What was the first figure skating program you watched ever?

skylark · Sep 6, 2019

Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov, at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.

The joy! that's what I remember best ... plus their skating seemed like an ideal, the kind of harmony and unity of purpose that could be aspired to between a man and a woman ... and this was before (they knew) they were in love. I felt sure that such harmony and tender caring between a man and a woman would eventually grow into romantic love ... it just had to, if there was any romance in the real world!

this is a great idea for a thread, Rafael Astro, :thank:

surimi · Sep 6, 2019

I admire everyone who remembers! My first memories of watching FS are quite fuzzy as I was just a kid keeping company to my grandpa who was the one watching skating in my family. I have some extremely hazy memories of Navka/Kostomarov and Anissina/Peizerat, so I guess one of these would be it.

amanuenssi · Sep 6, 2019

The European Championships in 1960 and the Dutch figure skater Sjoukje Dijkstra. I was 5 years old and the television set was a brand new thing in the Finnish households!

MGstyle · Sep 6, 2019

I am pretty sure the "actual first ever program I saw" had been buried deep into the abyss of oblivion.
The event however was Sarajevo 1984 and Torvill & Dean's Bolero became officially the begining of my life long association with Figure Skating.

Bookseller · Sep 6, 2019

noskates said:
Peggy Fleming's Olympic Gold Medal in Grenoble in 1968. I don't even remember who else skated. Just remember that green dress and how graceful she was. Didn't know anything about figure skating.

Ditto! I thought she was wonderful. I later went to see her in an ice show or two, but she didn't do much and it was not as inspiring as that Olympic skate. The first male skater who captured my attention was John Curry at the Olympics. He set my standard for what I love about Men's skating. But Peggy was the first skate that I actually remember. On TV, with that primitive technology they had then. I may well have watched Olympic skating before that, but I don't remember them. I do remember the Carol Heiss specials, but I don't remember the Olympic skate. I was probably too young to appreciate it.

Jetta · Sep 6, 2019

Great thread!

It was the 1976 Olympics. I remember watching Dorothy Hamil. That’s when I fell in love with figure skating.

Ulrica · Sep 6, 2019

That I clearly remember it was Yuzu's Parisienne Walkways on Sochi Olympics,

But the first time I watched FS and loved it even though I knew nothing about the sport was Torino 2006, it was either Ice Dance or Pairs.

lady_bee · Sep 6, 2019

I am sure the 1st NHK Trophy in 1979 is the first figure skating competition I ever watch on TV, but can't remember which program I watched at first. As I remember I was so excited to watch him winning gold, I want to say it's Robin Cousins' "Murder on the Orient express"

Ross74 · Sep 6, 2019

It was either Janet Lynn, Misha Petkevich, or the Protopopovs.

mrrice · Sep 6, 2019

iluvtodd said:
Probably Peggy Fleming from the 1968 Grenoble Olympics. The chartreuse dress. Apart from that? - ABC's black & white coverage of Wide World of Sports.

Me too. I remember it being in black & white as well. The first live figure skating event I went to was Skate America in 1991. Won by Tonya Harding and Christopher Bowman. It was the first time I saw Todd Eldredge and was an instant fan.

LauraV · Sep 6, 2019

Jetta said:
Great thread!

It was the 1976 Olympics. I remember watching Dorothy Hamil. That’s when I fell in love with figure skating.

That was the first time I watched skating at the Olympics too! I was very young and I remember being at my grandparents and seeing Dorothy Hamill skate her short program. Hearing about figures, and seeing a short clip of a few skaters doing them. I remember seeing the long programs of Dorothy and John Curry. I'm sure I saw others, but those are the two that stuck in my memory. I think I saw Irina Rodnina skate with one of her partners but I don't recall much about the pairs event. If there was ice dance at that Olympics, I have no memory of seeing any of it.

I recall seeing more mens and womens skating in the following years, and I remember Tai and Randy from the 1980 Olympics, but I don't remember seeing any ice dancing until Torvill and Dean in Sarajevo.

liv · Sep 6, 2019

What did I first watch? Or what I first remember watching, LOL!! I recall fleeting figures on tv and knowing some names but the first program/skaters I can recall was Mack and Mabel from Torvill and Dean.

MCsAngel2 · Sep 6, 2019

Dorothy Hamill at the 1976 Olympics. I was three and a half.....

It warms my heart to see so much love for Torvill and Dean. I'm a huge fan.

jenaj · Sep 6, 2019

I'm pretty sure it was either Kat Witt or Roz Sumners at the 1984 Olympics. I didn't become a real figure skating fan until the Michelle Kwan era.

Rossig · Sep 6, 2019

I am pretty sure the "actual first ever program I saw" had been buried deep into the abyss of oblivion.
The event however was Sarajevo 1984 and Torvill & Dean's Bolero became officially the begining of my life long association with Figure Skating.

Same

hanyuufan5 · Sep 6, 2019

The first one I remember is Viktor Petrenko at the Winter Olympics (not saying which year...), although someone from an earlier group might have been the first one I actually saw. Not only was his program my first memory of figure skating, it's my earliest memory of anything. I was much, much younger than most people would even believe possible to remember.

purplecat · Sep 6, 2019

I have vague memories of Dorothy Hamill from the 1976 Olympics. I also remember watching skating at my grandparents house and people saying watch this girl put her skate over her head (didn't know her name at the time but it was Denise Biellmann). I didn't become a diehard fan though until the 80's.

sk8kirsty · Sep 6, 2019

I'm pretty sure the first one I watched was Bolero, Torvill and Dean

sk8kirsty · Sep 6, 2019

Is programme spelled like programme or program?

gkelly · Sep 6, 2019

British: programme

American: program

What was the first figure skating program you watched ever?

skylark

Gazing at a Glorious Great Lakes sunset

surimi

Congrats to Sota, #10 in World Standings!

amanuenssi

MGstyle

Crawling around on the ice after chestnuts

Bookseller

Jetta

Ulrica

lady_bee

Ross74

mrrice

LauraV

liv

MCsAngel2

jenaj

Rossig

hanyuufan5

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purplecat

sk8kirsty

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What was the first figure skating program you watched ever?

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