BREAKING THE ICE; BLACKS PROGRESSING IN WORLD OF FIGURE SKATING.Byline: Marcus Hayes Philadelphia Inquirer Philadelphia Inquirer Morning newspaper, long one of the most influential dailies in the eastern U.S. Founded in 1847 as the Pennsylvania Inquirer, it took its present name c. 1860. It was a strong supporter of the Union in the American Civil War. This sort of humiliation wasn't supposed to happen to 11-year-old Rory Flack in the 1970s. Mabel Fairbanks Mabel Fairbanks (November 14, 1916-October 2001) was an African-American figure skater and later a coach of pairs skaters Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Leslie Robinson and Michelle McCladdie as well as individual skaters Atoy Wilson, Scott Hamilton, Kristi Yamaguchi, Rudy and her legion of pupils were supposed to have suffered enough for all African-American skaters. The father of San Diego's top girl skater apparently didn't know that. One day, after Flack beat her at a local competition, the loser's father exploded. ``He called me the N-word,'' Flack recalled, declining to identify him. Flack, already sensing unfair treatment in the form of low scores for good routines, nearly left skating as a result of the encounter. ``It was real discouraging,'' she said from her home in Wasilla, Alaska. Now married to former Austrian skater Ralph Burghart and the mother of two sons, Flack remains bitter over the incident. ``I didn't see the world like that,'' she said. Some components of the figure-skating world did see her like that, forcing her to bear some of the same burdens Fairbanks bore. Fairbanks was the first significant African-American skater - a kind of Jackie Robinson Noun 1. Jackie Robinson - United States baseball player; first Black to play in the major leagues (1919-1972) Jack Roosevelt Robinson, Robinson of the skating world. Her exclusion from skating clubs in the 1940s kept her from competing. But a professional skating and coaching career - during which she taught such stars as Tai Babalonia and Atoy Wilson, as well as 1992 Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi Kristi Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American figure skater. In December 2005, she was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. Biography Kristi Yamaguchi was born on July 12, 1971 in Hayward, California, to Jim Yamaguchi, a dentist, and Carole Doi, a - made Fairbanks a major player. Now 69, Fairbanks lives in Burbank, where she monitors the sport and its racial progress. She knew of Flack's problems. She's thrilled at the success of Debi Thomas Debi Thomas, (born March 25, 1967) is a figure skater and the first African American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. Thomas won the 1986 U.S. National ladies' figure skating title and the Ladies' title at the 1986 World Figure Skating Championships; those achievements , the 1986 and '88 U.S. champion, the 1986 world champion and 1988 Olympic bronze medalist. Thomas remains the only African-American to have won a medal in any sport at the Winter Olympics. Fairbanks knows of today's top African-American skaters, all of whom competed at the U.S. Figure Skating U.S. Figure Skating (USFS), officially called the United States Figure Skating Association or USFSA, is the national sport governing body for figure skating in the United States. Championships in Philadelphia. Derrick Delmore Derrick Delmore (born December 12, 1978 in Andrews AFB, Maryland) is an African-American figure skater. He was the 1998 World Junior champion and the 1999 US National Collegiate Champion. He attended Stanford University and double majored in psychology and communications. , the reigning junior world champion and the first African-American male world champion, finished fifth in the men's competition. Andrea Gardiner Andrea Gardiner (born January 10, 1981 in Baytown, Texas, USA) is an American figure skater. She is the 1997 U.S. junior national champion. She competed twice at the Four Continents Championships, placing 8th in 2000 and 11th in 2002. She was coached by Kitty Carruthers. placed seventh in the short program among the senior women, continuing her climb as the first African-American woman since Thomas to contend seriously for a place among the top women in the world. Cohen cohen or kohen (Hebrew: “priest”) Jewish priest descended from Zadok (a descendant of Aaron), priest at the First Temple of Jerusalem. The biblical priesthood was hereditary and male. Duncan is not far behind Gardiner. Novice Jordan Wilson represents the future. All were in Philadelphia the week of Jan. 5 in as large an African-American contingent at the national championships as anyone can remember. The consensus is that more African-Americans are skating today in this country than ever before, although the precise number is hard to come by. The common theory for this increase is twofold. First, as African-Americans see their financial situation improve, more of their children have access to costly sports such as figure skating figure skating Sport in which ice skaters, singly or in pairs, perform various jumps, spins, and footwork. The figure skate blade has a special serrated toe pick, or toe rake, at the front. , which can cost up to $40,000 a year for skates, ice time, coaches, choreographers This is a list of choreographers A
``It's expensive,'' said Morry Stillwell, president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association. There is little financial help for young skaters, and families feel the pinch. Gardiner's family does not vacation, she said. Her skating trips are their getaways. Flack's mother worked three jobs to pay her daughter's bills. ``My mother told me, `This is your college,' '' Flack said. Another reason for skating's surge in popularity among African-Americans is the success that Thomas enjoyed in the late '80s. ``Things are much better,'' Fairbanks said with a laugh. ``Skating has come a long, long way since I started to learn.'' Then, she stopped chuckling. ``It's not bad, but the stigma is still there,'' she said. ``It's just smothered smoth·er v. smoth·ered, smoth·er·ing, smoth·ers v.tr. 1. a. To suffocate (another). b. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion. 2. .'' If African-Americans are still being discriminated against on the rink, the practice is easily hidden. ``I would take real quick action if I got wind of any of that monkey business,'' said Stillwell, a judge himself. But Fairbanks noted that in the politics of skating, the practice of placing established skaters ahead of newer faces, regardless of their race, makes racism impossible to prove. Such was not always the case. There was a time when skaters were not even given the chance to be judged. There is a well-worn story about a 10-year-old Fairbanks, a pair of used, $1 skates over her shoulder, trying to skate for the first time, in 1938. At first, she was turned away from a rink in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. . In 1991, Gardiner, who hails from Houston, walked into a rink in Dallas to compete. She, too, was 10. She had not been to the rink before. Most of the people knew who she was but not that she was African-American. She and her mother entered the arena and the place fell silent. Once introduced, though, Gardiner said she was greeted warmly. Sadly, acceptance by judges does not always mirror that of competitors and fans. CAPTION(S): Box Box: COUNTDOWN TO OLYMPICS |
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