Figure Skating: The Devil's Sport

In decades and centuries past, religious leaders have long used their positions of influence to condemn everything from rock and roll music to dancing as "the work of the devil". What many may not know is that once upon a time figure skating was the fire and brimstone flavour of the month.

I want to share with you an editorial called "Skating To Perdition" from the February 21, 1885 edition of The Lutheran Witness that expresses this very arcane point: "The skating rink craze has become epidemic in this country, and is spreading in every direction in spite of all righteous opposition. If it were one of the silly, harmless crazes that sometimes affect empty heads and light heels, it might be left to run its natural course, like a case of the cold. But it is a demoralizing evil, injuring the health, corrupting the morals, and ruining of the souls of some of the infatuated devotees of the rink. The denunciations of our correspondents in this issue are not a whit too strong. Even secular papers, like the 'New York Tribune' and the 'Sun', have been moved to protest against the skating rink as an evil. Another journal says it should be suppressed by law as a nuisance, and still another declares it to be worse than the ordinary theater. The pastor of a Methodist church in Binghamton, N.Y., stated in his pulpit recently that he knew of fourteen girls who had been ruined by these sinks of iniquity. He knew of many men who could not pay their honest debts because of money expended at the rinks. He knew of contracts for the purchase of homes that had been given up for the same reason. He knew of many families which had been broken up by the scandals started in these places. 'The Highway Of Holiness' charges that the habitues of the rinks gamble in a small way for almost everything; the exercise is often overexertion; accidents occur, in the form of broken arms, etc.; 'there is a doubtless a chase present to see the ladies fall, and the gentlemen fall over them,' and it is an expensive amusement. 'The Christian Advocate' says that these rinks have led to a great increase of extravagance; many of them have side-shows attached; there are opportunities for indiscretions, the first steps towards vice; there is no parental supervision; legitimate business of various kinds is interfered with, and the craze is a direct antagonist of religious effort. 'The Lowell Sun' charges some rinks to be the result of the most immoral class of the community, prostitutes and libertines, both married and unmarried... 'We believe,' says the Sun, it is in its effects the most immoral licensed institution that we have; that it is the cause of more and more immorality... The theaters are a Sunday School compared to it.' These are strong words; but we believe they are fully warranted by the facts. The rinks of Cleveland can furnish additional illustrations. No true Christian, or anybody else who has a conscientious regard for his honor, character and influence, [should] frequent the place of evil where thoughtless youths are ensured their destruction. Away with the rink!"

1884 clipping from "The New York Times" regarding arrests in New York state for skating on Sundays

This kind of mentality even extended well into the twentieth century. In February 1978, a reporter for "La Voz Eterna" magazine wrote, "Roller skating or ice skating at a rink where music is played is not a place for a Christian, whether it is a school class party or otherwise. One may try to justify the music by saying: music is played to drown out the loud noise of the skates, but this is not so. This is the voice of the devil speaking. The music here, too, gets under the feet and in the body. Before one is even aware of it, one is listening to the music and unconsciously moving with the music."

Not to be disrespectful to anyone's religious beliefs (I'm a live and let live kinda guy) but I was actually laughing my ass off as I transcribed these quotes. The reality is though that even today, there are actually people in this world who believe that homosexuality is a choice and/or a sin, that we have a right to dictate what people do with their own bodies... You know what I mean and which political and religious groups and figures I'm referring to. And you know what, bless their pointy heads. They probably don't know any better. But as much as we may all share a laugh and an eye roll at this archaic way of thinking, maybe we can take from all of this that ways of thinking change over the years. What seemed logical to some over a century ago will seem silly a century later.

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

I do know this though... if we're all going to a fiery hell because we love figure skating, at least we will be Lutzing and looping in great company.

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.

Ice Gayety: The Skating Tour That Never Was

When we think about figure skating shows and tours during the sport/art's first 'golden era', the names that come to mind instantly are probably Ice Follies, Ice Capades, Sonja Henie's tours and of course Holiday On Ice. But were those the only gigs in town, as it were? Hardly. Would-be competitors were cropping up around the world and in 1946, some serious money was invested into a skating tour originating in Florida called Ice Gayety.

The producer of the tour was named James Edgar and Ice Gayety wasn't his first venture into the professional skating business. In 1940, Edgar produced the Royal Ice Palace Revue which toured the U.S. and Canada with the circus company Beckmann and Gerety Carnival. It was a short lived affair though, as Edgar enlisted in the army in January of the following year, serving in Europe for eighteen months before being medically discharged with the rank of major in November of 1944. In no time, Edgar was back to the drawing board with his mind set on his piece of the skating entertainment pie.

Under the umbrella of his company Ice Skating Enterprises, Inc. Edgar chose the warm weather locale of Sarasota as the starting point for his skating spectacular. He commissioned a one hundred and ten foot flame-proof round top tent from the U.S. Tent and Awning Company that would seat three thousand, a mobile refrigeration plant from the Chicago Buildice Company to make the ice and hired the New York agent Harry Hirsch to book skaters and supervise the production of the show. Edgar hired people to do lighting, wardrobe and sell tickets. All he really needed was a choreographer and he found one in a Chicago skating coach and Ice Capades and Ice Follies skater named Anne Haroldson (Leitch), who was convinced to take time away from coaching in the windy city to come down south to put together this big show. Chorus skaters were hired (mainly from New York) and rehearsals were initially scheduled to start on February 8, 1946 in anticipation of a March 1 opening date. An early February article in Billboard magazine stated Edgar even "rented a house to accommodate the line girls." In total, an estimated one hundred thousand dollars (no paltry sum nowadays let alone then!) was poured into Ice Gayety.

It all went down the drain in TWENTY FOUR HOURS! On February 9, 1946, Edgar announced plans to abandon the effort. In a Billboard magazine article, Edgar said "the show had been postponed indefinitely because the skating rink, comprised of 20 plates, weighing 1750 pounds apiece, was found to be too heavy for easy movement on the schedule contemplated. Ice Gayety was scheduled to open here March 1-2 and then go on tour under canvas. Vaughn Richardson, general agent, had booked the show thru April 14 in Florida spots, with many choice downtown locations listed. Edgar's decision was reached in time to stop most of the skating performers before they left New York City for rehearsals in Sarasota. Two girls arrived from Chicago and another was halted en route at Denver. Edgar said other plans were being studied for use of the portable equipment. All preparations for the show were well advanced. The big top had been flame-proofed and erected for rehearsals. Cookhouse for workingmen was in operation and work was started on the seats. Costumes were completed. Billing had been printed and the billing crew was ready to begin."

Can you even imagine? Short of a bank heist, even the most enthusiastic of high stakes gamblers in Vegas would have a hard time throwing away that much money in such a short span. Rather than sit utterly defeated by the failure of Ice Gayety, Edgar ultimately soldiered on and turned his attention away from skating. He for a time owned the Sparks Circus, which began as a wagon show in the last decade of the nineteenth century, and took the show on tour in 1946 and 1947 by railroad. Financial concerns, no doubt as a result of the Ice Gayety flop, apparently continued to haunt him though as an August 23, 1947 article in Billboard stated that "Edgar owed James A. Haley a sum of money, but this he is reliably reported to have laid on the barrel head when the Ringling Bros. and Barnum and Bailey Circus was playing Detroit three weeks ago."  

In the winter of 1947, Edgar terminated his relationship with the Sparks Circus and although Ice Gayety never made it off the ground, he DID make two very important contributions to circus history: establishing the final circus to be an under-canvas railroad show and placing Venice, Florida on the map as a popular circus venue. He passed away on June 7, 1957 at age forty seven in South Vend, Indiana while traveling with his wife Anne to visit his son William at Culver Military Academy. Looking back, we can only wonder what Ice Gayety could have been if only things had gone a little differently. 

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.

Is That All There Is To A Circus?

"And when I was twelve years old, my daddy took me to the circus,
The greatest show on earth
There were clowns and elephants, dancing bears
And a beautiful lady in pink tights flew high above our heads
As I sat there watching
I had the feeling that something was missing
I don't know what
When it was over I said to myself,
Is that all there is to the circus?"

- from Peggy Lee's "Is That All There Is?" written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber

If there's one thing that studying figure skating has taught me, it is to be prepared for the unexpected. Given that I "grew up" in the sport in the mid to late nineties when skating so saturated the entertainment market that tank ice shows could be found everywhere from casinos to tourist attractions like Sea World and Busch Gardens, the concept of skating having connections with the circus didn't really phase me that much. What DID surprise me was exactly how far back that connection went.

Australian born illusionist Harry Cameron was born in 1881 and made quite a name for himself as The Great Carmo, touring with circuses and variety shows in Australia, France and the U.S. before planning a trip to Great Britain to develop a troupe and circus there. He almost didn't make it. The Big Apple Circus' "Circopedia" explains "The Great Carmo - as he was henceforth to be known - and his girl-assistants were ready to return to England, and they tried to book passages on the Cunard liner Lusitania, which was sailing from New York on May 1, 1915. Although cabin accommodations were available, there was no space in the hold for Carmo's huge amount of stage and magic props, and he had to wait for a later ship. It was a lucky strike: This was to be Lusitania’s last voyage; she was torpedoed by a German U-Boat off the coast of Ireland on May 7, an event that led the United States to declare war on Germany." Pretty incredible stuff. Cameron opened The Great Carmo Circus in Balmoral Gardens in Belfast, Northern Ireland in the summer of 1928. His show featured a horse trainer named Emmerich Ankner, a Japanese juggler known as Togo, Conrad's Bears, an elephant named Baby June and twelve lions. Menageries (which we visited in The Tower Of London blog) were also important parts of circuses at the time and Carmo's Circus featured a menagerie of animals as well. He took the circus on tour and by the following summer was in Gatford, London with aerial artists, acrobats, Belgian clowns, a perch-pole act and figure skaters added to his growing line-up.

The skating act was The Jainczik Skating Ballet On Real Ice and opened in July of 1929. A hanging card designed by Leon Crossley advertising the skating circus act informed that the Jainczik Ballet was held on the Football Ground at Northdown for "a short summer season" and that shows were held twice daily at 3 PM and 8 PM on "real ice". Alfred Jainczik was a German figure and roller skater who four years after performing with The Great Carmo Circus patented an improvement to roller skates. Sadly, The Great Carmo Circus floundered with tent and weather problems and in late March of 1930, the big tent burned to the ground and several animals were badly burned during the catastrophe. He attempted to keep his circus going at of all places a SKATING rink in West Bromwich but the financial loss he suffered caused The Great Carmo Circus to close its doors. The following year, Cameron opened Carmo's Colossal Circus at The Hippodrome but by then, he'd replaced the ice skating ballet with a roller skating duo called The St. Moritz Skaters. We do know that Alfred Jainczik left England aboard the Normandie liner in 1937 bound for New York, advantageously getting out of Europe before World War II broke out. He then toured with the Ringling Bros. Circus in the U.S. for a time.

Other circuses also staged ice skating shows but none were perhaps as popular as Moira Orfei and Walter Nones' Italian Circo Sul Ghiacco (Circus On Ice) show which opened in 1969. It included a circus ring and skating show in one venue and was known for its use of elaborate sets, props and costumes. After separating Orfei's show from the Circus On Ice show in 1976, the actress Orfei at one time was involved in the ownership of Holiday On Ice. 

Today, ice acrobats, skating bears, fire and hula hoop acts remain some of the most sought after novelties for both traditional and non-traditional skating and variety shows and without the unconventional pioneering efforts of people like The Great Carmo, Alfred Jainczik and Moira Orfei, the unseeming might have easily remained relegated to 'the impossible'.

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 Bishop Eight

Figure skating as we know it today wouldn't exist without its technical innovators - jump inventors like Axel Paulsen and Ulrich Salchow, prodigal spinners like Lucinda Ruh and Denise Biellmann and even skaters like Charlotte Oelschlägel and Ina Szenes-Bauer who created visually stunning moves in the field. Although the interview with 1972 Olympic Gold Medallist Trixi Schuba certainly discussed her specialty (skating perfect school figures), I wanted to talk about a long lost special figure that was so challenging for late nineteenth century skaters to execute it was really that generation of skaters' 'Iron Lotus'. It was called The Bishop Eight.

William H. Bishop, a.k.a. Frank Swift

The Bishop Eight was designed by American skater and theatrical producer William H. Bishop, who won the Championships Of America in the 1860's under the alias 'Frank Swift'. Similar to certain figures of the English Style, it was designed to be skated either individually or in a group. Frederick R. Toombs' 1879 book "How to become a skater" described how to execute this challenging figure in full detail: "Entering into the combination are the outside and inside edge rolls, the cross roll and the threes. I will describe it as executed by two persons. Remember that the two skaters do not face each other and that the direction for one is the instruction for the other. 1. The two skaters join right hands, standing sideways to each other and facing in opposite directions. 2. Make a small half circle on the right foot, outside edge, forward. 3. Turn a three, at the same time changing the right for the left hand and make a half circle backward on the inside edge, right foot, returning to the starting point. 4. Going backward on the outside edge, left foot, make a curve and a three, turn halfway around the circle and change to the inside edge, forward, left foot. Make a curve and turn a three, from backward to forward, and from inside edge, left foot, to outside edge, right foot, coming forward, up to the centre, and joining left hands. 5. Put the left foot well over the right, as hands are joined, firmly on the ice, on the outside edge and execute a cross roll. Repeat the movements already described, completing the other half of the eight. The cross roll should always be put in at the point of meeting and may be accomplished more easily, because each skater assists the other with his hands." Dizzier than you've done the hokey pokey for five minutes after a nice refreshing Long Island iced tea? I am.

The wild complexity of The Bishop Eight and other American figures of the era including the Flying Scud, The Tulip and The Ball Of Twine prove case and point that though British and Continental European skaters were largely known internationally as the great masters of complex special figures, insanely difficult special figures were being developed in North America in the sport's developmental stages as well. Triple/triple combinations and level five step sequences aside, how many of today's skaters do you think could master The Bishop Eight? Technical innovation comes in many forms. Today, there is renewed interest in using figures as a teaching tool and of course, the current excitement about the upcoming World Figure Championship and Figure Festival in Lake Placid serves as an important reminder that although competitive figure skating may have ditched the 'figure', not everyone has forgotten the challenge and reward of skating's most difficult discipline. Personally, I think that's a beautiful 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.

Haines Revisited: Same Sex Ice Dancing In Vienna

Callie C. Curtis: Nineteenth Century Drag Queen On Ice

Although not formally recognized as either the U.S. or North American Championships by 'today's standards', the Skating Club Of New York was hosting international competitions dating as far back as the 1860's called the Championships Of America, the first two of which were won by figure skating pioneer Jackson Haines. However, Haines wasn't the only American born men's skater who was turning heads at these competitions. Less than a decade later, a Chicago man named Callie C. Curtis began his utter domination of "fancy skating" at these events, winning his first of five consecutive Championships Of America in 1869.

Callie C. Curtis was born April 24, 1848 in Chicago, Illinois. He was perhaps best known for his design of a figure called The Curtis Star which was described by E.T. Goodrich in the February 3, 1889 edition of the "Elmira Telegram" as "one of the prettiest and most difficult figures I ever saw cut on the ice. Nobody could accomplish it with the ease and grace that characterized his efforts, and it was finally called the 'Curtis Star'. It was formed in three parts. First there was the circle. This he did by the simple inside edge, forward toe step. At the completion of the circle the skater would jump back clear of the circle, so as to leave no marks inside of or across the circle. Then the plain star was made standing with one foot at the point... Curtis would let his left foot run a little farther away from the right; the drawing it in would bear hard on the heel of the right." As far as technical innovations, George Browne also credits Callie with introducing European skaters to the mohawk.

On March 15, 1869, Callie handed a resounding defeat in the men's event to defending Championships Of America champion Frank Swift in Rochester, New York. An account from Julian T. Fitzgerald's "History On Ice and Roller Skating - 1916", graciously provided by Karen Cover at the U.S. Figure Skating Museum, explained, "Frank Swift was then Champion of America, having won the Diamond Medal the previous year at Allegheny City, Pa. Feb 6., 1868. Twice he had successfully defended his title, but the Chicago boy was too much for him and he had to bow to his superior. When Mr. Curtis was declared the winner by a score of 47 points to 41, Mr. Swift took his defeat manfully and skated up to Mr. Curtis and pinned the Diamond Medal on his breast."

Frank Swift and Callie Curtis

The story had been a little different less than a month earlier, when Callie caused quite a stir in the city donning his finest drag and entering a women's figure skating competition. The February 20, 1869 edition of the "New York Clipper" gives a full account of the spectacle: "The skating public of Buffalo and Rochester were the victims of a 'sell' of the largest dimensions and most thorough description during the week ending February 6th - a hoax of so laughable a character, however, that they could not allow their angry passions to rise against the perpetrators. It turns out that 'Miss Godbout, the lady from New Brunswick' instead of being one of the 'weaker vessels' was none other than the accomplished western skatist, Callie Curtis, who is now a candidate for the championship. At the termination of the ladies' content at the Buffalo Rink on the night of the 6th, to the astonishment of the on-lookers, the majority of whom enjoyed the joke, though some, with no humor in their souls, seemed disposed to find fault. To silence these grumblers and set himself right before the public, Manager Harvey published the following card in the local journals of the 8th: 'The impossibility of getting two first class lady skaters to compete in a public match for your amusement, induced me to have one of our finest male professionals (Callie Curtis, the 'Star Of The West') assume the role of a lady for the nonce, and it was my intention to have divulged the secret on Thursday evening, but during the contest that evening the idea suggested itself to me that I could afford you a second evening's amusement, and in the interim have the same skaters display their skill in our Rochester Rink. This being accomplished I lost no time in revealing to you the 'Star of the West' sans veil, sans wig, apologizing to you for the temporary deception, conceived and carried out to amuse you. Some who were in the secret predicted that the revelation of it would be met with disapproval and this morning counselled me either to postpone the match indefinitely or allow Miss Godbout to preserve her incognito; my disinclination to disappoint you by failing to perform what I had advertised was an insurmountable objection to the first course, and my determination to reveal the secret, both in justice to you and to add fresh zest to the entertainment, precluded the adoption of the second.'" The kicker? The last line of the article: "Curtis perpetrated a like sell upon the good people of Pittsburgh and vicinity last season." That wasn't the only trouble Curtis got himself into while in New York skating. Another 1869 article from the same paper stated, "Callie Curtis was recently arrested upon a charge of seduction, preferred by a chambermaid at one of the Rochester N.Y. hotels, but upon examination he proved the falsity of the charge and was acquitted."

Despite his on-ice trickery and this off-ice allegation, Callie continued to dominate skating in America during this period, winning the next four Championships Of America. In late October 1871, ice was installed at the Metropolitan Theatre and Callie performed "a great double and single comic and fancy skating act" with Billie Burt in conjunction with a production of John Baldwin Buckstone's "Green Bushes; Or, A Hundred Years Ago". He was also an accomplished roller skater. Callie was the organizer and manager of the Championship of the Pacific Coast in roller skating in San Francisco in 1872. According to a September 1, 1872 article, he "went through each piece before the contestants, and in their presence Mr. Curtis was applauded to the echo when he led off in the first piece. He skims over the boards as gracefully with the clumsy roller skates as if he were sliding on smooth ice... and performs as many different feats". His demonstration of the elements that would be judged at that event totalled over twenty different figures, steps and "specialties, embracing original and peculiar movements". Callie also mentored a young skater named Johnnie Cook of Cleveland, Ohio, who earned the reputation as "the human top" for his impressively fast spinning ability. Reportedly, his double-flat spin later popularized by Sonja Henie was a sight to behold. Tragically, Cooke died at only twenty years of age, never finding the same success in competition as his accomplished coach.

Here's where Callie's story collides with that of Mabel Davidson, whose career and life we explored back in January. A roller and figure skater from Concord, Massachusetts named Carrie Augusta Moore had put together an exhibition tour of Europe in 1873. Callie headed over with E.T. Goodrich to skate in that tour, paving the way for the Davidson family (with Mabel as the star attraction) to tour London and Paris in 1896. The absence of the reigning champion would have obviously opened the door for a new champion and I'm sure some of his competitors couldn't have been happier. An undated newspaper clipping from the era found in the Canadian Jewish Heritage Network's Louis Rubenstein collection noted that Callie was "no longer a resident of Chicago, and living now in Europe, will not trouble the aspirants for his title with his presence." Certainly has a bit of a "don't let the door hit you on the way out" ring to it, doesn't it?

In 1882, Callie won a competition for professionals, held in conjunction with the Internationalen Preis-Figurenlaufen (Great International Skating Tournament) in Vienna, defeating Axel Paulsen's brother Edwin. Four years later, he competed in an event in Germany held in conjunction with the Hamburg and Altona Skating Club's international speed skating tournament. The winner of the speed skating race was of course Axel Paulsen, but it was Callie who defeated Axel in the figure skating contest. The winner, however, was C. Werner of Christiana. 

Callie later settled in a suburb of Hamburg, where he operated a restaurant. He passed away there on June 16, 1903 at the age of fifty-five.

Whether he was skating on roller or figure skates, in men's or women's dress, outdoors on a pond or on a theatre stage, beating American skaters or Axel jump inventors, Callie certainly made an impression everywhere he went and I'm happy I was able to unearth some of his story and glue together the broken vase pieces. Without an understanding of where figure skating came from, we'll never be able to get a firm handle on where it's going.

This piece originally appeared as part of a six-part podcast series called Axels In The Attic. You can listen to Allison Manley of The Manleywoman SkateCast and Ryan Stevens of Skate Guard's audio version on Podbean or iTunes.

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 Great Danes: Pioneers In Danish Figure Skating

Credited with introducing the ice sports of bandy and hockey to the people of Denmark is a Briton named Charles Goodman Tebbutt, who was also a Dutch speed skating champion in 1887. That said, Jackson Haines' European tour brought figure skating into the consciousness of the Danish people prior to Tebbutt's impact on ice sports in Denmark and in 1869 and 1870, the country's first skating clubs were formed: Kjøbenhavns Skøjteløberforening (KSF) and the Frederiksberg Skating Association.

People flocked to the frozen moats in Copenhagen, such as the Christianshavn, in the late nineteenth century in increasing numbers to skate their hearts out. It was during that pioneering period in Denmark that figure skating competitions were held in conjunction with speed skating races. Nigel Brown's authoritative 1959 book "Ice-Skating: A History" notes "it was in Denmark just after the middle of the nineteenth century when the title of 'artistic skating competitions' was billed in conjunction with speed contests; but after the usual series of speed races for men and women, which included a race backwards of more than a mile, the artistic part of of the programme terminated the competition and took the form of an obstacle race. To negotiate the twelve stumbling-blocks placed upon the ice at various intervals was undoubtedly considered an art, and neither a game, nor a race!"

Charles Goodman Tebbutt

The first Danish Figure Skating Championships were held in 1912, the same year the Danish Skating Union was formed. The men's figure skating title was won that year by a Mr. H. Meincke, the ladies title by Gerda Iversen and the pairs event by Inger Morville and Folmer Søgaard. These national figure skating competitions were held semi-annually in the country (largely because the country was dependent entirely on the weather with no artificial ice rinks to be found) but it wouldn't actually be over twenty years until a Danish skater would make an appearance internationally, despite the fact the Danish Skating Union joined the ISU in 1913.

Esther Bornstein was Denmark's first internationally competitive figure skater when she travelled to London, England for the 1933 European Championships, where she placed tenth of the eleven ladies competing. The winner that year was who else? Sonja Henie. Bornstein also made an appearance at the following year's European and World Championships, with similarly disappointing results.

The country's first breakout success story would be in Per Cock-Clausen, who won an incredible
thirteen Danish men's titles over a twenty three year span from 1940 to 1963 as well as four Nordic skating titles as well. He competed against Dick Button at both the 1948 and 1952 Winter Olympic Games and it was during the forties that the number of skating clubs in Denmark grew to twenty, a result both of Cock-Clausen's pioneering success in the sport and the harsher winters that allowed for more natural ice suitable for skating to form. Cock-Clausen was undefeated in Denmark throughout his incredibly long skating career, was responsible for the coaching of younger skaters at the Frederiksberg Skating Association and also worked to build the sport as a member of the Danish Skating Union's board as well at the same time he was competing. He wrote several books about the sport including "Skojtelob", "Konstakningens" and "Asien og verdensmagterne" and actually went on to be a successful surveyor and politician.

Cock-Clausen's success saw a greater rise in Danish skating's popularity. Harry Meistrup and Alf Refer dominated the pairs scene in the country from 1940 to 1963, with different partners successively winning every pairs title in the same twenty three year span that Cock-Clausen dominated the men's event. Unfortunately, after this heyday, the popularity of Danish skating seemed to dwindle a bit and it wasn't really until the eighties and early nineties when World Professional Champion Lorna Brown worked with skaters like the late Lars Dresler that the country again made a real impact internationally. An interesting anecdote to those who may not know: U.S. Champion and World Medallist Todd Sand was the 1982 and 1983 Danish men's champion!

In my interview with Michael Tyllesen, he talked about the evolution of skating in Denmark from the eighties to today: "Back in the eighties, The Danish Skating Federation had a training center for the most talented skaters in Denmark. When I was twelve years old, I got the offer from the Danish Skating Federation to live and train at the training center. It meant that I had to move away from my parents and live in another city in a big house with five of Denmark's biggest talents. A family would take care of all of us and make dinner and so on for us. They lived on the first floor and all the skaters lived in basement and all skaters had their own room. We went to normal school in the day and skated together before and after school/work. We had a national coach and a choreographer to teach us. Besides the ice time, we had to do off-ice, weight training, dancing, running and stretching. We even got massage once week, so we had everything we needed. We paid a small amount each month for living and training at the training center and the rest was paid by the Danish Federation. I lived at the skating center for four years then it closed down. It was very expensive to run for the Danish Skating Federation and many skating clubs didn't like that 'their' skaters were taken away from their own coach. I'm so lucky I got to live and train at the skating center and having some good skaters to look up to and train with in a professional environment. We had everything we needed to become good skaters. Some of all the best skaters we have had in Denmark ever are from the time where the Skating Center existed and I would never have achieved the results I have, if I wouldn't have lived there. It's very difficult to make good skaters in Denmark these days. It's a small country. We do have quite a lot of ice rinks, but we have to share the ice time with ice hockey. All skaters pay a monthly fee to the club and then the trainers give group lessons, so all the skaters have to share the lessons. Not all clubs allow private lessons and the talents are spread between the different clubs instead of all the talents training together at the same place. The sport has also become very expensive, so not all the skaters/parents can afford what it requires if you want to be on a high level. The Danish Skating Federation doesn't really support the skaters with much money anymore. In Denmark, we have something called TEAM DENMARK, which is an organization who support all the best athletes in Denmark. You need to be a 'TOP ELITE' sportsman/woman and place around the top ten at Europeans or the top 15 at Worlds to get money support from them. I was lucky that I got a lot of money and support from Team Denmark and the Danish Skating Federation from I was twelve years old until I finished my amateur career in year 2000, because my parents would never be able to pay all the money it has cost for my skating. In the nineties, when I started competing at Europeans and Worlds, I combined my training in Denmark with four summers in Edmonton, Canada and later four summers and also winters in Lake Arrowhead, California, which was great."

Looking at Danish skating today, you see a country with some very promising prospects. Skaters like Pernille Sørensen, Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Nikolaj Sørensen are all making their own impacts on skating in the country and abroad and the future couldn't look brighter... and all of that success is built on an early foundation built in a Scandinavian country whose plunge into the sport wasn't perhaps as carefree as Norway or Sweden's but is just as interesting nonetheless.

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.

Böckl Up: It's Time To Talk Skating, Big Willy Style

On January 27, 1873, Richard Wilhelm 'Willy' Böckl was born in Klagenfurt am Wörthersee, a southern Austrian city which borders with present day Slovenia. His skating club was the Eislaufverein Wörthersee, but during his competitive skating career he also spent some time training in Vienna while studying at the University Of Vienna. His mother Paula was a great supporter of his skating.

Much was unique about his career. For starters, he was one of a very small group of skaters that enjoyed sustained international success both before and after the Great War. He also faced incredible competition in his home country from skaters like Fritz Kachler, Ernst and Josef Oppacher, Ludwig Wrede and Erwin Schwarzböck throughout his career. In fact, in sporting publications from his era like the Illustriertes (Österreichisches) Sportblatt, he was frequently overshadowed in favour of his competitors at home from the Vienna Skating Club and Cottage-Eislaufverein even while at the height of his career internationally.

Photo courtesy National Archives of Poland

Perhaps most notable when talking about Willy's contribution to the sport in a historical context, however, is his pioneering role in emphasizing sheer athleticism in an era where excellence in school figures and presentation where the focus of many of his peers. He wasn't doing triple Axels by any means, but Willy's free skating performances focused on high single axels, a peppering of easier double jumps, split variations, steps and figures. He has been (unofficially) credited as the inventor of the inside axel and with performing the first double loop.

Left: Harald Rooth, Andor Szende and Willy Böckl. Right: Willy Böckl and Gillis Grafström. Photo courtesy "Skating Through The Years".

As for his competitive career, Willy won a total of four Austrian titles, eight medals at the European Championships (six of them gold), nine medals at the World Championships (four of them gold) and silver medals at both the 1924 and 1928 Winter Olympics behind Gillis Grafström. It should also be noted that at the 1924 Games in Chamonix, he was actually the winner of the free skate. Not to diminish his strength in school figures (because he was regarded by many as excellent) but the times he did seem to lose, figures were often the reason why. For instance, the February 22, 1914 edition of the Neue Freie Presse newspaper noted of his bronze medal win at the 1914 European Championships in Vienna that "third place went to Willy Böckl, whose free skating [was] the best of the day while [what] he did in the compulsory exercises what not on the usual level." He retired from competition in 1928 on a high, defeating future Olympic Gold Medallist Karl Schäfer at that year's World Championships in Berlin. His coach for much of his competitive career was Pepi Weiß-Pfändler.

Off the ice, Willy was a mathematician and shipbuilding engineer by trade. In a business capacity, he actually travelled back and forth from Austria and Germany to the United States on a yearly basis between 1928 and 1935 on such ships as the Aquitania, Ile De France, Columbus, Milwaukee, Hamburg, Rex and S.S. New York. During this same period, he kept active in skating as an international judge, putting his educations in both mathematics and skating to practical use. It wouldn't be long before he made the decision to immigrate to the U.S. and take up jobs coaching at the Skating Club of New York and in Lake Placid. Among his considerable stable of students were future professional star Dorothy Goos, Eastern Champion Kathryn Ehlers and U.S. Medallist, Skating Club of New York President, national judge and 1961 Sabena Crash victim Eddie LeMaire.

Willy penned the books "Willy Boeckl On Figure Skating" and "How To Judge Figure Skating", the latter offering one of the most thorough guides to the judging of school figures I've ever seen. He was an advocate for hands on education for judges, writing that becoming a good judge "needs a great deal of practice in watching good skaters and bad ones, gathering information everywhere. I would say to become a good judge needs practically as much practice as it does to become a good skater, not so much physically, perhaps, but certainly mentally. Become a skater does a figure he has time to ponder, but a judge has not much time to think. A swiftly moving free skating program passes like a film, you have to take everything of it in split seconds and only in the well trained judge's mind will everything register as far as the human mind is able to register the multitude of quickly similar following moves."

Right photo courtesy National Archives of Poland

As if winning six European titles, four World titles, two Olympic medals, judging, coaching and writing about skating weren't enough, in August 1938, Willy was elected the first President of the American Teacher's Guild, an early forerunner of today's Professional Skater's Association. In the fifties, he was even part of Royal Dutch Airlines' international tour program, personally conducting tours Anna McGoldrick style to 'the internationally famous ice skating rinks in Europe.' In the spring of 1940, he survived an emergency appendix operation.

Photo courtesy Sveriges Centralförening för Idrottens Främjande Archive

Willy retired from coaching in 1944, taking up the position of President of the Universal Tire Company in Boston. Information regarding his death is unclear. Several non-primary sources cite his passing as occurring in the city he was born (Klagenfurt am Wörthersee) although his Social Security Index Records seems to imply that his death actually occured in Massachusetts. We do know that he passed away on April 22, 1975 and is missed by many. Two years later, he was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall Of Fame alongside fellow World Champions Lawrence Demmy, Donald Jackson and Jean Westwood. His trophies were ultimately donated by his daughter to the World Figure Skating Museum's collection after his death.

Courtesy the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek

Willy's legacy is as a jack of all trades, master of all and to me, I look at his athletic style at the time of the staid English Style and graceful Continental Style as really quite a revolutionary approach to free skating at the time, whether it's your cup of tea or not. Skating has long had its skaters who you think of more for their athleticism than artistry like Timothy Goebel, Midori Ito, Tonya Harding, Elvis Stojko and a good majority of today's competitors under the current IJS system, and you know what, there's room for everyone's strengths in the history books. I think Willy would agree that great skaters are all worthy of a round of applause and a fair score!

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.

America's Axel Paulsen: The Johnny Nilsson Story

Norway's Axel Paulsen was one of very few skaters to navigate his way between the worlds of figure and speed skating with ease. A multiple time winner of the World Professional Speed Skating Championships, Paulsen was also the inventor of the difficult Axel jump which still bears his name today. As we know, he performed it on speed skates. America also had its own Axel Paulsen in Johnny Nilsson, a champion speed skater who was also a very fine 'fancy' skater in his own right.

Like Paulsen, the Minneapolis skater was also a repeat World Professional Speed Skating Champion, winning his titles in 1902 and 1903. The February 8, 1903 edition of "The Pittsburgh Press" offered a record of Johnny's second World Professional win in Montreal: "The feature of the day was the three-mile professional race, the finish of which was the closest ever seen in this city. Nilsson made the pace for more than two miles when he dropped back and McCullough, the former amateur champion of the world, took the lead, holding it to the turn in the finish, when Nilsson shot ahead and broke the tape at the finish four feet in front of McCollough. Three thousand people cheered loud and long while the champion circled round the rink and when he arrived at the tape bowing his acknowledgements he was literally carried off by his friends and admirers." His victorious win in Montreal was recorded for the "Living Canada" series by Pulitzer prize winning photographer Joe Rosenthal, who took the iconic "Raising The Flag On Iwo Jima" World War II picture. As a speed skater, Nilsson held records at the turn of the century in all races from a half a mile to five miles. As an interesting footnote, he wasn't the only Johnny Nilsson to be the world's fastest skater. Confusingly to my research for this blog, in 1963, Sweden's Jonny Nilsson won the World All-Round Speed Skating Championships in Karuizawa, Japan.

Big thanks to Bev Bayzant for providing this rare image of Nilsson from the McMaster University Archive Collection!

Johnny was allegedly every bit as good a 'fancy' skater as he was a speed skater. A revised copy of Frederick Toombs' book "How to become a skater" gives an account of his show skating expertise: "Nilsson probably never has had an equal, certainly no superior. Every imaginable 'stunt' of the fancy skater is at his command and he has originated a large number of startling feats. For example, he will approach a chair at full speed on one foot and leap completely over its back, landing on the same foot without losing his balance. Then again he will place three of four barrels side by side and jump over them, turning around in mid-air and landing with his face toward the barrels. A novel sight it is to see him run backward on the points of his skate. He goes round and round a circle with his feet in the spread-eagle position, increasing his speed without raising either blade from the ice."

Johnny was also an excellent oarsman, gymnast, tumbler, boxer, wrestler and sprinter. Even more interestingly, he was also quite the engineer. During his lifetime, he built three motorcycles, three automobiles and worked on developing an airship. He also was one of the contributing writers of the 1902 book "The Art Of Figure Skating".

Johnny believed that his success was owed to his teetotalism, as referenced in Toombs' book: "Nilsson may well be described as a 'jolly good fellow.' His genial disposition has made him a prime favorite wherever he is known. He is a 'natural born' humorist, and witty indeed is the man that can turn the laugh against the champion... Nilsson believes that every skater should be temperate in his habits, and should indulge in a variety of exercises, so as to give himself good all-around muscular development. He never smoked a cigar or cigarette; nether has he ever indulged in intoxicating liquors. Therefore it is easy to understand how he has been able to uphold his supremacy for almost a decade." Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I'd much rather have a glass of wine and toast to Johnny Nilsson, the late, great, unknown American contemporary of Axel Paulsen.

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.

South American Skating History... You'd Be Surprised!

The Palais de Glace in Buenos Aires

Patinação, patinaje... no matter the language, I promise you that the history of ice skating in South America is not only a fascinating tale but one that takes us back in the time machine much further than many would suppose.

We'll start by revisiting the story of the continent's first Olympic figure skater, Horatio Tertuliano Torromé. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1861 to an Argentine father and a Brazilian mother, Horatio Tertuliano Torromé emigrated to Great Britain with his family and took up figure skating. In 1902, he almost won a medal at the World Figure Skating Championships in London, England, but dropped from a third place finish in compulsory figures to finish fourth in free skating and just off the podium underneath Ulrich Salchow, Madge Syers-Cave and Germany's Martin Gordan. In 1905 and 1906, Torromé would compete at the British Figure Skating Championships and win the men's competition, which wasn't technically a men's competition as female skaters contested the men for the 'men's title' until they were finally given a competition of their own in 1927. A forty six year old Torromé qualified to compete as a representative of Great Britain at the 1908 Olympic Games and almost did, but instead opted to represent his father's home country of Argentina. He was the only athlete in ANY sport to represent Argentina at those Games and in the more than hundred years and countless Olympic Games since then, there still hasn't been another figure skater from Argentina. Although he would finish seventh of the seven men finishing the men's event at those Games (two didn't finish), Torromé would also judge the pairs figure skating competition at the 1908 Games. I know what you're thinking. He didn't SKATE in South America so it doesn't count. It wasn't long before people were at all.

In the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century, the lifestyle of high society in Buenos Aires, Argentina began to echo that of Europe more and more. In 1910, Joseph R. King, a Briton living in the city, built the opulent belle epoque style Palais de Glace on land provided the city and opened the space as South America's first ice rink. The venue is still operational today for trade shows and exhibitions and explains its early skating days as such on its website: "Modelled on the Paris Palais des Glaces, the skating rink round occupied the central hall, and the surrounding boxes and lounges gatherings were distributed. In the basement of the building machines manufactured ice that supplied the track were installed, and the first new floor boxes, confectionery and a body completed facilities with a vaulted ceiling culminating in a dome with a large central skylight that even today preserves, designed to give natural light to the rink. Halfway through the 1910s, with ice skating and less in vogue, the Palais de Glace became an elegant ballroom with oak floor to welcome the new ambassador of civic culture: tango." The actual year of the Palais de Glace's transition from ice rink to ballroom was 1915 and it was in the venue that Porteno trendsetter Baron de Marchi staged tango soirees there in the 1920's, after which the dance was accepted by local high society. In a letter that was reprinted in her book "A Voyage To South America And Buenos Aires", Ida May Jack Cappeau recalled her visit to the rink thusly: "I went with Carlos and Angelica to the 'Palace de Glace' to watch the skating. It was a splendid building, and presented a very animated sight. There were many beautiful ladies skating and many pretty children. Some of the costumes were extremely smart. There was some fancy skating. We had tea while there, and I was introduced to many delightful friends of the S-P's."

Although skating didn't catch on greatly in South America at first, it enjoyed a surge of popularity in the early forties in both Brazil and Argentina. Here's a fun fact! Ice dancing pioneer Muriel Kay tells us in her book "Origins Of Ice Dance Music" about a rumoured South American Sonja Henie connection: "Sonja Henie was credited with playing a part in bringing Carmen Miranda to the U.S. According to some versions (and there are several) of the discovery of 'the Brazilian Bombshell', Sonja Henie, in the company of Broadway producer Lee Shubert, saw Carmen Miranda's show at Cassino da Urca while on a short visit to Rio in February 1939, and realizing the U.S. 'show biz' potential of the entertainer, pressured Shubert to give her a contract. Reportedly, Sonja even wore to a shipboard party a costume that Carmen Miranda had given her." Sonja was not the only skater to be taken by the samba.

Guy Owen's gaucho act. Photo courtesy Skating Club Of New York.

In 1941, Guy Owen and Maribel Vinson Owen starred in the continent's first ice shows at the Cassino de Urca Rio de Janeiro. Their shows, imported by the William Morris Agency, were well received and featured Bill and Betty Wade, Douglas Duffy, Alex Hurd and a chorus of six young women. Upon returning to North America, they debuted an early ice interpretation of the samba dance. Guy Owen even performed a popular solo act as a gaucho.

The Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima's rink in Buenos Aires. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.

That same year in Buenos Aires, the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima opened a small ice rink on the seventh floor of an office building. It was so popular that between six and hundred people skated there daily and the club had a waiting list of eight thousand. The October 8, 1935 edition of "The Glasgow Herald" explained, "This club, inspired by Dr. [R.C.] Aldao, one of the most public-spirited citizens of Buenos Aires, and financed out of unclaimed lottery prizes, provides for thousands of the young people of that great city a centre of healthy social life at nominal subscription." Essentially Argentina's answer to the YMCA, ice skating for a time was an incredibly popular activity. 

Barbara Wright Sawyer. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.

Barbara Wright Sawyer, Renata Bikart and Lucien Büeler taught at the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima, using the United States Figure Skating Association's rulebook as a guide as the country had no established skating federation or teaching program. Barbara Wright Sawyer, who had trained in England with Howard Nicholson prior to World War II and coached for a spell at the S.S. Brighton, produced and starred in a series of ice ballets at the rink - "Blue Danube", "Swan Lake" and "A Wedding In A Garden". The latter show raised a considerable sum for the Red Cross. 

By 1943, the Club de Gimnasia y Esgrima had opened a second rink on the rooftop of a massive, world renowned casino over two hundred miles away in the seaside town of Mar del Plata. Barbara Wright Sawyer took over this rink and presented her own hour-long shows, which included on-ice adaptations of the Tango, Habanera, Jota and Milonga. This rink only operated from January to March.

Photos courtesy "The National Ice Skating Guide"

Three years later, Elizabeth and Fritz Chandler starred in an ice revue called "Hielo y Estrellas" (or "Stars And Ice"). The tour, run by Samuel Bakerman and Jose Borges Villegas, had a portable ice rink and tent that seated three thousand. It played shows in Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Barquismieto, Maracaibo and Caracas. In 1947 cast member Roy McDonald recalled, "We opened [in Caracas] with a packed house and the natives gave every number a big hand. These South American's really appreciate a fast moving show and have a grand sense of humour. The attendance was wonderful all the time... During carnival time many of the natives attended the show in full dress costumes of varied description. Skating in a tropical climate is entirely different from skating anywhere in the States. One has a tendency to tire easily and there seems no end of perspiration. The ice surface was covered from the heat all during the day so that we did most of our rehearsing and practicing at night - sometimes long into the wee hours of the morning."

Susana Peralta, a student of  Lucien Büeler during World War II. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Speaking of the forties, one of skating's biggest stars of the era had a South American connection. Belita (Jepson-Turner) - whose story we looked at on the blog back in August 2013 - got her first name from the Argentinian side of her family. The June 15, 1946 issue of The Milwaukee Journal explains that "her great-grandfather, Charles Drabble, went from England to Argentina in a sailing ship, and was one of a group of Englishmen who played an important part in the development of the country. Acquiring thousands of acres of land in the vicinity of Buenos Aires, he established five great estancias (ranches), mainly devoted to the raising of cattle. He built his own railroads to these properties, established his own bank in the capital and later started a great frozen meat company. One of the estancias, and its terminal railroad station is called 'La Belita.' The firm of Drabble Brothers is now one of the great commercial firms of the Argentine."

The Diligenti quintuplets

By the fifties and sixties, touring companies were heading to South America gypsy style with ice making supplies, large ensemble casts, Salchows and stilt skates. After the Lamb-Yocum's Ice Parade's South American tour in 1950 proved unprofitable, Morris Chalfen's Holiday On Ice tour had slightly more success. In addition to Brazil and Argentina, figure skating was exposed to the people of Nicaragua, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia through these tours. The famous Argentine quintuplets - Carlos Alberto, Maria Ester, Marla Fernanda, Maria Cristina and Franco Diligenti - even had a skating connection. The May 9, 1955 edition of The Day noted that the family lived "outside Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a palatial home which has nineteen rooms, a skating rink, tennis court and swimming pool."

Sonja Henie's 1956 tour of South America was an utter disaster. She contended with ice making problems, moths and rats while skating on a converted bullring in Caracas. Performing on an impromptu ice rink on a basketball court in Rio de Janeiro, she wasn't in top form and received a lukewarm response.

Advertisement from "Skating" magazine, November 1963

Popularity of skating in South America waned in the seventies but in the eighties made a resurgence. Tivoli Park, an amusement park in Rio de Janeiro, partnered with Holiday On Ice to open an ice rink that offered instruction to Brazilian skaters. Its head coach was Pamela Harvey, a British skater who was married to a tobacco executive. Deidre Ball and Hans Hoefer's 1988 travel publication "Argentina" explained, "Ice skating has become the latest form of entertainment for young and old alike. You'll be able to find ice skating rinks all over Buenos Aires and in most of the major cities of the provinces." However, there was a big difference between skating as recreation and skating as competitive sport and it wouldn't be until the twenty first century that the country would start fielding competitors in international events when in 2002, the  Confederação Brasileira de Desportos no Gelo became a member of the International Skating Union and was followed closely behind two years later by the Federación Argentina de Patinaje sobre Hielo.

Today, skaters like Isadora Williams and Denis Margalik are representing South America with pride in international competitions. Just as Horatio Tertuliano Torromé was Argentina's first - and to this date only - Olympic figure skater back in 1908, Williams earned her place in the history books as Brazil's first Olympic figure skater in 2014. Figure skating may still not be as developed as in other parts of the world but today, Santiago, Chile's Parque Arauco mall plays host to an ice rink. Colombia's Los Yarumos fifty three hectare nature park offers horseback riding, barranquismo (rappelling through a waterfall) and seasonal ice skating. You can do paragraph double three's in Peru at the Mini Mundo in Lima's Jesús María district or execute brackets on Bolivia's synthetic XtraIce rink in La Paz. Every loop and lutz would only be adding to the continent's unique skating history.

This piece originally appeared as part of a six-part podcast series called Axels In The Attic. You can listen to Allison Manley of The Manleywoman SkateCast and Ryan Stevens of Skate Guard's audio version on Podbean or iTunes.

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.