The Mecca Of Skating: Switzerland's Skating Craze

Ulrich Salchow competing in Davos, Switzerland

If the concept of a 'mecca' has ever applied to figure skating, Switzerland would have absolutely been it. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, skaters from England and throughout Continental Europe flocked to the mountainous country in droves to hone their crafts. The main impetus behind this phenomenon was in fact the weather. From 1882 to 1885, the Wimbledon Skating Club boasted a grand total of one day where the ice was safe enough to skate upon. In a matter of twenty years, dozens upon dozens of outdoor rinks were constructed in Switzerland and hotels were packed like sardines with English and Continental skaters. Let's trace our way back and explore the early history of Switzerland's skating craze got started.

In his book "Ice-Skating: A History", figure skating historian Nigel Brown tells us that "skating in the Alps had been practiced at the end of the sixties in Davos on a sheet of ice situated in the garden beside the Kurhaus. A group of male skaters danced the quadrille. They were a mixed gathering of Dutch, Germans and Russians. They had been attracted to Davos for health purposes - Alpine air, the glorious winter scenery and sunshine being considered a cure for bad nerves and general worries... But skating in Switzerland began seriously in the Engadine during the seventies, when a band of English enthusiasts who had spent the previous summer in the Alps, taking the waters at St. Moritz spa, suggested the idea of returning there in winter to put in a few weeks of skating. Heavy frosts in England appeared to be more and more rare, and sometimes a skating season melted down to two or three days. The big lake before St. Moritz lay free and beckoning. The idea was excellent but a hardy one, for the journey was long and tiring, and the hotel in St. Moritz that opened for them specially was not equipped for winter residence. From Chur the travellers had to hire a coach and ride along the route the Romans took over the high Julier Pass. Heavy snows blocked the way and a blizzard howled at 8,000 feet, taking them three weeks to arrive at their destination. Next morning, with spades and brooms they cleared a small corner of the frozen lake from snow and in the afternoon were skating on the natural ice of St. Moritz."

In 1871, the St. Gall Club, the first of many great Swiss skating clubs, was founded by wealthy patrons. However, the Hotel Belvedere in Davos (founded in 1875) was perhaps the most successful of Switzerland's skating clubs in the nineteenth century. Shortly after opening, it was immediately deluged with visitors from England who worked with the hotel manager to construct a skating rink two years later. It became known as 'the English rink' as most of the skaters there were from England and skating in The English Style. A competing rink in Davos accommodated German and Russian skaters. In 1880, skaters in the area organized the Davos Skating Club. The next year, a new skating rink double the size of the original 'English rink' was built to accommodate an international membership of over two hundred, including skaters from as far away as India and the United States. By 1894, the International Skating Club Of Davos was formed. Grindelwald and St. Moritz also developed clubs and a who's who of figure skating came to Switzerland to train, compete and discuss the development of the sport, from Gustav Hügel to Ulrich Salchow to Madge and Edgar Syers. It's actually Madge and Edgar that we'll turn to next. Their 1908 publication "The Book Of Winter Sports" offers without a doubt the best description of the each of the Swiss winter resorts and as the book is now in public domain, I thought it would be wonderful to include all of these descriptions in their entirety to give you all a real sense of the uniqueness of each of these skating hot spots and their roles in the greater Swiss skating phenomenon of the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century:

"ADELBODEN (4450 feet), in the Bernese Oberland, is admirably, situated for ski sport, owing to the valley being surrounded by grassy slopes (which are used as pastureland in the summer) and to the number and variety of excursions and tours in the neighbourhood. A sports club was formed in 1908, and has under its management the principal rink and the ice-run. The club furnishes ski and the services of capable guides and instructors for the benefit of its members. The first week in February is devoted to sports and competitions in skating, ski-ing, tobogganing, &c. The Schwandfehlspitz (6650 feet), Kuonisbergli (5710 feet), and Elsighorn (7695 feet), are convenient ski-ing tours. Hotels: The Grand, the Beausite, and the National.

ANDERMATT (4813 feet).- A pleasant winter resort, sufficiently high to ensure a continuity of winter sports.Andermatt is situated in the Canton of Uri, and is reached by rail vid Lucerne and Goeschenen and thence by diligence. There is an excellent skating-rink, and the facilities for tobogganing, ski-ing, &c, are good and varied. Hotel: Danioth's Grand.

AROSA, situated in the Grisons (5650 feet) has become a favourite place of late years among those who desire a quiet holiday. Skating, curling, &c, may be had, and the delights of the Euti Road are well known to followers of bobbing. There are many excellent ski-ing routes, notably Maran and the
Pretsch Alp (6560 feet), Weisshorn (8717 feet), and the tour to Davos vid the Furka Pass (8020 feet).
The Seehof Hotel is comfortable, and the charges are moderate.

BALLAIGUES (3000 feet) was opened for the first time in the season 1907-8. The principal hotel is the Hotel Aubepine, which is the only one at present opened in winter, though no doubt others will speedily follow suit. The place is situated in the Jura Mountains half an hour's drive from Vallarbes and close to the French frontier. It is one of the least expensive places in Switzerland both as regard the cost of the journey and the pension rates. Ballaigues is about half an hour's sleigh drive from Le Pent on the Lac de Joux. It is a quiet and pretty resort, very attractive to those who do not require the highly developed skating facilities which are found at places with higher altitudes. There is excellent ski-ing on the slopes of the Suchet which rises 2000 feet above the village.

CAUX is situated above Montreux at an altitude of 3610 feet, and has excellent facilities for skating, tobogganing, and ski-ing. There are two good rinks, the larger about 200 yards long by 100 yards wide, with convenient dressing-rooms which are heated throughout. For tobogganers there is a fine run at about two miles from Cret-d'y Bau to Caux, the starting-point being reached by train. There are good ski-ing grounds in the neighbourhood. Hotels: The Grand and the Palace.

CELERINA (5665 feet) owes its popularity as a winter resort to the Public Schools Winter Sports Club, which occupied the Cresta Palace Hotel as soon as it was opened. The Cresta Palace has a splendid rink, 8000 square metres (two acres) in extent. In midwinter the sun rises on the rink
at 9 a.m., and at St. Moritz it does not rise till about 11 a.m. The result of this is that the ice at Celerina is not so brittle as at St. Moritz. There is also a very good curling rink. Celerina will probably be some time in attaining very wide popularity as a winter resort owing to its proximity to St. Moritz, as visitors are attracted to the larger centre, but those who love quiet and do not care for the bustle of Brighton-onthe-Alps, will be delighted with this lovely little village.

CHATEAU D'OEX (3203 feet), situated in the Canton Vaud, has several excellent skating rinks. The largest, which is reserved for the use of visitors to the Berthod Hotels, is 7000 square metres. The ice is most carefully tended. Ski-ing has become very popular during the last few winters, and competitions and tours, under the auspices of the Chateau d'Oex Ski Club, take place during the season. There are, as yet, no made toboggan runs, but the sport may be enjoyed on the streets leading from the village and on the hillside paths. Hotels: The Grand, the Berthod, and the Beau Sejour.

Davos Skating Rink, circa 1907

DAVOS is situated at an altitude of 5250 feet in the Canton des Grisons. For many years Davos was recognised as the principal training centre for speed and figure skaters. With the opening of the railway to St. Moritz, however, the latter resort has attracted many of the best skaters and Davos no longer retains the monopoly of former years. The public rink has an area of 18,300 square metres ; here many well-known speed skaters train during December and January. The lack of a reserved enclosure for figure skating is much felt, as on Sundays and other holidays the ice is usually in very bad condition owing to the crowds of children let loose upon it. The rink of the English Skating Club, 7500 square metres, is reserved principally for combined skating. An annual competition is held in January for the Club Challenge Bowl. The curling rink lies close to the others and has an area of 1700 square metres. The club plays frequent practice and inter-club contests during the season, the annual match with St. Moritz being the principal event. A fine expanse of natural ice on the Boden See occasionally affords excellent lake skating early in the season. After the first heavy snowfall, however, this is no longer available. Excellent tobogganing may be had on the Klosters road and
on the newly constructed Schatzalp run. Eor ski sport Davos is very favourably disposed. The Ski
Club organises long and short expeditions and tours, provides ski on hire, and retains the services of a thoroughly qualified guide and instructor. Bandy is played on a portion of the public rink, and an annual match is held alternately at St. Moritz and Davos. Victory in these contests has, we believe, always rested with the home team. Interesting ski expeditions may be made to Bremenbuhl (7348 feet), the Jacobshorn, the peak immediately facing the town of Davos, Kerbshorn (8625 feet), and the tour to Kublis by way of Wolfgang and the Parsenn Furka (7917 feet), from which a run of nearly ten miles to Kublis may be enjoyed. Good accommodation will be found at the following Hotels: The Fluelapost, the Angleterre, and the Belvedere.

ENGELBERG (3315 feet), situated in the Canton Unterwalden, the centre of Switzerland, is in the position of being able to cater adequately for all winter sports. There are good curling and skating rinks, and a new rink is being constructed which will have a circumference of 500 metres, and will be the headquarters of the Engelberg Skating Club;  there will be held international championships and competitions in figure and speed skating. The facilities for ski sport are good, and the following tours may be adapted to suit the capacity of the novice or expert: Titlis (10,629 feet); this is a somewhat exacting ascent, and it is usual to spend the night at the Triibsee hut ; Urirotstock (9620 feet) ; the Blankenalp (5833 feet) ; and the Joch Pass. A number of shorter excursions may also be arranged.
The interests of tobogganing and bob-sleighing are well looked after by the Kurverein and the Sports Club. There are excellent made runs ; that for bob-sleighs finishes at Grafenort, from whence the return journey may be made by electric railway. The Titlis, Grand, and Kuranstalt Hotels are modern and very comfortable.

Postcard of the Grindelwald resort

GRINDELWALD, one of the oldest and best known of winter resorts, is sufficiently high (3500 feet) to ensure to the visitor the enjoyment of whatever branch of winter sport he may affect. There are excellent skating rinks, and the Grindelwald Skating Club holds annual competitions in both styles, and in waltzing. The Bandy Club provides matches and practice from the end of December to the middle of February. The best ski tours are to the Schwarzhorn (8790 feet), the Faulhorn (8049 feet), and the Grosse Scheidegg (5850 feet). Hotels : The Bear, the Beau-Site, and the Eiger.

GRIIRNIGEL is situated at an altitude of 3800 feet on a spur of the Stockhorne range. It is twenty miles from Berne, the same from Thoune, rather less from Spiez. The station for Giirnigel is Thurnen, on the line from Berne, to Thoune vid Belp and the Giirbethal. From Thurnen the hotel is reached by sleigh in two and a half honrs. The baths of Giirnigel have been for more than a century a
favourite summer resort of Parisians and South Germans, but in winter the district has hitherto remained unvisited save by a few enterprising members of the Berne Ski Club who make occasional week-end trips to this most interesting Hinterland. The original Hotel was a vast structure of wood, dating from the eighteenth century. This was destroyed by fire in 1902, and the owners decided to erect a stone palace with every possible modern comfort. Giirnigel lies high above the fog level and the winters are, as a rule, more severe than at places of the same altitude in the Ehone Valley. That is to say, the snowfall is heavier, beginning earlier and lasting longer. On the shortest day the sunshine lasts nearly five hours, but as the mountains rise very gradually to the south the amount of daily sunshine increases very rapidly after January 5 and the rinks are soon in full sun for six hours daily. The curlers at Giirnigel are particularly favoured. Their rink, large enough for sis or eight matches, is just below the terrace, only a few steps from the hotel entrance. Scarcely less fortunate are the skaters. It is true that they are obliged to walk through the forest for five or six minutes, ascending 150 feet, but there they find two fine rinks in one corner of a seventy-acre clearing. At an altitude of nearly 4000 feet, in full sunshine and sheltered from the north and east, with magnificent views, they are hardly inferior to any rink in Switzerland. Tobogganers, too, are well catered for. Besides the made run, there are several paths through the woods, especially those below the hotel, which afford excellent lugeing. The bob-sleigh track begins at the hotel and, partly on the main carriage road, partly on a parallel by-road through the forest, runs at a good gradient as far as Eutti, about two miles and a half away. The contours are well banked and will be safe at any speed. Ski-runners will find Giirnigel a convenient touring centre. The great feature of the country is the extensive forest of over 4000 acres, covering the slopes of the hills for miles around. Many interesting ski-ing expeditions may be had from Giirnigel, including the excursion to the Obergiirnigel, the Seelibiihl and the Schwefelberg Bad.

KLOSTERS (4000 feet) was opened as a winter resort in 1905-6. Visitors to Davos have given currency to the idea that Klosters is down in a hole. This is because they generally get their idea of the place from tobogganing down the famous Klosters run the finest run in Switzerland - and they usually do so in the afternoon, when the sun has shifted from that side of the valley. At Klosters the sun rises early over the valley and gets on to the rink about 10 a.m., leaving it about 2.30 in mid-winter. It is unnecessary to say anything about the tobogganing for which Klosters is famous. The Grand Hotel Vereina has constructed a really good ice rink. Ski-ing slopes abound in every direction, and after three seasons Klosters may be considered to have got well under weigh as a winter resort.

LENZERHEIDE (4846 feet) is a little lonely hamlet, or rather cluster of buildings, consisting of one large hotel and two or three much smaller ones. It is four hours' sleigh drive from Chur on the Churwalden route to the Engadine. It was discovered by some old Grindelwald skaters, who formed what was called the Lenzerheide Winter Sports Club, though the place has now become a resort of the Public Schools Winter Sports Club. The rink at Lenzerheide covers about two acres, but the great
attraction of the place consists in its fine ski-ing slopes. In many places the ski-ing ground begins at some distance from the hotel and extends only in one direction, but at Lenzerheide it is possible to start on ski from the hotel, north, east or west, and to climb two or three thousand feet in any direction except south. Lenzerheide enjoys about five hours' sunshine in mid-winter. The Kurhaus and the Schweizerhof Hotels are comfortable and enjoy brilliant sunshine.

MONTANA (5000 feet) is the principal centre of the Public Schools Winter Sports Club, of which the Head Master of Eton is President, and Lord Koberts, Lord Lytton, and Mr. E. F. Benson, Vice-Presidents. It was from Montana that Lord Eoberts was summoned to take charge of the English forces in 1900. Montana is one of the most delightfully situated of all the Swiss resorts for those who like extended views. The Rhone Valley separates it from the Pennine and Savoy Alps, and the whole range of the Alps from the Matterhorn to Mont Blanc is visible from a point 500 feet above the hotels. Montana possesses a number of artificial lakes which are said to date from Roman times, and were probably constructed for purposes of irrigation. As the great mountains on the south of the valley attract the rainfall, the mountains on the Montana side are exceedingly dry, and hence the necessity of irrigation. These lakes furnish excellent skating for the first few weeks of the winter before the snow falls. One of them is used by the Hotel du Pare (the oldest of the Montana hotels) as a skating rink throughout the season. The Palace Hotel, which is the headquarters of the Public Schools Winter Sports Club, possesses a large skating rink, but uses one of the lakes as a curling rink. This lake is emptied in the autumn and built up from the bottom. Montana has excellent toboggan runs, including a not very ambitious ice-run and a long snow run from Vermala 500 feet
above the Montana Hotels. Ski-ing is a most popular sport at Montana, and the excursions that can be made on ski are very numerous. The slopes of the Wildstrubel, the Tubang, and the Wildhorn, give excellent opportunities to the more ambitious ski-runners, and the journey from Montana to Adelboden has been accomplished several times on ski, passing over the Plaine Morte Glacier to the Wildstrubel hut, where the night may be spent, and then starting early on the following day and ski-ing down to Lenk, proceeding thence by the Hahnemoos Pass to Adelboden. One of the greatest charms of Montana is the sunshine, which lasts for 7§ hours daily in mid-winter, a longer period than that enjoyed by any other Swiss resort.

Postcard of girl performing a shoot the duck in St. Moritz

ST. MORITZ is probably the best known and most popular of winter resorts. It is situated in the upper Engadine at a higher altitude, 6187 feet, than any of its rivals. Ample facilities for skating, tobogganing, curling, ski-ing, &c, are to be found at St. Moritz, and both for outdoor and indoor amusements it is second to none. The three principal Hotels, the Palace, the Kulm, and the Grand, have large private rinks, and several of the smaller hotels are similarly provided, though on a less ambitious scale. There is also a public rink under the control of the Kurverein. The St. Moritz International Skating Club, which has Lord Lytton as its president and numbers among its members most of the leading international skaters, has its headquarters at the Palace Hotel, where tuition in skating may be obtained from Herr Meyer, the well-known Swedish professional. Competitions and tests are held by the club during January and February. The St. Moritz Skating Association is located at the Kulm Hotel. With the advent of a Swiss Skating Association, affiliated to the International Skating Union, an amalgamation of the two St. Moritz clubs has been suggested, and will probably be shortly effected. The bandy players and curlers have their several rinks under the control of their respective clubs. One of the chief attractions of St. Moritz is the famous Cresta run, the finest toboggan run in the world. Danger is reduced to a minimum nowadays on the Cresta; but for beginners, and those who are not ambitious to travel at something approaching sixty miles an hour, the village run may be recommended. For 'bobs' a specially constructed run, banked and iced, has been recently built, owing to the increase of traffic on the only road available for the sport. Trotting races and driving on ski take place on the lake in February. The latter is a very pretty sport, recently introduced from the north of Europe, in which horses are driven by competitors on ski. Ski jumping contests are held in the neighbourhood of St. Moritz, and, before the snow arrives, splendid skating may be enjoyed on the St. Moritz lake, and the lakes of Sils and Silvaplana. Ski tours may be made from St. Moritz to the Laret Alp (6893 feet), Piz Nair (9945 feet), and by Suvrettasee and Beverstal to Spinas, returning by rail.

Pairs skaters in Villars, circa 1930

VILLARS-SUR-OLLON (4250 feet) was first opened during the winter in 1905-6. It is beautifully situated in a sort of amphitheatre surrounded by the heights of the Diablerets, Dent de Morcle, Chamossaire and other smaller peaks, while the Aiguilles of the Mont Blanc range are visible at a distance of forty or fifty miles. The greatest attraction of Villars in winter is undoubtedly the excellent skating rink, which is one of the three or four largest in Switzerland, with an area of about 10,000 square metres (2 acres). There is also a good curling rink. The ice toboggan run is probably the best run of the kind to be found in Switzerland outside Canton Grisons. The Alpine Ski Trophy, presented by Mr. W. E. Rickmers, a member of the English, Swiss, and German Alpine Clubs, has been contested for at Villars during the last two years on the slopes of the Chamossaire, which are well adapted for ski-ing. An interesting long ski excursion may be made from Villars over the Col de la Croix to the Diablerets, and thence to Gstaad and Launen on the Montreux-Oberland route. Villars is one of the sunniest places in the Alps, having 6 hours of sunshine in mid-winter. Hotels: The Grand and the Bellevue."

I know what you're probably thinking. God love Madge and Edgar Syers, but why in the hell did he have to include all of that? I wanted to illustrate not only the number and variety of winter resorts that offered excellent figure skating facilities but also to allow you to gain a broader knowledge of some of the historical development that took place quickly, particularly the shift from Davos to St. Moritz as 'the preferred spot' for skaters. In the mention of the Lenzerheide resort, it is evident that this is indeed the same rink that Brown referred to in his 1959 book. With the wealth of information out there about the popularity of skating in Switzerland during this era, one could easily write a whole series of books but I think this primer will certainly suffice to give you an understanding as to the early development of the phenomenon. It all sounds rather magical.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

Juliet Stanton Adee, A Skater I Can't Say Impressed Me

Juliet Stanton Adee and Dr. Raynham Townshend on their sloop Nutmeg. Photo courtesy Mystic Seaport, The Museum Of America And The Sea.

Most times I dive into researching the stories of skaters, I like what I find. However, in the case of today's subject, Juliet Stanton Adee, a couple of key things kind of left me with a sour taste in my mouth. Let's dive in, shall we?

Born January 3, 1881 in Westchester County, New York, Juliet Stanton Adee was one of four children of lawyer George Augustus Adee and his wife Adelaide Palmer Stanton. Juliet had one sister, Ellen, and two brothers, George and Charles. Raised in The Bronx in relative affluence, her family had three Irish servants, a cook named Rachael, a maid named Mary and a waitress named Bridget. Growing up as the daughter of a lawyer afforded Juliet a certain degree of social standing and the family had a constant presence in the New York newspaper society pages at the time. Whether it was a luncheon, a wedding or a country club tea, there was a Juliet Stanton Adee.

Early in the first decade of the twentieth century, Juliet won golfing titles for several years back to back while visiting at Profile House in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire and became quite the star as a double's lawn tennis player, winning a contest in 1905 with C. Frederick Watson, Jr. and another later on with partner Martha Coster. As a tennis player, she was described as "untiringly aggressive". Many of her lawn tennis matches were actually played during the summer at the St. Nicholas Rink, which was of course a skating rink in the winter. It was there that she seriously took up skating, hobnobbing with New York high society and mastering school figure after school figure. The "untiringly aggressive" Juliet also developed a rivalry at the St. Nicholas Rink with an actress who skated there regularly named Miss Clare Cassel. Remember that name. It'll pop up again shortly.

On June 4, 1908, Juliet married a Yale graduate and house surgeon who worked at Roosevelt Hospital named Dr. Raynham Townshend, the son of Charles H. Townshend, at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Westchester. The June 4, 1908 issue of "The Sun" described her dress as "of white satin with point lace tulle and orange blossoms." It was a posh affair, being the marriage of a doctor and the daughter of a lawyer, with a reception at the local country club. After the wedding, the newlyweds moved to Connecticut (where Juliet's mother was born) so that Dr. Townshend could open his own practice in New Haven. In June 1912, Juliet had her first child, a daughter.

You'll remember that the first recognized U.S. Championships were held in New Haven. That's where Raynham and Juliet come in. In early 1914, the New Haven Skating Club was founded with Dr. Raynham Townshend as its President. With New York high hatter Irving Brokaw promoting and recruiting entries for the competition that March, of course Juliet, who he'd skated with at the St. Nicholas Rink and was the wife of the club's president, was asked to enter. Enter she did, but things didn't go so well. The young mother was a bit out of her league and finished a distant third behind winner Theresa Weld Blanchard and silver medallist Edith Rotch. And so her competitive figure skating career began and ended with a fizzle.

Clare Cassel

Juliet remained active in the New Haven skating community for many years as the wife of the club's first President. She had a second child, a son. However, two years after losing the U.S. title, her past seemed to resurface in a most interesting way. Juliet's older brother George was President of the United States National Lawn Tennis Association. In 1906, he found himself embroiled in controversy when he barred none other than Miss Clare Cassel, Juliet's old rival from the St. Nicholas Rink, from competing in the U.S. Lawn Tennis Championships because she had given figure skating lessons for money. Quoted in the December 3, 1916 issue of "The Pittsburgh Press", George stated, "Section 4 of Article 2 [of our by-laws] reads: 'An amateur is one who has not played, instructed, pursued or assisted in the pursuit of tennis or other athletic exercise as a means of livelihood or for gain or any emolument.' Under this rule a person who gives skating lessons for pay automatically forfeits his or her amateur standing." Cassel, who also gave skating exhibitions and was a former New York Skating Champion, was obviously not too pleased with his decision.

If that didn't rub you the wrong way, there's this... If you think back to Lottie Dod and other women of that era who excelled at not only skating but several other sports, you would kind of assume that they would be in favour of women's rights. In the case of Juliet, it was quite the opposite. She was an ardent, vocal and frequent anti-suffragist. Not only did she serve as treasurer for the Connecticut Association Opposed To Woman's Suffrage, she also regularly gave speeches in opposition to women having the right to vote at functions attended by many visiting guests. She fit the bill of most female anti-suffragists to a tee: a well-to-do, white, privileged doctor's wife from old money who wanted to cling on to an arcane system and way of life that was to her benefit.

Later in life, she served as Vice-President of the Woman's Auxiliary of the American Legion Of Connecticut and was commissioner of New Haven's chapter of The Girl Guides, where she regularly organized skating parties for the girls involved. To her credit, she was also actively involved in the American Red Cross blood bank for over sixty years. Her husband passed away on January 31, 1940 and she followed twenty two years later on July 21, 1962 at the age of eighty one. She's buried in the Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.

Was her legacy that of a well-to-do woman who pursued athletics at a time when women participating was frowned upon by many? A vocal detractor of the women's suffrage movement? That of someone who quite likely had a hand in the end of the career of one of her former sporting rivals? When you add those pieces together, it doesn't paint a very pretty picture. We do have to remember that what we truly know of this skater's story is shaped by what is on public record. She may have been a wonderful mother, a kind person and a fabulous skater. We don't and probably will never know her whole story, just as we will never know the whole story of any skater competing today. We can paint people with whatever brush we choose to, but we have to accept that in many cases these perceptions are - let's face it - sometimes unfair.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

The Pro-Skate Tour

Shortly after Dick Button's company Candid Productions began presenting the annual World Professional Figure Skating Championships in Landover, Maryland, a grand prix style series of professional competitions was taking the world by storm. 

Pro-Skate was a very much a precursor to the kind of skating we'd see when Stars On Ice started operating - more focused on the merits of individual performances that the ensemble focused Ice Capades and Ice Follies tours. The cast in the touring series of competitions couldn't have been any more star studded, featuring skaters like John Curry, Robin Cousins, Janet Lynn, Toller Cranston, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming, David Santee, Brian Pockar, Denise Biellmann, Angela Greenhow, Allen Schramm, Candy Jones and Don Fraser, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner. Lynn Nightingale, Wendy Burge, Fumio Igarashi, JoJo Starbuck and Ken Shelley, Kim Krohn and Barry Hagan, Nancy Berghoff and Jim Bowser, Heather Kemkaran and Lillian Heming and Murray Carey. The events were marketed for television as International Professional Figure Skating Championships.

The tour was put on by the Pro-Skate Company, headquartered in New York City, which was formed in 1981. It was owned jointly by Concert Productions International of Toronto (run by Michael Cohl and Bill Ballard) and Leber/Krebs and Pro-Skate International (run by Elva Oglanby), based in New York City. The Canadian events were sponsored by the Labatt Brewing Company Ltd during their first year. Concert Productions International (CPI) had certain connections that made a tour like Pro-Skate viable to them. For instance, Maple Leaf Gardens (a stop on the tour) was owned by Bill Ballard's controversial father Howard, a former hockey coach who owned the Toronto Maple Leafs. Other stops on the tour included Calgary Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver and New York City. The New York event, held annually at Madison Square Garden, was advertised as the International Professional Figure Skating Championships.

In her 1994 book "Ice Time", Debbi Wilkes recalled, "When Michael Cohl called Canadian skaters to compete, they all said, 'You'll have to talk to my agent. That was the beginning of a fascinating roller coaster ride. We'd come in all full of bluster and pretend we knew what we were doing. Mel and Gord would stay quiet and make me talk. I'd pull 'girl' and stomp up and down, absolutely refusing whatever they were demanding. I used to think they were standing in the shower in the morning laughing their heads off at us, but we had a good time, learned a lot and made a few bucks. In the end, our skaters weren't the only ones who got paid.'"

Each event offered tens of thousands of dollars in prize money and any skater not placing in the top three earned one thousand just for participating. Although many of the skaters praised the opportunity to compete in a non-traditional atmosphere, the general consensus amongst many of the skaters was that the money was the reason they participated. Janet Lynn remarked, "Money certainly has to be considered, especially with three boys to send to college one day." Candy Fraser said, "It's pleasant to get some return for all the money your parents put into it over the years." Toller Cranston added, "It's like jumping into a swimming pool of sharks - but I'm one of the biggest sharks in there. Everyone is really in it for the money - none of us really likes competing."

The judging panels for the tour consisted of comprised of eight 'regular judges' (everyone from skating folks to members of the artistic community) and a 'public judge' mark, the average of the marks of ten local celebrities (athletes, university professors, radio hosts, etc.). Each was responsible for marking one category of the performance, ie. jumps, spins, footwork, choreography, etc. on a scale of 10.0. The high and the low marks were thrown out. One of the biggest criticisms of the series was the fact that a technical or compulsory short program was included. In "Canadian Skater" magazine, Carole Stafford noted, "The short programs posed problems for the non-skating judges who were not familiar with compulsory elements and skaters who completed this were not always given the credit they deserved while missing elements were not always penalized as they would be in an amateur competition." As always in professional competition, there were also cries of reputation judging. Debbi Wilkes recalled, "They treated the event like a rock concert. There was respectable prize money, but it got out of hand. It seemed that the winner was whoever had the highest guarantee. That didn't last long because the public wouldn't accept it. Then the skaters started to demand such high fees they priced themselves right out of the market. The competitions didn't make much financial sense. The whole effort was premature."

Bill Jones recalled John Curry's experience participating in the tour in his book "Alone: The Triumph And Tragedy Of John Curry" thusly: "The fledgling professional tour played in five Canadian cities. Against all the odds, Curry appeared happy. Not even the vulgarity of a sponsor (something his contracts usually forbade) seemed to wobble him. Unlike Cranston and Cousins, he had stayed out of the men's 'competition', and appeared only as an exhibitor; skating ethereally to Beethoven's 'Moonlight Sonata' in Vancouver, the city where they'd once pelted him with drink cans."

Heather Kemkaran, Toller Cranston and Lynn Nightingale. Photo courtesy Toronto Public Library, from Toronto Star Photographic Archive. Reproduced for educational purposes under license permission.

The prize money, appearance fees and operating costs of such a mammoth effort proved overwhelming and in 1984, the tour and competitions concluded. The success of Button's annual Landover event, however, proved so overwhelming that he devised a second competition - The Challenge Of Champions - that would be held annually in Paris, France in its first three efforts before being held in different cities around the world each year including Moscow, Barcelona, London and Tokyo. The days of professional competitions based in Canada wouldn't be over though. The North American Men's Professional Skating Championships (Jeep Main Event of Figure Skating) and World Cup competitions would be held in Canada later in the eighties and briefly enjoy their respective moments in the spotlight. In the nineties, Button's Challenge Of Champions and The Gold Championships would visit Canada and the Canadian Professional Figure Skating Championships would be established in 1994. Although we traditionally think of the explosion of professional figure skating competitions in the nineties as a mainly American phenomenon, its early roots in the Canadian figure skating culture are not merely ephemera. They play a huge role in the popularity of professional and show skating in this country that thrives to this day.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

The Birth Of The Blues

The Blues dance originated in England, the creation of British pairs skater and ice dancer Robert Dench. With partner Lesley Turner, Dench first showed off the long, deep edges of this dance at the Streatham rink in 1934. Set to twelve bar blues music played on a piano or organ, the dance was meant to be skated to a tempo of twenty two or two four bars per minute, or eighty eight or ninety six by the time of a metronome. However, Dench noted, "The Dench Blues, however, can be skated as fast as 26 bars per minute, but then it is difficult to execute the steps correctly. We often do the dance to fox trot time, but only if the music is slow enough so that the graceful effect of the dance is not lost."

In his book "Pair Skating And Dancing On Ice", Dench described the original steps of his Dench Blues dance thusly: "This dance is started hand in hand, with the lady on the man’s right side and holding his right hand with her left. First of all, strike onto right-forward-inside edges, after which the lady turns a forward-outside-three on her left foot and drops onto the right- backward-outside edge, while the man holds a left-forward-outside edge for four beats of the music, which brings him face to face with his partner. Now come the first steps of the dance itself. The lady takes a left-backward-outside edge followed by a right-backward-inside, crossing it over the left. She then takes a left-backward-outside, uncrossing her feet. (This is a crossed chasse.) The man, on his first step of the dance, brings the lady to his right side and strikes onto the right-forward-outside edge. This is followed by a left- forward-inside crossed over the right, then a right-forward-outside. (This is a progressive chasse or run.) Now the lady strikes onto her right-backward-outside, then a left-backward-inside crossed over the right, and finishes on the right-backward-outside. (This is also a crossed chasse.) The man, having finished his first chasse or run, now crosses his left leg over the right and turns a three, coming onto his right- backward-outside edge. The three is turned at the lady’s left side, so that after the turn his right hip is just behind the lady’s left hip. Both skaters are now on right-backward-outside edges and skating close together, with the man slightly ahead of the lady ('ahead' meaning further along in the direction of travel). During this backward edge, each partner slowly swings the free leg back past the skating foot. From here on, both skaters face the same way and their steps are identical. Strike together onto the left-forward-outside edge, which should be short and held fairly straight so as to simplify the cross-roll (crossing one foot over the other, from an outside edge to an outside) which follows. Place the right-forward-outside over the left and hold it for four beats, increasing the bend of the skating knee on the third beat of the music and straightening it on the fourth. This applies to all the four-beat edges. The free leg passes the skating leg as the knee is straightened. The next step is a left-forward-outside placed in front of the right foot and held for two beats. (This is a walking step.) Now comes a quick little running step that is very fascinating if done correctly. Start on the right-forward-inside (one beat), then place the left-forward-outside ahead of the right (also for one beat), and again place the right-forward-inside ahead of the left and hold it for two beats. Now comes the difficult part of the dance, which is a Choctaw - the change from an edge on one foot to the opposite edge on the other foot. Stroke onto your left-forward-inside, directing the edge almost straight down center ice and not towards the boards or center of the rink; next bring the right foot close to the heel of the left (right instep to left heel); then turn the hips, dropping onto the right-outside-backward edge. These edges are held for two beats of the music. After the Choctaw, cross behind the right foot with a left-backward-outside. Hold it for four beats; then step forward onto the right-forward-inside edge, ready to recommence the dance. For the Choctaw, the man should strike just ahead of the lady - forward of her left hip. This enables her to make the turn more easily and to drop into position for the right-backward-outside edge of the Choctaw."

The dance caught on extremely quickly both in Europe and overseas and enjoyed (like almost all compulsory dances) countless alterations and adaptations. By November 1939, it earned a coveted spot amongst the Kilian, Viennese Waltz, Rocker Foxtrot and Three-Lobed Eight Waltz in the USFSA's Gold Dance Test. However, in England during the same era, the National Skating Association only considered the Blues a Silver Test dance. By the fifties, it was considered a Pre-Gold Dance in the United States, a Second Class (Gold) Dance in France and a Silver Dance with the International Skating Union. Ironically, Robert Dench passed away in 1975, the same year the Blues was introduced as a prescribed rhythm for the OSP in international competition.

Whenever someone comes up with a great idea, it always seems to spawn others. In the years that followed, countless Blues dances cropped up in both North America and England. Many, like The Buckingham Blues, Koala Blues, Manhattan Blues and Border Blues, fell into obscurity. Others, like the perennial Preliminary Dance Baby Blues and Roy, Sue and Mark Bradshaw and Julie MacDonald's Midnight Blues (which debuted in Vancouver in 2001) caught on like wildfire. Though we don't have the pleasure of enjoying compulsory dances in international competitions these days, the influence of the original Blues dance still resonates in the performances of ice dancers from Streatham to South Africa today.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

Les Premières Femmes De Paris: Roots Of Women's Figure Skating In France

The Palais de Glace, 1912

Back in May of 2015 in "A Woman's Right To Skate" we explored a broader view of how women got their foot in the man's, man's, man's world of figure skating. Interestingly, the names of two women from France came up: the famously beheaded queen Marie Antoinette who was celebrated for skating in France's Royal Court in 1776 and Maria Weigel, a German woman living in Colmar who was stoned by her own neighbours for skating with her male counterparts in 1851. These two extremes really speak to the ever-present roles of class that pepper figure skating's early history constantly, particularly with regard to how women were treated.

However, today on the blog we're going to take a step forward and appreciate how far ahead of the game France was compared to many other countries in terms of developing women's figure skating. In 1892, the Pôle du Nord rink opened in Paris and two years later came the second covered rink, the austere Palais de Glace. In the Belle Époque style, the rink was surrounded by a promenade, bandstand for a live orchestra and a café where skaters enjoyed chocolate and strong coffee. The Skating Club of Paris, formed two years later in 1896 by Lucien Tignol, encouraged membership from both men and women. In fact, he targeted magazine and newspaper advertisements specifically towards women. Tignol's main concerns didn't revolve around the gender of membership whatsoever; they were growing the club's membership and adhering to strict rules of amateurism. The Skating Club of Paris welcomed women with open arms and encouraged their growth as skaters.

In her 1968 book "Patinage Sur Glace Historique", figure skating historian Jeanine Hagenauer wrote that during that developmental era when women were coming to the Palais de Glace in droves, when the banks closed at five, "the women met there at night. The children [were] sent from two to four hours with their tutor, their governess... at the Époque they enjoyed graceful skating, light and gay... falling into the arms of their [children] upon their return." Women wore ermine, twisted braids and velvet dresses with silk shoulders. They were decked out in fur caps, petticoats and had perfumed handkerchiefs. Noted Hagenauer, the women "who shone the most received the public homage. What applause!"

Demonstration of French Valsing by Louis Magnus and his partner

Although a few of the women who became members of the club had skated with the exclusive Cercle des Patineurs on the frozen Bois de Bolougne, many were newcomers and sought instruction in the foundations of skating technique. However, while other countries were busying themselves with school and special figures and the development of international competitions, the main interest of men and women skating at the Palais de Glace was ice dancing. In her book "Figure Skating History: The Evolution Of Dance On Ice", Lynn Copley-Graves notes that "Monsieur Jean Richard, a skating instructor at the Palais de Glace in Paris, gave the first official public performance of valsing on ice, and the audience loved it. Skaters in France immediately adopted the Valse, which closely resembled the European Waltz we do today. To fit within the shorter, more circular rinks of the time, the Valse had only one set of three turns to the barrier... From that beginning, upper crust Parisian society valsed on ice at the Palais de Glace until World War I." French skating pioneer Louis Magnus wrote that "to know how to waltz, that's what the young girls dream of, even before doing an outside edge."

French figure skating champion Yvonne Lacroix in a speed skating race

When the Skating Club of Paris' President Albert Michel instituted early rules for the French Figure Skating Championships and created trials to classify skaters in 1901, women were introduced to the formal testing and competitive environment in France at the same time as men. Speed skating and hockey were also quickly developing at the same time in the country and it's no surprise that with Magnus' influence on all three sports at the time, women were taking to all three sports in Chamonix by the late 1910's, around the same time Yvonne Lacroix won the first recorded French women's figure skating title in that city.

Women's figure skating really grew in France during that period but the male membership of the Skating Club of Paris was largely decimated by World War I. When the rink re-opened in 1921, the heyday of the Palais de Glace was over and it closed shortly thereafter. Although The Club Of Winter Sports formed as a merger of two Parisian skating clubs and The Brunet's were hugely dominant on the international scene in the twenties, it was not until Jean Potin founded the Elysee Skating Club that the grassroots re-organization of skating in France really took off at the Molitor rink. One has to wonder if those pioneering Parisian women ever dreamed of a day when French women like Jacqueline du Bief, Surya Bonaly, Laetitia Hubert and Vanessa Gusmeroli would enjoy such success on the World's biggest stages. They were, by all accounts, probably far more interested in their ice dancing and who can blame them? Ice dancing's pretty cool stuff!

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

Dot McCusker, Queen Of The Ice Comics

A family that skates together stays together. At least that was the case with the McCusker family of Hollywood, California. Mother Gladys (Daniels) and father Charlie McCusker - a Canadian hockey star in his heyday - had three children and all three ended up enjoying success as professional figure skaters!

Before we get to the 'star' of today's blog, ice comic Dot McCusker, I want to briefly talk about the rest of the family's skating accomplishments. Jimmy, the youngest, appeared in both hotel shows and the Icelandia shows (which we'll get to later) but it was Buff (Buford), the oldest of the three McCusker siblings who achieved fame as three time Olympic Gold Medallist Sonja Henie's partner in the 1943 film "Wintertime". Buff recalled that Henie had seen him "perform in the Ice Follies and asked if I'd like to be her partner in the movie 'Wintertime'. I was in the Army Air Corps at the time but was given leave to do the picture. Some of you may recall the scene from the movie where we skated together on a rink of black ice. The ice was actually coated with a thin layer of black ink that made a stunning reflection as we glided around the rink. Working with Sonja was wonderful. I had to watch her closely because our movements needed to match perfectly. I had a tendency to lift my legs higher than hers, so I had to watch that. And when we did the jumps called Axels, I had a tendency to spin a little more, so I had to tone that down a bit, too. Still, it was a great experience." He and wife Joanne (Ruppe) - also a professional skater - later appeared in Sonja's film "It's A Pleasure" after World War II. Not to be outdone, father Charlie and uncle Mac at one time owned the Polar Palace ice rink and operated affiliated skate shops. Despite Buff's success as a pairs skater and impressive career as a touring professional, it was the middle child Dot (Dorothy) who made perhaps the biggest impression on American audiences.

Born in Nebraska in the early twenties, Dot McCusker was a tall brunette whose shtick was (according to the April 10, 1948 edition of The Billboard) "a novice comedy bit" that she "weak-ankled her way" through. Descriptions of her performances allude to Dot's act being eerily similar to the "Wanda Beazel" program that Debi Thomas popularized in the eighties, where she parodied a young skater performing her first solo.

Graduating from Bel-Mar High School, Dot joined the ensemble cast in a hotel skating show at the Book-Cadillac in Detroit, Michigan, skating to the music of Manny Prager's orchestra. After getting both skates in the door, she joined the Ice Capades cast in 1944 as an Ice-Ca'pet' and later, the cast of Holiday On Ice. It was on the latter tour that she was given an opportunity to move up from the chorus to the spotlight and audiences loved what they saw from the comedic skater. An article from the San Jose Evening News on January 21, 1944 notes that "he most outstanding act as judged by applause last night was a comedy skit by Dorothy McCusker. She stopped the show."

Dot balanced touring with Holiday On Ice for three years with appearances in club carnivals. In 1945, she performed a duet comedy act with Marie Purviance at the 15th Annual Shrine Ice Carnival at the Civic Ice Arena in Seattle alongside Barbara Ann Scott King, Dorothy and Hazel Caley and Skippy Baxter. In September of 1947, she skated for two weeks at a circus in Honolulu, Hawaii. An article from "The Spokesman-Review" on September 19, 1947 mused, "the trail from a model student and teacher's pet to queen of the ice comics is a rough one full of bumps and bruises - just ask Dot McCusker. A member of the 'skating McCusker family' and little sister of Buff the strong man... Dot makes her comic antics a studied, artistic performance. She takes her bumps like a man and never lets her audience rest. When she takes her last bow she's 'well done in'. To give her audience, the gal hands herself a rugged time."

By the next April, Dot was performing in the hotel show held in the Boulevard Room at the Hotel Stevens in Chicago to rave reviews alongside Rudy Richards, Manuel del Torro, Jerry Rehfield and Paul and Mickee Preston. She remained at the Hotel Stevens as an audience favourite with her 'novice skater' act for two years before teaming up with her brother Buff and Samuel H. Scripps to produce a short-lived touring stage show called Icelandia. The March 13, 1951 "Rome News-Tribune" described Dot's performance in the Icelandia shows at the City Auditorium in Rome thusly: "The big scene-stealer is Dot McCusker, who combines superb skating skill with a talent for comedy that brought down the opening night and drew her three curtain calls." They went on to say that she provided "laughs galore as she attempts to follow in the steps of lovely Mae Edwards."

My favourite quote from this long forgotten scene stealer has got to be "doing shows is fun, but I could find it just as easy playing quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams". Many of the comedic roles in ice shows and tours in those days may have gone to men, but Dot McCusker deserves a great deal of credit for helping to slowly break down gender barriers for females, proving to tour promoters that women could easily be every bit as comedic on the ice as their male counterparts.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

Dreams On Ice

"There was one little girl whose wish it was to meet Isabelle and me... I was immensely moved by this child's bravery. We talked and ate lunch together, and she attended the show as our special guest, where her smile little up the night's sky. A few weeks later, I was saddened to learn that she had died... Sometimes, when I am overwrought at a competition, where I don't think the judges have treated us fairly, I will stop and find myself thinking about that little girl. Everything else will pale in comparison, and instantly, the judges' marks won't seem so important after all." - Lloyd Eisler, "Brasseur And Eisler: The Professional Years", 1999

During the nineties, the amount of professional figure skating shows, tours and competitions that cropped up in a short amount of time was nothing short of prolific. Audiences wanted figure skating and event producers and networks delivered. What made one of these shows in particular so unique was that it was a fundraiser for The Children's Wish Foundation Of Canada and no small one at that. From 1992 to 1997, Dreams On Ice raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the charity, which has been making dreams come true for children living with life threatening illnesses since 1984. The show, packaged for Canadian television, was ranked the highest watched Canadian produced televised program in 1993 and was nominated for a Gemini Award in 1995. But how did it all get started?

In 1991, Isabelle Brasseur, Lloyd Eisler and Lou-Anne Brosseau teamed up with the idea of doing a show to benefit the children's charity. In a June 17, 1992 article in "The Windsor Star", Brosseau said, "I spoke with Lloyd after he and Isabelle had been contacted about becoming involved at the provincial level and he suggested staging a skating show. Once it became known where some of the proceeds would be going, it wasn't difficult to put together a strong cast." A logo was designed - a skate blade with shooting stars - and Lloyd took on an important role in drumming up support among skaters. At the 1992 World Figure Skating Championships in Oakland, California, then Vice-President of CTV Sports Peter Sisam got on board. He put the organizers in touch with Canadian Airlines to help with sponsorship and arranged to have the production aired on television. Eisler told reporter Dave Hall from "The Windsor Star" that "there never seems to be enough time to do all the things we want to do but putting on an ice show is something we know a little about and helping children fulfil their dreams is an easy charity to get behind.'' 

The first show was held in Windsor, Ontario on September 19, 1992. The cast that first year included Brasseur and Eisler, Brian Orser, Elvis Stojko, Jill Trenary, Mark Mitchell, Karen Preston, Christine Hough and Doug Ladret, Michelle McDonald and Martin Smith and Jacqueline Petr and Mark Janoschak. Mitchell was a last minute replacement for Canadian Champion Michael Slipchuk, who injured his ankle just two days before the show was set to start. The show did have its challenges. Recurring issues with clearing synchronization rights for music over the years meant 'muzak' was sometimes used on the television broadcasts. In 1993, Isabelle Brasseur actually contacted Eric Clapton's agent directly for permission to use "Tears In Heaven". She got the go ahead. 

However, financially and in terms of production, Dreams On Ice (sponsored over the year alternately by Kraft and Chrysler) was a huge hit with Canadian audiences and I'm sure most of you living here in the country will remember the show fondly. Over the six years the show was held, a who's who of Canadian figure skating got on board to perform and support the event, including Barbara Underhill and Paul Martini, Josée Chouinard, Shae-Lynn Bourne and Victor Kraatz, Jennifer Robinson and
Sébastien Britten.

Support also came in from skaters from around the world. Among the many skaters from abroad who came to Ontario to participate were Michelle Kwan, Kristi Yamaguchi, Paul Wylie, Nancy Kerrigan, Elena Bechke and Denis Petrov, Todd Eldredge, Susanna Rahkamo and Petri Kokko, Yuka Sato, Caryn Kadavy and Jozef Sabovcik. Original music for the show's opening and closing sequences was especially composed by Montreal pianist Karl Hugo and the show even sparked spin-off's in Brampton and London called "Winter Dreams On Ice" in the late nineties.

The stories of the children whose dreams came true choke you up even reading about them now. In 1993, a nine year old Windsor girl with a rare form of leukemia was sponsored. An account from the show's organizers noted that "due to the constant hospital visits and treatment, Sarah's parents thought that an event like Dreams On Ice might be too much for Sarah and the child was crushed to find that her parents had not purchased tickets for the event. Sarah's family had heard of the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada through the Cancer treatment center at the hospital and contacted them one day prior to the show hoping they could help with tickets for the family. B.B.E. Productions were contacted that morning and immediately went to work to grant the favourite wish of the Windsor child. Sarah arrived at the Windsor Arena just on time to enjoy watching the skaters rehearse and join in for a pizza party. Many of the skaters stopped to have their picture taken with Sarah and sign a few autographs for her! Tickets for front row seats were provided for the whole family as they attended the show as special guests." 

Three years later it was Jocelyn, a fifteen year old with a life threatening illness living in Kitchener: 

"[She] had a wish to meet Elvis Stojko in person and to attend the World Figure Skating Championships in Edmonton, Alberta Canada. The Children's Wish Foundation of Canada granted Jocelyn's wish by providing her and her family with all-event tickets to the World Championships and contacted B.B.E. Productions directly to see if it would be possible for Jocelyn to attend Dreams On Ice to watch Elvis skate and to give Jocelyn the opportunity to meet Elvis in person. On Friday, September 8, 1995, B.B.E. Productions Inc. held a media reception to introduce the cast of the 1995 event. The media from radio, television and newspaper were on hand to witness the surprise of Jocelyn's life! During the media reception, the founder of the Children's Wish Foundation of Canada, Ms. Laura Cole, announced to the audience that Jocelyn had a wish and that she had no idea what she was about to encounter. Jocelyn came into the room a short time later with her parents and Isabelle Brasseur and Lloyd Eisler greeted her at the door. She immediately recognized Isabelle and hugged her! Lloyd took Jocelyn by the hand and led her to the front of the room where the other skaters and Elvis were seated. Upon seeing Elvis Stojko, Jocelyn collapsed to the floor in tears stating "Oh.... that's Elvis Stojko!" The moment was very touching as Elvis helped her up and gave her a hug. Tears were streaming down the faces of everyone in attendance including the skaters! It was a moment that will never be forgotten for many years to come."

Figure skating brings so much joy to so many people and it's always touching to see skaters recognize its power to heal and help others. Dreams On Ice serves as a wonderful memory of that, its place in skating history a beautiful one.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

From Yasnaya Polyana To The Zoological Gardens: Tolstoy's Skating Legacy

In the village Yasnaya Polyana in Tula Oblast, Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy penned "War And Peace", regarded widely by scholars and book lovers alike as one of the greatest novels of all time. It was published in 1869, six years after the formation of the Neva Skating Association in St. Petersburg. Owing to the newfound interest the noble class of Russians were paying to figure skating at the time, many Russian writers of note took to the ice to see what all the fuss was about. Years after Alexander Pushkin wrote of skating in his novel in verse "Eugene Onegin", writers like Vladimir Gilyarovsky were often found at the Patriarch's Ponds rink in Moscow passing the long, frosty winters by carving out eights on the ice in the company of the most influential Muscovites.

Tolstoy, a firm believer in the virtues of physical activity, also skated at the Patriarch's Pond rink with his family and quite often on a pond on his property in Yasnaya Polyana, the winters a time when he often took a break from writing. It was no surprise that this famous skating aficionado found room for his winter sport of choice in his 1877 book "Anna Karenina". The famous 'skating scene' from Tolstoy's acclaimed novel offers a backdrop to the chilly burgeoning romance subplot of Konstantin Dmitrievich Lëvin and Princess Ekaterina Alexandrovna Shcherbatskaya:

"At four o’clock, conscious of his throbbing heart, Levin stepped out of a hired sledge at the Zoological Gardens, and turned along the path to the frozen mounds and the skating-ground, knowing that he would certainly find her there, as he had seen the Shtcherbatskys' carriage at the entrance.

It was a bright, frosty day. Rows of carriages, sledges, drivers, and policemen were standing in the approach. Crowds of well-dressed people, with hats bright in the sun, swarmed about the entrance and along the well-swept little paths between the little houses adorned with carving in the Russian style. The old curly birches of the gardens, all their twigs laden with snow, looked as though freshly decked in sacred vestments.

He walked along the path towards the skating-ground, and kept saying to himself—'You mustn't be excited, you must be calm. What's the matter with you? What do you want? Be quiet, stupid,' he conjured his heart. And the more he tried to compose himself, the more breathless he found himself. An acquaintance met him and called him by name, but Levin did not even recognise him. He went towards the mounds, whence came the clank of the chains of sledges as they slipped down or were dragged up, the rumble of the sliding sledges, and the sounds of merry voices. He walked on a few steps, and the skating-ground lay open before his eyes, and at once, amidst all the skaters, he knew her.

He knew she was there by the rapture and the terror that seized on his heart. She was standing talking to a lady at the opposite end of the ground. There was apparently nothing striking either in her dress or her attitude. But for Levin she was as easy to find in that crowd, as a rose among nettles.

Everything was made bright by her. She was the smile that shed light on all around her. 'Is it possible I can go over there on the ice, go up to her?' he thought. The place where she stood seemed to him a holy shrine, unapproachable, and there was one moment when he was almost retreating, so overwhelmed was he with terror. He had to make an effort to master himself, and to remind himself that people of all sorts were moving about her, and that he too might come there to skate. He walked down, for a long while avoiding looking at her as at the sun, but seeing her, as one does the sun, without looking.

On that day of the week and at that time of day people of one set, all acquainted with one another, used to meet on the ice. There were crack skaters there, showing off their skill, and learners clinging to chairs with timid, awkward movements, boys, and elderly people skating with hygienic motives. They seemed to Levin an elect band of blissful beings because they were here, near her. All the skaters, it seemed, with perfect self-possession, skated towards her, skated by her, even spoke to her, and were happy, quite apart from her, enjoying the capital ice and the fine weather.

Nikolay Shtcherbatsky, Kitty's cousin, in a short jacket and tight trousers, was sitting on a garden seat with his skates on. Seeing Levin, he shouted to him -

'Ah, the first skater in Russia! Been here long? First-rate ice - do put your skates on.'  

'I haven’t got my skates,' Levin answered, marvelling at this boldness and ease in her presence, and not for one second losing sight of her, though he did not look at her. He felt as though the sun were coming near him. She was in a corner, and turning out her slender feet in their high boots with obvious timidity, she skated towards him. A boy in Russian dress, desperately waving his arms and bowed down to the ground, overtook her. She skated a little uncertainly; taking her hands out of the little muff, that hung on a cord, she held them ready for emergency, and looking towards Levin, whom she had recognised, she smiled at him and at her own fears. When she had got round the turn, she gave herself a push off with one foot, and skated straight up to Shtcherbatsky. Clutching at his arm, she nodded smiling to Levin. She was more splendid than he had imagined her.

When he thought of her, he could call up a vivid picture of her to himself, especially the charm of that little fair head, so freely set on the shapely girlish shoulders, and so full of childish brightness and good-humour. The childishness of her expression, together with the delicate beauty of her figure, made up her special charm, and that he fully realised. But what always struck him in her as something unlooked for, was the expression of her eyes, soft, serene, and truthful, and above all, her smile, which always transported Levin to an enchanted world, where he felt himself softened and tender, as he remembered himself in some days of his early childhood.

'Have you been here long?' she said, giving him her hand. 'Thank you,' she added, as he picked up the handkerchief that had fallen out of her muff.

'I? I've not long … yesterday … I mean to-day … I arrived,' answered Levin, in his emotion not at once understanding her question. 'I was meaning to come and see you,' he said; and then, recollecting with what intention he was trying to see her, he was promptly overcome with confusion and blushed.

'I didn't know you could skate, and skate so well.'

She looked at him earnestly, as though wishing to make out the cause of his confusion.

'Your praise is worth having. The tradition is kept up here that you are the best of skaters,' she said, with her little black-gloved hand brushing a grain of hoar-frost off her muff.

'Yes, I used once to skate with passion; I wanted to reach perfection'

'You do everything with passion, I think,' she said, smiling. 'I should so like to see how you skate. Put on skates, and let us skate together.'

'Skate together! Can that be possible?' thought Levin, gazing at her.

'I'll put them on directly,' he said.

And he went off to get skates.

'It's a long while since we've seen you here, sir,' said the attendant, supporting his foot, and screwing on the heel of the skate. 'Except you, there’s none of the gentlemen first-rate skaters. Will that be all right?' said he, tightening the strap.

'Oh, yes, yes; make haste, please,' answered Levin, with difficulty restraining the smile of rapture which would overspread his face. 'Yes,' he thought, 'this now is life, this is happiness! Together, she said; let us skate together! Speak to her now? But that’s just why I'm afraid to speak - because I'm happy now, happy in hope, any way... And then?… But I must! I must! I must! Away with weakness!'

Levin rose to his feet, took off his overcoat, and scurrying over the rough ice round the hut, came out on the smooth ice and skated without effort, as it were by simple exercise of will increasing and slackening speed and turning his course. He approached with timidity, but again her smile reassured him.

She gave him her hand, and they set off side by side, going faster and faster, and the more rapidly they moved the more tightly she grasped his hand.

'With you I should soon learn; I somehow feel confidence in you,' she said to him.

'And I have confidence in myself when you are leaning on me,' he said."

Tolstoy passed away in 1910, fifty four years before The Protopopov's won the Soviet Union's first Olympic gold medal in pairs skating. However, his romantic depiction of strained romance on the ice decades before in "Anna Karenina" continues to have a lasting influence not only on Russian pairs and ice dance teams but those worldwide. Knowing now that the author himself had great affection for the sport only makes the legacy of his words all the more interesting from a historical perspective.

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.

The Great Lobster Boil Of 1989

It's no secret that many of the best stories from figure skating's history don't even take place on the ice. In the case of today's blog, the drama wasn't even unfolding in the stands, the judge's room or the dressing room. It was unfolding in the kitchen.

At the 1989 World Figure Skating Championships in Paris, France, the Canadian Figure Skating Association (in conjunction with the local organizing committee for the 1990 World Championships in Halifax) planned a reception for two hundred and fifty people to promote the 1990 World Championships here in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Guests came from from thirty four different countries and included ISU representatives, marketing representatives, major television network officials, skaters and sponsors. There were engraved pins with the logo for the 1990 World Championships; there was a video advertising how fabulous Halifax is. There was also a problem.

As for the menu, in the May 1989 issue of "The Dartmouth Monthly", Joanne Byrne explained that "we wanted something Nova Scotian and Europeans consider lobster a rare delicacy... a taste of the hospitality they can expect in Nova Scotia." Byrne, a Nova Scotian skating judge and longtime supporter of skating here in the province, had helped coordinated the shipment of three hundred and forty pounds of Nova Scotia lobster to Paris for the reception. It was supposed to have arrived ready to serve. Instead, she had to get a ridiculous amount of live lobsters through French Customs and figure out how to cook them. With her limited French, she manage to convince Paris chefs to help with the dilemma and cook the crustaceans. However, the French chefs weren't down with simply boiling the lobster. They insisted on laying it flat on the serving platters. To do this, Byrne said "they wrapped every last lobster tail mummy-style to keep the tails from curling during cooking."

As if this all wasn't enough to make someone want to jump into the pot with those delectable crustaceans, the Parisian chefs were taken aback at the suggestion of serving the lobsters with melted butter (as is of course customary) and instead opted to make two elaborate butter sculptures: a lion's head and a butter bust of Louis XIV to decorate the tables. Imagine! Lobster laments aside, the reception was a huge hit with everyone in attendance other than those who ended up boiling in a pot and getting smeared with a knife full of butter from the side of Louis XIV's head.

All event tickets were sold out well in advance of the 1990 World Championships and inspired by the Paris lobster boil, visitors to Halifax during the 1990 World Championships were treated to a Nova Scotia lobster dinner, Maritime music and hospitality throughout the 1990 World Championships at an event held at J.J. Rossy's called "Lobsters On Skates". Proceeds from the event, sponsored by Clearwater Lobster, supported the Halifax YMCA. As we all know, the Halifax Worlds proved to be one of the most exciting and fondly remembered World Championships in the nineties. All thanks to the Nova Scotia lobster? Clearly!

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, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of the 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.