I wish you could see the photos - he is 88 and skates at my rink, has macular degeneration - is the greatest guy

(he gets very frustrated with himself - still wants to jump and spin)

http://www.sptimes.com/2006/11/29/Ne..._for_wor.shtml

Just too cool for words
At 88, Hugh Pope can no longer read or drive. But give up skating? Forget about it.
By TERRI BRYCE REEVES
Published November 29, 2006


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Hugh Pope, 88, sits in the lobby of Sunblades Ice Arena and laces up his 60-year-old skates, a pair of black CCM Professionals that he owned as a show skater.

They are, like he is, worn and crinkly, but well loved and full of memories.

"I can no longer drive, read or play tennis, but I can still skate," Pope said, making his way to the ice.

"Now we'll see what happens."

He steps on the ice gingerly. Long gone are the days when he performed axels, camel spins and stag jumps in touring ice shows. Now he is content to make several laps around the rink and not fall.

"I fall, but I've never broken a bone," he said proudly.

The St. Petersburg resident is something of a celebrity at Sunblades, an indoor rink in the Icot Center, where the close-knit adult group skates together on Mondays and Thursdays.

Most are aware Pope was a professional skater. He performed in the ice shows popular in the 1940s and '50s, including Sonja Henie's Hollywood Ice Revue. Henie was a three-time Olympic champion and 10-time world champion who made many movies.

On this day, a gaggle of women skated over to Pope, while he rested on a bench, to hold his hand, give him some hugs and soak up his charm.

"He's a babe magnet," said Jackie Mooney, 70, of Largo.

What seems to impress his fellow skaters most is that the octogenarian still skates even though he is legally blind. He suffers from macular degeneration; he has lost his central vision. It affects his equilibrium, yet he refuses to give up the sport he loves.

"He's my inspiration," said Sara Sharpe, 55 of Clearwater. "If I can skate around like that when I'm 88, well, that will be just fabulous."

Pope was born in London, England, during World War I. His family moved to London, Ontario, where he started skating on frozen ponds. As a teenager, he won the senior men's championship of the 300-member London (Ontario) Skating Club. At the same time, he was the men's singles tennis champion of western Ontario.

In 1938, at the age of 20, he turned professional and taught figure skating in the winter, tennis in the summer. For the next 16 years, Pope would alternately teach and tour, skating in ice shows like the St. Moritz Ice Revue, which toured Holland, and the Hollywood Ice Revue, which traveled to major cities around the United States. Often, he performed comedy routines.

"I was never the greatest, but I was a damn good skater," he said.

He remembers Henie as "distant, but very polite."

He said Henie's show claimed to be the most extravagant of the genre.

"Some of the costumes were said to have cost up to $3,000 apiece," he said. "Some had thousands of tiny mirrors sewn into them."

In the mid '50s, Pope moved to Florida, where he met his wife, Joanne, now 77.

He became a travelogue film lecturer, making films in Europe, South America, Canada and Australia.

The couple have been married 49 years. She drives him to Sunblades twice a week.

In 1995, at age 76, Pope became legally blind and had to give up much of what he loved.

But part with skating?

Forget about it.

"It keeps me healthy and active and happy," Pope said, adding that he also lifts weights, walks, jogs, eats right and gets nine hours of sleep each night.

"Most people say I look 65 or 70, but they may be just trying to flatter me," he said.

After his session, he banters with a photographer taking pictures.

"I know you were just waiting for me to fall, so you could go 'snap, snap, snap,' but I didn't do it," he chuckled.

[Last modified November 28, 2006, 20:59:07]

What a sweet story.


But- 60 year old skates? That's amazing.

__________________
-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

That's a really nice story. It is extremely nice to hear that he can still do something that he really loves a lot. He obviously loves to skate. Although, someone should fit him out with modern boots to see if he likes the feel of the latest gear! Then he can always change back to the old boots if he wants hehe

Too cool. We need pics!

__________________
Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

OK I'll add that to my list of future goals:
live to be an 88yo skating babe magnet!
Lyle

I'm fairly sure there is/was a skater in his 80s at Bristol Ice Dance Club, who was superb. And don't let's forget Jack, who is still a competitive ice dancer (he competes Adult pre-Bronze) at the age of 87. I hope to be skating against him again this year, as I did last year.

__________________
Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Looplover, thanks for posting the article. What a neat story. (When I first read the thread title, I have to admit, I read it quickly and thought it might have been a thread for the dance coach that jazzpants has been considering, replete with picture! )

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