origin of the term "chack" ??

[Artemis]

I think the only place I've encountered it is here (or at that other figure skating board ;) ). Does anyone know the origin of the term, and is it ever used in other contexts?

TIA

[adrianchew]

Its something about a skater called Michael Chack who was dropped in favor of someone else (I think Rudy Gallindo?) to be shown on TV coverage, despite Chack having a better skate. Thus the word "chack" was born into the world of figure skating. ;)

[Impromptu]

Scroll to about halfway down the page here:

http://www.frogsonice.com/skateweb/faq/introduction.shtml#Q6

I can't remember if it was Trudi Marrapodi or Sandra Loosemore who first introduced the term, but it started on RSSIF.

[flippet]

I've unthinkingly used the term on boards unrelated to skating, forgetting that it isn't a universal term, but I've never been asked what it meant. Perhaps context is enough to get the gist? :??

[kayskate]

Michael Chack, a US skater whose program was always omitted from US TV coverage. I don't know if he every made it out of nat's, but I doubt it. Therefore, being "chacked" means being passed over for something or someone else. I think Chack was often not shown to air some fluff piece about a higher ranked skater.

Kay

[Artemis]

Love it! Thanks for the trivia, folks!

[A.H.Black]

Let me amplify on Sandra Loosemores explanation.

In 1993, at U.S. Nationals, Michael Chack finished 6th (7th?) in the short program. The warm-up groups were set at five skaters per group so Michael was not in the last group. He skated a very good program and ended up finishing 3rd for the bronze medal. It is one of the very few times a skater has moved up from the lower group to medal. ABC chose to only show the skaters in the last group and thus never showed the bronze medal winning performance.

Luckily I bought the tape that year and I still watch Michaels performance every once in a while.

[Oracle]

Michael was shown on the '91 & '92 Nationals telecasts at which he placed 5th & 7th respectively so he had developed a fan following. In 1993 he was in 7th place after the SP & as is usual with ABC, they showed the top 5 going into the long. They were: Mark Mitchell, Scott Davis, Todd Eldredge, Aren Nielson & Colin Vanderveen. The final results were:
1st-Davis
2nd-Mitchell
3rd- Chack
4th-Nielsen
5th-Galindo (also, chacked)
6th-Eldredge (this was the year he had the flu & came off the ice looking as tho a bucket of water had been poured over his head.)
7th-Allen, Damon
8th-Vanderveen

Fans were outraged at not having seen the bronze medal performance on TV as it was probably Michael's very best at Nationals. Hence, the term "chacked" was born.:(

[Trillian]

Originally posted by Oracle
Michael was shown on the '91 & '92 Nationals telecasts at which he placed 5th & 7th respectively so he had developed a fan following.

The only time I remember him being shown post-1993 (though I didn't see every single year) was 1998, when he had an absolutely disastrous 14(?)th place short program and for some reason ABC decided that would be a good time to show him. He may have made the broadcast in 1999 as well; I don't know since I saw that year's nationals live and didn't tape it. He retired from competitive skating after the 1999 nationals, though I think he's done some stuff as a pro.

It makes me laugh because a lot of people don't even realize or don't believe that "Chack" was actually the name of a skater.

I'd say the skater who's taken over the Chack mantle as far as not being included in U.S. nationals broadcasts is Ryan Jahnke, whose short program has been skipped over more than once for skaters who finished lower. (And he has enough of a fan following that this apparently has prompted phone calls to the network, although I swear I've never made one myself :).) Unfortunately he's never made the final group for the long, even in 2000 when he had a fabulous skate to finish fifth overall. But even Jahnke has probably already made it to TV as many times as Chack did throughout his career.

[kayskate]

I wonder if Michael Chack knows that his name has become part of skating fan language. I wonder if it will become part of the English language and eventually appear in a dictionary. What a legacy. Probably not the one he wanted.

Is Chack coaching now? Anyone taking lessons from him?

Kay

[A.H.Black]

My memory is that Eldredge had the "flu" in 1994. He didn't skate well in 1993 but I don't think it was because of the "flu". Do you remember something that I don't.

The other really good performance of Michael Chack that was televised was at Skate America in the fall of 1991. It was on CBS. They didn't show the whole thing but they did talk about how good the performance was.

[jkl]

My I feel old. I thought everyone knew what to "Chack" someone meant. 1993, huh? It seems like yesterday. Oh well. What is Michael doing now??

[Sylvia]

I believe this page was last updated at the beginning of the 2001-2 season:
http://www.frogsonice.com/skateweb/chack/index.shtml

[CMc]

If he does know, I wonder if he's considered changing his name!:lol:
I think he retired because he got tired of being chacked!
Thanks impromptu and Sylvia for those links!

[Artemis]

Originally posted by jkl
My I feel old. I thought everyone knew what to "Chack" someone meant. 1993, huh? It seems like yesterday.

Bear in mind that, for me anyway, my ignorance of the term had nothing to do with age (I've been a die-hard skating fan since the early 80s). It's because it's a reference to a relatively obscure American skater. No reason at all why a non-American would be intimately familiar with this reference.

[pilgrimsoul@work]

I'd sure love to see the performance that birthed the coining of this term. Anyone have it on video to post in RV format?

[Lois]

Michael spent the past three years touring with the Holiday on Ice show The Colours of Dance around Europe, Mexico, and South America. That tour ended this summer, but he is now co-starring with Craig Heath in Holiday on Ice's latest show, "Hollywood," which premiered in Germany last week and will be touring Europe this season. Both Holiday on Ice shows were choreographed by Robin Cousins, and the last I heard Michael was interested in working with Robin on other projects in the future as well.

Poor Michael had some of the worst luck with TV coverage of his skating. Besides the famous example of his Nationals bronze medal performance which ABC chacked, he was also cut from the Jimmy Fund (aka Evening of Championship Skating) show coverage on PBS at least one year, maybe two years. He did finally make one Jimmy Fund broadcast, though. He also had terrible luck with bad timing for illness and injury at Nationals.

Lois

[Miezekatze]

That was very interesting, thanks :) I didn't know where the term originally came from yet. Hey, I only found out it's no real English word a few months ago, I had already happily used it for like 2 years then :D

[purplecat]

It's so funny how the word "chack" is such a part of my vocabulary now. I think I might've used it in complaining to a network once, without thinking that it isn't really a word! LOL!

Plus, I really liked Michael's skating. I loved his triple toe with his arms at his sides and his elegant style.

[Artemis]

Originally posted by purplecat
I think I might've used it in complaining to a network once, without thinking that it isn't really a word!

But it is a word! There are tons of words that got started in exactly the same way! Like sandwich. Or boycott.

Sure, if it's only skating fans who know it, it may be a while before chack becomes part of the larger vernacular ... but I think we can make it happen if we put some effor into it!

[Eagle]

Gosh, I had no idea so many years had passed since "Chack" was birthed as part of the skating lexicon. Michael was very telegenic and had fabulous presentation. Seemed like he never had the good fortune of being "on" for both the SP and LP at the same Nationals ... would soar in one and tank in the other. But he was the sort of guy that you'd remember long afterward, as he had that much talent.

I would think he'd be tickled that his name lives on as an action verb specific to skating broadcasts. Very, very few skaters can claim that sort of lasting notoriety. Some skaters whose names live on would include:

Biellman spin
'Tano triple
Ina Bauer spiral
Axel jump
Chack (or chacked)

Any other examples? I sometimes hear TV commentators refer to a catch-leg spiral as a "Nancy Kerrigan move", but it would probably have to be called something much more definitive -- perhaps a "Kerrigan Spiral" -- to truly qualify as a skating verb.

[Intensity20]

To contribute, many of skating's jumps are named after skaters of long ago:

Axel (Paulsen)
(Alois) Lutz
(Ulrich) Salchow
(Werner) Rittberger - The loop jump is popularly termed a "Rittberger" in Europe

Also, many pairs moves are named after their creators - Brasseur and Eisler's "Fly high, say bye" adagio trick is uniquely "theirs". I'm not sure about the "leap of faith" but that may be (?) an Underhill and Martini original.

Tonya Harding also has a spin in her namesake, the Harding spin, and of course, the camel/sit variation "Hamill Camel" is often performed.

Interestingly, Michael Chack is also the creator of a unique variation on the triple toe-loop - performing a Chack Toe with his hands at his waist.

[kayskate]

Originally posted by Intensity20

Tonya Harding also has a spin in her namesake, the Harding spin

So what is a Harding spin?

Kay

[Spinner]

Originally posted by kayskate
So what is a Harding spin?

I'm pretty sure it's a back camel spin where you turn your upper body upwards a bit and let your free leg dangle while spinning. It's not very easy to do since it can throw your balance off easily. I believe Josee' Chouinard does one too.