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

[SkateGuard]

Other than The Duchesnays free dance, and Gordeeva & Grinkov's Romeo & Juliet long, the stand out moment was a scary fall experienced by Peggy Schwarz with Alexander Koenig. How she was able to continue after that, showed her mental and physical toughness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5F22bCCpcU

You have a very good point! Definitely a scary fall - quite surprising she kept going, especially with the rules at the time.

 

[SkateGuard]

The second of this week's #SkateGuard blogs is a look at the story of Paul Armitage, a U.S. Champion, judge and important American figure skating administrator during the roaring twenties:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/progress-and-prophecy-paul-armitage.html

 

[SkateGuard]

This week's Skate Guard blogs tell the stories of Brilliant Britons whose connections to figure skating are lesser remembered:

Part 1 (Kathleen Shaw, Ian Home Bowhill & Winter Randell Pidgeon):
https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/brilliant-britons-three-forgotten.html

Part 2 (Lady Ursula Blackwood, Basil Williams & The Chevalier Crowther): https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/brilliant-britons-three-more-forgotten.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The first of this week's duo of Skate Guard blogs is up. It's a look back at The 1958 U.S. Figure Skating Championships:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/the-1958-us-figure-skating-championships.html

 

[SkateGuard]

Yesterday's Skate Guard blog was a brief bio of 3X World Medallist and European Champion Max Bohatsch:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/tensteps-and-threes-max-bohatsch-story.html

I'm currently putting together another Reader Mail edition. If you have any questions about skating history you'd like me to tackle, please send them my way either in this thread or by PM.

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest #SkateGuard blog looks at Why Skating Shows Without Booze Don't Mix:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/why-skating-shows-without-booze-dont-mix.html

Also, an FYI - Reader Mail won't be until next week so if you have skating history questions, you still have time to get them in.

 

[SkateGuard]

This month's edition of #Unearthed is a real figure frenzy. Ten years before the elimination of school figures, a who's who of Canadian figure skating weighed in on their potential demise:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/unearthed-how-do-you-figure-it.html

 

[skatesindreams]

Fascinating perspective, especially from the skaters themselves!

 

[SkateGuard]

Fascinating perspective, especially from the skaters themselves!

I thought so too, skatesindreams!

This week's Skate Guard blogs are up...

Reader Mail edition: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/emptying-mail-bag.html
Rhythm Girl: The Lois Dworshak Story: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/rhythm-girl-lois-dworshak-story.html

 

[SkateGuard]

This week's Skate Guard blogs..

The 1970 Canadian Figure Skating Championships: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-1970-canadian-figure-skating.html

Camel Spins In The Caribbean: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/camel-spins-in-caribbean.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest Skate Guard blog looks at the story of Marcella May Willis and Jimmy Lochead Jr., 2X U.S. Dance Champions during World War II:

California Dreamin': The Marcella May Willis And Jimmy Lochead Jr. Story

Everything you want to know about the history of figure skating in one place! An authoritative archive of over a century of figure skating history.

skateguard1.blogspot.com

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest Skate Guard blog is up! It is a feature on 3X World Medallists, North American Champions & U.S. Champions Lorna Dyer and John Carrell:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/science-meets-art-lorna-dyer-and-john.html

 

[skatesindreams]

The latest Skate Guard blog is up! It is a feature on 3X World Medallists, North American Champions & U.S. Champions Lorna Dyer and John Carrell:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/science-meets-art-lorna-dyer-and-john.html

Thank you for sharing their amazing story.
There was so much we didn't know, at the time!

 

[SkateGuard]

Thank you for sharing their amazing story.
There was so much we didn't know, at the time!

Putting this piece together was a lot of fun. Lorna was very candid in our interview and had some fascinating stories!

 

[SkateGuard]

New to Skate Guard this week...

The 1922 European And World Figure Skating Championships: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-1922-european-and-world-figure.html

June edition of #Unearthed (Gordeeva and Grinkov in 1987): https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/06/unearthed-champions-again.html

 

[SkateGuard]

This week's Skate Guard blogs...

Walter Arian: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/a-game-changer-walter-arian-story.html

The 1964 Canadian Championships: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-1964-canadian-figure-skating.html

 

[SkateGuard]

This week's Skate Guard blogs are up!

Edith Secord: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/a-champion-of-two-countries-edith.html

The 1957 U.S. Championships: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-1957-us-figure-skating-championships.html

 

[SkateGuard]

Two very special blogs to share this week!

Tim Brown: http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/rockers-and-risks-tim-brown-story.html

The 1995 Canadian Championships (featuring 30 'New To You(tube)' videos from the event): http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/the-1995-canadian-figure-skating.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest Skate Guard blog explores the story of Dr. Hulda Berger: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/07/you-cant-handle-tooth-dr-hulda-berger.html

 

[SkateGuard]

The latest Skate Guard blog is up and can be found at http://skateguard1.blogspot.ca. I'll no longer be sharing each week's articles or discussing them on FSUniverse but as always, you will find 2 new articles shared on the blog's social media accounts - Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

 

[alj5]

Ok fine, you've got a new follower. Just because I don't always comment don't mean it's not my absolute favorite thread in the Trash Can.

 

[jersey1302]

The latest #SkateGuard blog looks at Why Skating Shows Without Booze Don't Mix:

https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2019/05/why-skating-shows-without-booze-dont-mix.html

Also, an FYI - Reader Mail won't be until next week so if you have skating history questions, you still have time to get them in.

LOL the sure death of the click heels spread eagle really made me laugh.. killed me.. not literally

 

[Bellanca]

I enjoyed the article,

Why Skating Shows Without Booze Don't Mix

Everything you want to know about the history of figure skating in one place! An authoritative archive of over a century of figure skating history.

skateguard1.blogspot.com

Thank you.

"The moral of the story? Skating shows without booze just do not mix."
Simply glorious!

 

[Sylvia]

Time to revive the thread for @SkateGuard's blog! http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/

From December 2016:

ISU statement on the death of Lawrence Demmy, the first man to win a World title in ice dance:

New working link to the news item (Communication No. 2063 dated December 14, 2016) on the ISU website: https://www.isu.org/docman-document...rchives/547-2063-death-of-lawrence-demmy/file

For those of you looking to learn a little more about Lawrence's career, here's a February 2015 interview with his partner Jean Westwood:

http://skateguard1.blogspot.com/2015/02/interview-with-jean-westwood.html

Tweeted on July 28, 2022: https://twitter.com/SkateGuardBlog/status/1552799087132639232

The skating world has lost a legend. Jean Westwood passed away in BC at the age of 90 on Tuesday. Though she is perhaps best remembered for her love of dogs and incredible coaching career both in Canada and down in the States, Jean was the original queen of ice dance.
She was the first woman to win a gold medal in the discipline at both the World and European Championships. Jean and her partner Lawrence Demmy were the first in a long line of successful British ice dance teams to strike gold under the tutelage of Miss Gladys Hogg.
Jean also won two European titles (1954-1955), two British ice dance titles (1954-1955) and the British junior pairs title (1952 season).
After moving to North America, Jean partnered up with Bill Kipp, one of the incredible American coaches who passed away in the Sabena Crash in 1961.
They stole the show in carnivals, earning standing ovations nightly. A fellow skater once said, "Any guy dancing with Jean could just hang on and soar." Jean had a fabulous sense of humour and was extremely generous with her time and knowledge over the years. She will be missed.

Skate Canada BC/YK Section Mourns the Passing of Jean Westwood: https://www.skatinginbc.com/news/skate-canada-bcyk-section-mourns-passing-jean-westwood
Excerpt:

Jean also taught Victor Kraatz when he first arrived in British Columbia and helped mentor him to pursue his competitive career back east in Quebec where he eventually met and partnered with Shae Lynne Bourne.
Jean's positive and upbeat personality not only guided skaters through generations here in BC but also had an impact on other coaches in our province while they pursued their passion and profession.
Jean's other passion was her love of dogs as she was one of the best dog breeders in Canada.

British Ice Skating's Jean Westwood Obituary:

Jean Westwood Obituary

JEAN WESTWOOD 1931 - 2022Jean Westwood MBE, with partner Lawrence Demmy MBE, was the World Champion for four consecutive years, 1952 – 1955 and European Champion in 1954 and 1955. With Lawrence, she was part of the very first team to win the World Figure Skating Championships in ice dancing at...

www.iceskating.org.uk