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The son of Eleanor and Edward Vanterpool, Joseph Alexander Vanterpool was born February 28, 1920 in Harlem, New York. Joseph's parents, who were immigrants from the Dutch West Indies, struggled to raise seven children. Sadly, Joseph's siblings were separated and put into foster homes in different states. Joseph ended up as a ward of the Colored Orphan Asylum and Association for the Benefit of Colored Children in the Bronx. He and his brother were adopted by a kind family and he began studying at the Textile High School and found work as a sign painter.
Joseph was drafted into the United States Army at the age of twenty-one. During World War II, he served as a G.I. in Europe, fighting in The Battle Of The Bulge and playing with the military's marching band. It was in Europe, near the end of and after the War, that he had his first exposures to figure skating.
While on a Tour Of Duty in England, Joseph saw an ice pantomime in London. Then he attended an ice show featuring German skaters on a makeshift rink at a Red Cross pavilion on the outskirts of Nuremburg. His son Akbar recalled, "When he saw the shows he said, 'Wait a minute... I enjoyed myself so much that maybe I'll teach myself how to skate.' He made a promise to himself that when he got back to the States he'd purchase some skates. When he got back, he got a job with the United States Postal Service. During his lunch time, he would go to Rockefeller Center and Central Park. He would basically carve out an hour or an hour and a half out of his day during his lunch time to train. He got so good at it that he began to develop somewhat of a following at Rockefeller Center."
Photo courtesy Patrice Goody-Coleman
Joseph was one of a small but diverse group of trailblazing skaters of colour that took to the ice regularly at the Rockefeller Center rink in the post-War years. One of the skaters he toiled alongside was Sterling Bough, a member of the Norma Miller dance company who later headlined with a European tour of Larry Steele's Smart Affairs show with another member of the group, Jimmy McMillan. Sterling was the son of Juanita (Boisseau) Ramseur, a legendary Cotton Club performer who danced with Lena Horne in the early thirties. Journalist Jack McMahon recalled that Joseph "quickly lost whatever traces of stage fright he'd had by skating impromptu solos before the ever-present crowd of spectators that clusters around the rim of the rink."
In 1947, Joseph and Sterling were part of a short-lived tour staged by Stewart Seymour and John Brett, who was responsible for the ice shows at the Hotel St. Regis. "Harlem-On-Ice" was the realization of an all-African American skating troupe, an idea first conceived (but never realized) by Elizabeth and Fritz Chandler, who had invited Mabel Fairbanks to return to New York to headline in a similar show the year prior.
Joseph's 'big break' came in January of 1952, when he was invited to give an exhibition during the Finals of the Silver Skates Derby, a popular annual professional speed skating race held at Madison Square Garden. The December 20, 1951 issue of the "New York Daily News" noted, "Van, as he is known in skating circles, is grace and rhythm personified. Completely self-taught, he has mastered spectacular skating maneuvers that many soloists fail to develop after years of coaching. To top it off, Van has a distinctive style that is certain to delight the Garden crowd."
In the years that followed, Joseph was invited back to perform during the Silver Skates Derby again, and gave an exhibition at 1953 New York State Indoor Speed Skating Championships in the City Building at Flushing Meadows, alongside Carol Heiss and Andra McLaughlin. In 1956, he and Sterling Bough joined the cast of "Rhythm On Ice", an ice revue starring Mabel Fairbanks that was staged at the historic Apollo Theater in Harlem. They, along with Jimmy McMillan who had headlined in "Harlem-On-Ice", were among the first African American men to be featured in ice shows.
Photo courtesy Lisa Fernandez
Like Mabel Fairbanks, Joseph simply wouldn't have the same opportunities white skaters had professionally because of the colour of his skin. No Ice Follies, no Ice Capades, no Sonja Henie's Hollywood Ice Revue... The big skating tours might not have taken an interest, but Ed Sullivan - one of the first talk show hosts to feature performers of colour - had him on his show.
Photo courtesy Akbar Vanterpool
Joseph stopped appearing in shows in the mid-fifties after marrying his wife Thelma. He told a "Newsday" reporter, "I'm proud of being the father of two little rascals, my sons. That was the most enjoyable thing for me. Just being able to be with them, doing wonderful things, like skating. Being with your kids keeps you young and I haven't gotten over it yet."
Photo courtesy Akbar Vanterpool
Joseph's son Akbar recalled, "He skated all the way up until the time he was about seventy-nine or eighty. My brother and I, he taught us how to skate. We kind of kept him enthused about skating as a family. We'd go to Central Park or Rockefeller Center or what used to be Sky Rink. My Dad just really loved to see us skate and skate with us. He was a total showman. He loved dance, loved skating, loved art - he was a very accomplished artist and taught art. He was a Renaissance man."
Joseph passed away on December 4, 2013 in Calverton, New York at the age of ninety-three. It's really quite incredible that his pioneering efforts in the figure skating world have gone largely unrecognized and hopefully that will change.
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.
Back in the forties and fifties, British skating titles weren't all decided at one event as they are today. Different competitions were decided at different rinks, often with combined bills we would consider quite out of the ordinary today. As an example, it wasn't unheard of for a junior pairs competition to be on the same bill as a professional women's competition. Today we'll take a quick look back at the (many) British Championships of the 1957-1958 season!
June Markham and Courtney Jones
On November 23, 1957, seven couples gathered at the Nottingham Ice Stadium to compete for top honours at the Amateur Ice Dance Championship of Great Britain. After the four compulsory dances - the Foxtrot, Westminster Waltz, Kilian and Rhumba - defending champions June Markham and Courtney Jones managed a ten and a half point lead over their closest challengers, Kay Morris and Michael Robinson. They convincingly won the free dance by ten points as well, to easily defend their title.
Kay Morris and Michael Robinson as winners of the Tomlinson Trophy in the autumn of 1957. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.
Though defeated by Barbara Thompson and Gerry Rigby in the free dance, Morris and Robinson managed to take the silver by one ordinal placing. Bunty Radford, bronze medallist at the 1955 World Championships with Raymond Lockwood, finished fourth with new partner Terence Orton. Reginald J. Wilkie recalled, "I found the free dancing most interesting. The highlight of the evening was Jones-Markham's programme, skated at speed to fast music, changing through to a tango, beautifully in character, and then a waltz. A magnificent programme and wonderfully executed. I cannot remember seeing a finer performance anywhere." All seven couples were accompanied by Douglas Walker on the Stadium's new organ.
Left: Anne P.M. Reynolds, Barbara Conniff and Gillian Thorpe, medallists in the Martineau Bowl. Right: Kay Morris and Michael Robinson, June Markham and Courtney Jones and Barbara Thompson and Gerard Rigby, British dance medallists. Photos courtesy BIS Archives.
Held in conjunction with the Amateur Ice Dance Championship of Great Britain was the ladies' amateur free skating competition for the Martineau Bowl. This event didn't include school figures, nor did it determine the British women's title. Of thirteen entries, Richmond's Barbara Conniff came out on top.
Keith Kelley, Michael Booker and Rodney Ward, 1958 British men's medallists. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine, BIS Archives.
The British Amateur Figure Skating Championships for men, women and pairs were held on December 4, 1957 at Streatham Ice Rink. Former Royal Air Force pilot Michael Booker trounced the competition in the men's event, winning his sixth consecutive British title. T.D. Richardson recalled, "I think his service in the RAF has strengthened him - his skating seems more mature, that of one who commands the ice... Booker's [free skate] was an outstanding performance, with speed, sureness and accuracy in the highlights of an exhibition which becomes more masterly every time we see it." One hundred and sixty four points back in second was another member of the Royal Air Force named Keith Kelley. Unlike Booker, who had finished his service, Kelley was on leave and was not well prepared. Rodney Ward took the bronze, ahead of Peter Burrows and Australia's William Cherrell. At the time, skaters from Commonwealth countries were more than welcome to vie for British titles if they so desired."
Miss Gladys Hogg and Dianne C.R. Peach. Photo courtesy BIS Archives.
Miss Gladys Hogg's student Dianne C.R. Peach wracked up such a commanding lead in the women's school figures that all that she had to do in the free skate was skate conservatively, and that's what she did to win the title that had been left undefended by Erica Batchelor, who had turned professional.
Patricia Pauley held on to take the silver ahead of another (unrelated) Peach, Diana Clifton-Peach. Carolyn Krau, the only woman to land a double Axel, placed fifth, just two spots ahead of future World Champion in ice dancing Doreen Denny.
Carolyn Krau and Rodney Ward, Joyce Coates and Anthony Holles and June Markham and Courtney Jones, 1958 British pairs medallists. Photo courtesy BIS Archives.
T.D. Richardson reported on the pairs event in Streatham for "Skating World", while his wife Mildred sat on the judging panel. The Richardson's had represented Great Britain at the 1924 Winter Olympics. Mollie Phillips, another Olympian who won the British pairs title in 1933, also served as a judge, as did A. Proctor Burman, a six time pairs medallist at the British Championships. The winners of the title and Johnson Trophy (donated by another famous British pair, Phyllis [Squire] and James Johnson) were Joyce Coates and Anthony Holles of Liverpool. It was the pair's third consecutive British title. Carolyn Krau and Rodney Ward took the silver, just one ordinal placing ahead of British dance champions June Markham and Courtney Jones. Considering the NSA's Gold Dance Test required couples to perform a pairs free skating program as well as a free dance, Markham and Jones' entry wasn't considered at all unusual. At that point in time, couples often used the same program and simply added or subtracted elements as necessary.
Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine
The British Amateur Junior Figure Skating and Ice Dance Championships were held on March 12 and 13, 1958 at Westover Ice Rink, Bournemouth. Barbara Conniff, who had won the Martineau Bowl in the autumn, was the unanimous winner in the junior women's event, winning both the figures and free skate by more than twenty points. Christopher Robin Jones won the junior men's free skate, but finished his third place finish in the figures kept him behind David Clements. Jacqueline Pinto and John Anderson were the unanimous winners of the junior pairs event, while Jane Gray and Tony Berresford took the junior dance title despite earning less points than silver medallists Mary Walsh and David Clements. T.D. Richardson recalled, "In the daytime, during the skating of the school figures, something went wrong with the ice, making the task of both skaters and judges extremely difficult - especially for juniors. Seasoned, hard-baked competitors might have known how to hope, but as it was the same for all of them the result was probably not affected, and this despite some of the widest discrepancies of marks ever seen - with a British panel." Richardson wasn't exaggerating. Valerie Carter, who finished fourth in the junior women's event, had ordinals ranging from second through twelfth, and Clements and Walsh had ordinals ranging from first through sixth in junior dance... these from highly experienced judges.
Dianne Peach and Michael Booker. Photo courtesy Michael Booker.
The Championship of Great Britain for figure skating in The English Style was held at the Sports-Drome, Richmond, on March 16 and 17, 1958. It was only the third (non-consecutive) time the event had been contested since World War II ended. S.P. Jordan, who had been runner-up in both of the other post-War Championships, finally won the title with three hundred and ninety out of a maximum of six hundred points. 1957 Champion F.C. Lowcock finished second. The Challenge Shield for combined figure skating was won by Manchester's J. Wilson, F.C. Lowcock, N.G. Darrah and Kay Johnstone. Kay also won the Junior Competition for a cup donated by Humphry Cobb. The Bear Cup event for combined figure skating (teams of four) was one by N.G. Darrah, N. Darrah, B. Wilde and J. Wright.
Top photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine
The final British Championships of the 1957-1958 season were the (World's and) British Open Professional Championships, held at the Nottingham Ice Stadium on May 31, 1958. As was the custom at these events, the highest ranking British skater in each discipline was named the British Open Professional Champion and the winner the World's Open Professional Champion. Americans Ronnie Robertson and Catherine Machado won the World singles titles. British immigrants to Canada Rosina and Raymond Lockwood won both pairs and dance. The British winners were Martin Minshull, Patricia Edwards, Peri Horne and Basil Cudlipp-Green and Joan (Dewhirst) and John Slater.
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.
There's a reason why Canadian skaters have dominated international figure skating competitions for decades. It's not just raw talent - it's the will to succeed, the dedication to practice and the drive to pursue excellence that has propelled so many skaters from Canada to the top of podiums over the years.
Not only can we lay claim to brilliant artists like Toller Cranston, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. We can also boast being home to the skaters who landed the first triple Lutz, triple Axel and quadruple jumps in competition... but that's just the tip of the Iced Cap.
If you nerd out over rotation and ratification, you're going to really love this airborne timeline. A big thanks to Donald Jackson, Debbi Wilkes, Kerry Leitch, Doug Haw, Meagan Duhamel, Doug Ladret, Mary Petrie McGillvray, John McKilligan, Doug Leigh, Mark Rowsom, Jean Westwood, Jay Humphry, Linda Carbonetto Villella, Valerie (Jones) Bartlett, Tina Tyan and Gordon Forbes for their help and input behind the scenes with this!
A note regarding this timeline: Jumping has obviously evolved over the years, both in the techniques skaters are taught and the way they are judged. In the twenties and thirties, skaters often turned a three out of their jumps because that was the technique that was taught at time. Until instant replay and the IJS system were introduced, there wasn't the same scrutiny we have today about the cleanliness of jump landings. This timeline may include jumps that were slightly cheated or had landings we'd consider iffy today, but far be it for us (in 2021) to nitpick the accomplishments of skaters from decades past who were breaking new ground. This is a 'living document' and if you have any suggestions or corrections, I'd love to hear from you and update it.
A TIMELINE OF CANADIAN JUMPING HISTORY
1895: George Meagher's book "Figure And Fancy Skating" is the first Canadian skating textbook to discuss jumping. Of the 'flying three' or waltz jump, he wrote, "This is a showy and particularly dashing figure when done properly, whether skated individually or done in combination."
Constance Wilson. Photo courtesy City of Toronto Archives.
1929: Constance Wilson includes an Axel jump in her winning program at the North American Championships in Boston. Her coach Gustave Lussi claimed, "Constance Wilson was the first female to perform the first real Axel but she still turned a three afterwards. And, after teaching it to her awhile, I was called down to the Committee room. They told me that I couldn't teach a jump like that to a lady. It was unladylike, likely to hurt her.
1929: Montgomery 'Bud' Wilson lands the double loop at the 1929 North American Championships in Boston. He is one of the first Canadian skaters to attempt the jump in competition.
Montgomery 'Bud' Wilson. Photo courtesy City of Toronto Archives.
1937: Montgomery 'Bud' Wilson is one of the first skaters in the world to attempt a double flip. Gustave Lussi claimed to have invented the flip with Wilson in the roaring twenties.
1940: Barbara Ann Scott wins the Canadian junior women's title in Ottawa with a free skating performance that included a double Salchow jump. That same year, she also landed the double loop at a Red Cross Carnival and Masquerade at the first Canadian summer skating school in Kitchener. She was only twelve years old at the time.
Barbara Ann Scott. Photo courtesy Hamilton Public Library.
1942: Barbara Ann Scott is the first woman to land a double Lutz in competition, at the Canadian Championships in Winnipeg.
1948: Suzanne Morrow and Wally Distelmeyer up the bar by attempting side-by-side double jumps in competition.
1949: Twelve year old Barbara Gratton is the only woman to include a double Lutz and double toe-Walley in her free skating program at the Canadian Championships in Ottawa.
Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden
1953: Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden popularized release jumps at a time when several judges claimed these innovations were illegal. Dafoe and Bowden performed the flying three jump and invented the leap of faith. Frances even performed an Axel into Norris' arms. In the years that followed, Dafoe and Bowden's successors Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul and their coach Sheldon Galbraith furthered the development of novel and unique pair moves that served as precursors to modern throws and twist lifts. Jean Westwood recalls Wagner and Paul performing a throw Axel as professionals.
1956: Ann Johnston is the first woman to do a double Axel at the Canadian Championships in Cambridge.
1958: In Ottawa, Donald Jackson is the first skater to land a triple jump - the Salchow - at the Canadian Championships. Charles Snelling had practiced the triple Salchow as well, but never attempted it in competition.
Donald Jackson at the 1962 World Championships. Video courtesy Frazer Ormondroyd.
1962: Donald Jackson is the first skater to land a triple Lutz in international competition, at the World Championships in Prague. His performance, which earned seven perfect 6.0's, was the highest score recorded for a singles skater and was recorded as one of the first Guinness World Records for figure skating. At the time, a rumour was floating around about Sheldon Galbraith and Donald having a signal between them about the jump. He explained, "That happened in Prague in 1962 because Mr. Galbraith said I didn't have to do the triple Lutz if the warm up didn't feel right. During the warm up I checked the ice conditions where I would be doing my triple Lutz. I wanted to make sure the ice was thick enough so my toe wouldn't slip. I tried one in the warm up to get the feeling of the audience and the ice however I just did it close to where I was going to do it, not right where it would be in the competition. I didn't want to get caught in my own rut. I didn't land it cleanly but I wasn't really trying to land it, just get the feeling. I spotted Mr. Galbraith in the audience, he had gone back to his seat I guess, and I saw him and gave him the thumbs up signal because I felt good and was going to try it. He gave me the thumbs up back. This didn't ever happen as a regular thing though."
1962: Donald Jackson is the first skater in the world to work on a quadruple jump practice. He recalled, "I was working on a quad Salchow in in my last amateur year with Mr. Galbraith. It was part of my plan if I had stayed in. I was able to try it because I used a forward spin in the air and didn't have to bring my free leg out because it was already there. I could do three triple Salchows in a row that way too. It was easy. That I did in some shows. But I ended up turning professional so I didn't work on the quad any more."
Maria and Otto Jelinek. Photo courtesy "Ice Skate" magazine.
1962: Maria and Otto Jelinek are the first pair in the world to land simultaneous double Axels at the World Championships in Prague. The jumps are performed in opposite directions.
1962: Petra Burka is the first woman to land a triple Salchow at the Canadian Championships. Attempts by women at triple jumps are rare in subsequent years. Linda Carbonetto lands one at the 1967 Canadians in Toronto and Mary Petrie executes one at the 1972 Canadians in London.
Petra Burka
1963: Debbi Wilkes and Guy Revell are the first Canadian pair to execute a double Lutz twist at the Canadian Championships in Regina. Though not a jump, Wilkes and Revell's twist is an important precursor to the throws that would follow.
1963: In Edmonton, Donald McPherson is the first skater to land a triple loop at the Canadian Championships.
David McGillvray. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.
1966: A pair of sixteen year olds, David McGillvray and Doug Leigh, make a whole lot of jumping history in the junior men's event at the Canadian Championships in Peterborough. Doug is the first Canadian skater to land the triple flip and the first Canadian to do the triple flip and triple loop in a free skating program. David is the first Canadian to land a triple toe-loop and the first to do both a triple toe-loop and triple Salchow in a free skating program.
1967: In Montreal, Jay Humphry is the first Canadian to land a triple toe-Walley at North American Championships.
Jay Humphry. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library.
1968: British Columbia siblings Betty and John McKilligan are one of the first pairs to attempt the new throw Axel or 'Killer' at the Canadian Championships in Vancouver. Their attempt is unfortunately unsuccessful. Mary Petrie and Bob McAvoy land the throw the following year at the Grand Prix International de Patinage in St. Gervais, France. John McKilligan recalled, "Once upon a time throws and other 'acrobatic' moves were banned. I have no idea who was the first in Canada to complete a throw Axel in competition, but I believe that several of us probably did it shortly after it became a 'legal' move. My sister and I, with coach Jean Westwood, invented a few moves. The Cat Swing was a lift/throw where my sister did an Axel over my head after I boosted her into the air. We also did a 'jump camel spin' where I did a jump camel over my sister."
1973: Fourteen year old Vern Taylor is the first skater to land the triple Lutz at the Canadian Championships, in the novice men's event. He is also the first skater to perform the jump in the junior men's event at Canadians three years later.
1974: Ron Shaver is one of, if not the first, Canadian skaters to include three different triples (toe-loop, Salchow and loop) in his free skating program. Shaver later pushes the technical boundaries of the sport by opening his free skating program with a jump sequence of three triple toe-loop's.
1976: Lynne Begin and Marc Gignac are the first Canadian pair to do the throw double Axel, in their winning free skate in the junior pairs event at the Canadian Championships in London, Ontario. The next year in Calgary, fourteen year-old's Lorri Baier and Lloyd Eisler are the first novice pairs team to do a throw double Axel at the Canadian Championships.
Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini. Photo courtesy Library And Archives Canada.
1978: Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini up the ante for Canadian pairs, landing a throw triple Salchow in the junior pairs event at the Canadian Championships in Victoria, British Columbia. They performed the throw successfully for the second time in their winning free skate at the Nebelhorn Trophy in West Germany.
1978: Vern Taylor is the first person to land a triple Axel in competition, at the World Championships in Ottawa. Both he and Donald Jackson (the first man to do the triple Lutz) were students of Sheldon Galbraith.
Vern Taylor's triple Axel at the 1978 World Championships
1979: Brian Orser is the first Canadian skater to land the triple Axel at the Canadian Championships, in the junior men's event in Thunder Bay.
1979: Vern Taylor lands one of the first triple flip jumps in the senior men's event at the Canadian Championships in Thunder Bay. Gary Beacom also attempts the jump, but puts his hand down. Both Gary and Gordon Forbes land the jump the following year at the Canadian Championships in Kitchener.
1979: Brian Pockar makes history at the World Championships in Vienna as the first skater to land the unusual one-foot triple Salchow/double flip combination in international competition. All of the other skaters in the event performed the required double flip as the first jump in their combination in the short program. He told reporters, "I'm happy I chose that combination because I feel it made an impact here at the Worlds. It's an attention-getting device and I think people will remember me because of that."
Brian Pockar. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada.
1979: Heather Kemkaran is one of the first Canadian women to attempt the triple toe-loop in competition, at the Ennia Challenge Cup in The Hague. Over the next few years, Elizabeth Manley, Diane Mae Obigowski and Cynthia Coull are among a small group of Canadian women to land the jump in competition. Linda Carbonetto had done the triple toe-loop in practice back in the sixties, but didn't include it in her program. She recalled, "In those days, doing a double Axel was a big deal so it was felt that it was unnecessary."
1981: In February, Tracey Wainman is one of the first Canadian women to land a triple loop in practice... on Friday the thirteenth.
1982: Manotick, Ontario's Campbell Sinclair is the first Canadian skater to work on the triple toe-loop/triple loop combination and quadruple loop jump. He attempted the combination at the 1982 Eastern Canadian Championships in Oshawa and the 1983 Prague Skate competition in Czechoslovakia, but was unsuccessful in both attempts. In an interview in "The Ottawa Citizen" in October of 1983, he explained, "The triple-triple is more consistent and maybe I'll have more guts this year than last year. I kicked myself last year for not doing it. In warmups and practice last year, I'd land it, but if I fell [in competition] I was afraid I wouldn't have enough time to get into the triple flip. I decided to go for a consistent program."
1983: At the Canadian Championships in Montreal, Kay Thomson is the first woman to land two triple Lutzes in one competition and the first woman to land a triple Lutz combination in the short program. That same year, she is the first Canadian woman to land a triple Lutz at the World Championships.
1984: Brian Orser is the first skater to land the triple Axel in an Olympic medal winning performance.
Brian Orser at the 1984 Winter Olympic Games. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada.
1984: Cynthia Coull and Mark Rowsom are one of the first pairs in the world to attempt two different throw triple jumps in one program - the Salchow and loop. Coull and Rowsom were also the first pair in Canada to attempt side-by-side triple toe-loop's and Salchows. Coull and Rowsom and Katherina Matousek and Lloyd Eisler were the first Canadian pairs to do the throw triple loop. Both pairs trained at the Preston Figure Skating Club with Kerry Leitch and were working on the throw at the same time.
1984: Kay Thomson is the first Canadian woman to attempt the triple flip in international competition, at the World Championships in Ottawa. The jump is rarely attempted by Canadian women in subsequent years.
1986: Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini are the first Canadian pair to successfully perform a throw triple jump in a professional competition, at the World Professional Championships in Landover, Maryland.
1987: In Cincinnati, Christine Hough and Doug Ladret are the first Canadian pair to land the throw triple toe-loop at the World Championships.
Quote from Brian Orser from the 1987 World Championships
1987: Brian Orser makes history as the first skater to land two triple Axels in one program and three triple Axels in one competition at both the Canadian Championships in Ottawa and World Championships in Cincinnati.
1988: In Calgary, Elizabeth Manley is the first Canadian woman to land a triple loop in the Winter Olympic Games.
1988: Kurt Browning's quadruple toe-loop at the World Championships in Budapest is ratified as the first in performed in an ISU Championships. He also becomes the first Canadian skater to perform both a quadruple jump and a triple Axel in a free skating program. After the event, the Royal Glenora Club presented Kurt with a personalized license plate that said '1STQUAD'.
1989: In Chicoutimi, Kurt Browning is the first skater to land a quadruple jump at the Canadian Championships. That same year, he is the first skater to land two triple triple Axels in the original program at the World Championships in Paris.
1990: Donald Jackson, the first Canadian skater to land a triple jump in competition in 1958, celebrates his fiftieth birthday by landing a beautiful triple Salchow at the Minto Skating Club.
Quote from Lisa Sargeant on the triple Axel from "The Edmonton Journal"
1990: Lisa Sargeant is the first Canadian woman to attempt a triple Axel in competition, at Skate Electric in London, England. She lands the jump on two feet.
1990: Kurt Browning is the first skater to land a triple Salchow/triple loop combination in competition, at the Nations Cup in Gelsenkirchen. He also landed a triple flip/triple toe-loop in his free skating program.
1991: Kurt Browning is the first skater to land three different triple/triple combinations in one program, at the World Championships in Munich. He does the triple Axel/triple toe-loop, triple flip/triple toe-loop and triple Salchow/triple loop.
Elvis Stojko. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada.
1991: Elvis Stojko is the first skater to land a quadruple jump in combination at an ISU Championship, at the World Championships in Munich.
1991: One of the first Canadian women to land a triple flip in international competition is Karen Preston at Skate Canada in London in 1991. In Oakland the following year, Karen is the first Canadian woman to land the triple flip at the World Championships.
Sherry Ball and Kris Wirtz. Photo courtesy Library and Archives Canada.
1992: In Albertville, Sherry Ball and Kris Wirtz are the first Canadian pair to land back-to-back side-by-side triple toe-loop's at the Winter Olympic Games.
1994: Three of Canada's biggest jumping greats square off at the Canadian Championships in Edmonton. Elvis Stojko, the winner, was the first skater to land a quadruple jump in combination at an ISU Championship. Kurt Browning, the runner-up, was the first skater to land a ratified quad at an ISU Championship. Vern Taylor, who finished dead last but earned the respect of the crowd for his comeback, was the first skater to land a triple Axel at an ISU Championship... sixteen years prior.
1995: Kurt Browning is the first Canadian skater to land a triple Axel in a professional competition at the tenth annual Challenge Of Champions in Tokyo, Japan.
1996: Elvis Stojko lands a quadruple Salchow in one of the practice sessions at the Canadian Championships in Ottawa.
1997: Around the same time Éric Millot of France and Tara Lipinski of the United States make history as the first skaters to successfully land the rare triple loop/triple loop jump in competition, Yvan Desjardins is one of the first Canadian skaters to land it in practice. In the years that follow, Shawn Sawyer, Joannie Rochette, Meagan Duhamel and Nicole Watt are part of a small group of skaters that practice the combination.
1997: Elvis Stojko is the first skater in the world to land a quadruple/triple combination in an ISU Championship, at the Champions Series Final in Hamilton. That same year, he became the first to land the combination at the World Championships. He was also the first skater to land a quadruple jump in combination at the Canadian Championships that season.
2000: Brian Orser, the first skater to land the triple Axel at the Canadian Championships in 1979, performs the jump for the first time in twelve years at the 2000 Winter Goodwill Games in Lake Placid.
2005: British Columbian pair Jessica Miller and Ian Moram are the first Canadian duo to attempt a throw quad Salchow in competition, at a summer event in Pierrefonds. They landed the throw in a practice at the 2007 Cup Of China and got credit for the rotation when they attempted it in the free skate at that event. One of the first pairs to attempt a throw quad in practice were Marie-Claude Savard Gagnon and Luc Bradet, in the early nineties.
Quote from Ian Moram on the throw quadruple Salchow at the 2007 Cup Of China
2005: Meagan Duhamel and Ryan Arnold are the first pair to land side-by-side triple Lutzes and a throw triple Lutz at the Canadian Championships in London. At that season's World Junior Championships in Ljubljana, Duhamel and Arnold became the first pair to land the throw triple Lutz in international competition. The technical specialist apparently didn't even have a button in their system for the throw triple Lutz because it was so rare, so they pressed the throw triple flip button instead.
2006: In Ljubljana, Kevin Reynolds is the first Canadian skater to land a quadruple Salchow at the World Junior Championships.
2007: In Halifax, Kevin Reynolds is the first skater to land two different quadruple jumps at the Canadian Championships.
2008: Kevin Reynolds is the first Canadian skater to land a quadruple/triple/triple combination, at the Canadian Championships in Vancouver.
2010: Kevin Reynolds is the first skater in the world to land two different quadruple jumps in a short program at Skate Canada International in Kingston.
2012: After winning his first two World titles and turning the quadruple toe-loop into a masterclass, Patrick Chan works on quadruple Salchow and quadruple flip jumps in practice. Patrick lands his first quadruple Salchow at the 2016 ISU Grand Prix Final and his second at the 2017 Canadian Championships.
2013: Kevin Reynolds is the first skater to land five quadruple jumps in one competition, at the Four Continents Championships in Osaka. He did two in the short program and three in the free.
2014: In Sochi, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are the first pair in the world to land side-by-side triple Lutzes in the Winter Olympic Games.
2016: Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are the first Canadian pair to land a throw triple Axel in competition at Skate Canada International in Mississauga.
2017: Kevin Reynolds is the first skater to land six quadruple jumps in one competition, at the World Championships in Helsinki. He did two in the short and four in the free.
2017: In Ottawa, Nicolas Nadeau is the first skater to land the quadruple loop at the Canadian Championships.
2018: At age thirteen, Stephen Gogolev is the youngest skater to land a quadruple Lutz, quadruple Salchow and quadruple toe-loop in international competition, at the Junior Grand Prix event in Bratislava. Gogolev is also the first Canadian skater to land the quadruple Lutz in competition.
2018: In Pyeongchang, Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford are the first pair ever to execute a throw quadruple Salchow at the Winter Olympics.
2020: Figure skater Meagan Duhamel and hockey player Wojtek Wolski are the first hockey player/figure skater duo to land a throw triple Salchow on CBC's hit show "Battle Of The Blades".
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.
Every Skate Guard blog that is put together draws from a variety of different sources - everything from museum and library holdings and genealogical research to newspaper archives and dusty old printed materials I've amassed over the last ten years or so. This year, I thought it would be fun to give you a bit of a 'behind the scenes' look at the Skate Guard Collections, which include books, magazines, VHS tapes, show and competition programs, photographs and many other items. These Collections date back to the nineteenth century and chronicle figure skating's rich history from the days of quaint waltzes in coats and tails to quadruple toe-loop's. Whether you're doing your own research about a famous 'fancy' skater in your family tree or a long-lost ice rink in your community or just have a general skating history question you can't find the answer to online, I'm always happy to draw on these resources and try to help if I can.
Joseph Butchko posing with items from his Collection at a hobby and antiques show in 1965
This month, I'd like to highlight the Joseph Butchko Collection - a large collection of photographs that I was fortunate enough to have acquired back in 2019. Mr. Butchko was a prolific collector of skating memorabilia. He started skating at the age of eleven in the coal mining town of Orient, Pennsylvania in a pair of skates he bought from Sears Roebuck for seventy two cents and began collecting skates in 1932. His collection included photographs, books, clippings, postcards, autographs and over six hundred pairs of antique skates, from the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Japan. He often exhibited his Collection at schools, churches, social organizations and museums. He passed away in 1987 and many of the boots and blades in his collection are currently available for private sale.
Left: Wayne Caldwell. Right: Jacqueline Harbord.
The photographs from the Joseph Butchko Collection that have made their way to the Skate Guard Collections really fall into three different categories. The smallest is a collection of press photos from international competitions in the late seventies and early eighties, including a handful of podium pictures from the European and World Championships. Then there's a gorgeous collection of photos taken at Lake Placid in the forties and fifties, everything from gorgeous outdoor shots to gorgeous publicity photos of American skaters like Dick Button and Eileen Seigh. There are some gorgeous autographed pictures of Yvonne Sherman, who won a pair of medals at the 1949 and 1950 World Championships. Mixed in with these is a pristine photo of Carol Heiss. The largest collection consists of over two hundred stunning publicity photos of skaters from the Holiday On Ice tour in the fifties and sixties. Most of these photos, minus duplicates, have now been scanned and are available to view on a Holiday On Ice board on Skate Guard's Pinterest.
In addition to the photographs, there is also a file folder consisting of a 1961 typewritten questionnaire and signed letter from Mr. Butchko discussing his Collection, a 1977 article about his Collection from a publication at Kent State University, a 1965 clipping from the "Tribune Chronicle" and a 1977 photograph of Mr. Butchko, still skating every week at the age of seventy.
For a list of the items in the Skate Guard Collections, click here. If you've got photographs collecting dust in your attic or basement that you'd like to donate, I'd love to hear from you!
Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of 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.
