What's Old Is New Again: New Articles Re: Figure Skating History

[SkateGuard]

Starting a new catch-all thread to share and discuss ALL new articles re: figure skating history. As Mrs. Peacock said in Clue, "someone's got to get the ball rolling and it might as well be me..."

The latest Skate Guard blog, Minnie Cummings, The Minneapolis Skating Gypsy, introduces you to an entrepreneurial young skating queen from Minnesota who took North America by storm in the early twentieth century:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/minnie-cummings-minneapolis-skating.html

 

[SkateGuard]

In your blog about Minnie Cummings you mention she did a (Frank) Bacon whirl. What did that look like? And how about pivots and vine combinations? The way her skating is described made me wish I could watch her on the ice. Your digging up so many stories and people from the past makes me realise how there was a lot more going on in skating than average skating history often shows.

A really great book which offers some interesting descriptions of the differences between a lot of the different pivots and grapevines is the late George Meagher's "Lessons In Skating". It's in the public domain and there is a link online at https://archive.org/details/cihm_10464. The descriptions of the North American 'fancy skating' figures seem to differ exponentially from the descriptions and diagrams in British and Austrian skating books of the period, but by all accounts, Minnie was a pro at many of them. Skating history is far more complicated and less cut and dry than most glossy coffee table books will have you believe, and I really love digging up these stories. Tons more on the way!

The latest Skate Guard blog is a little lighter fare, a look at The 1978 Skate Canada International Competition in Vancouver, B.C.:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/the-1978-skate-canada-international.html

 

[skatesindreams]

I was familiar with the competition and the clips, Ryan.
However, I didn't know the backstory about Norton Skate/Skate America.

Thanks, as always.

 

[sadya]

Thank you very much for the link of the book.

 

[SkateGuard]

Glad you enjoyed reading the piece on Skate Canada '78, skatesindreams. I've been getting requests to try to do more pieces on skaters, events from the 70's, 80's so it was neat to look back at this one! Sadya, hope you are enjoying some of the fascinating material in Meagher's book.

This week on the blog, I'm exploring three tales from skating history that come out of a country that actually no longer exists... Czechoslovakia. The first of these blogs , Czech This Out: A Look At Early Czechoslovakian Skating History, offers a quick primer on the early history of figure skating in the region:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/czech-this-out-look-at-early.html

Also of interest to skating history buffs is PJ Kwong's @skatingpj podcast interview with Galit Chait:

http://www.openkwongdore.com/2016/08/15/episode-14-galit-chait-moracci/

 

[SkateGuard]

The second of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs explores the harrowing tale of how two future World Champions barely escaped Czechoslovakia with their lives. Read about The Defection Of The Jelinek's:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/the-defection-of-jelineks.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest ‪Skate Guard blog, Full Circle With Jiřina Nekolová, delves into the mysterious defection of one of Czechoslovakia's biggest figure skating sensations in the post-war era... and it's a tale that leads to more questions than answers:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/full-circle-with-jirina-nekolova.html

 

[suki]

Hi N Halifax. Your blog and stories on the history of figure skating are fascinating. Since you have been covering Czech skaters from the past, do you have any plans to write about one of my personal favorites. Hana Maskova? She finished third in the 1968 Olympics behind Peggy Fleming and Gabby Seyfert. She turned pro in 1969-1970, I think. Her story did not have a happy ending unfortunately.

 

[SkateGuard]

Hi N Halifax. Your blog and stories on the history of figure skating are fascinating. Since you have been covering Czech skaters from the past, do you have any plans to write about one of my personal favorites. Hana Maskova? She finished third in the 1968 Olympics behind Peggy Fleming and Gabby Seyfert. She turned pro in 1969-1970, I think. Her story did not have a happy ending unfortunately.

I'm familiar with Hana's story and her tragic death but I haven't yet put anything together on her! Will definitely add it to the list of requests. Do have something coming on Eva Romanová and Pavel Roman but it won't be until November.

 

[Artistic Skaters]

I came across this article today about Janet Lynn. (Apologies if it's already been shared, but I checked & did not find a post about it.)

*** Janet Lynn’s new book on Wagon Wheel Resort :

http://www.beloitdailynews.com/news...cle_9a2cf6fe-fd90-11e5-8c53-332551dd75e7.html

A new book by American figure skating great Janet Lynn will tell the story of the place her rise began in Rockton, at the now-defunct Wagon Wheel Resort’s Ice Palace.

 

[SkateGuard]

Thanks for sharing this, Artistic Skaters! Definitely need to pick up a copy of this one.

The Simcoe Reformer ran a piece today on the induction of Delhi's precision (synchro) team into the Norfolk Sports Hall Of Recognition:

http://www.simcoereformer.ca/2016/08/22/sports-hall-honours-delhi-champions

And... here's the latest Skate Guard blog, Lamartine Sur Le Lac: The Intoxification Of Skating:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/lamartine-sur-le-lac-intoxification-of.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The second of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs, Before Queen Yuna: A Glimpse At South Korean Skating History, sifts through some fascinating footnotes in the history of competitive figure skating in South Korea:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/before-queen-yuna-glimpse-at-south.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The third of this weeks trio of Skate Guard blogs dusts the cobwebs off The 1951 European Figure Skating Championships:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/the-1951-european-figure-skating.html

 

[SkateGuard]

Fascinating listen! On the latest @skatingpj podcast, PJ Kwong interviews Ted Barton. He talks about a wonderful piece of skating lore - Toller Cranston throwing his skates off the bridge - and the modern history of the evolution of judging:

http://www.openkwongdore.com/2016/08/29/episode-15-ted-barton/

 

[SkateGuard]

You've heard of Christmas in July... This month's edition of #Unearthed on Skate Guard brings you a little All Hallow's Eve In August. Read The Mad Skater: A Winter's Tale For Summer Reading:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/08/unearthed-mad-skater-winters-tale-for.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The second of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs, Skating At The Old Sanno Hotel, explores the sad fate of Japan's first indoor artificial skating rink:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/skating-at-old-sanno-hotel.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The third of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs, Soda, Sulfur And Cow Hair: How Skating Rinks Got Their Start, looks at the rather noxious early history of artificial ice skating rinks:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/soda-sulfur-and-cow-hair-how-skating.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The first of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs heads back in time to New York City in the 1910's for Dansants a Glace: Ice-Teas At The Hippodrome:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/dansants-glace-ice-teas-at-hippodrome.html

 

[SkateGuard]

In the second of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs - The 1917 Hippodrome Challenge Cup - we return to the Hippodrome for a competition where men and women competed headed head to head... and a woman emerged the victor:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-1917-hippodrome-challenge-cup.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The third of this week's trio of blogs, Earthquakes, Fires And Figure Eights: San Francisco Skating History, touches on some tremendously interesting tales from the early history of skating in San Francisco, California:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/earthquakes-fires-and-figure-eights-san.html

 

[SkateGuard]

I had a different piece ready for Skate Guard today, but put this together instead...

Mrs. Ellen Burka: Candor From A Canadian Figure Skating Legend

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/mrs-ellen-burka-candor-from-canadian.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest Skate Guard blog takes an ever so brief look at The 1931 Australian Figure Skating Championships:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-1931-australian-figure-skating.html

Also of interest to skating history buffs...

Various pieces re: Ellen Burka:

Toronto Star (Peter Goffin):
https://www.thestar.com/sports/2016...ure-skating-coach-ellen-burka-dies-at-95.html

The Algemeiner:
http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/09/1...nadian-hall-of-fame-figure-skater-dies-at-95/

Metro News Canada (John Chidley Hill): http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada...skating-coach-ellen-burka-dies-at-age-95.html

National Post (Sean Fitz-Gerald):
http://news.nationalpost.com/olympi...ionized-her-sport-and-kept-working-in-her-90s

Sportsnet (Janis Rosen):
http://www.sportsnet.ca/more/ellen-...-holocaust-survivor-leaves-remarkable-legacy/

The Frisky article on 25th anniversary of Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Scott Williams' program to it (Bronwyn Isaac):

http://www.thefrisky.com/2016-09-12...rit-18-years-ago-and-it-was-poetry-in-motion/

Stuff You Missed In History Class touched on Olympic history and the 1908 Olympics this week (no skating mention but some great context):

http://www.missedinhistory.com/podcasts/live-dma-coubertin.htm

 

[SkateGuard]

When you're dolled up in furs and dripping in diamonds, you put a target on your back. What many don't know is that 3X Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie was a persistent target of thieves... and she wasn't having any of it. Read all about it in the latest Skate Guard blog, The Henie Heists:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-henie-heists.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The first of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs heads back to Ye Olde England for Skating On The Moorfields: London's Peerless Pool:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/skating-on-moorfields-londons-peerless.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The second of this week's trio of Skate Guard blogs, The Cold War On Ice, looks at Peggy Fleming's history making television special filmed behind The Iron Curtain at a time when U.S. and Soviet relations were at their frostiest:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-cold-war-on-ice-peggy-fleming.html

 

[skatesindreams]

I will always be grateful to the poster who shared that on YT. I never forgot seeing it in 1973.
I nearly fainted when I found it, some time ago. I had been looking for the special for years.

After all this time, it's still extraordinary.

 

[SkateGuard]

I will always be grateful to the poster who shared that on YT. I never forgot seeing it in 1973.
I nearly fainted when I found it, some time ago. I had been looking for the special for years.

After all this time, it's still extraordinary.

Glad you enjoyed revisiting this wonderful TV special as much as I did. The poster was Elena Bogolyuobov, a wonderful skater in her own right!

The latest Skate Guard blog, A Virtuoso From Vienna: The Edi Rada Story, explores the fascinating story of an Olympic, World & European Champion from the forties who went on to an incredible coaching career in Canada:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/a-virtuoso-from-vienna-edi-rada-story.html

Some more fascinating new pieces relating to skating history out there this weekend:

Beverley Smith's 9/23 Globe And Mail piece on Mrs. Burka: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/spor...a-made-figure-skating-an-art/article32041781/

Winnipeg Free Press piece on Manitoba skate sharpener Gord Hymers: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/life/cutting-edge-business-394593701.html

 

[SkateGuard]

Pieces on the passing of Frances Dafoe:

The First Queen Of Canadian Pairs Skating: The Frances Dafoe Story (Skate Guard): http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/the-first-queen-of-canadian-pairs.html
Olympic figure skating silver medallist Frances Dafoe dies at 86 (CBC): http://www.cbc.ca/sports/olympics/winter/figureskating/frances-dafoe-death-figure-skating-1.3779574

Allison Manley's wonderful 2011 with Frances on The Manleywoman SkateCast: http://www.manleywoman.com/episode-55-frances-dafoe/

 

[SkateGuard]

Short WIFR TV piece on Janet Lynn and her book "The Wheel, Legacy Of Excellence":

http://www.wifr.com/content/news/Figure-skating-legend-Janet-Lynn-returns-home-394758891.html

This month's edition of #Unearthed is up on Skate Guard. It's a wonderful bio of legendary coach Gustave Lussi, penned by Cecily Morrow:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/09/unearthed-gustave-lussi-edition.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest Skate Guard blog explores A Skating Treatise From A Fallen Civil War Soldier:

http://www.facebook.com/SkateGuard
http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2016/10/a-skating-treatise-from-fallen-civil.html