Celebrating Black Excellence in Figure Skating | Page 4 | Golden Skate

Celebrating Black Excellence in Figure Skating

Ic3Rabbit said:
Joel Savary, and then his brother Emmanuel Savary who both skated for the US IIRC.

Joel skated in the early 2000s and he's written a book about his experience as a POC in figure skating. https://joelsavary.com/ He also has a foundation http://www.diversifyice.org/index.html
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Emmanuel is a brilliant all round skater for me, and he could rank quite high someday. He is getting the quads and 3A (his 4S is consistent in competitions and in my opinion underrated in terms of quality - he has videos of is 4T on instagram and has done 3A before so excited to see how that will work out for him), his spins typically get level 4. He feels light and graceful on the ice - and his artistry is getting better each season for me. It of course isn't perfect, but it's lovely for me to watch.
 
^^^^ YES!! Blood Diamond... my favorite Balde performance to my favorite soundtrack... :agree: :luv17:
 
I woke up this morning to find his on my Instagram feed: Mae Meite and Diversify Ice, and a lot of other figure skaters mostly based in North America, have launched the Skating Pledge for Diversity to support Black and brown skaters at all levels. I hope it will be taken up around the figure skating world.
 
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Kristine Musademba is a three-time Junior Grand Prix champion, two-time JGP finalist, and a US intermediate champion & novice silver medalist. Her father is from Zimbabwe and mother from the Philippines.

https://youtu.be/DkCBSw7Uv3A
 
kolyadafan2002 said:
Emmanuel is a brilliant all round skater for me, and he could rank quite high someday. He is getting the quads and 3A (his 4S is consistent in competitions and in my opinion underrated in terms of quality - he has videos of is 4T on instagram and has done 3A before so excited to see how that will work out for him), his spins typically get level 4. He feels light and graceful on the ice - and his artistry is getting better each season for me. It of course isn't perfect, but it's lovely for me to watch.
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Agreed. Emmanuel is special and really underappreciated.

I hope he finds a stable coaching environment to thrive in as i want to see more of him.
 
Has anyone mentioned Losers? A Netflix show that is about amazing athletic achievements by people who lost notable competitions. They did an episode on Surya Bonaly. I cried it was amazing.
 
DSQ said:
Has anyone mentioned Losers? A Netflix show that is about amazing athletic achievements by people who lost notable competitions. They did an episode on Surya Bonaly. I cried it was amazing.
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I remember being awestruck watching her do the backflip in Nagano! That episode of Losers was my favorite. I'm so happy to see her continue to be a success, a positive influence, and a role model.
 
Rohene Ward and Mae Berenice Meite performed at rink opening in December, but were also interviewed (albeit briefly)

I loved Rohene's comment; "I was playing hockey first, and my mom said, I'm not paying for you to be twirling in the corners, if you want to figure skate, then just say it".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Eu7EbBBqho

:laugh::agree: for Rohene's mom
 
Harriet said:
... as the issues that tend to bar many Black US (and Canadian, and other nationality) skaters from continuing, or even starting, to skate also bar First Nations peoples I thought I'd add her to the thread: Naomi Lang .... who was the first Native American woman to compete at the Winter Olympics.
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I was reminded today that the multiracial Tai Babilonia is part Hopi Indian.

skatingfan4ever said:
Mabel Fairbanks and Breaking the Color Barrier in Figure Skating

A glimpse of Mabel Fairbanks, an African-American skater in the early days of ice skating in the U.S. and other skaters like Atoy Wilson, Tai Babilonia, Debbie Thomas, Tiffany Chin, Kristi Yamaguchi and Rudy Galindo. Shown during the 2003 U.S. Nationals with Terry Gannon and Donna DeVarona
Click to expand...

And BTW, Mabel Fairbanks had a Seminole Indian grandmother.

The new article re Babilonia and Fairbanks:

Tai Babilonia, a U.S. Winter Olympic original, credits figure skating trailblazer


Excerpt:
Babilonia "often thinks about Fairbanks, who died in 2001. ...
“She is the sole person responsible for creating Tai and Randy,” Babilonia said. “Every night before I go to bed, I thank her.”​

(The mention of Babilonia and Hopi: "Her mom is Black. Her dad was half Filipino and half Hopi.")
 
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