Of the skaters that you have met . . ?

[Lynn226]

Of the skaters that you have met, which do you think were the most fan-friendly in each discipline? This isn't necessarily a list of you faves, just those who you think are nice, even if you're not a huge fan of their skating. If you want, then share your story.

This is meant as the spin-off of the "If you could meet one skater" thread.

Ladies: Jennifer Robinson
Men: Emanuel Sandhu & Jeffrey Buttle; but I would also put in a good word for Kevin VDP & Fedor Andreev.
Pairs: Sean Wirtz - he seems to have a good sense of humor
Dance: Marie-France Dubreiul - I'm not a huge fan of this team, but she seemed quite nice.

[Debbie S]

Ladies: Sasha Cohen. I met her at 2001 Nats, as a result of my being one of the winners in a sweepstakes that got a trip to Nats for the men's and ladies' finals and the exhibition, and a 40-minute skating clinic that Sunday morning with Sasha, Peggy Fleming, and John Nicks (Sasha's coach at the time). That was the year Sasha had to withdraw from Nats b/c of a back injury, but she was so sweet and gracious to everyone. My mom and I saw her at 2002 Nats on the bus to the practice rink (back when skaters and spectators rode the same busses) and she remembered us and was again very gracious. And I'll also put in a plug for the almost-famous Kimmie Meissner (Nat'l Jr. champ and World Jr. silver medalist). She practices at my rink occasionally and is a very sweet girl.

Men: Todd Eldredge has always been very nice to his fans. I met him at '01 Nats, one of the Chevy-sponsored skating clinics, and at '03 Worlds when he did a Chevy-sponsored autograph session in the arena. During the finale of this year's SOI, where my group had on-ice seats, Todd saw me looking at him at the end (I thought that his standing in front of our section meant we would shake hands with him at the end, but alas, they moved some more and he ended up closer to another section when the skaters broke off to do their hand-shaking thing) and he gave me a little wave. My friends were convinced that he remembered me from our previous meetings, but I don't think that's possible. I just chalked it up to Todd's graciousness with SOI fans. And I've heard that Alexei Yagudin is very gracious - some people from my rink asked for his autograph last year at the Liberty competition where he was coaching Griazev and they reported that he was very nice to them.

Pairs: The only pair skaters I've had any sort of personal contact with have been Jennifer Don and Jonathon Hunt, and that's only b/c Jonathon teaches at my rink occasionally and Jenny practiced there once last winter right before 4CCs. They are both very nice and down-to-earth people. I've heard from others that Sale/Pelletier and Ina/Zimmerman are very nice, too.

Dance: Well, Roca and Sur visited my rink once to choreograph a program for a local dance team and you would hardly have known they were there - very unassuming. I've never really been up-close with any othe dance teams, but I've heard that Naomi Lang (now-retired, of course) is very nice to her fans.

[flippet]

I don't know about each discipline, but let me think...


Matt Savoie is a real sweetie, very gracious.

Philippe Candeloro was also very nice at the low-key event I was at--I don't recall meeting him personally, but he was bouncing around and chatting with quite a lot of fans, and in practice was tossing off specialty tricks upon request. He was very different from my TV-only impressions--much nicer! And I must say that the on-ice antics come off much better in person than on TV.

Evan Lysacek is also a doll. Timmy was nice, but didn't seem extraordinary.

Dan Hollander seems to be a super-nice guy as well.


Steve and Danielle Hartsell are very, very nice people. They were assisting at a clinic that I went to (when I was first learning to skate), and Steve was more than willing to be run around demonstrating things, even when it was clear that he was kind of tired. And Danielle was very sweet, trying to teach me a waltz jump, even though I barely had back edges at the time, and was well over the age of most of the participants.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've really met any female skaters (excepting Danielle). Perhaps the ones I've been near were more stand-offish than the guys, or just really busy.


Edited to say--not totally on-topic, but Kovarikova & Novotny are not only really nice, but probably the best-looking couple of people I've ever had the opportunity to see up close. Wow! 8O

[icedancer2]

Susie Wynne is probably the nicest skater I've ever met.

But I haven't met very many, except for all of the very nice people I have met through skating in general!! :)

[Lynn226]

[QUOTE=icedancer2]Susie Wynne is probably the nicest skater I've ever met.
[QUOTE]

I'm glad you mentioned Susie. I saw her at SC '03. I just wanted to say "Hi!" and tell her that I enjoy her commentary. She was on her way out the door, but she stopped to chat like I was an old friend. She went on to say that she felt like she didn't do a good job with the commentary because she was still getting used to CoP.

[Artemis]

For men, I'd have to say Kurt, followed closely Steven Cousins. I met both at Kurt's original Gotta Dance show in Vancouver, and although it was after the show and they must have been exhausted, both were very friendly and generous with their time.

[Trillian]

I don't think I've encountered any big-name skaters who struck me as unfriendly; most have seemed to handle fan attention well. Among the few really big names, Kurt Browning was quite chatty with fans; Scott Hamilton was nice enough, but there were a lot of people milling around that time and he was obviously (and understandably) limiting his interaction.

I've interacted with a lot more of the current competitors. Probably the most pleasant encounter I've had was with Ryan Jahnke, who seems like a really terrific guy (especially since I was 17 and rather starstruck when I met him). But as I said, all the recent U.S. medalists I've encountered have been fine, and as for lower-ranked skaters, they're almost always pleased to be recognized (in the appropriate setting) and will naturally be quite friendly.

[prunes89]

Most friendly: Sasha Cohen. I met her backstage after COI. I told her I was a member of her fanclub and asked to have my photo taken with her. She was so sweet and friendly. She seemed very thrilled about me being in her fanclub and said most skaters have them and are thrilled to meet their fans. She told me that sometimes the skates compare who will get the loudest responses and compete to see who will gain the most fans during the show. They look for signs and stuff to see who has more. It was a very candid talk and I admire her even more for being so honest with her thoughts.
I will never forget this meeting with Sasha Cohen, and I will make sure I meet her again in Atlanta.

[Clarice]

I have to agree that Matt Savoie is a super nice guy. He often volunteers to work at his home club's competition, announcing skaters. I always wonder how many of the parents of low-level competitors know who he is! My daughter and I have also practiced on the same sessions as Matt a couple of times, and he is very gracious to other skaters - never any attitude, even if tiny little Basic Skills kids are on the ice. Jenni Meno and Todd Sand skated in a show at our rink once, and they were also very nice people - very friendly and down-to-earth. My daughter has met many skaters backstage at ice shows, and speaks very favorably of Surya Bonaly as someone who takes a lot of time being nice to her fans.

[alhrayth]

Well, I can't count any Italian skater because being of friendly terms with most of out national team makes them automatically very nice to me... In particular Fede & Massi are absolutely lovely, Babs and Mauri too, Carolina very shy but sweet and Karel, Alessia and Andrea very funny people. Silvia is one of my favourite persons, such a sweetheart...

If I have to quote other high-level skaters I've met, my star is Philippe Candeloro - always kind, funny and he always remembers me instantly!
My second favourite is John Zimmerman - apart from the fact that he's the best looking man I've ever talked to - he's so sweet... I loved seeing him & Silvia together, such a beautiful couple...
Others... well, in Budapest I did a couple of interviews, and the skaters were absolutely nice and disponible all the times - Maxim Marinin seemed to really enjoy the company and I almost had troubles ending the interview, he kept talking! Albena Denkova is always very nice, stopped to chat any time I met her and was really sweet; all the others were just lovely too.
I had the chance to meet both Bestemianova/Bukin & Rahkamo/Kokko (with little Max too) when they were in Italy working with FP/M and F/S, and they all were simply wonderful...
Some more names... hm... Surya Bonaly, Petrova&Tikhonov, Alexander Abt, Ilia Averbukh, Galit & Sergei... I have very good memories of all of them!

[Oracle]

I'm going to surprise many of you by declaring that Michael Weiss is the friendliest skater I've ever met & I've met about a dozen. Mike was so much fun, laughing & joking with me. I'm not a teenager either but an older skating fan so he certainly wasn't trying to impress me. He's very outgoing.

[CherylS]

I didn't really talk to him long enough to get an impression, but mentioning Fedor reminds me of the time I met him and he was really polite. He was carrying probably 4 Pepsi cans he'd gotten in the giftshop of the hotel when my friend's husband brought him in to meet us. He introduces Fedor to my friend and Fedor juggles all the pop cans to one arm to shake hands and then juggles them all back. Then her husband realized he hadn't introduced him to me so he does and Fedor juggles all the cans to one arm again and shakes my hand and juggles them all back. It was too cute that he went to all that trouble just to shake hands! I think we would have understood! :lol:

Beyond that, I'm a bit prejudiced ;) but other impartial observers have said this too so I think I'm safe to say that Ben Ferreira's a really nice guy.
Others I can think of have been Alexei, Jeff Buttle and Todd Eldredge. Hmmmm, I'm sure there must be more! It's often a little hard to tell from a brief meeting.

[prunes89]

Preach it loud skating fans! I'll say it again: SASHA COHEN. I loved meeting her!

[Dr. Phil]

The nicest skaters I met were Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. They were so sweet and signed autographs for fans even when they were supposed to go to practice. Jenny Kirk was also very nice, and Tiffany Scott also. Oh, and Yukari Nakano! What a sweetie!

[prunes89]

Oh, I am SO jealous. You met Tanith? She is another hero of mine. :bow:

[Lise]

I have to say that all the skaters I've met were all extremely friendly. Shae Lynn was great, and easy to talk to. I have to say that at Nats when I met them all (trust me, I met a lotr of skaters) they were all great. The only person I can honestly say was not that friendly (compared to others) was Todd Sands at CSOI. Could be he was having an off day, but he was not approachable.

Lise

[icyboid]

Sasha Cohen was pleasant and gave me a nice autograph, Michelle Kwan was just as warm as well, and I remember her signing autographs even when her bodyguards were practically dragging her away :lol:.

However, THE skater to meet is Irina Slutskaya. Her laughter makes the room so much brighter, and it was humbling how she complimented me while making a joke at her expense when she signed my autograph.

My friend who's a bigger fan of men's skating than me (I watch it even less than dance :lol:), said that Kurt Browning is awesome, but don't even try to ask Emmanuel Sandhu.

[CanAmSk8ter]

All the skaters I've met have been really nice. I've met most of them at the rinks I've trained at, so it's a low-key kind of time, just before or after practice (I'd certainly never approach a skater I didn't know well who appeared to have just had a bad practice). My experence has been that, even at Worlds and Nationals, they'll always be happy to talk to you if they can tell you're a skater, if you have on a competition t-shirt or club jacket or whatever. My club has our state name in it, and I've often been asked when I've had my jacket on where in the state I train. Most of the time I can think of someone I know who knows them (this sport is such a small world it's not to be believed) and I can say, "Hey, you know what? I think you used to train with a friend of mine. You know so-and-so, don't you?" Or, "When did you train at...? You must know my old coach, then!" I'm normally very shy- I've asked an autograph once in my life- but I've had conversations with skaters that I'll remember long after I would have misplaced an autograph.

[Lise]

I've met Emanuel Sandhu on a number of occasions and he always seemed to sign autographs. That surprises me that he wasn't receptive.

[Canadian Chick]

I've met Emanuel before and he always seemed very friendly. I guess everyone has their off days?

[iceskaterdawn]

Other than one skater, I have had many wonderful encounters meeting skaters and I think most are very freindly. However these are the ones I think have been the friendliest:

Ladies: Angela Nikodionov, Amber Corwin, Silvia Fontana
Pairs: John Zimmerman, Meno & Sand, Sale & Pelletier, the Hartsells
Dance: Tanith & Ben
Men: Tim Goebel, Shepard Clark

[Elfga265]

Ladies: Amber Corwin
Men: Ryan Jahnke
Pairs: Tiffany Scott and Philip Dulebohn, Larisa Speilberg and Craig Joeright, Katie Orscher and garret Lucash (the whole 2003 U.S. Skate America pairs team)
ice Dance: Tanith Belbin, Ben Agosto, Elena Grushina and Ruslan Goncharov

[danibellerika]

I met Plush and Todd at Worlds 2003. They were very nice.

[icyboid]

I wouldn't be surprised if he caught Emmanuel at a bad time. Knowing my friend, he probably asked Sandhu as he was going to the bathroom or something like that. :twisted:

[babyballerina]

I met Emmanuel and Johnny Weir at worlds and they were both really nice. Actually, my friend talked to them and I just stammered, star struck! Later we met Tatiana Navka and she was also friendly.

[Isk8NYC]

Men: Toller Cranston and Scott Hamilton.

Ladies: Janet Lynn and Sasha Cohen.

[snoopysnake]

Men: Michael Weiss (warm, charming, and down-to-earth - I would give him the highest personability marks of any skater I've met).
Women: Lu Chen and Rosalynn Sumners
Pairs: Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, and despite the language barrier, Shen and Zhao.
Dance: Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto - Ben signed a poster I made for Tanith and him, and found Tanith so she could sign it too, and they posed for a picture with it as well!

The only skaters I've met who were on the distant side were Robin Cousins and Klimova and Ponomarenko. They remain great favorites of mine anyway.

[iceskaterdawn]

Men: Michael Weiss (warm, charming, and down-to-earth - I would give him the highest personability marks of any skater I've met).


That's ironic, because everytime I run into him, I have just the opposite of experiences with him. Now I purposely try to avoid running into him at competitions and such.

[Giselle]

You are so lucky! I've never met any skaters! I would love to meet Angela,Sasha,Sarah and tim and takeshi!

[Ultrasuede]

Men: Toller Cranston and Scott Hamilton.

Ladies: Janet Lynn and Sasha Cohen.

You met Toller? I'd like to hear some more details on that. I'm glad he was nice. I think I would be extremely intimidated (and starstruck). :bow:

The friendliest skaters I've met are Pasha Grishuk and Elvis Stojko. After meeting Pasha the first time, she approached me the next day and thanked me for supporting her. (And I got a hug and kiss on the cheek.) I'm not a fan of Elvis' skating, but I wanted to get a picture of him for my sister. He was very gracious and let me take a 2nd picture, because he thought he made a weird face on the first one, and that it wasn't going to come out very good. :) Rudy Galindo was also very nice.

[Lynn226]

[QUOTE=Ultrasuede] I'm not a fan of Elvis' skating, but I wanted to get a picture of him for my sister. He was very gracious and let me take a 2nd picture, because he thought he made a weird face on the first one, and that it wasn't going to come out very good. :) QUOTE]

That's so nice of him. Emanuel Sandhu did the same for me. The SC people had already asked him to leave in order to stay on schedule, but he signed an autograph for me anyway. I took his picture while he was signing. He looked up and said, "That one sucked!" and immediately posed for another one. Sweet!