Ice Skating Snippets - bits from the last 60 years

 
October 1958. - The season starts with a televised competition from Streatham Ice Rink - skaters from the Southern Counties Championships and an exhibition from Courtenay Jones and his new partner of Doreen Denny.

 

September 19 1964 - the annual North V South Ice Dance competition held at the Top Rank Rink in Southampton. For the first time the south won. Filmed by Southern Television, the South captain, Anthony Barron with his partner Andrea Johnson received the Willow Trophy.

Click on the pic for a larger view, yes, that's me on the right hand end

 

February 1957, due to demand, Birmingham Ice Rink have started a 'Housewives' class to allow mothers to learn to skate, and running alongside is the 'under fives' class - skating lessons at the same time.

Dancing on ice was recognized in Europe in the 1880’s, and despite its popularity, it was not considered at that time as a recognized discipline of ice skating.
In 1933, the National Ice Skating Association in Britain set up a committee to study ice dancing, from there developed the discipline and in 1937, the first British Championships were held.
The first set pattern dance was first performed in 1889 in Vienna, named the ‘Scholler March’ after its inventor, Franz Scholler, renamed the Ten Step and was subsequently renamed as the Swing Fourteenstep.
In 1952, the ISU sanctioned the first World Championship in Paris, won by Jean Westwood and Lawrence Demmy of Great Britain. In second place were Dewhirst and Slater, who, two months later reversed the positions in the British Championships.
The first European Championship was held in Italy in 1954, again the winners were Westwood and Demmy.

1976 and ice dance makes the Winter Olympics Innsbruck, Austria
1st Ludmila Pakhomova & Alexander Gorshkov (URS), 2nd Irina Moiseeva & Andrei Minenkov (URS), 3rd Coleen O'Connor & James Millns Jr (USA)
Representing GBR - Green&Watts, Thompson&Maxwell, Barsdell&Foster.

Before Dancing on Ice came to our TV screens, Karen Barber and Nicky Slater had very successful competitive careers in ice dance. Seen below in 1985 with myself at the World Championships.

Barber & Slater