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

Thank you so much, Ryan.
I've always been sorry that Ronnie Robertson didn't have even one World title to show for his great skill and contributions to the sport.
 
skatesindreams said:
Thank you so much, Ryan.
I've always been sorry that Ronnie Robertson didn't have even one World title to show for his great skill and contributions to the sport.
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You're most welcome! Ronnie definitely had a special talent, and although he never managed to win a World title he stole the show in the free skating in practically every event he entered. Definitely a star!

The latest Skate Guard, Patineuse Of Paris: The Gaby Barbey Story, explores the story of the leading lady of French figure skating during much of the Sonja Henie era:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/11/patineuse-of-paris-gaby-barbey-story.html
 
skatesindreams said:
My goodness!
What a fascinating career.

I regret having never heard of her, until now
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Competing against your own parents/coach was a new one for me! ;)
Weve3 said:
Ah, nice!! :40beers:
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Glad you enjoyed reading!

The latest Skate Guard blog is the final edition of the monthly #Unearthed series for 2017. Check out "Only A Pair Of Skates", a tale of nineteenth century skating in Canada with a holiday flavour:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/11/unearthed-only-pair-of-skates.html

I'd also love to recommend Greg Fox's new "Figure Skating Competition Handbook". It's a wonderful compendium of results from the late nineteenth century to present, peppered with historical info and photos. You can find it on the Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Figure-Skati...683_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1512076304&sr=1-8
 
Maximillian said:
Terrific report! Forgot that Ken Shelley won both pairs and men's singles, very impressive.
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Certainly was... especially so in an Olympic year!

The latest two Skate Guard blogs take a look at the unique stories of Fumio Igarashi, a 4X Japanese Champion & The 1978 Canadian Figure Skating Championships in Victoria, B.C.:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/12/a-talent-from-tokyo-fumio-igarashi-story.html

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-1978-canadian-figure-skating.html
 
Thanks for all of the fascinating "background" information.
There is always so much that we can't appreciate about every competition unless an "insider" shares!
 
skatesindreams said:
Thanks for all of the fascinating "background" information.
There is always so much that we can't appreciate about every competition unless an "insider" shares!
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Glad you enjoyed reading... it is always interesting to learn more about competitions from as many angles as possible! Two skaters sometimes have completely different recollections of how events played out, just as media from different countries can have different perceptions/slants as well.

The latest Skate Guard blog is up and explores the story of Montagu Monier-Williams, a Victorian era doctor whose books on the English Style influenced skating's development:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/12/montagu-monier-williams-doctor-who.html

There are still six more Skate Guard blogs left in 2017, including Christmas and New Year's 'editions'.
 
floskate said:
I had no idea that Erich Buch had married Charlotte Walter! She was a very graceful skater with beautiful extension and spirals but who just could not jump! I have a lot of the Buch's programs on DVD. Any requests @N_Halifax ?
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The name rings a bell, but Charlotte Walter isn't a skater I'm familiar with. Judging by your description, she definitely sounds like my cup of tea. The more videos of the Bucks the merrier but I'd in particular love to see their free dances from the 1971 Europeans and 1972 Worlds. :)
 
N_Halifax said:
The name rings a bell, but Charlotte Walter isn't a skater I'm familiar with. Judging by your description, she definitely sounds like my cup of tea. The more videos of the Bucks the merrier but I'd in particular love to see their free dances from the 1971 Europeans and 1972 Worlds. :)
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@N_Halifax Well I can fulfil one of those - the 1972 Worlds remain something of a holy grail I'm afraid. (Do you have any contacts with Canadian TV and their archives by any chance?)

Anyway here's a beautiful quality film of their 1971 Europeans FD from Zurich.
https://youtu.be/7woQMJkoBOs
 
^^ Thanks so much Ryan, and I'm forever grateful to you too @floskate! Wow, did you begin taping on video in the 1970s @floskate?! How do you have such an extensive treasure trove? Thanks for all the Youtube gifts you upload.

I love seeing this one of Val & Sandra Bezic at 1971 Worlds : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgY9prYOh8c :) (lots of jeers at the relatively low marks after their wonderful skate, for that time)
 
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Thanks so much for your kind words and Merry Christmas to all of you as well! Just posted a little Boxing Day present for you all, The Wondrous Tales Of McDonald, Wolfskill And Whitton:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2017/12/the-wondrous-tales-of-mcdonald.html

Still two more blogs coming in 2017, the latter being the annual New Year's Spectacular, which is a round-up of ten of my favourite pieces from the past year that you may have missed. Really excited to share all kinds of neat stuff with you all in 2018. I've got dozens and dozens of biographies, event recaps, quirky stories and other miscellania in the works... I think year six of this blog is going to be the most fun yet. ;)
 
I think it’s safe to assume that the men werent time travelers, so what exactly are they wearing? This is before Lycra or nylon but their tights seem awfully snug for cotton. Silk? This was way before pantyhose so they must have had a drawer string waist in lieu of elastic, all the more surprising how fitted they are in an era where ladies still relied on garters and wore baggy by todays standards stockings. Football and track uniforms were still quite baggy then. Was this purely the influence of ballet?
 
berthesghost said:
I think it’s safe to assume that the men werent time travelers, so what exactly are they wearing? This is before Lycra or nylon but their tights seem awfully snug for cotton. Silk? This was way before pantyhose so they must have had a drawer string waist in lieu of elastic, all the more surprising how fitted they are in an era where ladies still relied on garters and wore baggy by todays standards stockings. Football and track uniforms were still quite baggy then. Was this purely the influence of ballet?
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You raise an interesting question that I don't have an easy answer to. Many of the sources I've found note that during the 30's and before, 'special skating tights' for men were sold. Men were skating in tights in the late 1800's, long before ballet widely influenced free skating. A Swedish skater named Stenberg who competed in the Championships Of America in 1904 reportedly wore "regulation skating tights and jacket, with a round military skull cap on his head."

I dug out my copy of Lois and Richard Stephenson's book on skating fashion history - which is marvellously researched (!) - and they state these tights were made of a woollen knit material. Could I find an early 20th century ad for a place that sold them? Nope... Sonja Henie reportedly got her tights in Paris.
 
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