Most Unexpected Skating Related Content on Youtube

bardtoob

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Most Unexpected Skating Related Content on Youtube ...

Because it is the off season ... I will start with this gem, Tonya Harding and Christopher Bowman in the same video clip interacting :D


:rofl: It appears that Christopher actually saw Tonya as a rival for most outlandish exhibition :ROFLMAO:
 
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tony

Throwing the (rule)book at them
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bardtoob

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Not YouTube, but the most "I wuzrobbed by Ukraine" picture ever ... :rofl:

"They said I wasn't prissy enough."
"They said I was too prissy."
 
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Foolhardy Ham Lint

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Wyliefan

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Poor Jimmy Stewart! At least he got to make Mr. Smith Goes to Washington the same year! What a trajectory. :D
 

aftershocks

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Josef Sabovcik's oldest son, Blade, is apparently a budding filmmaker! Blade filmed a 2017 documentary tribute to his Dad!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6INY056tJ0 Leap of Faith :love:

I love the story Josef tells about how he became close friends with Scott Hamilton and Brian Orser around 1983. In those days, they didn't get to see much of each other since there were fewer international competitions. After 1983 Worlds when they were plotting when they might next get to see each other, Scott half-jokingly or presciently declared, "Well, let's just meet on top of the podium in Sarajevo!" Sure enough, Scott called it. :encore:
 

bardtoob

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Josef Sabovcik's oldest son, Blade, is apparently a budding filmmaker! Blade filmed a 2017 documentary tribute to his Dad!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6INY056tJ0 Leap of Faith :love:

I love the story Josef tells about how he became close friends with Scott Hamilton and Brian Orser around 1983. In those days, they didn't get to see much of each other since there were fewer international competitions. After 1983 Worlds when they were plotting when they might next get to see each other, Scott half-jokingly or presciently declared, "Well, let's just meet on top of the podium in Sarajevo!" Sure enough, Scott called it. :encore:

HA! Joe looks like he fronted an 80s hair band :D
 

aftershocks

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Thank you @floskate

Oh yes, thanks to @floskate. This is so wonderful to see. I especially enjoy seeing Dick Button, Cecilia Colledge, Donald Jackson, Donald McPherson, Pierre Brunet, and Petra Burka! Above all, seeing John Nicks looking so young and almost unrecognizable is such a treat. :encore:

It looks like that was a great in-between period when the great old days of the 30s - 60s weren't so far off as they are today. Many iconic skaters were still alive. Today, former champions are honored with inductions into the Hall of Fame, and on occasion being asked to present trophies during podium award ceremonies.
 
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aftershocks

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This U.S. African-American junior pairs team were pioneers. They unfairly weren't allowed to transition to seniors after winning the 1972 junior National pairs title, Richard Ewell & Michelle McCladdie:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRNVy7wfcgU -- they skated like a senior team
They had great sbs jumps and a number of cool moves that would be interesting to see in current pairs programs :cool: In fact, they perform a move in this winning program that we often see in ice dance today.

https://www.liveabout.com/famous-african-american-figure-skaters-1282896

Whoa, I never heard of Tiffani Tucker & Franklyn Singley (1993 U.S. National bronze medalists in ice dance). Having to rely solely on television coverage back then, there are so many 'unseen' skaters from that era:

Apparently Tucker now works as a broadcast anchor in the Cleveland area (or at least she did when this story aired in 2014). I'm not familiar with her as either an ice dancer or a broadcast news anchor.
 

overedge

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This U.S. African-American junior pairs team were pioneers. They unfairly weren't allowed to transition to seniors after winning the 1972 junior National pairs title, Richard Ewell & Michelle McCladdie.

What do you mean by "unfairly weren't allowed"? Is there evidence that they were actually disqualified from being eligible for seniors? They retired and became professional skaters, and if you look at the top senior pairs in the US at the time (the Militanos, Militano/Johns, Babilonia/Gardner), it would have been really difficult for any new senior team to make much progress.
 

aftershocks

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What do you mean by "unfairly weren't allowed"? Is there evidence that they were actually disqualified from being eligible for seniors? They retired and became professional skaters, and if you look at the top senior pairs in the US at the time (the Militanos, Militano/Johns, Babilonia/Gardner), it would have been really difficult for any new senior team to make much progress.

Seriously, discrimination still existed in those days (and it still exists today, often subtly). Even despite African-Americans beginning to have more opportunities to compete in the sport during the late 1960s and early 1970s, the article I linked in my prior post explains how Ewell and Atoy Wilson were the first 'blacks' finally allowed to join elite skating clubs in the early 1970s. Need I remind you what happened to Mabel Fairbanks in the 1950s? Had Fairbanks not been so determined and passionate and single-focused about getting inside a rink somehow in order to skate, and had Maribel Vinson Owen not seen her and recognized her talent and decided to help her with lessons, Fairbanks would surely never have been able to reach at least part of her dreams. It's a fact that Fairbanks was excluded from being able to join a club, so she was never able to compete at U.S. Nationals. And she had the talent to do so. Fairbanks even had to go to Europe in order to skate in professional ice shows.

As far as McCladdie and Ewell, a few years ago when we discussed on FSU the same video of them winning the 1972 U.S. junior pairs championship, the Ice Network site was still around and someone linked an article about Ewell and his accomplishments in singles and in pairs. In that article, there was a reference to why McCladdie/Ewell didn't advance to seniors. They were advised not to try. As well, additional resource quotes from McCladdie were mentioned by a poster. McCladdie was fair-skinned, and some people thought she was 'white.' She revealed how she had received glares and accusations for skating with a 'black' skater.

Sorry to break it to you that prejudices exist and that a lot of people have faced such hardships. Whether you realize it or not, or wish to accept it or not, Tai Babilonia's ethnic background was not widely known. Obviously, it was known by those who knew her and her parents. Her father is Filipino-Chinese, thus many people simply thought Tai was Asian, Filipino or Hispanic. I didn't know much about Tai's mother (who is African-American) until the 1980 Olympics and the fluff piece on Tai and Randy.

As far as it being difficult to advance in figure skating, obviously it's a tough sport for everyone. That's a given. But if you were a person of color or poor*, especially back then, it was even harder. It's still hard today of course. Although the sport is more open and more accessible, it's still out of reach for many, particularly financially. It used to be tough for Asians to advance as well, but that changed over time after the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo, and after the success of a number of Asian skaters, including Tiffany Chin and Michelle Kwan. In regard to McCladdie/Ewell, with their level of talent and ability, had they not been African-American, they would surely have been given encouragement and support to join the senior ranks, without a doubt.

*FYI, even Carol Heiss and Dorothy Hamill (who came from modest backgrounds) have spoken about initially having trouble joining skating clubs. With their superior talent, they eventually received backing and were able to join clubs so that their careers could advance.

Also, another example of a skater who was advised he should go ahead and turn pro: Rudy Galindo. After he won the U.S. National championship in 1996 along with a bronze medal at Worlds, it was suggested to Rudy that it would be a good idea for him to turn professional. This is related by Rudy in his autobiography.
 
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Spun Silver

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It would be so interesting to hear the stories of McCladdie and Ewell, Tucker and Singley in more detail. Someone should interview them. Plus they might have videos. I'm very impressed by that one of M & E. They were very dynamic, totally skating up to all that powerful music, and that solo 2A by Ewell near the end was so ballsy!
 

Sylvia

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As far as McCladdie and Ewell, a few years ago when we discussed on FSU the same video of them winning the 1972 U.S. junior pairs championship, the Ice Network site was still around and someone linked an article about Ewell and his accomplishments in singles and in pairs. In that article, there was a reference to why McCladdie/Ewell didn't advance to seniors. They were advised not to try.
Icenetwork's Ewell article can still be read via the wayback machine:
"After winning the U.S. junior pairs title in 1972, McCladdie and Ewell decided it was the right time to "turn pro," and the team toured with the Ice Capades. McCladdie skated with the show for only two years, but Ewell continued with it for 12."
 
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aftershocks

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"After winning the U.S. junior pairs title in 1972, McCladdie and Ewell decided it was the right time to "turn pro," and the team toured with the Ice Capades. McCladdie skated with the show for only two years, but Ewell continued with it for 12."

Right, they surely felt the timing was right because they were not encouraged to turn senior, and they'd dealt with a lot even as juniors. If the thread where this was originally discussed could be found, there was information brought out by another poster regarding the comments McCladdie had received from people who thought she was 'white.' What black athletes have faced in figure skating and in other sports, e.g. tennis, should not be downplayed, dismissed, or wished away. Thank you for locating and re-sharing the IN article.

If Ewell or McCladdie are still alive, it would be great to be able to hear more about the story of their careers, individually and as pairs partners, straight from the horses' mouths. We do get this quote by Ewell from the old IN article: "If I had let comments from other people stop me, skating wouldn't have given me so many years of delight, joy and happiness."

I can see that the IN article did not specify why M&E thought it was the 'right time' to turn pro, so I didn't get the information there about them being discouraged from moving up to seniors, as I had recalled. The IN article mentions at the end that Ewell was coaching back then in California, and that Tai Babilonia had interviewed McCladdie & Ewell for International Figure Skating magazine. I wonder if that interview is available online. I couldn't find it with a quick search.

As talented as Ewell is described as having been in both pairs and singles, let's be honest that he surely would have been encouraged and expected to move up to seniors (in both pairs and singles) had he not been African-American. With M&E's level of talent, I don't think there's any doubt they would not have turned pro right out of juniors had they seen any possibility of having viable opportunities to be supported and respected as senior eligible competitors.


In addition, check out this video of Bobby Beauchamp; the kiss 'n cry footage reveals that Beauchamp was coached by a famous legend of the sport. :) I remember hearing Beauchamp's name, but I don't recall ever seeing him skate in those days: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dw-fEWVOdJY
 
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aftershocks

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... had Maribel Vinson Owen not seen her and recognized her talent and decided to help her with lessons, Fairbanks would surely never have been able to reach at least part of her dreams.

Nor likely without Fairbanks achieving success in skating, would we ever have had Tai & Randy, since Fairbanks is the one who encouraged them to skate together when they were kids at her rink. And she coached T&R before John Nicks later took them under his wing and further nurtured their talent. In addition, Fairbanks taught a number of other skaters of all backgrounds, including McCladdie/Ewell. As described in the linked IN article, Fairbanks is also responsible for pairing McCladdie/Ewell.

More information on McCladdie/Ewell from Skateguard blog:
 
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Seerek

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With 1.6 Million followers to her YouTube channel, Michelle Khare accepted a challenge to train for 8 weeks (Lloyd Eisler as coach), managing to learn waltz jump and flip in that time period.

 

Messalina

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With 1.6 Million followers to her YouTube channel, Michelle Khare accepted a challenge to train for 8 weeks (Lloyd Eisler as coach), managing to learn waltz jump and flip in that time period.


Wow, I LOVED this and found it very inspiring. Though not 27 years old myself, it even made me want to get back on the ice - after 13 years (the last time I got off, it was with a broken tibia) ...
 

Seerek

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From The Talko,

15 Strict Rules Female Figure Skaters Have To Follow (some of the discussions confused singles with dance)


 

Fiero425

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From The Talko,

15 Strict Rules Female Figure Skaters Have To Follow (some of the discussions confused singles with dance)



Listening to Tara during the Grand Prix, she mentioned the ladies aren't allowed to do QUADs during the SP; WHY? Why is the ISU interfering again and treating them differently than the men? Not like I care, but it just seems bizarre with the abilities of today's children out there! :duh:
 

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