I Remember...when kids used to bring their vinyl records to the rink to play on the "record player!" Remember the box where you placed the needle to the vinyl?! At the time, I remember the boys were skating programs to James Bond, 007's "Gold Finger!" The girls were skating mostly to the overture from "The Sound of Music!" It must have been the late 60's!

I was just telling my husband how much we need to buy a record player. I love all my old records (including my mums original beatles ones!) but can't play them because I don't have a turntable anymore.

Seriously, things haven't changed that much still lots of boys skating to James Bond themes....

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AW1
mum to Miss Lil (6yrs old)
mum to be to #2 due in March 08

I Remember...when the ice was totally filled with skaters "patching" laying out school figures. This happened three times per day--it was a beautiful vision, never to be seen, again...

Hey
Lovepairs
My new program ( not finished ) is James Bond. To Russia with love. Jazzed up.. Shaken not stired.

I remember when I first skated in a skating skirt, with thick black lycra tights underneath, I felt naked!!

I remember... almost 3 years ago when I first stepped onto the ice, I was hanging on to the boards, feared crossovers, and thought I would never be able to waltz jump...

I know what you mean, AW1. My parents just sold their house (where they've lived for almost 35 years) and are now in the process of cleaning out all the remaining stuff they haven't already taken with them to their new place. Among the "junk": tons of records, some of them real classics (old musicals (2 "Hair" soundtracks - lol), the Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel, classical music albums, etc). They still have their record player, but it's at least 35 years old and they haven't used it in ages - they offered it to me but it's kind of complicated to use, and plus I have no room for it and the records right now. My mom is thinking about calling stores that sell old records and see if they'd buy them from her. I know there are some stores that sell record players (spiffy, new, "restored" kinds) that would probably be easier to use than the old one, but then again, where would my parents or I put it and the records where we each currently live?

I suggested my mom get the most "classic" ones recorded onto CDs but it would probably cost a fortune, if it could even be done. I know we could just go out and buy the albums on CD, but I suspect a lot of the "oldies" would be hard to find.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Starskate,

You're a hot ticket, and that's all I have to say about that! "Gold Finger, La, La, La...."

I remember...skating dresses before 2-way, 4-way, or lycra stretch was even invented. The material was so stiff that the dressmaker had to put these "gusset" things under your arms, so that you could actually raise your arms above your head! Who ever invented Spandex

Ditto. I walked past a full length mirror, and didn't recognize myself. It was the first time I had on skates, dress, and tights. Sure, I'd tried on the dress to make sure it fit (I had it made for me) but not with the entire getup. I had leg muscles I'd never seen before. I had to do a double take.

I'd been used to skating in loose polar fleece pants, so I really felt naked. I quickly got over it, and now feel weird if I have to skate in pants.

I remember...watching Linda Fratiani skate to "Fire Bird." She won a Silver Medal. Does anyone remember if this was the Olympics, or the Worlds...gosh, I'm really showing my age. But, what's worse is that I remember seeing Peggy Fleming compete on TV, too, when I was a very little girl. I think Dick competed before, or, shortly after I was born...I don't remember seeing any footage of him on TV.

I remember when they first opened South Mountain Arena in NJ where I grew up...that seems like at the end of the Jurassic Era.

That's where I first learned to figure skate and had my great "Pairs Skating Disaster"

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

I Remember...my first skating rink, too. It was owned by Fritz Dietle who skated with Sonja Henji (sp?) Located in Westwood, NJ. I was 5 and the rink was HUGE. I went back to visit as an adult and the rink was the a tiny studio rink the size of a stamp! I believe that it is still open, and that kids are still learning to skate there!

I remember...

Weekend public sessions at my old home rink (which has long since closed down... ) eating pizza, sodas and playing pinball. The b-day kid also has to do the Hokey-Pokey in the middle. (Thankfully, it's still being done at the Snoopy rink now. But certainly NOT at the YB rink. It's too...ummm.... "hokey" for the city kids!

I remember when my older sister and her then-bf dragged me along to skate and she could only skate around a little...and then a year later, she's still just skating around a little and I was doing spins!!!

My one venture into pairs was an old guy who spun all the little girls around. I became one of those little kids!!! Too bad when I was about 12, the guy said that I was getting too old and too big for him to do the pair spin thing. Sadly, a couple of years after I hung up the skates, I find out that he "was very old and very sick."

In 1999 when I was first skating around my current rink after a 17 year hiatus and was just going around the ice. And then a half year later, hubby went to see me just skate around the ice...only to see that I'm already getting my one foot spin back and doing waltz jumps again! (SUUUURPRIIIISE!!!)

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I remember when the rink was scrapped by men with wide shovels and flooded by a hand-pushed cart with a big water tank on it. The artificial ice was maintained by an ammonia cooling plant that could hardly hold the ice through a warm winter day!

The big names in skating were people like Karen Magnussen and Petra Burka. I remember the plane crash of 1962(?) that wiped out the entire U.S. Olympic figure skating team. A good pair of custom boots were about $250 (more than a month's wages) and for $1.25 you could skate all week.

I remember when I COULD skate - LOL!!!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

I also remember Petra Burka - I skated on the same ice as Karen Magnussen one summer school, and I still have the SK customs I paid $250 for (including coronation ace blades)

Rusty - we're definately dating ourselves here

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If you keep your eyes on God, you can walk on water.

Years before I started skating, I remember watching Torvill and Dean's Bolero on TV when they skated it for the first time. I remember my mother (a big fan of ice dancing and figure skating) ooohing and aaahhing and being absolutely thrilled at the ending part. I was so little I wasn't really aware of what I was watching. I also remember when the Protopopovs were still regularly on TV in skating competitions.

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Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

Rusty--you are ancient (like me!) MikaWendy, you are a baby! I was way into skating when Torvil and Dean skated Bolero, but I never saw hand flooded and hand scrapped ice--WOW!!! Who is Petra Burka??? I was about 4 years old when the plane crashed and we lost all of those wonderful skaters...I don't remember it, but I do remember the day that President Kennedy was shot--the entire world stood still (I was in 1st grade), but I can't remember what I ate for breakfast today!

I remember the 1961 plane crash clearly. My grandmother lived in Boston and she knew all the skaters. I remember when she introduced me to Laurance and her mother Maribel.

I was a senior in high school when Kennedy was assisinated in 1963. I also remember when the french got defeated in Dien Bien Phu in 1954 which began our involvement in Viet Nam.

Yup, I be old. I am either the 3rd or 4th oldest at the August Adult Week in Lake Placid.

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

Figureskates,

Let's look at the pictures in the hallways together during the August Lake Placid week, and see what we remember...I remember you!

Lovepairs

*** Gives Lovepairs a big HUG! *** From one "old-timer" to another "almost-old-timer". I was in grade 9 when Kennedy was shot and remember where I was when I heard, but I don't remember what I had for lunch!

Our rink was in a tiny town in the middle of the backwoods - it's amazing we had artificial ice at all. I think it was about 1965 when they converted to Freon refrigeration. Before that I remember skating the spring "show" with water on the ice.

Figureskates - WOW! You're ven older than I am!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

You're on! We can do it at the opening party on Sunday!

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Keeping School Figures Alive!!

I remember bringing my record to the rink and playing it for my program practice. I remember that there was a guy who sat in a booth up above the rink and played records during general skating sessions.

I remember patch.

I remember when Kennedy was killed. I was in 3rd grade, age 9 I guess.

And the plane crash was in 1961, the World Team was killed (well, almost everybody from the team) -- I don't remember it, but there was a guy from our skating club that was on that plane - Doug Ramsey. His picture still hangs in the lobby of the Detroit Skating Club.

I remember skating at a studio rink in Detroit that was owned by Don Stewart, who also sold me my first pair of skates - Oberhammers with Coronation Ace blades. I found out recently that that studio rink had been owned by a man named Swallender who had been one of the coaches killed in the crash.

And yes, I remember Torville and Dean's Bolero.

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I'm ancient! I remember the skate guards scraping the ice with shovels and hosing it with water at Central Park!

In the mid 60's when I was 12, I took the subway to skate there. I saw the kids in the figure skating club practicing and asked how I could join. The director was very kind. She told me to get better skates and come early every Sat. morning. I didn't take any private lessons and just copied what everyone else was doing.

One day a group of older women dressed in big coats and boots walked on the ice and asked each of us in turn to do a few things. After they left the director told us we all passed the preliminary figure test.

On Sunday mornings the Central Park rink was divided. One half was for ice dancing. There were many elegant ladies and gentlemen skating round and round doing all the dances as they were announced.

Years later when the Abe Stark Rink opened in Coney Island, I took the subway there very early when the sun was rising over the ocean. A retired skater who was taught by Pierre Brunet was there every morning teaching everyone on the ice for free, putting us all on patch first, then helping us with dances or freestyle. Now and then he would surprise us with an awesome camel spin.

I remember when I started skating I was amazed at some friends doing forward crossovers and said that I doubt I could ever do that.

Also before I started skating, I saw some skating on tv and wondered why they kept doing the same jumps so many times in one program (now I know the entrances make them different, but it all looks the same in the air!)

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~
Tidesong

Oh my Gosh!
At 46, I never expected to feel like a young whipper-snapper on this board!
But I didn't start skating until my 20's, so I missed out on a lot of stuff.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am