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HOW I GOT INTO SKATING During the 1970's, my family and I watched ABC's Wide World of Sports every weekend. One day,
in 1974, the US Championships were on, that afternoon Dorothy Hamill skated right into my heart. I was hooked! (Ms. Hamill
has since "apologized" for getting me into this!) I loved her and her sport...following her through her Olympic and World
victories... and into the Ice Capades. Home from school due to a broken leg and subsequent surgery. I read everything I could
about skating, and began to follow skaters such as Linda Fratianne, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner more closely.
In 1981, the World Championships were held in Hartford, CT, USA about three hours (by car) from my home on Long Island.
My mother said we could make a "one time only" trip. Through my dear friend, the late Barbara Cassella, I was able to meet
the lovely and gracious Ms. Hamill. I also met such skaters as JoJo Starbuck and Judy Blumberg. It was the trip of a lifetime...or
so I thought!
Somehow, my Dad decided I had to do this again the next year...in Copenhagen, Denmark? it was there that I made my first
true skating buddies: Elaine Zayak, Rosalynn Sumners, Kitty & Peter Carruthers...They are the reason I love skating...For
me, they were the beginning but not the end.
I continue to respect skating as a sport, and spend way too much money on travel expenses, because people such as: Kurt
Browning, Susie Wynne, Debi Thomas, Nicole Bobek, Michelle Kwan, Dick Button, Jirina Ribbens, Peter Burrows, Mary-Lynn Geldermann,
John Nicks, Ron Ludington, Peggy Fleming, Jill Watson, Jill Trenary, Peter Oppegard, Tonia Kwiatkowski, Nancy Kerrigan, Scott
Hamilton, Kyoko Ina, Jason Dungjen,Yuka Sato, Kristi Yamaguchi, Jenni Meno, Todd Sand, Christopher Bowman, Carolyn Kruse,
Carol Heiss-Jenkins, Lea-Ann Miller, Bill Fauver, Shae Lynn Bourne, Victor Kraatz, Brian Orser ...and many more to numerous
to list...have not only represented their sport with honor on the ice...but have also contributed to the quality
of my life off the ice. I don't attend many skating events anymore, but I will be forever grateful for all they have
done for me.
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US, World & Olympic Champ, Miss Dorothy Hamill
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With US Ice Dance Champs, ;Tannith Belbin & Benjamin Agosto, 2004 Grand Prix Final Silver Medalists; and special Congrats
on their 2005 World Silver Medal:More here.
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@ 2004 US Championships with 2-time Olympic Medalist, Nancy Kerrigan
...Debi Thomas, US & World Champion; Olympic Medalist
Backstage w/ Olympic & World Champ Oksana Baiul (Stars On Ice Phoenix: January 2004)
with 2003 World Ice Dance Champions, Shae-Lynn Bourne & Victor Kraatz (Skate America 2001: Colorado Springs,
CO)
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With Kristi Yamaguchi @'91 U.S. Championships, Minneapolis, MN
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With Rosalynn Sumners and Kurt Browning backstage @ STARS ON ICE
Olympic champ, Alexei Yagudin @
Skate America in Colorado Springs
Meet more of My Skating Buddies HERE
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With my dear friend, Susie Wynne-Barth (US Champion, Olympic & World Team member, ABC/ESPN commentator) @
'92 US Nationals.
