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2025 has been a memorable year for figure skating. At the World Figure Skating Championships in Boston in March, Alysa Liu won America's first gold medal in the women's event at Worlds since 2006 and Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson won the United Kingdom's first medal in ice dancing since 1984. In the men's event, Ilia Malinin made history at the World Championships by becoming the first skater to land six different types of quadruple jumps - Salchow, toe loop, loop, flip, Lutz, and Axel - in a single program at an ISU Championship. At the same event, Mikhail Shaidorov also entered the record books as the first skater to successfully land the demanding triple Axel/Euler/quadruple Salchow combination at Worlds. At the European Championships in Tallinn, Niina Petrõkina made history as the first skater from Estonia to win a European title in any discipline. At the same event, Lukas Britschgi won Switzerland's first European men's title since 1947.
This year has also been a milestone one as a content creator. In addition to writing the blog and doing some freelance work, I released three new books: "Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice" in the spring and "A Complete History of the European Figure Skating Championships" and "A Complete History of the World Figure Skating Championships" in the fall. I've loved connecting with all of you about the books, and I hope you find them all interesting!
More than 10 years ago, Skate Guard Blog began as a place to share fascinating untold stories from figure skating's rich history. Thanks to your enthusiasm, encouragement & support, it has blossomed into something so much bigger - an archive of memories and a celebration of a sport we all love. The blog now averages over 21,000 views a month & has over 12,000 followers on Facebook - a pretty big deal for a passion project with a budget of zero. I'm deeply grateful to each & every one of you who has read, shared, and told people about the blog along the way. Whether you've been here since the early days or only recently discovered Skate Guard Blog, you are part of what makes this community so special.
Though 2025 has been a year full of special moments in figure skating, there have been some incredibly tragic moments as well. As we look back on the year, we all will take a moment to honour the memories of many members of the skating community we lost this year. Our hearts all go out to the family and friends of the members of our skating family who perished in the tragic crash of American Airlines Flight 5342 in January: Franco and Luciano Aparicio, Brielle and Justyna Beyer, Jinna and Jin Hee Han, Cory, Roger and Stephanie Haynos, Sean and Julia Kay, Alexandr Kirsanov, Spencer and Christine Lane, Alydia, Everly, Peter and Donna Livingston, Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, Olivia Ter and Olesya Taylor, Inna Volyanskaya, Angela Yang, Zheheng Li, Edward Zhou, Yu Zhou and Kaiyan Mao..
We also extend our sincerest condolences to the families and friends of many other beloved members of the skating community who we lost in 2025, including Dick Button, Sonya (Klopfer) Dunfield, Tassilo Thierbach, Dr. David McGillvray, William de Nance, Carole Ann Ormaca, Christian Steiner, Konstantin Kokora, Shirene Human, Anne Schelter, Pat Noddin, James Woollett, Margaret Vernal Greig, Heinz Kluetmeier, Sue Sutherland, Juul Haalmeyer, Noel Grimshaw, Charlie Wilcox, Whitney Young, Anne Šaraškin, Lynn Benson, Alexander Grishin, Jesse Berman, Julia Marie Gaiser, Karin Borner, Vladimir Kurenbin and Patricia Molony.
As is the case every year here on Skate Guard Blog, I like to close out the year by doing a little "roundup" of 10 of the most compelling stories that you may have missed over the past year. Happy New Year - and here’s to even more fascinating figure skating history in 2026.
Cecil Smith and Melville Rogers
10. MR. MINTO: THE MELVILLE ROGERS STORY
Melville Rogers was the first Canadian man to compete at the Winter Olympics in figure skating and a legend in the Ottawa and Canadian skating scene in his time. His story was explored on the blog back in March and you can read it here.
9. THE 1994 CANADIAN FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Were you Team Kurt or Team Elvis? If you love a little 90s skating nostalgia - and we all do! - you'll enjoy this throwback to the 1994 Canadian Championships in Edmonton, covered on the blog in July. You can read it here.
Michael Kirby
8. A SENSATION FROM SYDNEY: THE MICHAEL KIRBY STORY
Depending on your age, you may remember Michael Kirby as Sonja Henie's skating partner or as a coach, but did you know that he was the first skater born in Cape Breton to win the Canadian senior men's title? His story was covered on the blog in March and you can read it here.
E.T. Goodrich
7. EMPEROR OF SKATING SCIENCE: THE E.T. GOODRICH STORY
Chances are that you've never heard of E.T. Goodrich - but you definitely should! This globetrotting roller and ice skater skated with Jackson Haines and had a life story that was like something out of a great Britbox series. His story was covered on the blog in May and you can read it here.
6. THE 1970 WORLD FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
Held in the historic Slovenian capital of Ljubljana, the 1970 World Figure Skating Championships marked the first - and only - time Yugoslavia hosted the World Championships. In June, we took a trip back to the dawn of the Disco Decade to revisit this memorable event, which you can read about here.
Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet
5. BELGIAN GOLD: THE MICHELINE LANNOY AND PIERRE BAUGNIET STORY
Micheline Lannoy and Pierre Baugniet were the first skaters from Belgium to win a gold medal in pairs skating at the Winter Olympics and World Championships. Their fascinating story was covered on the blog in February and you can read it here.
Barbara Ann Scott and Tommy King
4. PUT A RING ON IT: GLIDING DOWN THE AISLE OF SKATING HISTORY
Everybody loves a wedding! This Skate Guard blog from April is delightful tour of memorable figure skating weddings - from Sonja Henie’s nuptials to Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov’s double ceremonies and quirky group weddings on the ice - showing that romance has long been part of the sport’s colourful history. You can read it here.
Violet and Leslie Cliff
This Skate Guard blog from February tells the fascinating story of British pair skaters Violet and Leslie Cliff, who dominated the British skating scene scene in the 1930s, won medals at the European and World Championships, competed at the 1936 Olympics, and later shared daring adventures in aviation alongside their skating careers. You can read it here.
Sonja Henie
2. COLD AS ICE: WHAT SONJA HENIE'S RIVALS WHISPERED BEHIND CLOSED DOORS
This Skate Guard blog from July delves into the behind‑the‑scenes rivalries from Sonja Henie's competitive heyday, showing how her extraordinary success was often accompanied by controversy and resentment. It’s interesting because it reveals a more complex, human side to one of figure skating’s legendary champions - exploring not just her triumphs but how she was perceived by those who shared the ice with her. You can read it here.
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Freddie Tomlins
1. NEVER FORGOTTEN: THE FREDDIE TOMLINS STORY
This Skate Guard blog from November recounts the life and legacy of British skating star Freddie Tomlins, celebrating his incredible talent on the ice, international success in the late 1930s, and magnetic showmanship before his promising career was cut short by his heroic service and death in World War II. You can read it here.
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 Facebook, Bluesky, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering one of eight fascinating books highlighting the history of figure skating: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.