Does anyone miss pro skating

[excessmotion]

I miss pro skating especialy the pro competitive circuit so much. It blew up so huge during 95-99, it just killed it for good. I wonder if this happens without the Harding-Kerrigan saga.

 

[soogar]

I miss pro skating and think that integration with the ISU is what lead to its untimely death. Mandating technical content - 2 triple jumps- and allowing eligibles and pros to compete together killed pro skating. A lot of good pros like Roz Sumners did not have the technical content and allowing eligibles to compete with pro skaters really skewed competition results toward competitive skaters. I think it killed the creativity and freedom of pro skating.

 

[caseyedwards]

“Between October 1996 and March '97 figure skating is scheduled to provide 162 1/2 hours of programming to ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, ESPN, TBS and USA, half of it in prime time.”

162 hours! 81 in primetime! Now it’s 3

 

[Winnipeg]

I do not miss Pro Skating. I do agree however that skating has dropped significantly in its popularity over the last 15 years or so

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

The World Professional Championships from Landover, the U.S. Pro Open, and the Canadian Open were the highlights of the skating calendar for me.

Skaters like Robin Cousins, Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill, Rosalyn Sumners, Denise Biellmann, Charlie Tickner, Toller Cranston, John Curry, The Protopopovs, Carol Fox & Richard Dalley, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Leanne Miller & Bill Fauver, Tai & Randy, Underhill & Martini, Torvill & Dean, really defined the essence of great artistic skating.

It wasn't always about the jumps or bigger tricks, but creating a mood or an intent.

Competitions like the U.S. Pro Open also allowed me to discover lesser-known (but no less talented) skaters like Rory Flack Burghart, Jeri Campbell, and Doug Mattis.

These days, I can barely watch the cheesy and pointless gala portion of ISU Championships without a certain degree of sadness.

I must dig out my disks again some time.

 

[chantilly]

Yup.

 

[Plusdinfo]

I definitely do.

 

[Desperado]

I miss it very much, especially the Canadian Open. I still remember some of the programs vividly. It was great to see the newly crowned international skaters compete against skaters from years back. A lot of work was put into the choreographies.

 

[Vash01]

I miss the Landover competition, with the 1988 and 1992 Olympic medallists.

 

[soogar]

The World Professional Championships from Landover, the U.S. Pro Open, and the Canadian Open were the highlights of the skating calendar for me.

Skaters like Robin Cousins, Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill, Rosalyn Sumners, Denise Biellmann, Charlie Tickner, Toller Cranston, John Curry, The Protopopovs, Carol Fox & Richard Dalley, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Leanne Miller & Bill Fauver, Tai & Randy, Underhill & Martini, Torvill & Dean, really defined the essence of great artistic skating.

It wasn't always about the jumps or bigger tricks, but creating a mood or an intent.

Competitions like the U.S. Pro Open also allowed me to discover lesser-known (but no less talented) skaters like Rory Flack Burghart, Jeri Campbell, and Doug Mattis.

Yes, I agree with all of this! There were a lot of skaters who really flourished under the pro format. I was never a fan of Kurt Browning as an amateur but he was an amazing pro skater and had a great rivalry with Brian Boitano. Boitano expanded on his work with Sandra Bezic to develop an amazing artistic and technical presence on ice.

Now the skaters are so burned out during the season that all you see is a rehash of competitive programs. It's pretty clear that the focus is not entertaining an audience.

 

[AxelAnnie]

I miss it. The skating was so fabulous. And then they had to ruin it and put the amateurs in. The pros were magnificent to watch. There is so much I miss.....Uncle Dick for sure. The pros were on the ice to delight us with their skating, creativity and fun.

 

[Japanfan]

I miss it somewhat, although I never enjoyed it as much as competitive skating. But it meant there was more skating to watch, and sometimes an opportunity for skaters to create innovative and interesting programs.

 

[Simone411]

I miss it, too. I was fortunate, however, that I was able to record several of the pro skating competitions and shows using my VCR back in the 90's. I have several of those shows and competitions on my YouTube channel. I often like to watch those pro shows again, and I found it's easier to watch on my YouTube channel instead of having to play the VHS tapes to watch them. lol! Anyone is welcome to watch what I've uploaded so far.

I still have several skating events on my VHS tapes that I haven't uploaded yet to YouTube. Hopefully, I'll have more time to do it someday if nothing else happens to prevent me from doing so.

 

[skatesindreams]

The World Professional Championships from Landover, the U.S. Pro Open, and the Canadian Open were the highlights of the skating calendar for me.

Skaters like Robin Cousins, Janet Lynn, Dorothy Hamill, Rosalyn Sumners, Denise Biellmann, Charlie Tickner, Toller Cranston, John Curry, The Protopopovs, Carol Fox & Richard Dalley, Kitty and Peter Carruthers, Leanne Miller & Bill Fauver, Tai & Randy, Underhill & Martini, Torvill & Dean, really defined the essence of great artistic skating.

It wasn't always about the jumps or bigger tricks, but creating a mood or an intent.

Competitions like the U.S. Pro Open also allowed me to discover lesser-known (but no less talented) skaters like Rory Flack Burghart, Jeri Campbell, and Doug Mattis.

These days, I can barely watch the cheesy and pointless gala portion of ISU Championships without a certain degree of sadness.

I must dig out my disks again some time.

You spoke for me .
For several years, some of the best performances skated, were done there.

 

[annie720]

I loved the Landover comps. Went to every one for a number of years. The first year that Janet Lynn competed, I was so excited about seeing her that I didn't sleep for days. In addition my work place had its holiday party at the arena for a few years and it was always during the rehearsals for the skating competition. We were able to watch the rehearsals and skaters would come over and chat. I'll never forget how nice Kitty Carruthers was.

 

[Judy]

No not at all. The tv was saturated with the events. I always preferred the competitions vs the pro skating. No offence to the skaters at all.

 

[DreamSkates]

Miss it? Yesss!!!

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

No not at all. The tv was saturated with the events. I always preferred the competitions vs the pro skating. No offence to the skaters at all.

I certainly don't miss the stupidity of events with names like "Too Hot to Skate".

 

[paskatefan]

The serious comps (like Landover), yes!

 

[millyskate]

I couldn't get behind pro skating because of the judging. I felt in particular, Surya Bonaly was treated incredibly awfully. She would get booked by promoters time and time again, because they knew she was the only skater they could count on to rock up and actually land stuff AND put beautiful programs together. Beyond that, there was a real showmanship and desire to please the audience with actual skating, not gimmicks.
But they'd invariably give her ridiculously low marks - behind skaters who were no longer performing at a competitive level and had put little effort into their programs.

It was painful, and inappropriate on so many levels. It felt like the promoters were willing to use her professionalism to justify their ticket price, but treated her with contempt when it came to respecting her work.

 

[cmk]

I think it was the last world pro championship where Surya was really undermarked. She did harder jumps than most of the ladies (and some of the men) but was placed behind Lucinda Ruh ( who I think only did a 1 loop as her only jump). I know Button loved Ruh, but Surya was a far better skater than Lucinda ever was. I do think pro skating would have lasted longer if Tonya had been allowed to skate in the pro comps (she actually wanted to skate, Nancy looked like she hated every second on the ice during competions).

Tonya and Surya were both undermarked by amateur judges, and Surya by the pro ones. They were actually better than Nancy (too bad code of points wasn't in effect at 92 Olympics because I believe Tonya would of had bronze, and Surya 4th, and Nancy might not of even made top 10).

 

[Vash01]

I certainly don't miss the stupidity of events with names like "Too Hot to Skate".

Many pro competitions were really stupid, e.g. battle of the sexes, or where the audience was voting (I can’t remember its name). They drove me away from pro comps. Prior to that I enjoyed watching some real competitions but I often felt that the results were predetermined.

I agree that Surya was often undermarked.

 

[soogar]

I think it was the last world pro championship where Surya was really undermarked. She did harder jumps than most of the ladies (and some of the men) but was placed behind Lucinda Ruh ( who I think only did a 1 loop as her only jump). I know Button loved Ruh, but Surya was a far better skater than Lucinda ever was. I do think pro skating would have lasted longer if Tonya had been allowed to skate in the pro comps (she actually wanted to skate, Nancy looked like she hated every second on the ice during competions).

Tonya and Surya were both undermarked by amateur judges, and Surya by the pro ones. They were actually better than Nancy (too bad code of points wasn't in effect at 92 Olympics because I believe Tonya would of had bronze, and Surya 4th, and Nancy might not of even made top 10).

Unfortunately pro skating did not have fair marks, however I believe that many of the popular skaters received appearance fees in addition to whatever prize money they won. In a TSL interview, Mark Mitchell said that he felt very appreciated when he turned pro because he made a lot of money. Surya was a very popular pro skater plus she was very well received on Champions on Ice so I hope she received adequate compensation.

 

[millyskate]

I think it was the last world pro championship where Surya was really undermarked. She did harder jumps than most of the ladies (and some of the men) but was placed behind Lucinda Ruh ( who I think only did a 1 loop as her only jump). I know Button loved Ruh, but Surya was a far better skater than Lucinda ever was. I do think pro skating would have lasted longer if Tonya had been allowed to skate in the pro comps (she actually wanted to skate, Nancy looked like she hated every second on the ice during competions).

Tonya and Surya were both undermarked by amateur judges, and Surya by the pro ones. They were actually better than Nancy (too bad code of points wasn't in effect at 92 Olympics because I believe Tonya would of had bronze, and Surya 4th, and Nancy might not of even made top 10).

Unfortunately poor Surya wasn't just finishing 2nd of these competitions, but 3rd or 4th - when she was clearly the best. It used to really upset me.

Unfortunately pro skating did not have fair marks, however I believe that many of the popular skaters received appearance fees in addition to whatever prize money they won. In a TSL interview, Mark Mitchell said that he felt very appreciated when he turned pro because he made a lot of money. Surya was a very popular pro skater plus she was very well received on Champions on Ice so I hope she received adequate compensation.

I cannot speak of the US circuit but I fear not. It is etched in my memory that my French local newspaper did an investigation around 2000 when an ice show advertising big names came to town and of all the skaters, only Surya bothered to show up. Spectators were really upset, understandably.
It turned out at the time, Candeloro's standard fee was 3000 euros a show and Surya's only 1000.

 

[Habs]

I certainly don't miss the stupidity of events with names like "Too Hot to Skate".

The name was ridiculous, but I LOVED the 1995 Too Hot to Skate. It was one of my favourites, I watched it over and over!

 

[cmk]

The last World pro- I understand Tara winning even with that program due to the jumps she did, and Yuka vs Surya always came down to artistry vs jumps. I totally believe Surya should of been the 94 world champ, but liked Yuka as well. Surya always seemed to beat Tonia K in pro events but I didn't get the love for Ruh. Ruh's spins were great, but the rest of skating was mediocre at best and she could not jump.