Your favorite old fashioned lady skater (pre-Janet Lynn era)

[TheIronLady]

Tenley Albright was a great influence in the 1950s, but does anyone else find her skating pretty boring? Also, why does Tenley always makes public appearances wearing a flower in her hair, like she thinks she is a 1980s Hawaiian woman?

To me, Barbara Ann Scott looks like Hollywood on ice. Like a 1950s Julia Roberts, Marilyn Monroe, and Sandra Bullock rolled into one. I can see how she warmed the hearts of the weary postwar world. In her interviews, both as a young woman and an old lady, she had such charm and humor. I wish she had not left us recently. She was funny, simple, and sincere, and Canada may never make another lady star so charming and beloved (the sport may never make another star so beloved!).

Carol Heiss in 1960 looks wild in her skating, but the video of 1960 shows serious athleticism. Her jumps and spins, unlike Tenley's, do not look like academic exercises or math problems. They really have punch and oomph.

[TheIronLady]

What was Jacqueline du Bief's skating like? The only videos I've seen are grainy show performances from the 1960s. I would like to see what she was doing competitively in those outfits exposing her arms and thighs? Heaven forbid we see nude arms!. Did she have good jumps? Or did she win that world title by her French charms?

[falling_dance]

What was Jacqueline du Bief's skating like? The only videos I've seen are grainy show performances from the 1960s. I would like to see what she was doing competitively in those outfits exposing her arms and thighs? Heaven forbid we see nude arms!. Did she have good jumps? Or did she win that world title by her French charms?

Have you ever seen any grainy show performances of hers from the 1950s?

I read somewhere that she was a better at compulsory figures than free skating, but I can't remember where.

[skatesindreams]

What was Jacqueline du Bief's skating like?

You might be interested in this:
http://www.ifsmagazine.com/articles/...ueline-du-bief

[bardtoob]

^ That was certainly a controversy.

[skatesindreams]

I wonder how Sonja Klopfer (later a well-known coach) felt!

[bardtoob]

Isn't Sonja Klopfer inducted into both the US and Canadian Hall of Fames?

[TheIronLady]

Thank you for that great du Bief article!

And thank you falling_dance for the video. She was definitely in the that long French tradition of exotic skating that Dick used to mention during Joubert programs. This is alive and well today with Mae Berenice Meite, Yretha Silete, and crazy Nadjma Mahamoud.

[skatesindreams]

Yes, bardtoob, Canada's in 2001 - as a coach, with her husband - https://www.skatecanada.ca/en-us/abo...alloffame.aspx (scroll down)
US: 2008 - as a skater - http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=42314

[TheIronLady]

Isn't Sonja Klopfer inducted into both the US and Canadian Hall of Fames?

I'm guessing her Canadian Hall of Fame honor was earned for her coaching in Canada.

[TheIronLady]

^ What Mama Colledge did should be the model for any skating parent. That's excellent to hear. Thank you for the information, floskate. I knew I should have just asked you personally.

We should write a screenplay about Cecila Colledge's life. It'd make a fascinating bio-pic with the dramatic build-up to the 1940 Olympics...then the climax...Britain declares war on Germany in September 1939! However, I think the final scene should be the 1946 British Nationals where Cecilia comes back and wins the title after a six year or so hiatus to declare skating is back.

We could make Megan Taylor's role juicy as well.

This is such a good idea. It totally sounds like something Academy voters would eat up.

[sadya]

In fact Gerschwiler was installed in the Colledge house on Upper Wimpole Street (mega rich London address) and basically brought her up supervising everything she did from eating to sleeping. A different era for sure!

They said in a skating documentary that being a ladies champion also meant representing your skating club or country off the ice. So apparently even how skaters dressed and ate was important.

Sjoukje Dijkstra talked in her autobiography about her time with Gerschwiller. When he coached her, she lived in his house with his family. Off ice both Gerschwiller and his wife were strict about the behaviour and habits of Dijkstra and that meant everything in daily life. (and he almost never gave compliments, Dijktra wrote that her winning worlds was 'not bad' according to Gerschwiller, that was a huge compliment coming from him. I remember footage of an interview where the press was very happy with the winning performance of Dijkstra and when they asked Gerschwiller about her performance all he said was she had some mistakes they'd work on, the reporters were surprised and said there were no mistakes in that program, 'yes, you wouldn't notice them, would you' said Gerschwiller, I can't remember the exact words he used though]

Chan once talked about Osborne Colson also commenting on his behaviour off ice, he gave an example of Colson dining with Chan's family and correcting the behaviour of Chan even then. It was probably very normal for athletes all those decades ago when Colson was younger to be completely moulded in a certain person with certain behaviour on and off the ice.

[SkatingLover]

Gabby Seyfert forever!!

[bardtoob]

. . . It was probably very normal for athletes all those decades ago when Colson was younger to be completely moulded in a certain person with certain behaviour on and off the ice.

I wish coaches would do this today in all sorts of sports. I hear the word "character" constantly in sports commentary, yet I rarely see anything except athletes displaying interest in themselves. This is quite scary consider the amount of trouble an athlete can get into with the amount of money running through their hands.

[sadya]

I forgot to add I voted for Colledge because I loved her in a documentary where she talked about how she learnt to bend backwards from a circus performer and so developped the layback en she almost beat Henie, I enjoyed listening to her stories very much and of course she had more interesting ice moves.

[Cherub721]

Have you ever seen any grainy show performances of hers from the 1950s?

I read somewhere that she was a better at compulsory figures than free skating, but I can't remember where.

Tres voidy! What are those jumps at 3:35 called?

[skatesindreams]

I think they are one-foot axels:

One-Foot Axels
One-foot axels take off from a forward outside edge like a basic axel, but land on the inside edge of the same foot.

1. Janet Lynn performing a one-foot axel can be seen in this video at ~1:43.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jukiKL0di58
2. Jill Trenary's one-foot axel triple salchow combination at ~1:19.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyMoz...eature=related

[bardtoob]

Tres voidy! What are those jumps at 3:35 called?

I believe they are one footed Waltz jumps, that is, an Axel take off with a half rotation landed on the same foot.

I think they are one-foot axels:

Rarely the case, but, in this context, you are so WRONG, skateindreams . . . the proper name for those jumps are COLLEDGEs.

[skatesindreams]

Thanks for the correction!

[bardtoob]

Thanks for the correction!

For all I know, I probably learned it from you