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

SkateGuard

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I came across this delightful (well, some would say crude but whatever) twitter exchange :D https://twitter.com/DougMattis/status/967651801901215744

...which made me think, "Hmmm, wasn't there an entry about 'special figures' in the Skate Guard blog some time ago" -- and of course there was! Thank you @N_Halifax, as always!

You're welcome... and who doesn't love Doug Mattis? He's hilarious!

The latest Skate Guard blog looks at the story of Alain Calmat, the first skater from France to win an Olympic medal in men's figure skating:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/02/i-came-i-saw-i-cured-alain-calmat-story.html
 

SkateGuard

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This month's edition of #Unearthed, An Inside Look At An Olympic Journey, is an account of Barbara Ann Scott's journey towards gold at the 1948 Winter Olympic Games penned by her coach Sheldon Galbraith:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/02/unearthed-inside-look-at-olympic-journey.html

Stay tuned to Skate Guard next month for all kinds of fascinating features... including a little Italian figure skating history to go along with this year's World Championships in Milan.
 

Maximillian

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This month's edition of #Unearthed, An Inside Look At An Olympic Journey, is an account of Barbara Ann Scott's journey towards gold at the 1948 Winter Olympic Games penned by her coach Sheldon Galbraith:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/02/unearthed-inside-look-at-olympic-journey.html

Stay tuned to Skate Guard next month for all kinds of fascinating features... including a little Italian figure skating history to go along with this year's World Championships in Milan.
Thanks for this, it's fascinating to read how important figures were (12 performed!) and the intricacies of technique involved, particulary when he was discussing Scott's control of edge and glide.
 

SkateGuard

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Thanks for this, it's fascinating to read how important figures were (12 performed!) and the intricacies of technique involved, particulary when he was discussing Scott's control of edge and glide.

If you haven't already seen it, the National Film Board has a wonderful video with footage of Barbara Ann performing figures... it really highlights how good she was!:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/introduction_art_of_figure_skating/

The latest Skate Guard blog is up... Demorest The Drunk Skater tells the tale of a 'publicity stunt' at a nineteenth century figure skating competition in America:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/03/demorest-drunk-skater.html
 

Bellanca

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If you haven't already seen it, the National Film Board has a wonderful video with footage of Barbara Ann performing figures... it really highlights how good she was!:

http://www.nfb.ca/film/introduction_art_of_figure_skating/

The latest Skate Guard blog is up... Demorest The Drunk Skater tells the tale of a 'publicity stunt' at a nineteenth century figure skating competition in America:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/03/demorest-drunk-skater.html
:HA!: I think the sport could use a Demorest or two in this day and age. ;) Help it out a little bit!

Thank you, @N_Halifax
 

SkateGuard

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SkateGuard

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SkateGuard

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Bellanca

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^ Great story about someone who had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Talk about multitasking.

Enjoyed! Thank you, @N_Halifax.
 
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SkateGuard

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^ Great story about someone who had accomplished so much in such a short amount of time. Talk about multitasking.

Enjoyed! Thank you, @N_Halifax.

I know, right?! Passion and drive can take you a long way quickly - and I'm guessing that in this case, Nils Posse's nobility didn't hurt his cause either.
 

SkateGuard

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SkateGuard

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All I can say about that eyewitness account is "Wow"!

Wrapping yourself in a carpet and sitting on a radiator to keep warm... it certainly makes today's complaints about bad rink food seem petty!

How inspriring their lives were! Thank you for bringing another awesome brother-sister-team to our attention, Ryan!

So glad that you enjoyed reading! I'm sure there will be more sibling teams covered in the future!

All competitions must be renamed back to “fancy skating championships”

I'd love that! ;) There was actually quite a push to replace the term 'fancy skating' with 'figure skating' at one time though... it was considered very old fashioned.

The latest Skate Guard blog is up! It looks back at the story of Roger Wickson, the first man from British Columbia to win a Canadian men's title:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/04/a-western-wonder-roger-wickson-story.html
 

Maximillian

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The latest two Skate Guard blogs...

The Whole Kit And Kaboodle: http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/04/the-whole-kit-and-kaboodle.html
The 1987 Skate Canada International Competition: http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca/2018/04/the-1987-skate-canada-international.html
Excellent piece on Skate Canada and intersting quote from Peter Dunfield on Thomas, I had been a big fan of Debi, but having watched her skating from back on then on Youtube recently, her slow-ness is really noticable. Interesting because Witt, Manley, Ito and Trenary were all very fast skaters.
 
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