2025

Emperor Of Skating Science: The E.T. Goodrich Story

The son of Margaret Elizabeth (Clark) and Erastus Hickman Goodrich, Erastus Timothy 'E.T. Goodrich was born July 25, 1846, in Buffalo, New York. He was the youngest of four children, having two older brothers (Edson and Ezra) and an older sister (Louisa). His father was a respected jeweler and watchmaker.

The Goodrich family moved to Chicago during The Civil War and E.T. became involved in the family business. At the time, Chicago was host to a burgeoning skating community, with skating clubs formed at the Ogden and North Side rinks and two more rinks on Wabash Avenue and the West Side. It was in The Windy City that E.T. cultivated his skill in his favourite winter pursuit: 'fancy' skating. At five foot eleven, with dark hair and piercing blue eyes, he was a striking figure on the ice.

At the time E.T. was impressing Chicagoans with his skating prowess, 'fancy' skating competitions were fraught with serious drama. Skating rinks and promoters throughout Canada, the Eastern Seaboard and the Midwest organized many competitions billed as the Championships of America, Canada or North America, offering medals, trophies or cash prizes. Newspapers of the era were resplendent with advertisements where a top skater would 'challenge' another skater to compete against them. In January of 1867, E.T. travelled to Pittsburgh to compete in one such skating 'fancy' skating contest. He won first prize, taking home a gold medal and a four hundred dollar cash prize - a princely sum in those days. In winning, he defeated many of the top skaters of his day, including Callie Curtis, William H. Bishop, Captain John Miner and J.J. Engler.

Without fail, William H. Bishop (who went by the 'stage name' Frank Swift) issued a challenge to E.T. in the "New York Clipper". A letter published in November of 1867 read, "From Mr. E.T. Goodrich's non-acceptance of my challenge issued October 12th, I would infer that he is afraid to meet me. I do not claim to be a swifter skater than he is and do not wish to have the meaning of my challenge misconstrued. I am a 'fancy skater' and as such would have Mr. Goodrich understand that I wish to skate against him. I would also say that I do not consider him the Champion of America, as the match in which he won his medal took place in a part of the country where skating is in its infancy, and the judges, men who did not understand the first principles of skating, in fact had to have most of the movements explained to them. I hereby re-challenge Mr. Goodrich to skate at a match at 'fancy skating' on ice for $300 a side, to take place at New York, Philadelphia or Boston, between the 15th and 31st of Dec. 1867. Each to choose two judges and they select a referee. The match to be skated according to N.Y. Club Rules, Mr. G. to be allowed to wear 'ankle supporters'... If he is not afraid to skate with me he will certainly accept."

E.T. ultimately did accept William H. Bishop's challenge, competing in a three-day 'fancy' skating contest for 'best three in five' in Albany, New York in December of that year for a two thousand dollar prize. A report in the December 28, 1867 issue of the "New York Clipper" noted, "Half of the movements on the programme were executed when one of Goodrich's skates broke. Mr. Swift being willing, the judges decided to postpone the match till the following day. On Saturday, at 3 PM, the match was resumed. The remainder of the programme was gone through with, both doing their utmost to excel. The crowd was divided in the opinion as to their merits of the men, but it was generally conceded that the accident to Goodrich's skates lost him the match." In a rematch on Union Pond, E.T. defeated William forty-two points to forty. The two men had to perform no less than twenty-five figures and specialties.

E.T.'s prize winnings from these 'fancy' skating contests, coupled with his earnings from the family jewelry business, no doubt made him realize there was money to be made in skating. Skating alone and in a pair, he made the rounds in Vaudeville-style theatre shows in New York, skating alongside minstrel acts. In 1869, he dazzled audiences in Cleveland and Chicago productions of "Humpty Dumpty", performing a duet with 'skatorial queen' Carrie Augusta Moore. In a March 3, 1889 interview published in "The Sunday Leader", E.T. recalled, "Tony [Denier] in connection with a man named Ellsler, had purchased the sole right of that wonderfully successful pantomime show of Fox. Tony was the clown, Joseph M. Sloan took the part of Pantaloon; Harry Leslie, the celebrated tightrope walker, was Harlequin; Mlle. Auriole, Columbine, and Louisa Sylvester made a very lovely burlesque. Clara Morris was in the cast. She was a ballet dancer in those days and played the part of Romance, one of the leading characters. She looked very pretty in tights and tinsel and made quite a hit... I had been performing in 'Humpty Dumpty', imitating the ludicrous evolutions of a novice on the ice, when I had the misfortune to fall and break my arm. [Frank] Swift took my place and did remarkably well. I was with George L. Fox, the clown and original Humpty Dumpty, at the old Olympic theatre in New York, for over two years. Quite an attachment sprang up between us. When the [Christy minstrel show] company went on the road I accompanied them. This was the beginning of my famous tour around the world."

E.T. arrived in England in the fall of 1869. He recalled, "I had formed a partnership with [Alfred] Moe. He was a magnificent skater and a splendid fellow. We did the carnival act [from 'Humpty Dumpty'] and made a big bit. The English people had never seen roller skating before. It was a good company from top to bottom. Archie Hughes was bones, Walter Howard tambourine and Arthur Fitzgerald interlocutor. We were at St. James' Hall in Liverpool for several weeks and did a famous business. It was during my connection with the show that I skated in the presence of the Queen [Victoria] and the rest of the royal family. I never saw a woman laugh so heartily as she did over my imitation of the adventures incidental to the skating tyro. The papers [the] next day gave us a great send-off. We were made lions of and nothing would do when we got to London but Moe and myself must give an exhibition on the ice. So on Sunday afternoon, we gave the exhibition, skating in Victoria Park between 12 and 1 o'clock, in St. James' Park between 2 and 3 and Regent's Park during the next hour. I never saw such crowds at a skating performance before."

E.T. and Alfred Moe were billed in England as 'The Champion Skaters', though they had never entered a competition together. In his 1897 book "On The Outside Edge: Being Diversions In The History Of Skating", George Herbert Fowler claimed, "The Mohawk step was probably introduced to England on rollers by [Alfred] Moe and [E.T.] Goodrich in 1869-70. It seems to have then been transferred from rollers to ice, and christened at the London Skating Club about 1879." Edgar Syers shared Fowler's belief that the Mohawk was first performed on rollers. In the 1900 edition of "The Encyclopædia Of Sport", he remarked, "I believe that the Mohawk steps were first skated by the professionals Moe and Goodrich at the Crystal Palace Roller Rink in 1870, and afterwards skated and named at the... Skating Club."

E.T. found love in England, marrying Elise 'Lizzie' Marion Hutchins, the daughter of a Captain in the Merchant Service, in May of 1870. Alfred Moe and his wife Sarah were the attendants at their wedding and the marriage certificate listed E.T.'s occupation as Skater. That summer, instead of a typical honeymoon, the Goodrichs and Moes headed to Norway, where E.T. and Alfred wowed the people of Oslo with their roller skating talent. E.T. recalled, "While in London we contracted with the people who were running the 'Black Crook' at the Crystal Palace, and when Jarrett & Palmer bought this spectacular play we were brought back to New York. Jarrett spent $45,000 in putting the play on the boards in Niblo's Garden. We opened on the night of Monday, Dec. 12, 1870. Pauline Markham was cast as Stalacta, queen of the Golden Realm. She was a beautiful woman and soon had all Gotham at her feet. As soon as our contract expired, Moe and myself started for Europe again, refusing big salaries to continue our engagement with Jarrett & Palmer. There was too much money abroad. We started in Alexandra Hall, in Manchester, and made a complete tour of Europe and Asia. When in St. Petersburg, the Czar decorated us with gold medals. Most of the time we were with circus troupes."

Upon E.T.'s return to America, he took over his father's role in the family business. He and his wife Lizzie adopted a son, but a year later E.T.'s partner in the jewelry business retired, leading to the dissolution of the firm. He decided to refocus on skating, forming a new partnership with his former competitor Callie Curtis. If that name sounds familiar he was the one who dolled himself up in his best Victorian drag in an attempt to win the prize money in a 'ladies' fancy skating contest' in 1869. E.T. and Callie each had their own specialties. E.T. was known for his spread eagle jump and rocker steps; Callie for his flying corkscrew toe-spin and Curtis Star. In 1874, they appeared in productions at Fox's American Theatre in Philadelphia and The Howard Athenæum (Old Howard Theatre) in Boston.

E.T. and Callie's successes in Philadelphia and Boston led them to go on a European tour of their own. In England in May of 1874, they appeared in minstrel shows as 'Champion Skaters of the World', 'Knights of Icy Steel' and 'Emperors of Skating Science'. That summer, they appeared in a series of shows at a former equestrian theatre in Paris known as the Cirque des Champs-Elysées. Their performances were so novel to La Belle Époque spectators that author Frédéric Dillaye remarked, "I slipped away wondering if the sight of skaters in the middle of summer had not a harmful influence on some brains."

In the winter of 1874-75, E.T. and Callie travelled to Russia, where they crossed paths with Jackson Haines. In a 1911 letter that was later cited in Fritz Reuel's 1928 "Das Eissportbuch", E.T. remarked, "Curtis and I were in St. Petersburg and gave in a covered ice rink performances when [Haines] got there too and suggested that all three of us should go to Helsingfors in Finland, where he had been before, and give a series of performances. We were significantly better than he, both as far as demonstration and actual skill were concerned, that was not subject to comparison; and he saw that

and left us the next week. Curtis and I stayed another week or two more. All he could do was about: figure eight on one foot, one vine, pirouette on both feet and a jump from forward to backward

with a long run in a pose-like position and lots of dancing to the music." E.T. and Callie ultimately followed Jackson Haines to Finland. The trio gave a series of performances together in Kaisaniemi Park in Helsinki in February of 1875, just months before Haines' death.

E.T. and Callie Curtis proved tremendously popular in Russia and Scandinavia before they toured the Continent with a small American gymnastics troupe. They performed before a who's who of European royalty, including the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII), Czar Alexander II of Russia and Emperor Wilhelm I of Prussia. They even skated hand-in-hand on the ice with King Alfonso XII of Spain. An account of one of their productions in Linz, Austria, published in the "Tages-Post" in February 5, 1878, highlights their audience appeal: "They first gave solo exhibitions in elegant costumes, with medals of honour adorned and then skated as a pair, with Curtis dressed as the girl of modern of times, charmingly dressed... They both appeared to be newbies to skating, behaving in the most comical way and awkward manner. The gentleman wanted to show himself gallant and lead the lady in the sleigh, which he succeeded to do so badly that the sled and its contents are tumbling all over and the lady finally gets stuck in the overturned sled. The way she gets out of this uncomfortable situation is the funniest thing you can think of."

After their successes in Austria, E.T. and Callie continued their European tour, appearing in Estonia on rollers (1878), at the Zoological Gardens in St. Petersburg, Russia on rollers (1878), in Christiana (Oslo) and Norway at the Tivoli Theatre on rollers (1878). They starred on ice in the Carnival sur la Glace at the Cirque d'Hiver (Cirque Napoléon) in Paris (March 1879) and appeared in shows on ice at the Palais de Glace and on rollers at The Folies Bergère (Autumn 1879). Not long after, E.T. and Callie parted ways. Curtis married 'Miss Niagara', an underwater artist at the Furst Theatre, and lived in Vienna for a time before settling in a suburb of Hamburg and opening a restaurant.

Callie Curtis and his understated moustache

E.T. remembered Callie Curtis fondly. In his 1889 interview with "The Sunday Leader", he remembered, "Callie Curtis joined me along about 1873. We made a tour of the States first and then started abroad. We had some very funny experiences together during the carnival scene. While we were with Chiarini's Royal Italian circus a brilliant special performance for the benefit of the King of Denmark was given. I will never forget how mystified he was at our evolutions and would not be satisfied until he had examined our skates to satisfy him that we were not governed by some mysterious influence. Curtis and myself were traveling until 1879. Then I formed my own company. This was a very successful combination. There were five of us in the company, including my wife, who was a skater, and our little boy Bert, who was known as the 'infant prodigy'. Besides our skating entertainment we had a novelty known as 'The Batterie de Cuisine'. Dressed as cooks we would by the aid of pots and pans produce some very excellent although eccentric music with finer graduations of expressions than might be thought possible. We could render airs from 'La Fille de Mme. Angot', 'Les Cloches of Corneville', 'Tout a la Joie', and other music that was popular so long abroad. The troupe was consolidated with Chiarini's circus afterward, and we continued together until shortly after the famous performance under the distinguished patronage of His Highness The Maharajah of Jahore, India, on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 1883. I have one of the programmes of the event still. It was printed on white satin with red border." After his performance in India, E.T. settled in England briefly before returning to America with his wife aboard the Anchoria in 1884.

Left: E.T. Goodrich in later years. Right: Grave of E.T. Goodrich.

E.T. and his wife settled in Chicago, where they operated a large boarding house for a time and E.T. worked as a loan agent and bookkeeper. In 1907, when he was in his early sixties, he reunited with his old friend Alfred Moe to perform a comedy act on rollers in a series of shows presented by the Anna Held Company. Predeceased by his wife, he passed away in a Masonic Home on October 19, 1933, in East Nelson Township, Illinois at the age of eighty-seven.

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 six fascinating books highlighting the history of figure skating: https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html.

Liverpudlian Luminaries: The Joyce Coates And Anthony Holles Story

Photo courtesy "Liverpool Echo" Archives

Born December 14 and February 8, 1939, in Liverpool, England, Joyce Pamela Coates and Anthony 'Tony' Frederick Holles grew up about a ten-minute drive from each other - he on Glen Road in the Liverpool suburb of Broadgreen and her on Oxford Street, near the Liverpool Maternity Hospital.

Tony started skating at the age of eleven when his family's car broke down on a day trip to Wirral, in front of the Liverpool Palace Ice Rink. He went in, rented a pair of skates and was hooked instantly. Joyce followed in her older sister's footsteps, taking up the sport around the same time as Tony, under coach Joan Lister. Their partnership was formed in 1950 quite naturally - they were on the ice practicing steps near each other and decided to try skating together on a whim.

Photo courtesy "Liverpool Echo" Archives

Inspired by the achievements of fellow Liverpudlian Jeannette Altwegg, Joyce and Tony practiced hard and won a succession of titles before they were fifteen - the Northern and Midland Counties pairs championship, Laughton Cup in Birmingham and the British junior pairs title. In his spare time, Tony doubled as the mascot for the Liverpool Leopards hockey team.

In 1955, Joyce and Tony competed in the first British junior dance championship for trophies presented by World Champions Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy. Coached in dance by John Slater, they were defeated by their friends and training mates Barbara Thompson and Gerard Rigby when their record got lost and they had to come up with a new free dance on the spot.

Norma Core, Marjorie Winstanley, Sheila Dace and Joyce Coates. Photo courtesy "Liverpool Echo" Archives

As teenagers, both Joyce and Tony took jobs in shops to help pay for their skating. They practiced in the evenings and on their one day off, managing to fit in night school classes for a time. Joyce once told a "Liverpool Echo" reporter, "We both left school at 15 to be able to devote all our time to skating practice and work. But we are continuing our studies partly to please our parents, who were reluctant to let us leave school, and partly to ensure that we have the necessary qualifications to get other jobs if the need arises. You never know when something like a broken leg will jeopardize your career."

Joyce and Tony's efforts paid off in dividends. They reigned as British pairs champions from 1956 to 1959, twice won the bronze medal at the European Championships and twice finished in the top five at the World Championships.

Photo courtesy BIS Archive

In Joyce and Tony's only trip to the Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d'Ampezzo in 1956, they finished tenth. They were among the first British skaters to perform to rock and roll music, although only in exhibitions.

Unlike their training mates, Barbara Thompson and Gerard Rigby, who were taught by garage mechanic Fred Borrodaile, Joyce and Tony both received lessons in singles from Joan Lister but were largely self-sufficient as a pair, with the exception of some work with Len Liggett at Nottingham in the summers. They created their own programs and flew to Davos for two weeks before the major ISU Championships to polish them with Arnold Gerschwiler.

In 1962 Joyce lamented, "We started skating together when we were at school. By the time we were 20 or so, we had won hundreds of cups and medals. It became a problem knowing where to store them and how to keep them clean."

Joyce Coates and Anthony Holles atop the podium at the 1962 World's and British Open Professional Championships. Photo courtesy "Skating World" magazine.

Joyce and Tony turned professional in 1960. After finishing third at the 1960 Open Professional Championships, they returned in May 1962 to win the British and World Professional titles in Nottingham. That same year, they appeared in a gala performance before the Queen Mother. The following year, they appeared in the "Hot Ice" show at Blackpool.

Photo courtesy "Ice Skate" magazine

Tony went on to marry Brenda Moss, have three children and coach a generation of Liverpool skaters including British Champions and Olympians Linda [Connolly] McCafferty and Colin Taylforth. Joyce taught for a time at the Silver Blades Ice Rink in Liverpool before marrying star football player and team manager Stan Harland and having two daughters. Sadly, Tony passed away at the age of sixty-nine on August 27, 2008.

Joyce and Tony are remembered as one of the most accomplished British pairs teams of the 1950s.

Asian Heritage Month

May is Asian Heritage Month! Skate Guard celebrates the important history of skaters of Asian heritage with extensive timelines from Canada and the United States, photos and a required reading list of past stories featured on the blog.

You can find all of the special content for Asian Heritage Month right here:

Representation matters. To nominate skaters of Asian heritage to the Skate Canada Hall Of Fame, click here.

2025 Stars on Ice (Halifax) Review

It's been an exciting figure skating season, especially for all of us here in Atlantic Canada, as Halifax played host to the 50th anniversary of Skate Canada International in the fall.

Our historic coastal city has hosted many memorable figure skating events over the years. It's hard to believe that it's been 35 years since our city played host to the 1990 World Figure Skating Championships. A promising young seventeen-year-old named Elvis Stojko made his debut at the World Championships that year, placing in the top 10 on his first try. Over three decades later, Elvis was back, at center ice in the very same building, headlining a star-studded cast on opening night in this year's Stars on Ice tour.

Two years ago, skating fans bid an emotional farewell to Kurt Browning. Though we didn't have the pleasure of seeing him perform in this year's show, Kurt, together with his wife Alissa Czisny, did an incredible job of choreographing this year's show. The theme of this year's show was Rock Stars on Ice and the eclectic cast of skaters from Canada, Japan and the United States didn't disappoint. The choreography was fun and contemporary, but the music and choreography were both nostalgic. The concepts are fresh and out of the box. The performance level was high across the board and the skating was never phoned in.

The Rock theme was established before the show even started when audio boomed through the rink from The Iceman from Stars FM - 6.0 on Your Dial. It was carried seamlessly through the show with segue performances between acts and breakout performances in group numbers. With only a handful of exceptions, the vast majority of solo performances were upbeat programs to rock music.

Not going to lie... I'm a really big fan of Jason Brown and Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier. All three are truly special skaters and their performances made the show for me last night. Jason Brown's second number to "Hit The Road Jack" by 2WEI & Bri Bryant built towards the end and had the biggest audience response of the night, with many people clapping, tapping their toes and dancing along.

Piper and Paul's Beach Boys program, which earned them very high marks at the recent World Figure Skating Championships down in Boston, was so much fun. Their second number to Eva Cassidy's rendition of "Autumn Leaves" was truly exquisite and one of the standout programs of the entire show for its elegance and emotion.

It was great to see Canadian Champion Nam Nguyen back on the ice. He worked the crowd during his first number - a reworked version of his Beatles free skate from several years ago, which paired "Come Together" and "Get Back" with a small group piece to "Help!" It was nice to see Nam land the triple Salchow he popped into a double in this program in one of the group numbers in the second set.

The newcomers to the tour (Isabeau Levito and Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud) surprised me with how at ease and comfortable they looked out there. Lia and Trennt had problems on their throws in both of their solo numbers, but their first number to "Are You Gonna Be My Girl?" by Jet got the crowd going. Isabeau was the only skater in the show that I hadn't seen skate live before and I must say, I have a new appreciation for her skating having done so. I don't think she put a foot wrong the entire night - attempting perhaps the most technically difficult programs of the show. Isabeau, Lia and Trennt all connected extremely well with the audience.

Keegan Messing's sense of humour, hydroblading and backflips were huge hits with the audience and his first number to YUNGBLUD's cover of Kiss's "I Was Made For Loving You" was particularly well-performed. Keegan did a little bit of duet work with Piper Gilles in his second program to "Blue Jeans Blues" by ZZ Top.

Madeline Schizas went way out of her comfort zone with a high-energy performance to Pat Benatar's "Heartbreaker". The edgy program got a huge response from the audience. Japan's Satoko Miyahara skated to Prince's "It's About That Walk" and Dua Lipa's "I'd Rather Go Blind". Her first program was reminiscent of another long-time Stars on Ice performer Katarina Witt, in that she really played it up to the crowd.

Elvis Stojko was in amazing form and the theme and energy of the show couldn't have been more tailor-made to him if it tried. His first program was a fun rock medley, including crowd-pleasers like "In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins, "Here I Go Again" by Whitesnake and "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC, featuring a microphone stand as a prop. His second program to "Nothing Else Matters" by Metallica was outstanding, and the nuanced choreography definitely showcased how much he has grown and come into his own artistically over the years.

The group numbers were well put-together, a favourite of mine being a lovely Skating 101-type piece to "Brothers In Arms" by the Dire Straits. Long-time Stars on Ice fans will particularly appreciate the finale, set to a crowd-pleasing rock medley. In a bit of a 90s Stars on Ice throwback, each skater or team had a breakout that took them out of their comfort zone. Who would have thought we'd see Isabeau Levito as Alanis Morissette, Piper Gilles as Stevie Nicks, Madeline Schizas as Janis Joplin, Paul Poirier as Freddie Mercury, Elvis Stojko as Twisted Sister and Satoko Miyahara as Cher?

One of the things I love about going to Stars on Ice is the people you see and meet. From parents driving their young skaters all the way from the South Shore, Annapolis Valley and Cape Breton to see their first 'big' ice show to former skaters and fans who have been coming to see the show faithfully for decades, there's one common denominator - the show brings people joy. Now more than ever, Canadians need something to smile about and this year's show is guaranteed to put a smile on your face.

The 1953 Canadian Figure Skating Championships

Photos courtesy "Skating" magazine, "The Ottawa Journal" and the "Evening Citizen" Archives

From February 26 to 28, 1953, Ottawa played host to the 1953 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. The competition was held after that year's World Championships but before the North American, U.S. and British Championships. The Minto Skating Club had last hosted the Canadians in 1949, but a fire gutted the rink in November of that year. This time, the organizers were tasked with putting together the event in their two-year-old Henderson Avenue rink while tackling a massive debt.

The Henderson rink had no exterior windows and was lit only by artificial light. The rink ran east-west, with a small second rink on the Eastern end called 'the pen' for training. The dressing rooms had wood stoves with bars where skaters could prop up their feet to warm them. Bleachers, which normally weren't in the rink, had to be installed specifically for the competition. The ice was dyed an unusual shade of emerald green so that school figure tracings could be more visible. The club lounge was decorated with drapes that took one group of club members fourteen hours to hand stitch, Aidrie Cruikshank's handmade lamps and lounge-style furniture hand-painted with compulsory dance patterns. It was there that trophies were presented and skaters and judges were treated to a buffet luncheon and a gala celebration. Melville Rogers was the competition's General Chairman and was assisted by CFSA President Donald B. Cruikshank and Minto Skating Club President Irwin M. Morgan. Out-of-town skaters stayed at the official hotel, the historic Château Laurier. The judges list read like a who's who of Canadian figure skating - Canadian Champions Ralph McCreath, Melville Rogers, Sandy McKechnie, Donald B. Cruikshank, Nigel Stephens and Norman V.S. Gregory. Let's take a look at what transpired on the ice that chilly February!

THE JUNIOR EVENTS

Dawn Steckley and David Lowery of Oshawa, whom one of the judges remarked were "one of the most beautiful pairs [I've] ever seen skate" took top honours in junior pairs, defeating the brother/sister team Patty Lou and George Montgomery and future Olympic Gold Medallists Barbara Wagner and Bob Paul. The Montgomery siblings were two of the busiest skaters in the entire competition. They competed in the junior pairs, junior dance, senior dance, Waltz and Tenstep competitions... and Patty Lou competed in junior women's. If any two skaters had tired feet by the end of the competition, it was that Toronto twosome!

Largely on the strength of his school figures, Douglas Court defeated Paul Tatton of the North Bay Figure Skating Club in a three-two split in the junior men's event. Victoria's Dick Rimmer, Oakville's Eric Noble and Oshawa's Hugh Smith rounded out the five-man field. Court was nineteen, six foot two and only trained on weekends during his school term. He attended Ridley College in St. Catharine's but trained at the Toronto Skating Club. Off the ice, he excelled at hockey, gymnastics and athletics. After being flatly refused permission to be excused from school to compete in Ottawa, he played hooky. When his name appeared in the papers because of his success, there was no hiding the real reason he wasn't in school. In the end, the headmaster of Ridley College called him into his office not to berate him but to apologize. He told him that if he knew he was that good, he would have let him go!

Douglas Court. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

The first junior ice dance event ever held at Canadians was won by Oshawa high school students Geraldine Fenton and Glen Skuce, who had been skating together since 1950. Like Frances Dafoe, Fenton designed her own skating costumes. Skuce was a tumbling and track and field champion. Wagner and Paul finished fourth in that event but it was a tiny pair who finished tenth out of eleven couples that captured the audience's hearts. Susan Yarker and John Lynch were only ten and eleven and helped usher in a new era of 'baby ballerinas' in Canadian ice dance.

Edmonton's Sonja Currie made history in the junior women's event, becoming the first skater - man or woman - from Alberta to win a junior singles crown in Canada. In doing so, she earned first-place votes from three of the five judges. Sonja was born in England. Her father was a hockey coach and her mother a skating professional. She first put on a pair of skates when she was two years old. Donald B. Cruikshank had Czechoslovakian immigrant Carole Jane Pachl first, while Melville Rogers gave his first-place vote to a young skater from the Granite Club whose name any die-hard skating fan might find sounds familiar... Wanda Beasley. Mr. Rogers must have seen something he liked, as no other judge had Beasley higher than sixth, which was exactly where she ended up.

In her memoir "Dreams Upon The Stars", Carole Jane's mother recalled, "When [Carole Jane] came with her mother to the dressing room to change her boots, they heard some people coming into the next room. The rooms were only divided by a wooden partition that did not quite reach the ceiling. They heard a voice very clearly state, 'I hope you will not let that foreigner win.' Other skaters came in at that moment, talking and laughing loud enough that they could not hear the answer. But Caroline froze in the middle of lacing her boots and looked at her mother with the eyes of a hunted deer. Jarmila put her hand on Caroline's shoulder and gave it a compassionate squeeze. They both knew that the room next to them was the judges' room. Caroline didn't say a word, just finished lacing her boots and went out to the rink with her mother. She did her free skating program to the music from 'The Student Prince'. Her program was graceful and lovely, without a fault. The audience was wildly enthusiastic during her routine. She was skating well and she was clearly a crowd favourite. [Gustave] Lussi said she was, without a doubt, the best. In the final judging, she came in third... A mother of one of the other Canadian skaters spoke to Jarmila and agreed that Caroline was cheated. She mentioned that the judges didn't like the fact that Caroline was being trained by an American skating coach."

THE PAIRS AND ICE DANCE COMPETITIONS

Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

There were three separate senior dance competitions at the Canadians in 1953 - the Waltz, Tenstep and the Dance event, which consisted of four compulsory dances only. Frances Dafoe and Norris Bowden, who'd won all three events in addition to the senior pairs event in 1952, decided to skip the Dance event, as practicing the four compulsories in addition to their pairs program was just too much. However, they managed to easily defend both their Waltz and Tenstep titles in 1953, besting the winners of the Dance event, Winnipeg's Frances Abbott and David Ross. Abbott was a home economics major at the University of Manitoba, and Ross was the twenty-eight-year-old Assistant Zone Manager for International Harvester Co.'s Motor Truck Division. Dancers performed the Westminster Waltz, Kilian, Fiesta Tango and Foxtrot but no free dance, making it next to impossible for Canadian dancers to prepare for international competition. Dafoe and Bowden's only competition for the senior pairs title were junior champions 'skating up' Steckley and Lowery. While the Oshawa duo were a lovely pair, they were simply no match for the reigning World Silver Medallists.

THE MEN'S COMPETITION

After the six school figures were skated, defending Champion Peter Firstbrook of Toronto had amassed a comfortable lead in the men's event. Charles Snelling of the Granite Club, the previous year's junior champion, presented Firstbrook with quite a challenge in the free skate. Two judges had Snelling first, two had Firstbrook first and another had Peter Dunfield first. When the marks were tallied, Firstbrook again came out on top, followed by Snelling, Dunfield and Oshawa's Alan Anderson.

THE WOMEN'S COMPETITION

The women's competition was perhaps the most interesting of all. For starters, Marlene Smith wasn't returning to defend her national title, nor was Suzanne Morrow, who had represented Canada at the World Championships. Vevi Smith and Elizabeth Gratton, the 1952 silver and bronze medallists, seemed two of the most likely successors to the Devonshire Cup which not so long ago had been won by Barbara Ann Scott. The surprise leader in the figures was junior pairs champion Dawn Steckley, who had never won a medal at the Nationals in singles previously either as a junior or senior.

Minto Skating Club member Charlotte Kindle, recalling the event in her report for "Skating" magazine that year, remarked, "Of the whole beautiful, three-day program, one scene stands out uniquely from the rest. Rarely do a dozen top-flight girl skaters appear together on the ice, all spinning, leaping and whirling in a riot of movement and color. The warm-up for the Senior Ladies' singles provided such a scene, and on the green surface of the Minto ice they looked just like a band of lovely, filmy butterflies fluttering and poising over a lawn of green grass."

Barbara Gratton. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

The 'butterfly' who came out on top was sixteen-year-old 1950 Canadian junior champion Barbara Gratton. Educated at Loretto Abbey, Gratton planned to attend the University of Toronto. The Gratton girls (Barbara and her older sister Elizabeth) had been living with their aunt since the sudden death of their father, a doctor, in the autumn of 1951. Steckley dropped to second place and Carole Jane Pachl won her second medal in Ottawa after claiming the bronze in junior women's. Vevi Smith and Elizabeth Gratton placed fourth and seventh. Sonja Currie, the junior women's champion, was eighth of eleven skaters. The ordinals were all over the place. Gratton had two first places, two seconds and one sixth, while Steckley had a first and a seventh. One judge had Vevi Smith first, while another had Maureen Senior, who placed ninth, first. That judge was 'Mr. Minto', Melville Rogers, who was more often than not quite out of line with the rest of the panel throughout the event. Carole Jane Pachl's mother's memoir recalled, "The first and second-place Juniors who had outscored Caroline in their own division, placed far behind. How was this possible? The answer was simple... there were different judges. It proved that she should have placed in front of both Junior competitors and won the Junior title. How terrible that a young girl is seemingly punished because she was not born in Canada."

Put A Ring On It: Gliding Down The Aisle Of Skating History

Two-time Olympic Gold Medallists Pierre Brunet and Andrée Joly at their 1929 wedding

Figure skating lovers tend to think more about people being thrown in the air than bouquets, but who doesn't love a bouquet toss at a wedding?

Get the tissues ready! Today, we will glide through skating history and look back at a handful of memorable weddings from years past.

Sonja Henie and Dan Topping on their wedding day. Photo courtesy National Archives of Poland.

On July 4, 1940, twenty-seven-year-old Sonja Henie married New York sportsman and tin plate heir Daniel Reid Topping in a surprise wedding before Sonja's mother and siblings and a few close friends at the Chicago apartment of her manager, Arthur M. Wirtz. It was Henie's first wedding and Topping's third. He was previously married to New York socialite Theodora Boettger and film star Arline Judge. The marriage was presided over by Reverend Joshua Oden, pastor of the Irving Park Lutheran Church. Henie told reporters, "Marriage is important and sacred to me. I want it to be built on complete understanding and faith and friendship as well as love." The couple separated in January 1945 and divorced in February 1946.

Olympic Gold Medallists Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier tie the knot

Virginia Wilson, a Canadian medallist in women's singles, the Waltz, Tenstep and fours skating married Jack Edward Lines Hauseman in Toronto on June 19, 1948. Her wedding was a virtual who's who of Canadian figure skating. Suzanne Morrow and Eleanor O'Meara were bridesmaids; Barbara Ann Scott attended with her mother. Wilson wore a petal white tulle and satin long-waisted gown with a full circular train and ful-llength veil. Fittingly, the reception was held at the Granite Club.

Sonja Henie's wedding to Winthrop Gardiner, Jr.

Three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie walked down the aisle again on September 15, 1949. This time her groom was aviation executive Winthrop Gardiner, Jr. The wedding took place at Park Avenue Methodist Church in New York City. It was Henie's second marriage; Gardiner's fourth. When Sonja arrived at the church, children crawled under the canopy to greet her.

Sonja Henie's wedding to Winthrop Gardiner, Jr. Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.

Only sixty people attended the wedding but over three hundred people, including photographers and reporters, were gathered outside the church to catch a glimpse of Henie in her ice-blue gown designed by Carrie Munn. At Sonja's request, the word "obey" was removed from the vows. At the reception at the Park Plaza Hotel, the newlyweds danced to "I Love You Truly" in front of four hundred guests. Raymond Strait's book "Queen Of Ice, Queen Of Shadows" recalled, "Winnie Gardner broke tradition at their wedding reception. While the men were lined up to kiss his bride, he formed his own line of women and gave them a sample of what Sonja was going to receive. Ethel Merman went through his kissing line twice."

Barbara Ann Scott and Tommy King's wedding

On September 17, 1955, Olympic Gold Medallist Barbara Ann Scott married Tommy King, publicity director for Chicago Stadium Sports Enterprises at Rosedale Presbyterian Church in central Toronto. The wedding was announced at a potted palm and champagne hotel reception by Barbara Ann's mother just over a month before the wedding. Efforts were made to keep the details from being spread to the press, so that the inevitable looky-loos wouldn't turn up and invade Canada's sweetheart's privacy on her special day. Barbara Ann's maid of honour was Margaret McGuinness, a friend who accompanied her to the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz. Her dress was a white artibello original in French silk brocade with a portrait neckline and bell skirt. The happy couple honeymooned in Mexico.

Sonja Henie and Niels Onstad

Proving that sometimes the third time is the charm, Sonja Henie married her childhood sweetheart, shipping magnate Niels Onstad in his swanky New York City apartment in June of 1956. The service was presided over by a Norwegian Lutheran minister and much like her first wedding, it was a very small, private wedding with only a few friends in attendance. Following the wedding, the couple hosted a wedding breakfast in Miami, Florida.

Marc Wirz and Jeannette Altwegg

After announcing their engagement in London on April 17, 1954, Olympic Gold Medallist Jeannette Altwegg and Marc Wirtz had a civil wedding in Bern, Switzerland in late September of that year, followed by a formal ceremony in the British church in Zürich on October 5, 1954. She cut her wedding cake with a skate blade made of English steel.

Hayes Alan Jenkins and his blushing bride Carol Heiss

On April 30, 1960, Olympic Gold Medallists Carol Heiss and Hayes Alan Jenkins walked down the aisle at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in New York City.

Tenley Albright and Tudor Gardiner. Photo courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell.

On New Year's Eve, 1961, it was another Olympic Gold Medallist from America's turn. Tenley Albright married attorney Tudor Gardiner, the son of former Maine governor William Tudor Gardiner in a small, family-only ceremony at King's Chapel in Boston.

Left: Dorothy Hamill and Dean Paul Martin. Right: Paul Martini and Elizabeth Wallace. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library, from Toronto Star Photographic Archive. Reproduced for educational purposes under license permission.

Now for the darlings of American figure skating in the sixties, seventies and eighties! On June 13, 1970, Olympic Gold Medallist Peggy Fleming became Mrs. Greg Jenkins. Her white wedding gown - decided after fifty-seven visits to bridal shops - was designed by William Cahill and was made of Venetian lace with a high neck and short sleeves. Five years later on October 18, 1975, Olympic Bronze Medallist Janet Lynn married psychology grad Rick Solomon at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rockford, Illinois. At the small, private combined Lutheran and Jewish ceremony, Lynn wore a candlestick silk de chine gown designed by her mother. She also wore a lace mantilla with a headpiece that was converted from her very first skating dress. From the private to the lavish... On January 8, 1982, Dorothy Hamill married Lieutenant Dean Paul Martin, the son of singer Dean Martin, at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, California. Some three hundred and fifty guests attended the wedding, including actor Desi Arnaz Jr. The reception was held at the Bel Air Country Club.

Irina Rodnina and Aleksandr Zaitsev's wedding

Irina Rodnina and Aleksandr Zaitsev's wedding in 1975 wasn't without incident. First, Irina's grandmother had a fall while she was examining her dress. Then Irina, walking the stairs to the church, didn't have time to pick up the bottom of her dress. She ended up stepping on it and taking a tumble of her own - coincidentally one of her very few falls! The couple's cake had an ornament in the shape of the Olympic rings. They went on to win two Olympic gold medals together but later divorced.

Natalia Bestemianova and Igor Bobrin's wedding

It was a marriage of European Champions in Moscow on June 8, 1983, when the 1981 Champion in men's singles, Igor Bobrin, tied the knot with the reigning Champion in ice dance, Natalia Bestemianova. Natalia and her on-ice partner Andrei Bukin's coach Tatiana Tarasova was a witness at their wedding. Many casual fans of the sport were surprised to learn that both Bestemianova and Bukin were married during their competitive career - just not to each other.

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov

Two-time Olympic Gold Medallists Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov loved each other so much they married twice. They first tied the knot in a state wedding on April 20, 1991. Eight days later, they confirmed their love again in a church wedding. In her book "My Sergei: A Love Story", Gordeeva recalled, "I wore a silk, off-white dress that I'd bought in Toronto and I was wearing flowers in my hair. It rained all morning and most of the day, which was considered good luck. It doesn't seem like it now. But I was happy that it rained. After saying our vows, we drank champagne in the church, and Father Nikolai sang to our happiness." After Sergei's tragic death, Gordeeva married two more Olympic Gold Medallists - Ilia Kulik and David Pelletier.

The wedding of Olympic Gold Medallists Lyudmila Pakhomova and Aleksandr Gorshkov

On Valentine's Day, 1997, twenty-eight couples said "I do" in Philadelphia in a group marriage service on an outdoor skating rink performed by Mayor Edward G. Rendell. About half of the couples got married wearing skates. It was raining and freezing cold, yet many of the brides wore full-length wedding gowns, some covered by raincoats. Dinah Schuster, who organized the wedding on ice, had only one explanation for the affair: "People are nuts."

Timothy Goebel and Thomas Luciano. Photo courtesy "International Figure Skating" magazine

In 2001, The Netherlands became the first country to legalize same-sex marriage and in 2005, same-sex marriage was officially legalized in Canada after Parliament passed The Civil Marriage Act. In the years that followed, many other countries followed suit. These long-overdue legal changes gave dozens of elite figure skaters the right to marry.

As we glide to the end of our journey through the wonderful world of figure skating weddings, it’s clear that love on ice knows no bounds. May everyone find their perfect skating partner for life!