figure skating interviews : The Manleywoman SkateCast

APRIL 2013 An interview with Phil Hersh, an award-winning journalist who since 1987 has been the Olympic sports writer for the Chicago Tribune and the Tribune Company. He’s covered the sport of figure skating through 10 Olympics (Sochi 2014 is #10), 28 US Championships, and 16 World Championships. We spoke about his opinions on some...

MARCH 2013 Part Two of an interview with Audrey Weisiger, Olympic-level coach (most notably of Michael Weiss and Tim Goebel), and creator of both Grassroots to Champions (G2C) and the Young Artists Showcase (YAS). In Part Two we discuss her collaboration with the late choreographer Brian Wright, the creation of G2C and YAS, her thoughts...

MARCH 2013 Part One of an interview with Audrey Weisiger, Olympic-level coach (most notably of Michael Weiss and Tim Goebel), and creator of both Grassroots to Champions and the Young Artists Showcase. In Part One we discuss her background in skating, how she became a top level coach, what it was like working with Michael...

FEBRUARY 2013 Part Two of an interview with Carol Heiss Jenkins, the 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist for ladies figure skating, as well as the Silver medalist in the 1956 Olympics, a 5 time World Champion, and of course US National Champion. In Part 2, she takes us through her movie and television career, notably when...

DECEMBER 2012 An interview with Carol Heiss Jenkins, the 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist for ladies figure skating, as well as the Silver medalist in the 1956 Olympics, a 5 time World Champion, and of course US National Champion. In Part 1, she takes us through her early days of skating all the way through the...

NOVEMBER 2012 Norbert Schramm is a German Figure Skating Champion, two-time European Champion, twice the World Silver Medalist, and one of the more interesting skaters from an already interesting era in Men’s figure skating. His inventive choreography and spins are still fresh today. He has continued his figure skating career in television and show production,...

OCTOBER 2012 The Pro Skating Historical Foundation is an organization that is working hard to preserve the history of professional figure skating by archiving historical artifacts and working with the skating community to contribute to the pro skating world. In this episode I interview four members of the Foundation: Jaya Kanal, Tony Kudrna, Dorian Valles...

SEPTEMBER 2012 The Ice Theatre of New York is a premiere ice dance company, that joins figure skating with traditional choreography and dance to create new forms and movements on ice. They also have quite an extensive outreach and education program for students and audiences. I spoke with Founder Moira North and Artistic Director Douglas...

SEPTEMBER 2012 Kelli Lawrence is a writer and producer who has written for both PSA (Professional Skaters Association) Magazine and SKATING Magazine. She is also the author of  the book “Skating On Air: The Broadcast History of an Olympic Marquee Sport” (read my review here), and she also writes a blog called State of the...

SEPTEMBER 2012 A prolific collector of figure skating memorabilia for over 70 years, Roy Blakey is the owner of one of the worlds largest collection of figure skating memorabilia. Highlights of his collection, and an overview of show skating, can be viewed at his website Ice Stage Archive. His collection is going to be featured...

MAY 2012 With his partner Kyoka Ina, John Zimmerman  was three time US National Champion, 2002 World Bronze Medalist, and 5th at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. He’s been a Stars On Ice performer, a model, a coach, and is also (with wife Silvia Fontana) the founder of Karisma Sportswear. He talks about starting...

MARCH 2012 With her partner Norris Bowden, Frances Dafoe was a four-time Canadian Champion in Pairs, one-time Champion in Ice Dance, twice World Champion, and the 1956 Olympic Silver Medalist. She discusses their controversial silver medal, how they changed the rules of pair skating, why Strawberry Ice was her favorite project for costume design, and...

An interview with Leah Adams. Leah is an in-demand skating photographer who has photographed for several top shows, including Champions On Ice and Skate For Hope. She also conceived of, runs, and manages Figure Skaters Online, which creates and hosts over 50 websites for both upcoming and established skaters. In other words, she’s one of...

JANUARY 2012 Live from the 2012 US Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, California. In addition to capturing some sounds and flavors of the event. There are clips from both the Friday night and the Saturday on-ice event, with remarks from Brian Boitano, Pat St. Peter, and Dr. Lawrence Mondschein. There are interviews with: Rockne Brubaker,...

DECEMBER 2011 An interview with Lucinda Ruh. Ms. Ruh is a 2-time Swiss National Champion, star of both Stars On Ice and Champions On Ice, and was twice named one of the “25 most influential people in figure skating” by International Figure Skating Magazine. She astounded crowds worldwide with her gifts in spinning as an...

NOVEMBER 2011 An interview with PJ Kwong. Ms. Kwong is a Canadian figure skating coach, television commentator, public address announcer, blogger at www.pjkwong.com, and author of “Taking the Ice: Success Stories From the World of Canadian Figure Skating.” We talk about how she got into commentating for television, why Canadian choreographers are so talented, and she reveals...

OCTOBER 2011 An interview with David Kirby, who knows everything there is to know about figure skating. His father show skated with Sonia Henie. His parents were Canadian champions. He’s been a Novice champion. He skated in Ice Capades. He owns ice rinks. He coaches. He was PSA President. He’s one of the first members...

JUNE 2011 An interview with Timothy Goebel, 2001 US National Champion, and 2002 Olympic Bronze Medalist. Also known as the “Quad King,” he was the first person to land three quadruple jumps in one program (and one of the few to accomplish that to this day). We discuss his quads, the change from 6.0 to...

MAY 2011 An interview with Randy Gardner, 1979 World Champion in Pairs with Tai Babilonia, two time Olympian (1976 and 1980), choreographer, star of Ice Follies and head of Randy G Productions. We talk about his experiences with Mabel Fairbanks, his injury during the Lake Placid Olympics that caused them to withdraw, and who he’d...

MARCH 2011 An interview with David Jenkins, 1956 Olympic Bronze medalist, 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist, 3-time World Champion and 4-time US National Champion. We discuss how he and his brother Hayes worked together, his loathing of figures, how a boxing promoter came to own the rights to his performance from CBS, and how he was...

FEBRUARY 2011 An interview with Yuka Sato, two-time Japanese Champion, World Junior Champion, two-time Olympian, and 1994 World Champion. Also known as a choreographer and coach to Alyssa Czisny and Jeremy Abbott. We talk about her having Olympians as parents and coaches, her training philosophy, and how she got lost on a bus in Canada...

JANUARY 2011 Live from the 2011 US Nationals in Greensboro, North Carolina. In addition to capturing some sounds and flavors of the event, there are interviews with: Charlene Wong, Todd Eldredge, Silvia Fontana and John Zimmerman, Alison Carey, Rusty (the In-Arena Host) Dan Diamond, Kori Ade, John Lee, Michael Parsons, Doug Razzano, Jerod Swallow and...

DECEMBER 2010 An interview with Jojo Starbuck. With partner Ken Shelley, she won three US titles, two World Bronze medals and was in both the 1968 and 1972 Olympics. We discuss her career on and off the ice, her love for performing, and her incredible story of why the Japanese Federation made her miss a...

NOVEMBER 2010 An interview with Canadian legend Barbara Ann Scott, 1948 Olympic Champion, 4-time Canadian Champion, World/European/North American Champion, and the classiest woman in the sport of figure skating. We discuss her career on and off the ice, her numerous experiences with Sonia Henie, and why her little dog Pierre was her most embarrassing moment...

OCTOBER 2010 An interview with George Spiteri, President of SP-Teri Boots. SP-Teri has been making boots since 1963. We talk about the history and evolution of the skating boot, the worst pair of boots he’s ever seen, and dealing with stinky feet. 39 minutes, 36 seconds. Win a free pair of SP-Teri Boots! There is...