TheWorld Professional Figure Skating Championships,often referred to asLandover,[1]was an elite made-for-TVfigure skatingcompetition. It was created byDick Button,a two-time Olympic gold medalist, through his production company Candid Productions. It usually took place in December. For most of its existence, it was an unsanctioned professional event, meaning that skaters who participated lost their eligibility to compete in theWinter Olympic Gamesand other "amateur"skating events controlled by theInternational Skating Union.
History
editThe first professional championship was held in 1973 in Tokyo, Japan (aired in 1974 on ABC Sports). Skaters competed in three disciplines:men's singles,ladies' singles,andpair skating.However the competition was not held again until 1980, when it moved toLandover, Maryland.It was held again from 1980 to 1982 as a two-team competition. In 1983 individual competition once again resumed alongside continued team competition. 1983 also marked the first year in whichice dancingwas contested. Team competition was discontinued in 1986. The last professional championship was held in 2000.
The professional championships were held in Landover, Maryland, every year until 1997, when it moved to theMCI Centerin Washington, D.C. Beginning in 1990, the championship started taking the name of its sponsor. Thus the 1990 competition was called the "NutraSweetWorld Professional Championships ". Other sponsors included Durasoft Colors,Equal,Metabolife,andHallmark.
In 1998, the competition was sanctioned by theInternational Skating Union(ISU) as an "international open" or pro-am event. Because the ISU restricts the use of the title "Championships" to refer to ISU Championship events, that year the event was formally known simply as the "Equal Sweetener World Pro".[2]
The technical content of performances was generally lower than in ISU events. Dick Button said: "In the amateur world, they count your triple jumps, and if you don't do enough they forget about your other skating. We do not make our competitors prove their merit. We let them present creative programs with as many or as few triple jumps as they wish."[3]
In 1999, Button's Candid Productions was acquired by SFX, which was in turn acquired byClear Channel Communicationsa year later. At the same time, public interest in professional skating competitions was declining, more elite skaters were choosing to retain their competition eligibility by participating only in sanctioned events, and networks were shifting towards a time-buy model which made skating events less lucrative for producers. All of these factors contributed to the competition's demise after the 2000 event.
In 2001, a successor pro competition produced byIMGunder the name "Hallmark Skater's Championship" was held on the usual December date at theMCI Center.In 2002 the IMG-produced event was held again under that name, this time inColumbus, Ohio,as a sanctioned pro-am competition. This competition also ceased to be held.
In 2009 Skyeyes International Ltd purchased the rights of the World Professional Figure Skating Championships and transforms them into an international trademark with the goal to unify criteria between both events held prior.
Simultaneously the International Professional Skating Union (IPSU) under the same umbrella is being developed.
In 2016 the French company Agence Combes purchased the rights of the World Professional Figure Skating Championships.
Professional champions
editJaca competition
editAn unrelated professional skating competition known by the same name in English was held for many years inJaca,Spain. Its official name in Spanish wasCampeonatos del Mundo de Patinaje Artístico Professional sobre Hielo.The forerunner of this event was an open professional championship for show skaters dating back to at least the 1930s that was held in England, initially under the auspices of theNational Ice Skating Association of Great Britain,and later organized by the Imperial Professional Skaters Association. The event moved to Jaca with the sponsorship of the International Professional Skaters Union. During the 1980s it was a prestigious event with wide television coverage in Europe. Past winners of this event includeDenise Biellmann,Robert Wagenhoffer,Gary Beacom,Scott Williams,Pierre Panayi and Lorna Brown.[10]
References
edit- ^Lund, Mark A.;Patrick, Rebecca (2002).Frozen Assets: The New Order of Figure Skating.Ashton International Media. p.100.ISBN978-0-9721402-0-1.
- ^1998 results on ISU web site
- ^Litsky, Frank (December 13, 1999)."FIGURE SKATING; Lights! Cameras! Axels! Soaring to Hypes".The New York Times.
- ^The "Stars of the 1980 Winter Olympics" team: Linda Fratianne, Emi Watanabe, Robin Cousins, Charles Tickner, Babilonia & Gardner, and Regoczy & Sallay
- ^The 1981 "All Stars" team: Dorothy Hamill, Janet Lynn, John Curry, Toller Cranston, The Protopopovs, and Starbuck & Shelley
- ^The 1982 "Pro Stars" team: Janet Lynn, Linda Fratianne, Don Jackson, Charles Tickner, Babilonia & Gardner, The Bezics, and Regoczy & Sallay
- ^1983 team winners: Dorothy Hamill, Dianne de Leeuw, Toller Cranston, John Carlow, The Protopopovs, Starbuck & Shelley, and Wighton & Dowding
- ^1984 team winners: Rosalynn Sumners, Elaine Zayak, Scott Hamilton, Norbert Schramm, The Carruthers, Underhill & Martini, Torvill & Dean, and Fox & Dalley
- ^1985 team winners: Dorothy Hamill, Linda Fratianne, Robin Cousins, The Protopopovs, Babilonia & Gardner, and Blumberg & Seibert
- ^"World Professional Figure Skating Championships (Jaca, Spain)".Golden Skate.
External links
edit- Information at goldenskate.com
- Jaca results at goldenskate.com
- Robert S. Ogilvie,Competitive Figure Skating: A Parent's Guide.ISBN0-06-015375-X.
- The Rise and Fall of the Pro Skating World
- Skating Turns Propart 1part 2part 3part 4part 5