The Skaters' Skater

[Ladskater]

I dug out some of my tapes from the last couple of seasons and was very pleased to find that I do have Jeff Buttle's free skate from Canadians 2005 and Shawn Sawyer's as well. I thought I had accidentally erased it.

I watched and re watched Jeff's Naqoyqatsi program from 2005. I never get tired of watching Jeff skate. Talk about a skater's skater as Tracy Wilson describes him. It's amazing. He reminds me in a lot of ways of Kurt Browning. The way he just floats across the ice effortlessly from one element to the other and uses every beat of music with such expression, it's captivating. I almost feel as though I am skating with him.

I also love Jeff's Samson and Delilah program this year. Jeff's interpretation to the music is inspiring. I am looking forward to the Worlds.

Though Kurt Browning will always be my ultimate all time favorite male skater - Jeff is earning the spot as my current favorite male competitor.

I am also keeping my eye on Shawn Sawyer. He too is a gifted skater and has that skater's skater appeal just like Kurt and Jeff. In fact, Shawn is reminiscent of the great Toller Cranston (another of my top favorites) and was pretty much put in the spot light by Toller - quite an honour!

Plushenko may be a great jumper, but I would rather watch these guys weave their magic on the blade any day of the week.

 

[Lanie]

You want a skater's skater...pfft, forget Buttle, Matt Savoie is where it's at! I'm just a little biased.

(And yes, I do like Jeff. And I like Shaun Sawyer. And I really like Plushenko!)

 

[Ladskater]

A skater's skater is one who inspires you when you take to the ice. It's a skater who is admired and appreciated by fellow skaters for their finesse on the blade. Karen Magnussen inspired me when I figure skated so she has always been my female skater's skater. So if Matt Savoie inspires you then that is great.

 

[Lanie]

A skater's skater is one who inspires you when you take to the ice. It's a skater who is admired and appreciated by fellow skaters for their finesse on the blade. Karen Magnussen inspired me when I figure skated so she has always been my female skater's skater. So if Matt Savoie inspires you then that is great.

For me the term skater's skater has always been about their basic skating, their edges, their sureness of the blade, etcetera. That sort of thing. I feel kind of bad that when you often talk about your favorite skaters I'm too young to have watched them! I enjoy your posts.

 

[screech]

For me a skater's skater is a skater who focuses on the basics, just like Lanie says. Someone who appreciates actual 'skating', not just the jumps. It's not called 'figure jumping', and a skater's skater realizes.

Of the current crop of skaters, I would probably put Jeff as the 'ultimate' skater's skater. But there are others who fit the criteria, just not quite at Jeff's level. I mean, Jeff is a skater whose basic skating earns him components higher than skaters who skate cleanly, just because the guy knows how to actually skate. The edges, lines, ease of flow, knee bend, use of the entire body effortlessly... that makes a skater. Hell, he could probably just skate around in circles doing various edges and almost every other skater should sit around and take notes.

To end my Jeff gush fest though, some others I'd classify as skaters skaters would be:
Fumie Suguri - I recall at a worlds once, the commentator said of fumie 'her weakness is that she has no weaknesses'. While I'm not a huge Fumie fan, I can totally appreciate her and she is definitely a skater's skater
Shen/Zhao - they never were in this category until 2003. They were basically all tricks and nothing else. They are to me the one team who actually listened to their criticisms and did something about it, becoming in my opinion the most gorgeous pairs team out there with emphasis on the little things now.

There are more, but those are the ones who stand out to me. Of past skaters though, I would have to say some like Kurt Browning, Josee Chouinard, Gordeeva/Grinkov, skaters like that.

 

[shine]

I donno. IMO Buttle doesn't have that natural flow and total ease of using his blades, although he does have great skating technique. I never really got Tracy's calling Suguri a skater's skater. She may have good speed and covers ice, but to me her edging always appears unsecure from time to time. She doesn't stroke with a lot of lean, and her spirals are often wobbly.
When I think of a skater's skater, I think of Takahashi, Kulik, Kostner, Slutskaya, and Patrick Chan. Many skaters have wonderful edging and basics, but these skaters stand out for me because of their intrinsic flow and ability to just accelerate from nothing and out of no where.

 

[76olympics]

Wasn't Yuka Sato cited as the best example of "skater's skater"? I do agree with that assessment, in her case. She might not do every jump in the arsenal-but her skating skills and flow are impressive. At her best, she really skims effortlessly over the ice! Katherine Healy and Matt Savoie also come to mind for me.

I think I would have to add Kurt Browning also. He is a great jumper; but he doesn't have to jump at all. I could see him skating years from now with no problem at all and I would watch him gladly.

 

[iluvtodd]

I'll take Matt & Yuka for this one!

 

[MKFSfan]

Wasn't Yuka Sato cited as the best example of "skater's skater"? I do agree with that assessment. in her case. She might not do every jump in the arsenal-but her skating skills and flow are impressive.

I agree with Yuka! I always thought that term was applied to skater's who had amazing basic skating skills and could capture your attention without flashy "look at me!" types of elements. After seeing Yuka live for the 1st time, I was like,"So, that's what a "skater's skater" is!" I can watch Yuka, Kurt, Michelle, Matt just stroke across the rink, not do a single jump or split move, and enjoy them!

 

[demarinis5]

For me it is Yuka Sato she is wonderful. I remember watching her
when she won the World Championship. I was babysitting my then
18 month old niece who was just learning to talk. The next night
her mother called me and asked me did I know what a Yuka Sato
was because my niece was babbling it all day. I lol because here
I was her aunt and she could not say my name but she
mastered Yuka Sato.

 

[merrywidow]

The two that I've always heard described as "skaters skater" have been Yuka Sato & Paul Wylie. These are skaters who pay attention to all the details in figure skating & do them extremely well.

 

[tdnuva]

Torvill & Dean and Kurt Browning. Yes, I am old.

 

[Vash01]

To me, a skater's skater is one with great basic skating skills and one who has total mastery over the ice- stroking (Deep edges, Quiet blades, Speed and flow over the ice), perfect positions, lines; jumps and spins are included.

Here is my list of skater's skaters:

Yuka Sato
Berezhanaya & Sikharulidze
Gordeeva-Grinkov
Oksana Baiul (in the old days)
Michelle Kwan
Shizuka Arakawa
Dorothy Hamill
Ilia Kulik
Janet Lynn (from the Magic memories videos; I never saw her skate)

Vash

 

[CDMM1991]

I think Jeff could absolutely be classified as a "skater's skater". There are so many different definitions of the word, but to me it is someone who you could watch just skate. Not jump, not spin, not do any sort of intricate footwork. They just have to stroke around the rink and they captivate you. Jeff can do that. So can Kurt.

 

[rob43]

I'll support the Yuka Sato bandwagon. Not necessarily flashy or the biggest jumper/best spinner but da** if everything doesn't just flow together seamlessly. and her edges and footwork amaze me (particularly her from about 93-00.)

Katia was another great one for me- by all means she really should not have been a compelling singles skater but she had such great speed, coverage and carraige. She was also intricate.

Kwan in exhibitions completely does it for me in so many ways. I always think to World Pro '99 when Bezic commentated while Kwan performed East of Eden when she said "there are so many things that are so special baout Michelle Kwan's skating." In her non competitive programs she can sometimes just slay.

Savoie/Jahnke are the men who have the skills at the moment but I guess they are a little insular/inconsistant for some.

 

[soogar]

IMO, Jahnke is a true skater's skater. Matt may do a lot of transitions , but Matt always strikes me as working really hard to do all these things. I get exhausted watching him on the ice. I also consider Shizuka Arakawa to be a skater's skater as there are no weaknesses in her skating.

I also think very highly of Buttle's skills, as well as Kurt Browning's.

 

[hockeyfan228]

John Curry. All of those professional programs without difficult jumps, but completely mesmerizing.

 

[Joesitz (RIP)]

John Curry. All of those professional programs without difficult jumps, but completely mesmerizing.

:agree: :agree: :agree: Even Tarasova agrees.

Joe

 

[Vash01]

I agree about John Curry. Today elegant male skaters are compared with him as the gold standard.

Vash

 

[lisadotdash]

For Females, Katarina Witt; heck, she won 2 Oly Golds, she's still has some Grand Dame qualities even as an aging beauty and don't hear her whining about half-filled stadia; she has stayed with the sport through thick and thin, endured criticism and people willing her to fall, etc. She's a "skater's skater" in my book.