I suspect that is a year that all of us will be happy to see the tail end of. The COVID pandemic and other world events have changed all our lives, perhaps more than we even realize. This year, face masks and social distancing have become our "new normal" and anxiety is a beast we are all facing collectively. Our White Christmases haven't been like "the ones we used to know". Instead of gathering around tables with friends and family near and far, many of us are connecting with loved ones via FaceTime and sending presents via Canada Post.
Figure skating has suffered setback after setback this year, but if there's one thing we can be certain of - it's that our sport will ultimately survive. It has survived two World Wars and a devastating plane crash. It has survived the elimination of school figures and a transformative judging system change. It has survived the deaths of irreplaceable coaches and rink closures As we look forward to a brighter future, I wanted to take some time to look back.
Over the last twelve months, Skate Guard blog has shared over one hundred fascinating stories from figure skating's rich and colourful history. I wanted to end the year by sharing ten of my favourite pieces from that you may have missed. Happy New Year to all of you Life will absolutely not get better instantly "when the ball drops", but it will get better in time. During the Edwardian era, the International Skating Union was presided over by Lieutenant Colonel Viktor Gustaf Balck, a Swedish former military gymnastics instructor who was one of the original members of the International Olympic Committee.
During Balck's thirty year reign as ISU President, the World Championships were held in Sweden no less than five times - a number only tied by Austria-Hungary - drawing some to perceive a conflict of interest between his involvements with both the Swedish federation and the ISU.
Explore Move to The World Championships in Montreal were cancelled at the eleventh hour this past March, just five days after the World Health Organization confirmed the existence of a global pandemic. That same week, I published my piece on the World Championships in Vancouver, which was supposed to go up during Worlds in Montreal. This year was the sixtieth anniversary of those Championships - the first Worlds ever to be held in Western Canada.
