Toller Cranston - Clip of the week

If Janet Lynn elevated the artistry of the freeskate for women, then six time Canadian champion (1971-1976) and 1976 Olympic bronze medalist Toller Cranston did the same for the men. Toller is credited by many as changing the men's freeskate from rigid and "by the book" to free flowing, innovative, filled with fluidity and expression and importantly, extension. Below is Toller skating in the 1992 Canadian Stars on Ice where his artistry and athleticism are on full display (at age 43 no less!). Today, Toller lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where his main passion is painting.

Ladies results 2007-2008 Japanese National Championships

The 2007-2008 Japanese National Championships, held December 26-28 in Kadoma, are now over. Mao Asada (see right), the defending national champion, won the ladies event over Miki Ando by just slightly over one point! The top ten ladies are as follows:

1. Mao Asada (浅田 真央)
2. Miki Ando
3. Yukari Nakano
4. Fumie Suguri
5. Akiko Suzuki
6. Nana Takeda
7. Yukina Ohta
8. Shoko Ishikawa
9. Aki Sawada
10. Yuki Nishino

I should also note that the brother and sister team of Cathy and Chris Reed are the Ice Dance national champions. They were the sole competitors in their field and are able to skate for Japan because of their dual Japanese/U.S. citizenship.

Men's results 2007-2008 Japanese National Championships

The 2007-2008 Japanese National Championships, held December 26-28 in Kadoma, are nearly over. Daisuke Takahashi (see right) won his third consecutive title, with over a 30 point lead over the rest of the field. The top ten are as follows:

1. Daisuke Takahashi (高橋 大輔,)
2. Takahiko Kozuka
3. Yasuharu Nanri
4. Kensuke Nakaniwa
5. Takahito Mura
6. Hideo Umetani
7. Yukihiro Yoshida
8. Ryo Shibata
9. Hirokazu Kobayashi
10. Akio Sasaki

One of my favorite skaters, Nobunari Oda, did not compete in nationals due to "mental stress."

Mao Asada leads the ladies field going into the free skate to be completed tomorrow. Stay tuned...

Edges revelation

Recently I was chatting with Rockefeller Rink regulars, Esther, who is 78 years old, and Joanie, 76 years old, and the two of them are as exuberant about skating as, well, me! I love talking to people about why they skate and what they enjoy most about skating (as well as what they enjoy the least). You get a bunch of us skaters together and believe me, it's wild! :)

I asked Esther if she started to skate when she was younger and the hobby simply carried over into adulthood. She responded that in fact, she started skating well into adulthood and became addicted to it when an instructor showed her what an edge was. She said she was "completely floored" at this thing called edges and from that point on, she was hooked. I also asked Esther what her favorite part of skating was, and like a lot of us, she said, "When I'm on a great edge, I'm on Cloud 9." Joanie agreed that she became fascinated by skating when she was taught about inside and outside edges several years ago. Aren't skaters of all ages simply timeless?

Below is a great demonstration of how edges work and how they are truly the foundation of everything we do in skating:

Janet Lynn - Clip of the week

I guess we take it for granted now that skaters should interpret their music fully, integrate jumps and spins with the choreography, use their full body to express their music and skate in the moment. We can thank Janet Lynn for pushing the free skate to an art.

I first heard the name Janet Lynn maybe 10 or so years ago. Why is it I had not heard the name before? Or maybe I had, but it didn't register because back then, Dorothy Hamill, Peggy Fleming -- these were the faces on television that I saw all the time. Now when I watch skating, commentators will often bring up Janet Lynn's name in conjunction with Michelle Kwan, or Sasha Cohen, or any lyrical skater who brings spirituality to their performance. Brian Boitano has said

I never had a skater I idolized when I was growing up. Now, I realize I should have idolized Janet Lynn. (link)

Janet Lynn was the U.S. National Figure Skating Champion from 1969 to 1973 and also won an Olympic bronze medal in 1972. To some, she is considered the best freeskater of all time never to have won a World or Olympic title. Partly because of her, compulsory figures (originally 50% of a skater's score; the freeskate comprising the other 50%) were devalued by introducing the short program. Compulsory figures were not generally televised and viewers were confused (and somewhat angry) when Janet Lynn did not win a competition when she had skated a perfect, awe-inspiring freeskate.

In 1975, she retired from skating and started a family and returned to skate professionally in a few shows in the 1980s. Currently she lives in Illinois with her husband and five boys and is also a Christian motivational speaker. Below is Janet's freeskate in the 1972 Olympics where her beautiful edges, perfect posture and overjoy in skating are on full display: