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The St. Ivel Saga

Skating vest with St. Ivel logo, circa 1980

First held in 1973, Skate Canada International holds the distinction of being the oldest of the events that comprise the Grand Prix circuit today. Just five years after the first Skate Canada in Calgary, another international event cropped up that quickly became one of the most prestigious autumn invitational competitions of its day. Today we'll explore the story of the glittering rise and fall of the St. Ivel competition in England.

Rising out of the ashes of World War II, The Richmond Trophy was first held at London's Richmond Ice Rink in 1949. Sponsored by the National Skating Association, the event was a women's only affair that lasted for three decades. In its early years, many of the competitors were the international pupils of famed instructor Arnold Gerschwiler but in time, a who's who of women's figure skating from around the globe came to Richmond to compete. Olympic Medallists Dorothy Hamill, Sjoukje Dijkstra, Christine Errath, Dianne de Leeuw and Nicole Hassler were among the winners. It sparked a spin-off (pardon the pun) in the Edinburgh Trophy, an international women's event held in Scotland from 1966 to 1971, first won by Trixi Schuba.

Kay Barsdell and Ken Foster, Ruth Lindsey and Alan Beckwith, Janet Thompson and Warren Maxwell and Robin Cousins in a promotional picture for the first Rotary Watches Ice International, 1978. Photo courtesy "Robin Cousins: Skating For Gold", Howard Bass.

During the 1977/1978 season, the Swiss company Rotary Watches Ltd. sponsored the British Primary and Junior Championships. It later announced its interest in sponsoring an international figure skating competition in England, which was their biggest market at the time. Rotary Watches had provided timepieces to the British military during World War II, and they were still a major household name in the UK decades later. An important player behind the scenes in making this event happen was Arnold Gerschwiler, Richmond Ice Rink's head instructor.

The first Rotary Watches Ice International was slated for October 11 and 12, 1978, less than a month before The Richmond Trophy. Some opposed the idea of holding a new international competition weeks before the already well-established event, believing the skating calendar was already too full. Despite their protestations, the event went off... but not as planned.

The idea the organizers had envisioned was a team competition for singles skaters and ice dancers. A series of unfortunate events caused things to unravel quickly. In a report in "Skating" magazine, skating historian Dennis Bird recalled, "The original intention was to invite one man, one lady and one couple from seven countries - Canada, USA, Japan, Czechoslovakia, West Germany, USSR and Britain. The Canadian's felt the event was too close to Skate Canada and did not compete. The German's, Czech's and Japanese sent their current champions. The USA sent its Lady Champion and a strong contender for the men's event but no couple. A French couple was invited instead, abandoning the team concept. This was the first international men's event organized in Great Britain since the 1950 World Championships. Good results for the hosts were eroded, however, as one misfortune after another befell the British team. World bronze medallist Robin Cousins withdrew with a stress fracture, British Lady Champion Karena Richardson developed bronchitis, the second and third placed girls were unavailable so the fourth ranked girl competed and became ill during the free skating and withdrew. Finally, British Dance Champion Janet Thompson pulled an Achilles tendon. The organizers were faced with further problems when the Russian team arrived. Their lady skater, Tatiana Mikhailova, signed in with a different name, and proved to be a substitute - Inna Tcherkasova. The Russian male skater did not come at all. Michel Lotz of France was quickly invited and competed in his place." Sandra Stevenson recalled the incident with the Soviet woman a little differently five years later in "Tracings" magazine. She wrote, "It was discovered near the end [after she'd skated] that a Russian woman was not the listed competitor at all, but a different skater. Frustrated, the... sponsors insisted on making it clear that they would not pay for unapproved substitutions. Unfortunately, the Britons sent this forcibly-worded warning to every country with the result that the U.S. became upset and refused to send a team." Amidst this backdrop of chaos, America's Linda Fratianne, Japan's Fumio Igarashi and Great Britain's Janet Thompson and Warren Maxwell made history as the first champions of the event. Sonia Bianchetti Garbato, Jane Vaughn Sullivan, Lawrence Demmy, Sally Ann Stapleford, Junko Hiramatsu and Pauline Borrajo were among the officials.

Karena Richardson performing her bronze medal winning skate at Rotary Watches International in 1979

The second Rotary Watches Ice International was held in early October of 1979. Japan's Emi Watanabe won the women's competition, defeating West Germany's Dagmar Lurz, who would soon win the Olympic bronze medal. Future Olympic Medallists Robin Cousins and Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay snactched the gold medals in men's and ice dance. Cousins' win over Igor Bobrin and Brian Pockar was a testament to his grit - he was suffering from a case of food poisoning and barely slept the night before the short program. He rallied in the free skate and landed four triples, debuting his new Olympic program. The next year, the St. Ivel dairy company - famous for their Golden Meadow butter and Lactic cheese - took over the title sponsorship of the event and added a pairs event.

Elizabeth Manley, Jill Trenary and Inga Gauter on the St. Ivel podium in 1986. Photo courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive.

Despite the proliferation of many new international competitions in the same period that St. Ivel International emerged, the competition proved to be a huge success year after year, consistently drawing some of the best skaters in the world to England to give their new programs a 'test run' early every season.

Left: Brian Pockar. Right: Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini. Photos courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive.

Among the winners from 1980 to 1987 were future Olympic medallists Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, Brian Boitano, Brian Orser, Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall, Paul Wylie, Debi Thomas, Maya Usova and Alexander Zhulin and Elizabeth Manley. World Champions Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini and Elaine Zayak were also St. Ivel Champions. 


Over the years, St. Ivel International played host to many dramatic moments, both on and off the ice. Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean received perfect 6.0's for their "Mack and Mabel" free dance in 1981, including one from the Soviet judge. Brian Orser submitted his music on cassette the same year and was informed it was almost a minute too short. With a hastily re-edited program, he won anyway. When Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin were no-show's at the event in 1984, a rumour circulated that Bestemianova was pregnant. Lyudmila Pakhomova set the record straight. She was the Soviet ice dancing queen that was expecting, not Bestemianova. In 1987, Bestemianova and Bukin finally made the trek to perform exhibitions for the appreciative St. Ivel audience. Perhaps most famously, ice dancers Anna Pisánská and Jiří Musil refused to return home to Czechoslovakia after the 1980 event and were granted political asylum.

Kurt Browning at Skate Electric. Photo courtesy Elaine Hooper, BIS Archive.

In the autumn of 1988, St. Ivel International was reincarnated as Skate Electric. Kurt Browning won the inaugural men's competition at the event, despite missing his bus to the practice the day of the free skate.

Charlene Wong after winning Skate Electric

Canadian skaters Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler, Charlene Wong, Norm Proft and Christine Hough and Doug Ladret also scored Skate Electric victories in the event's final years. At the 1988 event, Michelle McDonald and Mark Mitchell finished sixth in the compulsory dances but second in the Charleston OSP - an extremely rare instance of drastic 'movement' in ice dance during that era. 


Perhaps most interesting is the fact that during the 1989/1990 season, Skate Electric was the only major autumn international competition to include school figures. Knowing that their elimination was imminent at the 1990 World Championships, many federations took advantage of an ISU rule that allowed organizers to cut the unpopular three's and eight's in hopes of attracting more skaters.


How did it all end? Well, Skate Electric's sponsor was the Electricity Council, which oversaw the electricity supply industry in England and Wales at the time. As part of a commitment to sponsor figure skating events in the UK, the Council not only sponsored the Skate Electric competition, but also the Welsh Open, a Sport Aid Ice Gala in Birmingham, the British Ice and Roller Skating Championships and speed skating champion Wilf O'Reilly. In late July of 1989, the Electricity Act was signed, privatizing the industry in England and putting an end to sponsorship dollars. 

The final Skate Electric was held in the autumn of 1990, with a planned 1991 competition quietly cancelled. The last event in 1990 bore witness to a defining moment in figure skating history. When the competition began, there were representatives from both East and West Germany. An ISU meeting held during the event ratified a proposal from both the East and West German federations that there be only one German federation within the ISU. Ronny Winkler made history in the men's event as the first skater in decades to win a medal in international competition representing a unified Germany. The fact that a peace-defining moment for German skaters was made on British ice did not go unnoticed.

MEDALLISTS AT ROTARY WATCHES/ST.IVEL/SKATE ELECTRIC

MEN


Year

Winner

2nd

3rd

1978

Fumio Igarashi

David Santee

Miroslav Šoška

1979

Robin Cousins

Igor Bobrin

Brian Pockar

1980

Brian Pockar

Scott Hamilton

Fumio Igarashi

1981

Brian Orser

David Santee

Rudi Cerne

1982

Brian Orser

Norbert Schramm

Tom Dickson

1983

Heiko Fischer

Gary Beacom

Falko Kirsten

1984

Brian Boitano

Viktor Petrenko

Grzegorz Filipowski

1985

Brian Orser

Grzegorz Filipowski

Christopher Bowman

1986

Daniel Doran

Oliver Höner

Richard Zander

1987

Paul Wylie

Kurt Browning

Heiko Fischer

1988

Kurt Browning

Christopher Bowman

Ronny Winkler

1989

Todd Eldredge

Grzegorz Filipowski

Vladimir Petrenko

1990

Norm Proft

Ronny Winkler

Erik Larson

WOMEN


Year

Winner

2nd

3rd

1978

Linda Fratianne

Emi Watanabe

Dagmar Lurz

1979

Emi Watanabe

Dagmar Lurz

Karena Richardson

1980

Sandy Lenz

Tracey Wainman

Sanda Dubravčić

1981

Tracey Wainman

Jackie Farrell

Karen Wood

1982

Elaine Zayak

Tracey Wainman

Cornelia Tesch

1983

Tiffany Chin

Manuela Ruben

Karen Wood

1984

Kathryn Adams

Cynthia Coull

Claudia Villiger

1985

Debi Thomas

Susan Jackson

Joanne Conway

1986

Elizabeth Manley

Jill Trenary

Inga Gauter

1987

Caryn Kadavy

Patricia Neske

Joanne Conway

1988

Charlene Wong

Joanne Conway

Beatrice Gelmini

1989

Tonia Kwiatkowski

Simone Koch

Patricia Neske

1990

Holly Cook

Lisa Sargeant

Surya Bonaly

PAIRS


Year

Winner

2nd

3rd

1979

Nellie Cherkvotina and Victor Teslia

Christina Riegel and Andreas Nischwitz

Susan Garland and Robert Daw

1980

Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini

Inna Volyanskaya and Valery Spiridonov

Susan Garland and Robert Daw

1981

Lorri Baier and Lloyd Eisler

Vicki Heasley and Peter Oppehard

Susan Garland and Ian Jenkins

1982

Lyudmila Koblova and Andrei Kalitin

Melinda Kunhegyi and Lyndon Johnston

Susan Garland and Ian Jenkins

1983

Birgit Lorenz and Knut Schubert

Cynthia Coull and Mark Rowsom

Lea Ann Miller and Bill Fauver

1984

Inna Bekker and Sergei Likhanski

Katy Keeley and Joseph Mero

Laureen Collin and David Howe

1985

Natalie and Wayne Seybold

Christine Hough and Doug Ladret

Yulia Bystrova and Alexander Tarasov

1986

Christine Hough and Doug Ladret

Michelle Menzies and Kevin Wheeler

Gillian Wachsman and Todd Waggoner

1987

Denise Benning and Lyndon Johnston

Peggy Schwarz and Alexander König

Gillian Wachsman and Todd Waggoner

1988

Peggy Schwarz and Alexander König

Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov

Cheryl Peake and Andrew Naylor

1989

Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler

Kellie Creel and Bob Pellaton

Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný

1990

Christine Hough and Doug Ladret

Elena Nikonova and Nikolai Apter

Radka Kovaříková and René Novotný

ICE DANCE


Year

Winner

2nd

3rd

1978

Janet Thompson and Warren Maxwell

Liliana Řeháková and Stanislav Drastich

Natalia Karamysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn

1979

Krisztina Regőczy and András Sallay

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

Natalia Karamysheva and Rostislav Sinitsyn

1980

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

Elena Garanina and Igor Zavozin

Karen Barber and Nicky Slater

1981

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean

Karen Barber and Nicky Slater

Wendy Sessions and Stephen Williams

1982

Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert

Karen Barber and Nicky Slater

Elena Batanova and Alexei Soloviev

1983

Karen Barber and Nicky Slater

Carol Fox and Richard Dalley

Wendy Sessions and Stephen Williams

1984

Tracy Wilson and Rob McCall

Natalia Annenko and Genrikh Sretenski

Susie Wynne and Joseph Druar

1985

Natalia Annenko and Genrikh Sretenski

Suzanne Semanick and Scott Gregory

Klára Engi and Attila Tóth

1986

Kathrin and Christoff Beck

Sharon Jones and Paul Askham

Isabelle and Paul Duchesnay

1987

Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin

Sharon Jones and Paul Askham

Lia Trovati and Roberto Pelizzola

1988

Maya Usova and Alexandr Zhulin

Sharon Jones and Paul Askham

Suzanne Semanick and Ron Kravette

1989

Angelika Krylova and Vladimir Leliukh

Jeanne Miley and Michael Verlich

Isabelle Sarech and Xavier Debernis

1990

Stefania Calegari and Pasquale Camerlengo

Sophie Moniotte and Pascal Lavanchy

Lisa Bradby and Alan Towers


Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on FacebookTwitterPinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.