Historical Results from Ennia Challenge Cup

In the 1970's and 1980's, The Netherlands played host to a very popular autumn international competition called the Ennia Challenge Cup. The event was very popular with many skaters as it billed itself as an 'international free skating competition', opting to exclude compulsory figures altogether. The event lost its original title sponsor and fell by the wayside for over two decades. In the late 2000's, it was was reimagined as the International Challenge Cup. On this page, you will find detailed results from the event's first incarnation. 

1976 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP (The Hague, Netherlands, November 26-27, 1976)

Women:

1. Bibiana Pruyn (HOL)

2. Annemarie Verlaan (HOL)

3. Belinda Coulthard (AUS)

4. Maria Cristina Fattorini (SUI)

5. Daniela Borchers (FRG)

6. Astrid Jansen in del Wal (HOL)

7. Birgit Reith (FRG)

8. Kristina Svensson (SWE)

9. Ilona Blokpool (HOL)

10. Paola Milocca (ITA)

11. Margaret Doolan (AUS)

WD. Sabine Winkler (AUT)

WD. Petra Schruf (AUT)

WD. Danielle Massaneck (FRG)

WD. Mitricica Doina (ROM)

1977 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP (The Hague, Netherlands, November 15-20, 1977)

Men:

1. David Santee (USA)

2. Fumio Igarashi (JPN)

3. Daniel Béland (CAN)

4. Helmut Kristofics-Binder (AUT)

5. Grzegorz Głowania (POL)

6. Richard Furrer (SUI) 

7. Gert-Walter Grabner (FRG)

8. Pierre Lamine (FRA)

9. Andrew Bestwick (GRB)

10. Perry Meek (AUS)

11. Jaochim Edel (FRG)

12. Shinji Someya (JPN)

13. Francis Demarteau (BEL)

14. Jan Glerup (DEN)

WD. Vladimir Kovalev (SOV)

Women:

1. Emi Watanabe (JPN)

2. Susan Broman (FIN)

3. Kristiina Wegelius (FIN)

4. Kathy Gelecinskyj (USA)

5. Sonja Stanek (AUT)

6. Marina Ignatova (SOV)

9. Carolyn Skoczen (CAN)

13. Astrid Jansen in de Wal (HOL)

14. Rudina Pasveer (HOL)

21. Herma van der Horst (HOL)

?. Grażyna Dudek (POL)

?. Mariko Yoshida (JPN)

?. Anita Siegfried (SUI)

?. Franca Bianconi (ITA)

?. Phyllida Beck (GRB)

?. Alice Fell (GRB)

?. Marie-Reine Le Gougne (FRA)

?. Boo Yong Lee (KOR)

?. Katja Seretti (ITA)

?. Corinne Wyrsch (SUI)

?. Corinna Tanski (FRG)

?. Gabrielle Buschütter (FRG)

?. Belinda Coulthard (AUS)

?. Sharon Burley (AUS)

?. Kira Ivanova (SOV)

*These results are incomplete. If you are able to assist with any missing results, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Ice Dance:

1. Elena Garanina and Igor Zavozin (SOV)

2. Elena Skorochodwa and Alexei Badajnov (SOV)

3. Stacey Smith and John Summers (USA)

4. Stefania Bertele and Walter Cecconi (ITA)

5. Daphne Cronhelm and David Buckingham (GRB)

6. Claudia Koch / Peter Schübl (AUT)

7. Martine Olivier and Yves Tarayre (FRA)

8. Yumiko Kage and Tadayuki Takahashi (JPN)

9. Vera Dankow and Friedrich Dieck (FRG)

10. Susanne and Christoph Becherer (FRG)

Team:

1. United States

2. Japan

3. Austria

4. Great Britain

5. France/West Germany (tie)

1978 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP (The Hague, Netherlands, November 15-19, 1978)

Men:

1. Scott Cramer (USA)

2. Jean-Christophe Simond (FRA)

3. Dennis Coi (CAN)

4. Norbert Schramm (FRG)

5. Vladimir Kotin (SOV)

6. Shinji Someya (JPN)

7. Grzegorz Głowania (POL)

8. Helmut Kristofics-Binder (AUT)

9. Kurt Kürzinger (FRG)

10. Ivan Kralik (CZE)

*These results are incomplete. If you are able to assist with any missing results, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Women:

1. Denise Biellmann (SUI)

2. Renata Baierová (CZE)

3. Natalia Strelkova (SOV)

4. Heather Kemkaran (CAN)

5. Petra Ernert (FRG)

6. Kelsy Ufford (USA)

7. Astrid Janssen in de Wal (HOL)

8. Peggy McLean (CAN)

9. Petra Schruf (AUT)

10. Hirko Sakano (JPN)

*These results are incomplete. If you are able to assist with any missing results, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Pairs:

1. Irina Vorobieva and Igor Livosky (SOV)

2. Sheryl Franks and Michael Botticelli (USA)

3. Ingrid Spieglová and Alan Spiegl (CZE)

4. Sabine Fuchs and Xavier Videau (FRA)

5. Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini (CAN)

6. Maria Jeżak and Lech Matuszewski (POL)

7. Kyoko Hagiwara and Hisao Ozaki (JPN)

Ice Dance:

1. Liliana Řeháková and Stanislav Drastich (CZE)

2. Natalia Karamysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn (SOV)

3. Susi and Peter Handschmann (SUI)

4. Carol Fox and Richard Dalley (USA)

5. Patricia Fletcher and Michael de la Penotiere (CAN)

6. Jolanta Wesołowska and Andrzej Alberciak (POL)

7. Claudia Koch and Peter Schubl (AUT)

8. Regula Lattmann and Hanspeter Müller (SUI)

9. Nathalie Hervé and Pierre Béchu (FRA)

10. Yumiko Kage and Tadayuki Takahashi (JPN)

11. Antonia and Ferdinand Becherer (FRG) 

1979 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP INTERNATIONAL FREE SKATING COMPETITION (The Hague, Netherlands, November 13-18, 1979)

Men:

1. Robin Cousins (GRB)

2. Gordon Forbes (CAN)

3. Robert Wagenhoffer (USA)

4. Dennis Coi (CAN)

5. Vladimir Kotin (SOV)

6. Takashi Mura (JPN)

7. Grzegorz Filipowski (POL)

8. Shinji Someya (JPN)

9. Gary Beacom (CAN)

10. Bobby Beauchamp (CAN)

?. Jozef Sabovčík (CZE)

?. Laurent Depouilly (FRA) 

*These results are incomplete. If you are able to assist with any missing results, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Women:

1. Renata Baierová (CZE) 

2. Elaine Zayak (USA)

3. Heather Kemkaran (CAN)

4. Sandra Leighton (CAN)

5. Yoko Yakushi (JPN)

6. Mercedes Roskam (FRG)

7. Petra Schruf (AUT)

8. Astrid Janssen in de Wal (HOL)

9. Manuela Ruben (FRG)

10. Vicki Marie Holland (AUS)

11. Megumi Yanagihara (JPN)

12. Karin Tesler (ITA)

?. Rudina Pasveer (HOL)

*These results are incomplete. If you are able to assist with any missing results, please don't hesitate to reach out!

Pairs:

1. Irina Vorobieva and Igor Livosky (SOV)

2. Veronika Pershina and Marat Akbarov (SOV)

3. Christina Riegel and Andreas Nischwitz (FRG)

4. Ingrid Spieglová and Alan Spiegl (CZE)

5. Yukiko Okabe and Takashi Mura (JPN)

6. Katherina Matousek and Eric Thomsen (CAN)

7. Lea Ann Miller and Bill Fauver (USA)

Ice Dance:

1. Liliana Řeháková and Stanislav Drastich (CZE)

2. Elena Garanina and Igor Zavozin (SOV)

3. Susi and Peter Handschmann (AUT)

4. Kim Krohn and Barry Hagan (USA)

5. Karen and Douglas Mankowich (USA)

6. Lillian Heming and Murray Carey (CAN)

7. Marie McNeil and Rob McCall (CAN)

8. Martine Vigouret and Alan Atkins (CAN)

9. Gabriella Remport and Sándor Nagy (HUN)

10. Elisabetta Parisi and Roberto Pelizzola (ITA)

*These results are incomplete. If you are able to assist with any missing results, please don't hesitate to reach out!

1980 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP INTERNATIONAL FREE SKATING COMPETITION (The Hague, Netherlands, November 11-16, 1980)

Men:

1. Jean-Christophe Simond (FRA)

2. Mark Cockerell (USA)

3. Daniel Béland (CAN)

4. Rudi Cerne (FRG)

5. Gary Beacom (CAN)

6. Grzegorz Filipowski (POL)

7. Leonid Kaznakov (SOV)

8. Jozef Sabovčík (CZE)

9. Laurent Depouilly (FRA)

10. Christopher Howarth (GRB)

11. Andrew Bestwick (GRB)

12. Bruno Delmaestro (ITA)

13. Jim White (USA)

14. Bruno Watschinger (AUT)

15. Michael Pasfield (AUS)

16. Eric Krol (BEL)

Women:

1. Jackie Farrell (USA)

2. Katarina Witt (GDR)

3. Megumi Yamashita (JPN)

4. Karen Wood (GRB)

5. Simone Grigorescu (USA)

6. Kira Ivanova (SOV)

7. Petra Schruf (AUT)

8. Vicki Marie Holland (AUS)

9. Editha Dotson (BEL)

10. Masako Kato (JPN)

11. Sophie Cuissot (FRA)

12. Marina Scheibler (SUI)

13. Amanda James (AUS)

14. Paivi Nieminen (FIN)

15. Rudina Pasveer (HOL)

16. Nathalie Hildesheimer (FRA)

17. Franca Bianconi (ITA)

18. Li Scha Wang (HOL)

19. Nevenka Lisak (YUG)

20. Esther Steinfels (SUI)

WD. Sandra Mattiussi (CAN)

Pairs:

1. Christina Riegel and Andreas Nischwitz (FRG)

2. Kitty and Peter Carruthers (USA)

3. Susan Garland and Robert Daw (GRB)

4. Rebecca Gough and Mark Rowsom (CAN)

5. Zhanna Iljana and Aleksandr Vlasov (SOV)

6. Katherina Matousek and Eric Thomsen (CAN)

7. Maria Jeżak and Lech Matuszewski (POL)

8. Dawn Packer and Ian Jenkins (GRB)

9. Mutsumi Takezaki and Koji Okajima (JPN)

Ice Dance:

1. Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin (RUS)

2. Natalia Karymysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn (SOV)

3. Wendy Sessions and Stephen Williams (GRB)

4. Joanne French and John Thomas (CAN)

5. Jana Beránková and Jan Barták (CZE)

6. Nathalie Hervé and Pierre Béchu (FRA)

7. Elisa Spitz and Scott Gregory (USA)

8. Gina Marie Aucoin and Hans-Peter Ponikau (CAN)

9. Judit Péterfy and Csaba Bálint (HUN)

10. Elke and Dieter Kwiet (FRG)

11. Jindra Holá and Karol Foltán (CZE)

12. Maria Kniffer and Manfred Hübler (AUT) 

13. Regula Lattmann and Hanspeter Müller (SUI)

14. Martine Olivier and Philippe Boissier (FRA)

15. Marilena Medea and Luigi Freroni (ITA)

16. Iwona Bielas and Jacek Jasiaczek (POL)

17. Marianne Van Bommel and Wayne Deweyert (HOL)

18. Yumiko Kage and Yoshiki Nakajima (JPN)

19. Graziella and Marco Ferpozzi (POL)

WD. Ellen Pulver and Donald Adair (USA)

Team:

1. United States

2. Great Britain

3. West Germany

4. France

5. Canada

6. Soviet Union

Joan Haanappel's introduction to the 1981 Ennia Challenge Cup

1981 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP INTERNATIONAL FREE SKATING COMPETITION (The Hague, Netherlands, November 10-15, 1981)

Men:

1. Rudi Cerne (FRG)

2. Jimmie Santee (USA)

3. Dennis Coi (CAN)

4. Tom Dickson (USA)

5. Konstantin Kokora (SOV)

6. Didier Monge (FRA)

7. Neil Paterson (CAN)

8. Grzegorz Głowania (POL)

9. Atsushi Oshima (JPN)

10. Laurent Depouilly (FRA)

11. Tatsuya Fuiji (JPN)

12. Ivan Kralik (CZE)

13. Andreas Narzi (AUT)

14. Michael Pasfield (AUS)

15. Richard Furrer (SUI)

16. Tomislav Čižmešija (YUG)

17. Lars Åkesson (SWE)

18. Edward van Campen (HOL)

Women:

1. Katarina Witt (GDR)

2. Elaine Zayak (USA)

3. Diane Mae Ogibowski (CAN)

4. Kerry Smith (CAN)

5. Myriam Oberwiler (SUI)

6. Cornelia Tesch (SUI)

7. Juri Ozawa (JPN)

8. Hana Veselá (CZE)

9. Melissa Thomas (USA)

10. Vicki Marie Holland (AUS)

11. Catarina Lindgren (SWE)

12. Karin Riediger (FRG)

13. Marina Serova (SOV)

14. Sophie Cuissot (FRA)

15. Nina Oestman (FIN)

16. Megumi Aotani (JPN)

17. Susan Jackson (GRB)

18. Petra Schruf (AUT)

19. Li Scha Wang (HOL)

20. Ingrid Aalders (HOL)

21. Genevieve Schoumacker (BEL)

22. Anette Nygaard (DEN)

Pairs:

1. Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini (CAN)

2. Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov (SOV)

3. Vicki Heasley and Robert Wagenhoffer (USA)

4. Melinda Kunhegyi and Lyndon Johnston (CAN)

5. Lea Ann Miller and Bill Fauver (USA)

5. Bettina Hage and Stefan Zins (FRG)

Ice Dance:

1. Carol Fox and Richard Dalley (USA)

2. Jana Beránková and Jan Barták (CZE)

3. Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall (CAN)

4. Joanne French and John Thomas (CAN)

5. Tatiana Kuzmina and Igor Chinjaev (RUS)

6. Elena Batanova and Alexei Soloviev (SOV)

7. Jindra Holá and Karol Foltán (CZE)

8. Karen Roughton and Mark Reed (GRB)

9. Robi Shepard and Kelly Witt (USA)

10. Maria Kniffer and Manfred Hübler (AUT) 

11. Martine Olivier and Philippe Boissier (FRA)

12. Antonia and Ferdinand Becherer (FRG)

13. Marianne Van Bommel and Wayne Deweyert (HOL)

14. Graziella and Marco Ferpozzi (SUI)

15. Esther Guiglia and Roland Maeder (SUI)

16. Isabella Micheli and Roberto Pelizzola (ITA)

17. Tomoko Tanaka and Hiroyuki Suzuki (JPN)

18. Ulla Ornmarker and Thomas Svedberg (SWE)

Team:

1. United States

2. Canada

3. Soviet Union

4. West Germany

5. Czechoslovakia

6. Switzerland

7. Japan

8. France

9. Austria

10. Sweden

1982 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP INTERNATIONAL FREE SKATING COMPETITION (The Hague, Netherlands, November 9-14, 1982)

Men:

1. Brian Boitano (USA)

2. Norbert Schramm (FRG)

3. Jozef Sabovčík (CZE) 

4. Grzegorz Filipowski (POL)

5. Igor Bobrin (SOV)

6. Masaru Ogawa (JPN)

7. James White (USA)

8. Falko Kirsten (GDR)

9. Gordon Forbes (CAN)

10. Philippe Paulet (FRA)

11. Makoto Kano (JPN)

12. Thomas Hlavik (AUT)

13. Pierre Seveno (FRA)

14. Cameron Medhurst (AUS)

15. Todd Sand (DEN)

16. Paul Robinson (GRB)

17. Eugenio Biaggini (SUI)

Women:

1. Vikki de Vries (USA)

2. Claudia Leistner (FRG)

3. Anna Antonova (SOV)

4. Janina Wirth (GDR)

5. Charlene Wong (CAN)

6. Maria Causey (USA)

7. Karen Wood (GRB)

8. Juri Ozawa (JPN)

9. Li Scha Wang (HOL)

10. Hanne Gamborg (DEN)

11. Antonella Carrera (ITA)

12. Rachel Ravenhill (GRB)

13. Heike Gobbers (FRG)

14. Claudia Villiger (SUI)

15. Hana Veselá (CZE)

16. Katrien Pauwels (BEL)

17. Helena Chwila (POL)

18. Masako Kato (JPN)

19. Nathalie Hildesheimer (FRA)

20. Susanne Gschwend (AUT)

21. Sandra Saxer (SUI)

22. Barbara Każmierczak

23. Sophie Cuissot (FRA)

24. Ingrid Aalders (HOL)

Pairs:

1. Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov (SOV)

2. Birgit Lorenz and Knut Schubert (GDR)

3. Susan Garland and Ian Jenkins (GRB)

4. Jana Havlová and René Novotný (CZE)

5. Lynne and Jay Freeman (USA)

6. Melinda Kunhegyi and Lyndon Johnston (CAN)

7. Carol and Carl Nelson (GRB)

8. Cara and Craig Gill (USA)

Ice Dance:

1. Karen Barber and Nicky Slater (GRB)

2. Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (SOV)

3. Natalia Karmysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn (SOV)

4. Karyn and Rod Garossino (CAN)

5. Renée Roca and Gorsha Sur (SOV)

6. Jindra Holá and Karol Foltán (CZE)

7. Birgit Goller and Peter Klisch (FRG)

8. Yumiko Kage and Yoshiki Nakajima (JPN)

9. Marianne Van Bommel and Wayne Deweyert (HOL)

10. Kathrin and Christoff Beck (AUT)

11. Eva Hunyadi and Jay Pinkerton (USA)

12. Graziella and Marco Ferpozzi (SUI)

13. Bożena Wierzchowska and Robert Kazanowski (POL)

14. Tomoko Tanaka and Hiroyuki Suzuki (JPN)

15. Salomé Brunner and Markus Merz (SUI)

16. Brunhilde Bianchi and Walter Rizzo (ITA)

Team:

1. United States

2. East Germany

3. Soviet Union

4. Great Britain

5. Canada

6. Czechoslovakia

1983 ENNIA CHALLENGE CUP INTERNATIONAL FREE SKATING COMPETITION (The Hague, Netherlands, November 8-13, 1983)

Men:

1. Brian Orser (CAN)

2. Takashi Mura (JPN)

3. Rudi Cerne (FRG)

4. Petr Barna (CZE)

5. Falko Kirsten (GDR)

6. Mark Cockerell (USA)

7. Makoto Kano (JPN)

8. Gzregorz Filipowski (POL)

9. Gurgen Vandanyan (SOV)

10. Paul Robinson (GRB)

11. Tom Dickson (USA)

12. Wojciech Gwinner (POL)

13. Miljan Begovic (YUG)

14. Pierre Seveno (FRA)

15. Mark Pepperday (GRB)

16. Richard Furrer (SUI)

17. Fini Ravn (DEN)

18. Perry Meek (AUS)

19. Didier Dieufils (SUI)

20. Ralph Burghart (AUT)

21. Edward van Campen (HOL)

22. Mark Basto (AUS)

Women:

1. Katarina Witt (GDR)

2. Midori Ito (JPN)

3. Sachie Yuki (JPN)

4. Anna Kondrashova (SOV)

5. Jill Frost (USA)

6. Cynthia Coull (CAN)

7. Susan Jackson (GRB)

8. Leslie Sikes (USA)

9. Barbara van der Hoogen (HOL)

10. Antonella Carrera (ITA)

11. Karen Wood (GRB)

12. Lotta Falkenback (SWE)

13. Gigi Siegert (AUT)

14. Hana Veselá (CZE)

15. Véronique Degardin (FRA)

16. Mirella Grazia (SUI)

17. Heike Gobbers (FRG)

18. Manuela Tschupp (SUI)

19. Susanna Peltola (FIN)

20. Amanda James (AUS)

21. Helena Chwila (POL)

WD. Agnès Gosselin (FRA)

WD. Kay Thomson (CAN)

Pairs:

1. Birgit Lorenz and Knut Schubert (GDR)

2. Cynthia Coull and Mark Rowsom (CAN)

3. Katherina Matousek and Lloyd Eisler (CAN)

4. Claudia Massari and Leonardo Azzola (FRG)

5. Lea Ann Miller and Bill Fauver (USA)

6. Toshimi Ito and Takashi Mura (JPN)

7. Lynne and Jay Freeman (USA)

8. Dagmar Kovářová and Jozef Komár (CZE)

Ice Dance:

1. Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (SOV)

2. Elena Batanova and Alexei Soloviev (SOV)

3. Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall (CAN)

4. Elisa Spitz and Scott Gregory (USA)

5. Jindra Holá and Karol Foltán (CZE)

6. Susie Wynne and Joseph Druar (USA)

7. Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay (CAN)

8. Kathrin and Christoff Beck (AUT)

9. Marianne Van Bommel and Wayne Deweyert (HOL)

10. Noriko Sato and Tadayuki Takahashi (JPN)

11. Bożena Wierzchowska and Robert Kazanowski (POL)

12. Antonia and Ferdinand Becherer (FRG)

13. Sharon Jones and Paul Askham (GRB)

14. Salomé Brunner and Markus Merz (SUI)

15. Tomoko Tanaka and Hiroyuki Suzuki (JPN)

16. Virpi Kunnas and Petri Kokko (FIN)

17. Liane Telling and Michael Fisher (AUS)

WD. Klára Engi and Attila Tóth (HUN)

Team:

1. Canada

2. East Germany

3. Japan

4. Soviet Union

5. United States

6. West Germany

7. Czechoslovakia

8. Great Britain

9. Netherlands

10. Poland

11. Austria

1984 AEGON CUP (The Hague, Netherlands, November 13-18, 1984)

Men:

1. Petr Barna (CZE)

2. Viktor Petrenko (SOV)

3. Christopher Bowman (USA)

4. Falko Kirsten (GDR)

5. Philippe Roncoli (FRA)

6. Paul Wylie (USA)

7. Oliver Höner (SUI)

8. Mark MacVean (CAN)

9. David Nickel (CAN)

10. Perry Meek (AUS)

11. Lars Dresler (DEN)

12. Atsushi Oshima (JPN)

13. Wojciech Gwinner (POL)

14. Henrik Walentin (DEN)

15. Ralph Burghart (AUT)

16. Cameron Medhurst (AUS)

17. Oula Jääskeläinen (FIN)

18. Noritomo Taniuchi (JPN)

19. Paul Sonderegger (SUI)

WD. Laurent Depouilly (FRA)

Women:

1. Constanze Gensel (GDR)

2. Yukari Yoshimori (JPN)

3. Yvonne Gomez (USA)

4. Hana Veselá (CZE)

5. Maradith Feinberg (USA)

6. Megumi Yanagihara (JPN)

7. Joanne Conway (GRB)

8. Diana Zovko-Nicolic (AUS)

9. Elise Ahohen (FIN)

10. Lotta Falkenback (SWE)

11. Yvonne Pokorny (AUT)

12. Graziella Hort (SUI)

13. Magdalena Kredl (SUI)

14. Sabine Schwarz (SUI)

15. Susanne Gschwend (AUT)

16. Mirella Gawłowska (POL)

17. Fiona Hamilton (GRB)

18. Tina Hegner (DEN)

Pairs:

1. Larisa Selezneva and Oleg Makarov (SOV)

2. Melinda Kunhegyi and Lyndon Johnston (CAN)

3. Natalie and Wayne Seybold (USA)

4. Sandy Hurtubise and Craig Maurizi (USA)

5. Dagmar Kovářová and Jozef Komár (CZE)

6. Christine Hough and Doug Ladret (CAN)

Ice Dance:

1. Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko (SOV)

2. Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin (SOV)

3. Kathrin and Christoff Beck (AUT)

4. Karyn and Rod Garossino (CAN)

5. Susan Jorgensen and Robert Yokabaskas (USA)

6. Viera Mináríková and Ivan Havránek (CZE)

7. Kim Campbell and Michael Farrington (CAN)

8. Christina and Keith Yatsuhashi (USA)

9. Sophie Merigot and Philippe Berthe (FRA)

10. Martine Olivier and Philippe Boissier (FRA)

11. Honorata Górna and Andrzej Dostatni (POL)

12. Virpi Kunnas and Petri Kokko (FIN)

13. Kaoru and Kenji Takino (JPN)

Team:

1. Soviet Union

2. United States

3. Czechoslovakia

4. Canada

5. Austria

6. Japan

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

The 1991 Canadian Figure Skating Championships

Royal Bank advertisement for the 1991 Canadian Championships. Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department.

Canadians were reeling over the introduction of the GST and their country's introduction to the Persian Gulf War. Brian Mulroney was Prime Minister, "White Fang" had just grossed thirty-four million at the box office and Londonbeat's "I've Been Thinking About You" blared on radios from Penticton, British Columbia to Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia.

  

The year was 1991 and from February 6 to 10, a who's who of Canadian figure skating gathered at Saskatchewan Place and the Harold Latrace Arena in Saskatoon for the 1991 Royal Bank Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

Left: Commemorative pin from the event. Right: World Champion Frances Dafoe, who acted as one of the judges in Saskatoon. Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department.

Regina had twice played host to the Canadian Championships, most recently in 1984, but the 1991 event marked Saskatoon's first kick at the can. Fortunately, a chinook made for smooth travel for the  thousands of competitors, officials and spectators that flocked to the city in the dead of a long Prairie winter. Johnny Esaw, Debbi Wilkes, Rod Black and Tracy Wilson acted as commentators on CTV's generous coverage of the event - seven hours in total, much of it live. Let's take a look back at how things played out on the ice!

THE NOVICE AND JUNIOR EVENTS

For the first time ever, Quebec pairs swept the podium in the novice pairs event. Caroline Haddad and Jean-Sébastien Fecteau, representing the CPA St-Léonard, were the winners. Martine Michaud and Sylvain Leclerc won the novice compulsory dances, but were overtaken in the free dance by Marisa Gravino and Patrice Lauzon in another historic first Quebec sweep of the novice dance. Although school figures had been eliminated from the senior ranks, novice skaters were still required to perform them. To the delight of the home crowd, fifteen year old Amanda Zerr of Saskatoon won the novice women's school figures. Unfortunately, she dropped down to fourth overall, hampered by an eighth place showing in the short program. The winner was another Quebec skater, Stephanie Fiorito, who had finished only fourteenth in 1990. Fifteen year old Jeffrey Langdon dominated the novice men's event from start to finish. Yvan Desjardins of the CPA Boisbriand placed third, his hopes of making it four for four for Quebec dashed.

Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department

Thirteen year old Penny Papaioannou and seventeen year old Raoul LeBlanc defeated Jamie Salé and Jason Turner to win the junior pairs event. They had been novice champions the year prior. Sixteen year old Marie-France Dubreuil and eighteen year old Bruno Yvars led yet another Quebec sweep in junior dance, skating a free dance inspired by The Oka Crisis.

Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department.

The winner of the junior women's event was fourteen year old Netty Kim of the Upper Canada/North York Skating Club. Coached by Bob Emerson, Kim won both the short program and free skate. She was the youngest of the sixteen competitors and had placed only sixth in novice in 1990. Fourth was a young Kristy Sargeant, who was only tenth entering the free skate. Halfway through her program, a tiara she was wearing fell off. The referee asked her if she wanted to restart her program. They laughed when she told them she just wanted to keep on going because she'd skated cleanly up to that point.

Herb Cherwoniak. Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department.

Saskatoon's Herb Cherwoniak won the Canadian junior men's event in front of a hometown. Matthew Knight and Ravi Walia, British Columbian skaters who placed one-two in novice men's in 1990, placed fifth and sixth. Coached by Dale Hazell, twenty year old Cherwoniak made history as the first man in history (and only the second skater) from Saskatchewan to win a national title in singles skating. In the previous few years, he'd suffered from appendicitis, a broken toe and disappointing performances. He choreographed his own free skating program and landed three triple jumps.

THE PAIRS AND FOURS COMPETITIONS

Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler. Photo courtesy "La Presse" archive, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Coached by Josée Picard and Éric Gilles, Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler had won the Canadian title in 1989 and the silver medal at the 1990 World Championships in Halifax. However, they had finished only third the year prior at the Canadian Championships. Cindy Landry and Lyndon Johnston, the winners in 1990, had moved on. Landry was by this point skating professionally with Peter Oppegard, the American skater who'd won the bronze medal at the 1988 Winter Olympic Games in Calgary. Less than two months prior to the Saskatoon event, Eisler had injured himself seriously while playing hockey. He arrived sporting a titanium leg brace and wasn't allowed to even attempt jumps until a week prior to the competition - and then it was only singles. This was not exactly the ideal position any couple would want to be in, let alone if they were planning on staging a comeback.

Left: Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler. Right: Christine Hough and Doug Ladret. Photos courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department.

In the book "To Catch A Dream", Isabelle Brasseur recalled, "Just before the short program, [Lloyd] told me, 'If I can't manage my jump, I'll do a single or skip it altogether, but you keep going and do yours as best you can. We'll be deducted for it but it should be all right, since I'm sure I can do all the pair elements.'" Eisler went for the side-by-side double Axel, landing it on two feet; Brasseur landed hers cleanly. 

Christine Hough and Doug Ladret

The two received a standing ovation for their gutsy effort and led Christine 'Tuffy' Hough and Doug Ladret, who had been landing side-by-side triple toe-loop's in practice, entering the free skate. In third were Michelle Menzies and Kevin Wheeler. Wheeler, too, was injured. In "Skating" magazine Peter K. Robertson remarked, "Kevin Wheeler's story of injury was somewhat different. After he entered the hospital for what was to be minor surgery, it was discovered in a 4 and one-half-hour operation that a tumor had attached itself to a nerve running from his knee to his ankle. He was released from the hospital just before Christmas and advised not to skate until May, but such is the determination of figure skaters that he and partner Michelle Menzies were in Saskatoon trying for a spot on the World Team anyway."

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

The fact that Brasseur and Eisler somehow managed to go out and skate an outstanding free skate to reclaim the Canadian title despite his injury was eclipsed by an incident so dramatic that even a veteran broadcaster like Johnny Esaw was visibly moved. Just over forty seconds into their free skate, Christine Hough and Doug Ladret had a disastrous fall on their split triple twist. Twenty-nine year old Ladret landed on top of Hough. She hit her shoulder on his head when they went down, then smacked her head on the ice. The couple almost slid into the boards. They were given a five-minute break by the referee, during which time they were quickly examined by Dr. Jim Werbecki. They courageously restarted their program from the beginning and skated well enough to take the silver over Stacey Ball and Jean-Michel Bombardier, Michelle Menzies and Kevin Wheeler and Kristy Sargeant and Colin Epp. Their coach, Hough's stepfather Kerry Leitch, told reporters, "I admire the courage for trying to do the entire program. I wouldn't have gotten up. Pair skaters have got to have more guts than any athletes in skating, anyway. A lot of hockey players wouldn't come back from a check like that." With her arm in a sling, Hough addressed the media after their performance and said, "I want to go to Worlds. I had to skate, no matter how much I hurt. Ladret added, "That's the way things are. Unless something's broken, we keep going."

Despite their injuries, Hough and Ladret and Lloyd Eisler still participated in the fours event. Hough and Ladret had been members of the winning four the previous three years. Eisler had finished on the podium in the eighties with former partners Karen Westby and Katherina Matousek, but it was Isabelle Brasseur's first time skating in the discipline at Canadians. Brasseur and Eisler and Ball and Bombardier defeated Hough and Ladret and Menzies and Wheeler to claim the title. One of the competitors, Kimbereley Esdaile, fell and hit her head during the competition and spent a night in the hospital under observation. There were so many injuries among the pairs and fours flock that "Skating" magazine that it was like "The Battle Of Wounded Knee".

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

Two time and defending Canadian Champion Kurt Browning had followed up his win at the 1990 World Championships with victories at the Goodwill Games, Skate Canada and the Nation's Cup. In one of the early practices in Sasktoon, he landed three quads and several triple/triple combinations.  "Then," he recalled in his book "Kurt: Forcing The Edge", "my back went haywire. It was a replay from Skate America in 1989, and the spasms were painful and intense. Mr. [Jiranek] and I considered withdrawing." Thanks to sessions with physiotherapsist Brian Craven, Browning was able to muster up the strength to deliver an outstanding original program featuring a triple Axel/double-toe-loop combination and triple flip, earning a 6.0 for artistic impression - his first at the Canadian Championships. Elvis Stojko, Michael Slipchuk, Patrick Brault and Brent Frank trailed him in the standings. All but Frank landed the triple Axel. It was Slipchuk's first clean original program at the Canadians since the 1989 event in Ottawa. He had been sick with strep throat, missed Divisionals and valuable practice time in the weeks leading up to the event. Four men landed the triple Axel combination in the originalprogram, which was a big first for the Canadian Championships.

Kurt Browning. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library, from Toronto Star Photographic Archive. Reproduced for educational purposes under license permission. 

In contrast , the men's free skate in Saskatoon wasn't one of the more memorable ones on record. The final flight was littered with up's and down's. Kurt Browning was less than stellar. He missed one of his triple Axel attempts and stumbled on two combinations. He did, however, attempt a quad but landed it on two foot. Referee Jean Matthews ruled that the jump was clean. Elvis Stojko doubled his first triple Axel attempt and missed his second but threw in a third for good measure, which helped him beat Browning on the first mark.

Norm Proft

Kurt Browning won his third Canadian title over Elvis Stojko on the strength of his presentation, along with his win in the short program. Michael Slipchuk took the bronze, ahead of Brent Frank, Patrick Brault, Matthew Hall, Norm Proft, Marcus Christensen, Sébastien Britten and Kris Wirtz. The top three were the exact same as in Sudbury the year prior.

THE ICE DANCE COMPETITION

Since Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall had danced on to the professional ranks in 1988, no couple had managed to show any kind of 'staying power' at the top. 1989 Champions Karyn and Rod Garossino had moved on. 1990 Champions Jo-Anne Borlase and Martin Smith had parted ways, paving the way for Smith's partnership with Michelle McDonald of Abbotsford, British Columbia, who had finished second in 1989 and 1990 with partner Mark Mitchell. At twenty-seven and twent- three, McDonald and Smith were already considerably older than many of their rivals and the fact they'd only teamed up in August of 1990 put them at a distinct disadvantage, particularly in the compulsories.

Jacqueline Petr and Mark Janoschak. Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department.

After the compulsory dances - the Ravensburger Waltz and Argentine Tango - yet another couple had choctawed their way to the top of the standings. Twenty year old Jacqueline Petr of Winnipeg and twenty-two year old Mark Janoschak of Bramalea, Ontario, who trained in Toronto under Roy Bradshaw, took the lead while McDonald and Smith tied for second with Penny Mann and Juan-Carlos Noria. Mann was a Newfoundlander; Noria was born in Venezuela.

Michelle McDonald and Martin Smith. Photos courtesy Saskatoon Public Library, Local History Department (left) and "Skating" magazine (right).

McDonald and Smith topped Petr and Janoshak in the Blues OSP, skating a delightfully unique program to "Creole Love Call". They clinched the Canadian title with an interesting free dance based on the 1941 Tyrone Power and Rita Hayworth film "Blood And Sand". Petr and Janoshak's fabulous free dance, an eclectic program set to music from "Pee-Wee's Big Adventure", was choreographed by Toller Cranston, who was in Saskatoon coaching Karen Preston with Mrs. Ellen Burka. He also designed avant garde costumes for them, but they got the thumbs down at Skate Canada. They didn't wear them in Saskatoon but later broke them out again in Munich at Worlds. They settled for the silver ahead of Mann and Noria, whose "Queen Of Sheba" free dance fell flat. Dara Bailey and Rock Lemay finished fourth and Laurie Palmer and Mark Mitchell placed fifth, hampered by a disappointing fall that had them eighth in the compulsories  Future Canadian Medallists Jennifer Boyce and Michel Brunet placed seventh.

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

Charlene Wong, a five time medallist at Canadians, had turned professional. A three-way race was framed between defending Canadian Champion Lisa Sargeant, 1989 Champion Karen Preston and Josée Chouinard, a promising young star from Laval, Quebec who had won the bronze in Sudbury in 1990. Sargeant toyed with the idea of attempting a triple Axel combination in her short program set to the music of Liberace, but decided to play it safe and go for the double flip/triple toe-loop combination instead. Twenty-one year old Chouinard won the short program with four first place ordinals to Preston's one and Sargeant's two.

As was so often the case in the nineties, the final flight of the women's free skate in Saskatoon was chock full of mistakes. Reporters and spectators alike went berserk, as they often did, and a mountain was made out of a molehill when Josée Chouinard fell during her footwork sequence. Her toe-pick tumble didn't take her out of the running whatsoever, and she managed to win her first Canadian title over Sargeant, Tanya Bingert, Preston, Jutta Cossette, Annie St. Hilaire, Margot Bion, Stacey Ball, Cynthia Amy and Diane Takeuchi. Chouinard and Sargeant were named to the World team. In the "Edmonton Journal", one unnamed 'veteran Canadian coach' was quoted as saying,  "Our best chance right now might be to send Liz [Manley] and a picture of Barbara Ann Scott."

Josée Chouinard. Photos courtesy "Chatelaine" magazine, Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Josée Chouinard was the first Quebec woman since Margot Barclay Wilkins in 1928 to claim the Canadian title. In her book "All That Glitters", Chouinard recalled, "Although I was obviously excited to win, I was having trouble accepting my newfound fame and the big expectations people now had for me... It was difficult for me to accept the changes that occurred in my life. Overnight, I was the Canadian Champion, and I had a hard time dealing with the attention it brought to me. No longer was I the little girl from Laval, Quebec who skated because she loved the sport. I was treated differently and people suddenly expected great things from me."

Thanks to a generous donation of VHS tapes by Skate Guard reader Amy, you can take a trip back in time and rewatch highlights of the 1991 Canadian Championships in digitized video form. The YouTube playlist, which includes a handful of the men's free skates and performances from the Parade Of Champions, can be found above or at https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL6c_NN6KdCfLakgDyoOEW8H53chFsaPy1.

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.

Crossing Oceans: The Gweneth Butler Story

The daughter of Cicely (Hyland) and Arthur Cecil Butler, Gweneth Leigh Butler was born June 1, 1915 in Kensington, London, England. Less than a month prior to her birth, her father's business partner Evan Arthur Leigh of Yewbarrow Hall, Grange-over-Sands, perished during the sinking of the S.S. Lusitania. Interestingly, Gweneth's sister Audrey later married Vivian Whitewright Warren Pearl, the son of a famous surgeon-major who had survived the Lusitania's torpedoing. Evan Arthur Leigh left a third of his estate to Gweneth's father, giving the family the means to start a new life in America during The Great War.

Cecil, Cicely, Gweneth and Audrey Butler and the family's live-in nurse made the dangerous wartime Atlantic crossing to America and took up residence on Riverway in Boston. Cecil, a textile merchant, set up shop on Summer Street. His company Leigh & Butler served as the agent for The English Card Clothing Co., one of England's largest card clothing manufacturers. 

The Butler family all became members of the Skating Club Of Boston. Gweneth grew up skating alongside the likes of Theresa Weld Blanchard, Nathaniel Niles and Sherwin Badger, as well as a future rival who was only four years younger - Maribel Vinson.

The Stock Market Crash and the death of Gweneth's grandmother brought the Butler family back to London in the early thirties. Gweneth continued her skating at the Westminster Ice Club, Queen's Ice Rink and on winter sojourns to Switzerland. She made her international competitive debut in 1933, the same year she was 'presented' as a debutante. Although she finished a disappointing ninth at that year's European Championships, she earned a silver medal at an international competition held in St. Moritz.

Audrey and Gweneth Butler

After missing the entire 1934 season due to an ankle injury, Gweneth returned to competition in 1935, placing a very impressive fifth at both the European and World Championships. In both events, she placed third in the school figures. Considering the politicking that went on during that era and her relative competitive experience, these results only confirmed what everyone around her was saying - that she was quite remarkable at figures.

The same could not be said of Gweneth's free skating. In almost every competition she entered, she dropped in the standings after the figures. At the time, the British press was raving about the beauty, youth and free skating talented of Cecilia Colledge and Megan Taylor. None of these adjectives were used to describe Gweneth. Reporters repeatedly felt it worth mentioning that she was the tallest of the crop of female British skaters. They ran her picture in "The Bystander" in February of 1936 on a photo page titled "A Selection Of Spinsters From Every Set", describing her as "A Bonny Lass, always sunburnt".

Mollie Phillips, Cecilia Colledge, Graham Sharp, Gweneth Butler, Jackie Dunn and Belita Jepson-Turner in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Photo courtesy National Archives Of Poland.

Despite the fact that the press never seemed to get behind her as they did Cecilia and Megan, Gweneth soldiered on, winning the silver medal behind Colledge at the 1935 British Championships. She earned a spot on the 1936 Winter Olympic team and placed a very creditable fifth in the figures, but was forced to withdraw before the free skating due to 'indisposition' - a bad flu and a high fever. Her final international competition was the 1936 World Championships in Paris. She again placed - you guessed it - fifth. At that year's British Championships, she placed fourth behind Colledge, Mollie Phillips and Belita Jepson-Turner. Gweneth's competitive career ended the following year when she broke her ankle while skiing in St. Moritz.

Arthur John Horton Benn and Gweneth Butler

In August of 1938, Gweneth married Arthur John Horton Benn, the great-grandson of Colonel William F. 'Buffalo Bill' Cody. Their son Michael was born on October 12, 1939, just over a month after World War II broke out. The War had a profound impact on the Butler family. In a letter published in the December 1939 of "Skating" magazine, Gweneth's mother wrote, "We are living down at our country cottage. When everyone was asked to leave London. We shut down the town house. Cecil (Mr. Butler) is Air Raid Warden for this district and I am attached to the Women's Volunteer Service and am Billeting Officer for the village which has meant a good deal of work as there are over one hundred London children in the place. This entails boarding, educational arrangements, soup kitchen, clothing, etc. I also have a large household to arrange. Gweneth and her baby son with nurse are here and several others. Audrey (the second daughter) is here too. Both girls are enrolled at the Hospital and have passed their exams, but fortunately have not been needed yet. All their friends have joined up. We also have to grow more vegetables, etc., so I am becoming quite a gardener. Thank goodness I am very busy. All our friends are scattered and engaged on different jobs and it is difficult to see people except those quite near. Opinion in London on the length of the war is divided; some are optimistic; others exactly the reverse."

Gweneth Butler in 1942

Within a year of her mother's letter, Gweneth left for America. Leaving her baby with her American mother-in-law in Chicago, she joined the cast of Arthur M. Wirtz and Sonja Henie's show "It Happens On Ice" at the Center Theatre and taught skating for several years at the Skating Club of New York. To aid in the War effort, she took part in a skating carnival to support the Seamen's Church Institute of New York's effort to purchase Christmas kits for men in the United States Merchant Marine. After the War, Gweneth and her husband divorced. He remarried in 1949; she in 1957 to Ian Bailey. She lived out her golden years quietly in London, passing away on November 15, 2006 at the age of ninety-one.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of 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.

An Unconventional Leader: The Herbert Larson Story

Photo courtesy Saskatchewan Sports Hall Of Fame

"Herb was a feisty, tough little guy who wasn't going to take crap from anybody. He'd take on anything given the proper environment and motivation." - Hugh Glynn, "Reflections Of The CFSA: A History Of The Canadian Figure Skating Association"

"It has always been my aim and endeavour to bring to any office I hold in figure skating activities a sense of sportsmanship... My main interest seems to have been to encourage young boys to take up figure skating and to obliterate the word 'fancy' and replace it with 'figure'." - Herbert Larson, "Skating" magazine, February 1953

The son of Johanna 'Anna' (Swanson) and Swedish immigrant Sven Johan Larson, Herbert 'Herb' Reginald Larson was born on July 1, 1899 in Genesee, Illinois. His parents, who were staunch Lutherans, moved north to in Lost River, Saskatchewan when he was a young boy. He was the third oldest of five boys and spent much of his youth working long, harsh days on the family homestead.

Photos courtesy University Of Saskatchewan Special Collections

As a young man, Herbert worked on the farm of a German family and saved up enough money to attend Nutana Collegiate and the University Of Saskatchewan. He was active in numerous aspects of school life at the University, including the yearbook and amateur dramatic society. He graduated from the College Of Commerce in 1925, settled in Saskatoon, married his wife Lillian (Howatt) and had two children, Mavis and Lorne.

Photos courtesy University Of Saskatchewan Special Collections

An ambitious and community-minded man, Herbert served as the provincial chairman of the Canadian Manufacturers Association, President of the Saskatoon Petroleum Club, an executive member of the Saskatchewan War Finance Committee, Saskatchewan Motor Club and Fish and Game League and was active in his local public library, Kinsmen and Rotary Club's. He was the owner of School Publications and Specialties, which produced materials for Saskatchewan schools. He later founded the very successful H.R. Larson Publishing Company, also known as Midwest Litho. One of his employees was Mary Rose Thacker's brother Ross. In his spare time, he enjoyed curling, hunting, fishing, square dancing, shuffleboard and figure skating.

Herbert Larson's business Midwest Litho. Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library.

As director and President of the Saskatoon Figure Skating Club, Herbert was keenly aware of the problems that Western skaters faced. With few exceptions, the CFSA was run by an 'old boy's club' from Eastern clubs. The Canadian Championships and AGM's were almost always held in Eastern Canada... and stacked full of Eastern judges. Travel was also an issue. If skaters couldn't afford train tickets and accommodations, they couldn't even attend Canadians. With an aim to improve this situation, he worked with a small group of Westerners, including Granville Mayall, Bert Penfold and Aileen Abbott, to form the sprawling Western Canada Section of the CFSA, which stretched from Victoria, B.C. to Port Arthur, Ontario in 1946. He later served as its President.

Undaunted by a harrowing car accident in the autumn of 1950 that saw his Ford Meteor plunge through the ice of Redberry Lake, Herbert served as the chairman of the Western Canadian Championships and became certified as a Gold level judge and referee with the CFSA. From 1951 to 1953, he served as the CFSA's Vice-President. In 1953, he began his tumultuous and controversial reign as the CFSA's President - only the second man from Western Canada to hold the position.

Herbert Larson, Donald B. Cruikshank and F. Herbert Crispo. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

As CFSA President, Herbert was - to put it diplomatically - a polarizing figure. The first Western Canadian President, Alf Williams, had been happy to tow the line. Herbert wanted to shake the tree and make drastic changes to how the Association was run. He was extremely vocal about his desire to diminish the control of the clique of Ontarians that he called "the Eastern combine" and this, of course, made him quite unpopular with the CFSA's long-held 'establishment'.

Herbert Larson shaking hands with Charles Snelling. Photo courtesy Saskatoon Public Library.

When Herbert came up with the idea visiting many of the one hundred and thirty-eight member clubs to try to establish some sort of working relationship and in-person connection, this ruffled feathers because he paid for these trips out of his own pocket. Donald B. Cruikshank, the CFSA's Past-President, briskly stepped in with a motion that all travel by the CFSA's Presidents be approved and paid for the Association. Not long after, his fellow executive members changed the rules of the Association and called a surprise election for President. It was actually the first time in the long history of the ASAC or CFSA that there had been an election for President - everyone else had been essentially appointed. In order to defeat his opponent from Toronto, Herbert took advantage of a rule that allowed member clubs to send in their votes by proxy, enlisting key builders from the Western provinces in a campaign that involved travelling to clubs from Victoria to Regina. This cunning strategy paid off and he was re-elected to serve as President for a second year. He didn't stand for re-election in 1955 and F. Herbert Crispo, the man he'd defeated in 1954, succeeded him as President.

Alma English and Herbert Larson. Photos courtesy Saskatoon Public Library.

After his presidency of CFSA, Herbert resumed his service on the executive of the Western Canada Section and won the 1958 Western Canadian veteran's ice dance title with Alma English. He was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall Of Fame in 1977. Upon his retirement, he moved to Victoria, British Columbia, where he founded the Kinsmen K-60 Club and served as President of the Oak Bay Senior Kiwanis Club. He passed away on December 19, 1996 at the age of ninety-seven. In 1998, Herbert's children established the Larson Family Fund in his memory for the Saskatoon Foundation, which contributes to funding various local programs.

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.