What Was Your Intro to Figure Skating?

Mussique · Mar 16, 2018

It was 42ºC outside around the twentieth of May last year. And maybe 40º inside my room because I didn't have any cooling system.
A friend of mine had gotten very into some series about skating and wanted to go —actually, he fits the profile of "can I go to the Olympics if I did hockey in line when I was 13 and then with 23 I go back to skating?" kind of question in the Lutz corner.
Anyway I had never skated before, I spent half the session going very carefully close to the wall and I ended up with my feet torn with the rental skates. But it was blissfully cold. I bought very bad recreative skates two week later to be able to spend if only 6 hours a week not burning.
I got two (2) classes then. They corrected everything I was doing. I loved it.
I researched for a bit for places where I could get some advice skating in general, and found this forum. I had more-or-less followed figure skating since 2014, but it was actually this forum the one that got me actually completely, irremediably hooked.

TwinnerA · Mar 16, 2018

The first skating I actually remember was when I was 10 and watched Peggy Fleming in her chartreuse costume at the Grenoble, France Olympics. Later I loved Dorothy Hamill with her wedge haircut and even though my twin sister and I were past playing with dolls, we'd get our Skipper dolls (Barbie's little sister) out and put them in their skating outfits with white skates! After Dorothy we really didn't have a favorite until Michelle Kwan.

Mrs. P · Mar 16, 2018

I think I've mentioned it on here a few times, but 1991 Worlds on television. More specifically, whether Kristi Yamaguchi had enough overall to overcome the 3A ladies of Midori Ito and Tonya Harding. It turned out it did.

I watched pretty actively through about 1998 Olympics. Key moments in that period was Nancy vs. Tonya (I bought both unauthorized biographies at the grocery store!) and the emergence of 13-year-old Michelle Kwan amid the chaos, the drama of 1994 Worlds with Yuka Sato winning and Surya Bonaly taking offer her silver, Chen Lu winning worlds in 1995, Michelle's first world title in 1996. I mainly watched ladies, though I sorta paid attention to men (Rudy Galindo's big moment at 1995 Nationals and Todd Eldridge's comeback in the mid-1990s come to mind) and pairs.

I stopped watching seriously in 1998 cause of school and other things. i got back into it at 2009 Worlds thanks to Yuna Kim, which I found out about through watching K-pop videos on YouTube. And I've watching actively ever since.

Anyasnake · Mar 16, 2018

I started skating when I was 7. The 1st memory of me watching figure skating on TV was at 10, it was Mao Asada, Bompard 2005. And then Torino 2006 was the first time I watched it more than a little bit. I remember (even though I was only 11) : Mao not being here, being blown away by Shizuka Arakawa (pure class), Delobel/Schoenfelder FD, Zhang/Zhang massive fall on the LP (horrifying).

You could say that Mao drew me into watching figure skating and then Yuna turned Seniors. I followed both of them until the 2010 Olympics I was so happy that Yuna won.
I often followed Ice Dance too because it's my discipline and thought that during 2010-2014, you couldn't even come close to D/W and V/M even if you tried. I was sad that Pechalat/Bourzat did not win Worlds 2014, first because I'm French and but more because I thought they deserved it so much too.

MIM · Mar 16, 2018

Yuna at the 2010 Vancouver Olymics. That skate hooked me into skating. Then I found Mao lovely and so different from Yuna. I didn't follow post 2010 Olympics as Yuna retired and Mao was not doing well. Then Yuna came back and I watched the World 2013. The TOP 3 ladies(Yuna Mao Caro) just blew me away and I was looking for old youtube videos of their performance and more. Since then I am glued to watch every major ISU competition and read posts in GS. I still watch the 2013 laides competition sometimes just to relive the moment when I fell in love with skating.
It was Patrick and his 2013 TEB performances that I started to expand my love for men's skating.
And Elena and Nikita at Sochi Olympics made me watch ice dance.
Pairs came in last with Sui and Han in 2016.

+ I was a speed skater when I was in elementary school. It was fun being fast and furious on the ice

, but I envied figure skaters who dressed up nicely and skated to music.

blue_idealist · Mar 16, 2018

I took figure skating lessons since I was four and watched it off and on. FS didn't end up being the sport for me, and I quit lessons at 10. I didn't watch it for a little while, but then I got back into it during the '98 Olympics and then after watching Skate Canada in 1999, at age 12, I started closely following it. I have been for almost the last 20 years, seeing any competition on TV/online that I have time to and attending the occasional competition or show in person.

Old Cat Lady · Mar 16, 2018

I think the first skater I saw was Kristi Yamaguchi skating to the "culligan water cooler song" but I didn't fall in love with skating until after the 94 Olympics. Loved Oksana Baiul and Mishkutenok & Dmitriev. Alexei Urmanov was my favorite men's skater for several years but didn't like Grishuk and Platov until 1996.

Interspectator · Mar 16, 2018

There may have been skaters I had watched before, but the first strong memory of FS I had was Elvis Stojiko at the Nagano Olympics. :sad21: We cheered for him.

Shandy · Mar 16, 2018

My intro to FS was Kristi Yamaguchi at the 1992 OG. I was very young at the time, but the US media was so saturated with her name that, perhaps aside from Michael Jordan and Shaquille O'Neal, she was the first athlete I was really aware of. I didn't become a real FS fan until much, much later, but those memories still stand out.

The moment I fell in love was probably the first time I saw Plushy's Nijinsky/Scheherazade. What a thrilling, dynamic program! :love:

VenusHalley · Mar 16, 2018

in about 1991 ot 1992 when my father called my to TV when Surya Bonaly was skating at Europeans. He really liked her style. Mom liked figure skating overall, the sparklier the costumes, the better. So I was naturally drawn in.

VenusHalley · Mar 16, 2018

Old Cat Lady said:
I think the first skater I saw was Kristi Yamaguchi skating to the "culligan water cooler song" but I didn't fall in love with skating until after the 94 Olympics. Loved Oksana Baiul and Mishkutenok & Dmitriev. Alexei Urmanov was my favorite men's skater for several years but didn't like Grishuk and Platov until 1996.

I did quite like Oksana (though I prefer Surya). Back then I even loved her Olympics free skate costume.... but well, I was 10.

skatesofgold · Mar 16, 2018

1993 Professional World Championships. My dad or mom recorded ladies and pairs.

ladyjane · Mar 16, 2018

The first skates I saw were Dianne de Leeuws silver medal Olympics one as well as John Curry's at the same Olympics. I was rather young and didn't watch again until the 1980 Olympics and Robin Cousins skate really stirred me. And then I was mesmerized in 1984 by Torvill and Dean. Somehow I never did get into the battles of the Brians and Carmens in 1988 (I lapsed) but Klimova and Ponamarenko managed to get me into it again. 1994 was special with me following the Olympics and Worlds both, and loving all disciplines, even if I disagreed on the wins except for Yuka Sato at World's. I've followed it closely and yearly (not just the Olympics) ever since. The disciplines I like best differ though...loved the men's from 1994-2002, but less so after Yagudin's retirement until the rise of Yuzu and Javi which made me follow it more closely, pairs being a discipline I always enjoyed and followed, dance very much depending on the dancers - loved A&P, B&C, D&S, D&W and V&M between 2010-2014 and now P&C, while ladies has always been a bit of a mixed big too. Michelle, Lu Chen and Irina were favourites, but so many really awful skates during that time with a lot of falls (like with the men sometimes nowadays) apart from these three ladies in their prime, and I now quite enjoy ladies again with Kaetlyn's enormous jumps and powerful programmes as well as both the young Russian tornadoes and Carolina's exquisite skating. I can go on...but it started in 1976!

Rachmaninoff · Mar 16, 2018

The "whack heard around the world" got me into it in 1994. I was 11 and was fascinated. I watched the Olympic ladies' competition, bought books about Nancy Kerrigan, and watched the ladies again at worlds that year. I videotaped the ladies competition 1994 worlds and watched it over and over. There was a segment on how to tell the jumps apart, and I could soon do so. People always assumed I figure skate myself. I don't ice skate at all, not even laps around an outdoor rink in the wintertime. :biggrin:

I got really into Michelle Kwan. She competed at '94 worlds and I liked her short program. I still remember the way she held her landing edge on after the double axel and did that fancy arm movement. I was intrigued that she was only a couple years older than I. I followed her entire amateur career and watched her grow and improve, develop stronger jumps and become an artist. I got excited about seeing her new programs every year. I memorized the music and played it in my head while waiting in line, for buses, etc. I loved when she was on top and was dismayed at her Olympic disappointments. I haven't been that enthused about a skater since, although I've enjoyed and rooted for many.

By the time her career was winding down, I'd been a fan for over ten years and had a lot more reasons to watch.

Spirals for Miles · Mar 16, 2018

I read a Sasha Cohen autobiography a few years ago and then watched her programs on YouTube, and then realized that I could watch current things as well! I started with Gracie Gold because it was in my recommendations and then Evgenia Medvedeva and I've been hooked ever since!

Off My Rocker · Mar 16, 2018

My mum and a friend of hers went to see 1960 Worlds in Vancouver, and I got to keep the program she bought. I thought the girls looked pretty in their outfits and wanted to dress like that…yeah, that’s shallow. I was busy in swimming and ballet at the time, but after some pleading I finally got to take group skating lessons a couple of years later. While never an elite skater, I was reasonably adept in ice dance and figures, and I enjoyed being involved in a number of volunteer capacities. I’ve long since hung up my own skates and nestled into my rocker, but have never lost interest in the sport. These days, I just enjoy whatever I can see on TV or attend live, and of course the GS banter. :laugh:

labgoat · Mar 16, 2018

Rosa74 said:
It was skaters such as Janet Lynn, John Misha Petkevich, Charlie Tickner, Jojo & Ken, Tai & Randy that I remember. But to be honest, it was probably just as much Dick Button's commentary and ABC's coverage that drew me in. The skating coverage was well organized and they did an excellent job getting you excited to watch and then explaining how it all worked.

Me too. The first skaters I ever saw were Peggy Fleming as a pro and Janet Lynn. I was mesmerized watching the 1976 Olympics and by Dorothy, John Curry and Toller. I first saw a teenaged Tai & Randy and Rodnina Zaitsev and was hooked. A pair of roller skates and ice skates and I was on my way. I watched Linda Fratianne, Lisa-Marie Allen, Charlie Tickner, Robin Cousins and some upstarts David Santee, Scott Hamilton, Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert.

The bar of expectations was set high for me early.

ks777 · Mar 16, 2018

Midori Ito.

labgoat · Mar 16, 2018

Love this thread...fun to hear these stories.

labgoat · Mar 16, 2018

ladyjane said:
The first skates I saw were Dianne de Leeuws silver medal Olympics one as well as John Curry's at the same Olympics. I was rather young and didn't watch again until the 1980 Olympics and Robin Cousins skate really stirred me. And then I was mesmerized in 1984 by Torvill and Dean. Somehow I never did get into the battles of the Brians and Carmens in 1988 (I lapsed) but Klimova and Ponamarenko managed to get me into it again. 1994 was special with me following the Olympics and Worlds both, and loving all disciplines, even if I disagreed on the wins except for Yuka Sato at World's. I've followed it closely and yearly (not just the Olympics) ever since. The disciplines I like best differ though...loved the men's from 1994-2002, but less so after Yagudin's retirement until the rise of Yuzu and Javi which made me follow it more closely, pairs being a discipline I always enjoyed and followed, dance very much depending on the dancers - loved A&P, B&C, D&S, D&W and V&M between 2010-2014 and now P&C, while ladies has always been a bit of a mixed big too. Michelle, Lu Chen and Irina were favourites, but so many really awful skates during that time with a lot of falls (like with the men sometimes nowadays) apart from these three ladies in their prime, and I now quite enjoy ladies again with Kaetlyn's enormous jumps and powerful programmes as well as both the young Russian tornadoes and Carolina's exquisite skating. I can go on...but it started in 1976!

You and I have many favorites in common.

What Was Your Intro to Figure Skating?

Mussique

TwinnerA

Mrs. P

Uno, Dos, twizzle!

Anyasnake

MIM

blue_idealist

Old Cat Lady

Interspectator

Shandy

VenusHalley

VenusHalley

skatesofgold

ladyjane

Rachmaninoff

Spirals for Miles

Anna Shcherbakova is my World Champion

Off My Rocker

labgoat

Done updating WJC rewatches!

ks777

labgoat

Done updating WJC rewatches!

labgoat

Done updating WJC rewatches!

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