. In those she settled for silver. In terms of consistency, you can beat that. Coming from second after the short program, the Russian dazzled in Stockholm with a flawless free skate that included two triple lutzes, a triple toe/triple toe combination and three other triple jumps. We've all seen the video of her landing a beauty of a triple axel in practice... and I have a sneaking suspicion that if she keeps it up with the huge TES scores she's posting, her tenth competition of the season could quite possibly see her as the latest World Champion.
ICE DANCE MOVEMENT: Definitely more so than usual, the shuffling in the standings from the short to the free dance was actually palpable. The 'third' Russian dance team finished eleventh in the short dance but sixth in their free dance and Slovakians Federica Testa and Lukas Csolley had a five place difference from the short to free dance as well, only in their case it was a drop to eighth overall. Although there's certainly proof in the pudding that these teams are simply mathematically so comparable on paper, I'd like to think the judges just may be starting to really break down what they are seeing from program to program a little more thoughtfully. Eternal optimism is a beautiful thing, don't you think?
ROCKY ROAD TO SHANGHAI: Elena Ilinykh - who with former partner Nikita Katsalapov earned Olympic gold (team) and bronze (individual) in Sochi - hasn't exactly had the smoothest start to her new partnership with former rival Ruslan Zhiganshin. Although the duo were able to stave off the competition at home in winning their first Russian title together, their last place finish at the Grand Prix Final in Barcelona didn't exactly turn a lot of heads although they showed considerable improvement in the free dance from both of their Grand Prix outings. In Stockholm, it was definitely the other way around. Synchronisation issues on their twizzles and a botched lift plummeted them down to eighth place in the free dance and dropped them from second to fourth overall. To ultimately be taken seriously in the medal equation at the World Championships against Weaver and Poje, two strong American teams, the defending World Champions Cappellini and Lanotte and the champions of this event, Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, they'll need to step up their game considerably.
THE STOCKHOLM SICKNESS: After missing the last two European Championships due to an extremely serious Achilles tendon injury that ultimately required surgery, three time European Medallist made her comeback at this year's event after winning the only two competitions she'd entered this season - the Golden Spin Of Zagreb and the Finnish Championships (her fifth title). She wasn't perfect but she proved she was certainly in fine form. Her resplendent short program set to "A Day In The Life" by The Beatles was worth particular mention. Although she put her hand down on her double axel, the triple flip/double toe combination and triple loop she did execute both earned her positive GOE's and the choreography by Jeffrey Buttle was in my opinion far more effective than any of the Russian ladies who placed above her in that phase of the competition, although they all received higher PCS marks. Colour me surprised. The bad part? The flu caused this Finnish beauty to withdraw after the short program. An article from "The Stockholm" quoted Korpi as saying "I had to stop the training session because I was not feeling well, but unfortunately after a few hours the situation was even worse. I'm really distraught at not being able to take part in the free program. I could not wait to be before the audience and I could fight for a good result."
THE BUCKLAND BROTHERS: Seventeen times the Union Jack has been raised following the ice dance competition at the European Championships but sadly this year Great Britain wouldn't have a representative in the ice dance final whatsoever, with the illness of brothers Nicholas and Joseph Buckland necessitating the withdrawal of both British teams. My father and grandparents being born in England, I always cheer on the Brits and I was particularly disappointed to see these teams miss out. Get well soon Joseph, Nicholas and Kiira!
THE FORTY SECOND RULE: Under current ISU rules if "a skater/team has a problem related to themselves or their equipment (i.e. damage/injury) and is unable to continue skating or resolve the problem and does not report to the Referee within 40 seconds, the skater/team is considered to be withdrawn." Harkening back to Jeremy Abbott's fall in the short program in Sochi, we again saw a skater at this event - the UK's Phillip Harris in the free skate who clearly injured his arm - fight through obvious pain and continue his program. Though we can applaud his grit and determination to continue, one can clearly ascertain that this rule doesn't have the skaters best interests at heart. I've heard the "this is the sport and these are athletes that need to toughen up" argument and I'm quite frankly over it.
BEATING A DEAD HORSE: The powers that be and I are just going to have to disagree on the topic of Elena Radionova's PCS scores. Her basic skating skills, posture, body line and musical interpretation just aren't in my opinion on a level that warrant marks of that level. This is figure skating, not figure jumping... and I can't say I agree whatsoever with the kind of PCS scores in any of the categories that are being doled out here. While she hits absolutely stunning positions in her spins and without question has the jumps, the in-between's and choreography are not there just yet in my opinion - but that will come with time. There's a growing period for developing the style that takes you from juniors to seniors and while I feel her short program suits her well enough, the free skate isn't working for me and gives the impression of a young girl trying on her mother's dresses. By offering generous second marks (at 32.02 and 67.22 the second highest PCS scores in both phases of the competition in fact) judges are hammering home the 'keeping the second mark in line with the TES score' fundamental problem with the way IJS skating is being judged. Just because you have a system in place to attempt to in some way quantify and evaluate five different aspects of a program's composition doesn't mean that system can't be taken advantage of. I've said it before and I'll say it again... I can do better.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
A: My favourite moment and performance of my career would have to be my short program at the 1994 National Championships. The program itself is very personal to me because it was choreographed by my beloved coach Brian Wright, who has since passed away. I was so scared to depart from my comfort level and skate to classical music (Rachmaninoff’s Variations on a Theme of Paganini), but Brian convinced me and the result was a program that represented who I was at that moment in my career perfectly. My other favourite program was my 1997 short program, choreographed by Lori Nichol to a honky-tonk piece called "Funky Mama". I skated great at Nationals and the Nashville crowd (a very music-friendly town) went nuts! One of my most challenging moments happened during the 1996 U.S. Nationals. Right before Nationals my beloved coach, Christy Krall, had told me she was retiring and this would be our last Nationals together. I had a hard time with this because I adored her and probably focused too much on my uncertain coaching future when I was at that Nationals.
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