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Join the Museum in its New
Beginnings
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Museum Board of Trustee members at the recent board
meeting September 14 at the Sofitel Hotel, Chicago, Illinois.
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As the year comes to a
close, the Museum is launching its second Annual
Appeal.
This year's theme, New Beginnings, recognizes the
Museum's commitment to becoming a world-class institution that promotes
knowledge and enjoyment of figure skating to diverse audiences
throughout the world. Among other accomplishments during the past
year the Museum has recruited an outstanding board of trustees,
developed a strategic plan, co-published a popular history of figure
skating, revamped the exhibit galleries, and launched this bi-monthly
newsletter.
During the upcoming
year, with your help, the Museum will launch a film preservation
initiative, develop a traveling exhibition on the history of figure
skating, produce a school outreach kit, identify and actively
acquire significant skating collections, create a finding guide for
archive researchers, and introduce an Adopt-a-Costume program to
conserve its costume collection.
The Annual Appeal is
critical to the Museum's operation and its ability to move forward with
these plans. Your gift of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 or more will
help get us there. . . . each gift is important. Donors who
contribute gifts of $100 or more will receive a special gift --- the
first in our series of mugs based on the Museum's collections.
This year's mug features the colorful abstract painting created by ice
dancers Michael Seibert and Judy Blumberg using their skates as
artist's brushes.
Look for our Annual
Appeal mailing soon, and become a partner in the Museum's New Beginnings. Help the
Museum become the premier institution dedicated to preserving and
sharing the legacy of figure skating!
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A
Special Gift for Donors over $100
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Donors who contribute gifts of $100 or more will receive this
mug based on the Museum's collections.
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Donors who contribute
gifts of $100 or more will receive this special mug based on the
Museum's collections.
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Support the Museum>>
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Museum
receives Foundation Awards
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The
Museum's 1920 - 1948 Olympic films are part of the comprehensive
collection of over 3,500.
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In moving the Museum toward one of
its long-term strategic goals of making resources of the Museum
accessible to diverse audiences throughout the world, Executive
Director Brian Alexander is pleased to announce two recent
awards.
The Museum received $1,500 from The
Bank at Broadmoor in Colorado
Springs, Colorado,
to develop a curriculum-specific traveling trunk focusing on the
science and history of figure skating. It will be targeted
to upper-level elementary students.
The Kerr Foundation in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, awarded the Museum $5,000
to assist in the Museum's Skating Film Preservation Initiative.
This grant will help preserve the 1920 - 1948 Olympic films which are
part of the Museum's overall collection of over 3,500 videos and
films. Sonja Henie's 1928 Olympic performance and early childhood
footage are a part of this valuable collection. In addition,
competition performances for national, international, and Olympic
events are available from 1924 to the present. Many of these earlier
films are the only known copies. Approximately 80% of these films
were transferred to video in the mid 1980's; however, 35mm masters were
not always created.
As the Museum regularly receives
film requests from journalists, scholars, and the media, this grant will
help fund the costs of creating masters to preserve this valuable
footage and continue to make it readily available.
The Museum gratefully acknowledges
these institutions for their support. For more information on grant or
sponsorship opportunities, please contact the Museum at (719)
635 - 5200.
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Click
here to learn about the importance of film preservation>>
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A
Successful Career Outside of Skating
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Dr. Tenley Albright
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In our inaugural
issue, we asked our readers for suggestions for future
issues. Tamara Moskvina, Advisory Council member, suggested
featuring a former world-class figure skater who has achieved
recognition outside the figure skating world. We liked the idea
and chose Tenley Albright, since it soon will be the 50th anniversary of
her gold medal performance at the 1956 Olympics in Italy.
After having received
a silver medal at the 1952 games, Albright in 1956 became the first
American woman to win Olympic Gold. Despite having been
diagnosed at an early age with polio, Albright pursued skating and
along with her Olympic medals won two gold and two silver medals for
ladies singles at the World Championships from 1953 - 1956.
While training for the
Olympics, Albright studied at Radcliffe
College in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Albright later received her M.D. degree from Harvard Medical
School. Dr.
Albright is currently a faculty member and lecturer in the Program of
Surgery at Harvard
Medical School.
In addition, Albright holds eight honorary degrees.
Dr. Tenley
Albright's medical accomplishments are as impressive as her successful
skating career. She currently consults with or is on the Boards
of Directors for several medical or research facilities. She was
appointed In 1989 by the Secretary of the Department of Health and
Human Services and President George H. W. Bush as a delegate to
the World Health Assembly. In 1999, Dr. Albright received the
Research America Advocacy Award for her work advancing medical and
health research.
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Great Christmas Ideas from the
Museum Store
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Own the ultimate set for $39.95 today.
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Order
a new skating DVD or VHS Cassette
Enjoy some of figure
skating's greatest moments with the new three-pack DVD or VHS
cassette "Skating through time - Great Performances from the
U.S. Figure Skating Championships." The three-volume set
covers over three decades (1968 - 2005) of skating history with
unforgettable performances by the world's most accomplished figure
skaters. Save almost $20 by ordering the complete set for $39.95,
or order individually at $19.95.
Wear a
Piece of Skating History
How would you like to
wear a piece of jewelry based on an original 1924 pencil drawing by
Olympic Champion Gillis Grafstrom (Olympic Champion 1920, 1924,
1928)?
Why is this drawing
from the Museum collection so meaningful? During the 18th
century, skaters discovered that the tracings made by their skates
could be used to create designs on the ice. The simple figure
eight formed the basis of school figures until 1990. The more
complex and intricate designs of the skater's own creation were known
as Special Figures. These figures comprised a separate
competitive event for the 1908 Olympics.
The jewelry is
handcrafted from gold and sterling silver and available in a variety of
styles and prices. Keep checking our website for new offerings!
Please call Donna
Brown, museum store manager, at (719) 228-3467 or order anytime
online.
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Click
here to view our jewelry selections>>
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Enrich your historical knowledge
about the sport you love
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This easy-to-read,
soft-cover, book is the first historical survey of figure
skating in over 40 years.
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When you have a passion
for something, it can motivate you to accomplish a seemingly
insurmountable task. Just as World and Olympic skaters devoted
years of training to perfect their talents, author James R. Hines in
his new book, Figure Skating: A
History, spent over six years of research pursuing his
passion of writing the only complete history of figure skating in
more than forty years. The nearly 500-page, soft-cover volume is
a comprehensive historical survey of the sport and is co-published by
the World Figure Skating Museum & Hall of Fame and the University
of Illinois Press. All orders placed through November 30 will receive
15% off the retail price of $29.95.
"It was a mammoth
project that involved six solid years of research," commented
Hines, who became interested in the project following the attack on
Nancy Kerrigan at the U.S. Championships in 1994. "A
historian must approach everything critically and strive for accuracy,"
said the professor of musicology at Christopher
Newport University
in Newport News, Virginia. As a former ice
dance roller skater and a participant in the performing arts for more
than 40 years, Hines fully understands the passion that drives skaters,
many of whom he interviewed and researched for this book.
"My purpose in writing this book was to put into one volume
information that readers - young beginners, skating moms, coaches,
skating fans, and competitive skaters - can enjoy and at the same time
learn something about the sport they love," Hines commented. He
elaborated, "Has it ever occurred to you that backward skating
didn't always exist?" The author explains in his book that
it was not until the 1830's that Henry Boswell, an outstanding skater
from Oxford, England, significantly
altered the basic skate design that backward skating really took off.
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Click here for
full article>>
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A Military Battle on Ice
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This
sterling-silver figurine in early Dutch military dress is part of the
Museum's Grafstrom collection.
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This sterling-silver
figurine in early Dutch military dress from the Museum's Grafstrom
collection is believed to represent a battle fought in 1572 between the Dutch and
the Spanish.
In the winter of 1572, a
small fleet of armed ships belonging to the Dutch had been frozen in
the ice near Amsterdam.
Spanish troops were dispatched over the ice to attack the imprisoned
vessels. The ships' crews, however, had fortified themselves by digging
a wide trench around the entire fleet, which became an almost
impregnable fortress.
The well-armed Dutch
troops, wearing ice skates, advanced out of this frozen
stronghold. A quick battle ensued. The Dutch, who were
accustomed to skating, easily defeated the Spanish. Several
hundred Spanish troops lay dead on the ice. Within the next twenty-four
hours a rapid thaw released the ships and the Dutch escaped. A sudden
temperature drop froze the ice once again making pursuit by the
Spanish impossible. Astonished at these maneuvers on the ice, the
Spanish quickly ordered seven thousand pairs of skates, and their
soldiers soon learned to perform military maneuvers on skates.
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Meet our Poster Winners
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In our inaugural issue,
we ran a contest to identify a canvas painting currently on exhibit in
the Museum. We asked readers to correctly identify the painting
in which two former U.S. National and World ice dance medalists used
their skate blades as artist brushes. We had an overwhelming
response with many informed readers correctly identifying the artists
as Judy Blumberg and Michael Seibert.
Our two winners were Ann
Greenthal, a current international judge, and Amy Stetson, a
researcher at ABC Sports. Both women have figure skated
and live in New York City.
Thank you to everyone who participated. Look for more contests in
the future issues.
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A special thanks to our State Game of America
Supporters
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The city of Colorado Springs
was host to the 2005 State Games of America July 28 - 31. As many
as 9,000
athletes from all over the USA competed in 24
different events showcasing their individual and team talents. Of
these participants, approximately 800 figure skaters competed in
all the major skating disciplines.
The Museum staff greeted several thousand visitors eager to
enrich their knowledge about figure skating. Many
visitors also supported the Museum by purchasing special gifts to
take home.
The Museum also had a display booth
in the main ice hall at the World Arena - the venue for all figure
skating events.
We appreciate your
support and look forward to seeing many of you again in 2007 when
this special event will take place once again in Colorado Springs.
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Museum creates U.S. Olympic
figure skating wall
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The Museum created this U.S.
Olympic figure skating wall for the new Greeley Ice Haus.
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Downtown Greeley, Colorado,
has a new facility and look with the opening of the Greeley Ice Haus,
September 24, 2005. Staff from the Museum and U.S. Figure Skating
participated in the grand opening ceremonies with an informational
booth, free promotional items, and prize drawings throughout the
day. Several thousand families and skating fans attended the
opening-day ceremonies. This impressive new brick facility
currently houses one sheet of ice in a town that previously did not
have its own ice rink.
The photo montage represents all U.S. ladies and men's
Olympic champions since the 1908 Olympic Winter Games. Hopefully,
we'll be able to expand the wall after the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, Italy!
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