Better still, I spent any number of days and nights in planes, trains and automobiles in Canada and the United States in the 1980s doing media coverage on former Penetanguishene resident and world champion Brian Orser.
Now, however, I’m almost as far removed from the sport as the average citizen can be.
The topic of figure skating flashed through my brain a few weeks ago when former Orillia newspaper staffer and mentor Steve Milton was kind enough to mail me a copy of his latest book, “Figure Skating’s Greatest Stars.”
The book is a must-read for passionate figure skaters, coaches and fans, as it covers the history of the sport wonderfully in words and photos.
In the book, Milton talks about the 62 most influential skaters of all time and relates how those skaters impacted the sport.
The book is Milton’s 18th literary project, with most of the creations delving into figure skating in one way or another.
It was about 30 years ago when Milton first got me interested in figure skating, not long after Orser claimed his first Canadian men’s title. By that time, Orser had moved west from Penetanguishene to live in Orillia, and was training at Doug Leigh’s Mariposa School of Skating.
Orser, Leigh and Milton formed a strong bond, one that would carry them around the world, where the trio would experience highs and lows at Olympic and world finals.
Lost on the generation now following the sport, it was a time when skaters did compulsory figures and a mark of 6.0 was considered perfection.
From time to time, I think about those interesting days in Orillia in the 1980s, when there was a real sense of family within the skating community.
The 2002 Salt Lake City judging scandal left me so turned off the sport I don’t think I watched more than five minutes of an event the following three to four years.
I still admire the grace and athleticism required to compete at the world or Olympic level, but the off-ice antics leave me wondering if skating will ever find its way out of the wilderness and find mass acceptance again.
Thank goodness we have great coaches throughout the central Ontario region who want to introduce boys and girls to the sport. These men and women are doing it for the right reasons, and they should be applauded for their efforts.
I still believe in the grass-roots program in place across this country. But it’ll be a while before I can place lasting faith in the judging at a world or Olympic event.
That world is still unfolding, and I hope for the future of the sport it is heading in the right direction.
mdodd@simcoe.com
