Skating in the 1970's

[moonvine]

So I've been watching the media thread and wow! things were different.

1. I've seen a backflip from...1976 maybe? When were they outlawed in competition?

2. I saw the head of US figure skating confront a judge for giving a skater 5.5 when the other judges were giving 5.8 and 5.9

3. Were US Championships at one time always held in Broadmoor World Arena?

 

[Diana Delafield]

I should have Googled this first, but as far as I can recall, it was Terry Kubicka who included a backflip in his program in the 1975-76 season, did it at the Olympics, and after the Games it was banned. I don't think anyone else did it in competition, unless it was a low-level event without international publicity. I don't remember the year, but wasn't it Surya Bonaly who tossed one in at the end of a program when she was going to retire immediately anyway and didn't care if she was penalized? The other questions I can't answer, not living in the USA. In the olden days, Canadians could only see the US competitions on TV if we lived close enough to the border to get American channels on cable. Some years I could, some not, and we didn't see all the skaters even then, just the top groups.

 

[moonvine]

Yes! Terry Kubicka. And yes, Surya Bonaly. We didn't see all the skaters in the US either. We saw the top groups and maybe 1-2 skaters the PTB decided were interesting for whatever reason.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

So I've been watching the media thread and wow! things were different.

1. I've seen a backflip from...1976 maybe? When were they outlawed in competition?

2. I saw the head of US figure skating confront a judge for giving a skater 5.5 when the other judges were giving 5.8 and 5.9

3. Were US Championships at one time always held in Broadmoor World Arena?

1976 was when they were outlawed in competition. Kubicka was the last to do a competitive program that included a backflip.

 

[TontoK]

Yes! Terry Kubicka. And yes, Surya Bonaly. We didn't see all the skaters in the US either. We saw the top groups and maybe 1-2 skaters the PTB decided were interesting for whatever reason.

Nationals and the WC used to be on Wild World of Sports, and never live that I can remember. Sometimes I think it was well after the competition. You might get the top 3 or 4 placing skaters, and the others might be mentioned.

Wide World of Sports was a wild show. One week you might get motorcycle racing on ice and the next it would be cliff diving from Mexico. Sometimes you'd get both in the same hour-and-a-half program.

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Nationals and the WC used to be on Wild World of Sports, and never live that I can remember. Sometimes I think it was well after the competition. You might get the top 3 or 4 placing skaters, and the others might be mentioned.

Wide World of Sports was a wild show. One week you might get motorcycle racing on ice and the next it would be cliff diving from Mexico. Sometimes you'd get both in the same hour-and-a-half program.

Don't you mean "WIDE world of Sports"?

 

[el henry]

Nationals and the WC used to be on Wild World of Sports, and never live that I can remember. Sometimes I think it was well after the competition. You might get the top 3 or 4 placing skaters, and the others might be mentioned.

Wide World of Sports was a wild show. One week you might get motorcycle racing on ice and the next it would be cliff diving from Mexico. Sometimes you'd get both in the same hour-and-a-half program.

The cliff divers on Wide World of Sports; I had forgotten them!

If we were really lucky, the dead tree TV Guide would tell us that figure skating was on Wide World of Sports that week. Never ever the entire comp.

Much about the good old days was not really that good.

 

[TontoK]

The cliff divers on Wide World of Sports; I had forgotten them!

If we were really lucky, the dead tree TV Guide would tell us that figure skating was on Wide World of Sports that week. Never ever the entire comp.

Much about the good old days was not really that good.

Even as a youngster, I thought motorcycle racing on ice was the craziest thing I'd ever witness in my life. They were racing around something like a speed skating oval on motorbikes that had wheels with long spikes.

I just Youtubed to see if I could find some old footage, and to my surprise, I find that it's still a thing.

Also shoutout to the paper TV Guide, with listings for all three major networks AND pbs, too. Value for money.

 

[Diana Delafield]

The cliff divers on Wide World of Sports; I had forgotten them!

If we were really lucky, the dead tree TV Guide would tell us that figure skating was on Wide World of Sports that week. Never ever the entire comp.

Much about the good old days was not really that good.

But we watched the show anyway, because that was all there was. And when you went to a live competition, you took along binoculars if you were sitting higher up because (gasp!) there was no big screen showing you a close-up view of the skaters, or of yourself grinning and waving at the camera.

Do I remember Michelle Kwan reportedly asking to have that screen turned off when she skated because catching glimpses of her own image distracted her? We used to practice in an arena with six ice surfaces, and cameras in each that the duty manager could monitor. The manager's office was on an upper level overlooking one of the surfaces. Once I was up in a lift and realized I was now looking in the window of the office and seeing myself on his monitor. I was so fascinated I forgot to do my part in the position change and got unceremoniously dumped on the ice by my partner saying "What were you doing up there, writing your grocery list?!"

 

[Mathman]

Surya Bonaly was an interesting case because one of the reasons the ISU advanced for banning the move was that the skaters landed on two flat feet rather than on an edge. Therefore it wasn't really a figure skating move. But when Surya came along, she not only perfected the edge landing, but turned it into a back-flip/triple Salchow combo. So the ISU had to stick to the safety issue -- we don't want to encourage untrained and unsupervised children to fall on the back of their heads and kill themselves.

 

[moonvine]

The cliff divers on Wide World of Sports; I had forgotten them!

If we were really lucky, the dead tree TV Guide would tell us that figure skating was on Wide World of Sports that week. Never ever the entire comp.

Much about the good old days was not really that good.

We got the free tv listings from the newspaper. My parents would not have shelled out the $$$ for TV Guide. The first thing we did was look for any skating or gymnastics in the listings. Sometimes they were on during the day, sometimes at 1 or 3 am or some crazy time. We'd set our alarms and get up and watch. No VCRS (there probably were but my parents wouldn't have shelled out for that either)

 

[moonvine]

Nationals and the WC used to be on Wild World of Sports, and never live that I can remember. Sometimes I think it was well after the competition. You might get the top 3 or 4 placing skaters, and the others might be mentioned.

Wide World of Sports was a wild show. One week you might get motorcycle racing on ice and the next it would be cliff diving from Mexico. Sometimes you'd get both in the same hour-and-a-half program.

Yes, it was well after the competition. For us it didn't matter. It's not like it was in the Chesapeake, Virginia paper so we didn't know the outcome.

 

[moonvine]

I'm probably most interested in the HEAD OF US FIGURE SKATING confronting the judge. I probably saw all these at the time...76 I would have been 10...but I don't remember much other than my faves. David Santee!

 

[labgoat]

Terry Kubicka is one of the forgotten skaters. He had great content including a triple flip and triple lutz, a stunning death drop and of course the backflip. He also skated with a joy and inspiration fueled by his faith. in many ways he was ahead of his time and you can see his influence on future US men. I am so old I remember seeing this live.

 

[moonvine]

Terry Kubicka is one of the forgotten skaters. He had great content including a triple flip and triple lutz, a stunning death drop and of course the backflip. He also skated with a joy and inspiration fueled by his faith. in many ways he was ahead of his time and you can see his influence on future US men. I am so old I remember seeing this live.

I'm almost certain I saw it live. But I would have been 10 and I don't remember. Though I do remember Debi Thomas, Tonya Harding, Scott Hamilton, Katarina Witt, Kristi Yamaguchi, Tai & Randy, etc.

What did Uncle Dick say he did? A bazurka? What the heck?

Is that a hockey rink? With a barrier? At the Olympics?

I love it when the crowd boos the scores.

 

[labgoat]

What did Uncle Dick say he did? A bazurka? What the heck?

Triple flip - mazurka - double axel combination



The mazurka is a half rotation connecting jump. Terry does quite a powerful one to connect the flip and axel.

 

[moonvine]

Triple flip - mazurka - double axel combination



The mazurka is a half rotation connecting jump. Terry does quite a powerful one to connect the flip and axel.

Thank you! I was googling "bazurka" and coming up with nothing.

 

[labgoat]

Is that a hockey rink? With a barrier? At the Olympics?

At many Olympics they alternated events at the rink - in this case hockey and skating.

 

[TontoK]

I'm probably most interested in the HEAD OF US FIGURE SKATING confronting the judge. I probably saw all these at the time...76 I would have been 10...but I don't remember much other than my faves. David Santee!

I remember him, too. I think he skated to Rocky, and didn't he also have a highly ranked brother? Or maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

 

[moonvine]

I remember him, too. I think he skated to Rocky, and didn't he also have a highly ranked brother? Or maybe I'm thinking of someone else.

Yes! That is him. I just made him a fan thread last week. He's a technical specialist now; in fact, he was working at the US Junior Cup.