Skating fiction / documentary

[jjane45]

What are your favorite skating books / movies?
I guess I am talking about fictions / documentaries, nothing technical.

My Sergei by Ekaterina Gordeeva seems to be a great read, recommended over another board
I also remember good reviews about The Second Mark : Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold.

I have a feeling the skating movies out there are mostly Walt Disney type (start skating today and win it all tomorrow, or iron lotus anyone?) but maybe I am wrong!

Your opinions are greatly appreciated!

[drskater]

I've read a number of skating books, but this one is by far the best.

http://www.amazon.com/All-Sundays-Yet-Come-Skaters/dp/0316099015

[isakswings]

What are your favorite skating books / movies?
I guess I am talking about fictions / documentaries, nothing technical.

My Sergei by Ekaterina Gordeeva seems to be a great read, recommended over another board
I also remember good reviews about The Second Mark : Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold.

I have a feeling the skating movies out there are mostly Walt Disney type (start skating today and win it all tomorrow, or iron lotus anyone?) but maybe I am wrong!

Your opinions are greatly appreciated!

I liked Hallmark Channels "Ice Dreams". It still had some unrealistic parts in it, but was more true then say, "Ice Princess" is. What I find funny is my daughter's response when she sees figure skating movies. Hee hee! She tends to pick them apart! Yet at the same time, she loves Ice Princess!

[jjane45]

I just started both My Sergei and All the Sundays Yet to Come, both based on real-life events with very different writing style.

PS: I surprised Sasha Fadeev's adult group lesson students with a photo of handsome, young Sasha in My Sergei, LOL

[Mr. Fan]

Well, I really enjoy the children's mystery books about the Jazzicals Synchronized Skating Teams:
The Scheherazde Curse
The Capitol Ghost
The White Rose Affair
http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.aspx?store=BOOK&WRD=sharon+whitlock
But then, the author happens to be my wife.   

Seriously, there are a lot of other people who like them, too.  The skating is treated very correctly.

[Clarice]

I love the Jazzicals books!  (And not just because Mr. Fan happens to be my dance partner!)  The skating is depicted very realistically, and every detail is meticulously researched.  They're part skating novel, part action-adventure story, part mystery, part romance.  Adults will certainly find them enjoyable, as will teens.  There's nothing objectionable for younger readers, if they have the necessary reading skills.

My other all-time favorite is also a children's book:  "White Boots" by Noel Streatfeild (called "Skating Shoes" in the United States).  It's about two little girls training as skaters in England.  It's quite dated, but I found it even more fascinating because of that.

As far as movies go, "The Cutting Edge" is my number-one guilty pleasure, despite all its flaws.  And I'm also rather fond of "Sun Valley Serenade", starring Sonja Henie.  It's especially interesting to watch her films after reading the biography "Queen of Ice, Queen of Shadows" which her brother co-wrote.

[jjane45]

Anyone read this book? Toepicks, Cadaver Dogs, and Sports with No Balls by Sherry Bosley Sounds like a humorous story!

[icedancer]

I met this author at our rink - she was doing research for this book called "Pies and Prejudice" from the Mother-Daughter Book Club Series: http://www.amazon.com/Pies-Prejudice-Mother-Daughter-Book/dp/14169743

We got to talking and I ended up being a consultant for her on the ice-dancing segments!  It was fun and last week I saw her and she gave me a copy of the book - it is a sweet story written for young teens and is loosely about a girl hockey player who does some ice-dancing - also great literary references and storyline loosely based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice!

I am about half-way through reading it - delightful!

[Rachelsk8s]

I liked Hallmark Channels "Ice Dreams". It still had some unrealistic parts in it, but was more true then say, "Ice Princess" is. What I find funny is my daughter's response when she sees figure skating movies. Hee hee! She tends to pick them apart! Yet at the same time, she loves Ice Princess!

I liked that movie too It did contain some unrealistic parts to it, but hey what skating movies don't? LOL It was definitely classified IMO in the more wholesome category of movies.

[mamabear]

I love all the Noel Streatfeild books including Skating Shoes.  Loved watching Cutting Edge as a teenager but haven't watched it since I've taken lessons-I wonder if I would just be tearing it apart the same way I do other movies that portray activities I'm involved in. 

[hopskipjump]

A Very Young Skater is a favorite in our house.  It is very interesting visually.  It's like a non fiction Edith the Lonely Doll - the photography is that good.  It's a kids book but also rather historical!

[icedancer]

A Very Young Skater is a favorite in our house.  It is very interesting visually.  It's like a non fiction Edith the Lonely Doll - the photography is that good.  It's a kids book but also rather historical!

t

It's funny to think of it has historical - the book is about Katherine Healy who turned pro at the age of 14 - she was an amazing skater and dancer who skated with John Curry's company - awesome book!

[hopskipjump]

My daughter was AMAZED at making a record for a comp.  And the scribe, filling divots in the ice, the school for skaters/dancers, and her own ballet bar in her beautiful room.

[icedancer]

My daughter was AMAZED at making a record for a comp. 

I remember my record for competition... I held onto that for a LONG time...

[jjane45]

filling divots in the ice...

I wonder what happened to this? ... Skaters should make sure not to create undue dangers and fill divots after themselves, no?

[hopskipjump]

When we were at a figure skating rink (no hockey, just ice training), before the Zamboni came out, the driver walked around the ice with a bucket and he did fill them after the session.  I have never seen anyone do it elsewhere.

My guess is for most rinks it would cause an extra 5-10 or more minute delay plus the 10 for the Zamboni and you are just losing ice time that could be sold.

[Bunny Hop]

I think I'm going to have to say Ice Castles is my favourite skating movie, only because it was the first skating film I ever saw, around about the same time I started to go to public sessions as a kid. The plot is, of course, completely ridiculous (exactly how did she do the figures portion of the competition whilst blind?), but nostalgia value wins out.

When I watched Ice Princess with my husband, not long after he first started skating, he was amazed when I told him it was actually one of the better skating film offerings. We moved onto Cutting Edge after that and he saw my point.

As for books, I read Torvill and Dean's biography several times in my teenage years, so I guess that's a favourite.

[Rachelsk8s]

I wonder what happened to this? ... Skaters should make sure not to create undue dangers and fill divots after themselves, no?

The Skating Club of Boston used to fill in holes in the ice after a session.  I'm not sure if they still do, but I remember just talking to the long time Zamboni driver about a few weeks ago when I was there last, at least I think it was there lol It was somewhere because I remember seeing the bucket of ice ready to fill in holes at the end of a session.

[alejeather]

I'm actually a fan of the Cutting Edge II. I mean, sure it's cheesy and unbelievable, but don't all skating movies have a bit of that? However, if you like the original, the second one is definitely on par with the first. There's a Cutting Edge III as well, but I refuse to watch it on principle because it's about turning a female hockey player into a partner for a male figure skater. That's just too far-fetched for me. Well, I say that now. One day my curiosity will get the better of me and I'll rent it.

[VAsk8r]

I've only seen The Cutting Edge once, but I wasn't a fan. The main female character was just too unpleasant for me to enjoy it.

Blades of Glory is probably my favorite of any skating movie. It's lighthearted. I stress enough about my own skating; I don't need to watch someone else stress in a movie.

At all the skating comps I go to, someone is always there selling a chapter book series about figure skating. The signs on the table promoting the books say things like, "The big competition is coming up, but someone is trying to sabotage Mackenzie's shot at a gold medal!" They make me smile because they remind me of the plots of the ballet books I read when I was little.

[nicklaszlo]

before the Zamboni came out, the driver walked around the ice with a bucket and he did fill them after the session.  I have never seen anyone do it elsewhere.

I saw it at Adult Nationals this year.  And I imagine it happens at other competitions between events.

[VAsk8r]

The Skating Club of Boston used to fill in holes in the ice after a session. 

My rink tries to keep a bucket of snow, and skaters are supposed to fill in their holes at the end of freestyle. As in, the holes should be filled by the time the session ends. Often there's no snow, just a bucket of water, and when there is snow the skaters often forget or blow it off.

Forgot to add earlier that I read "My Sergei" a long, long time ago, right after it came out. I think I was 13-14. I really liked it, but I'd like to go back and re-read, from a skater's perspective this time.

[jjane45]

I also remember good reviews about The Second Mark : Courage, Corruption, and the Battle for Olympic Gold.

I still haven't read this one. Will take it out from the library next week. Wish there are more skating books around!!

[icedancer]

I still haven't read this one. Will take it out from the library next week. Wish there are more skating books around!!

I thought this was by far the best skating book I have read - it is non-fiction of course but the writing is very good and it tells the story of the three top pairs teams from the 2002 Olympics debacle.

"My Sergei" was of course wonderful. And sad.

[Bunny Hop]

There's a Cutting Edge III as well, but I refuse to watch it on principle because it's about turning a female hockey player into a partner for a male figure skater.

Well, I'm going to take the contrary position and say that for me, the best thing about Cutting Edge 3 was that it was an improvement on Cutting Edge 2, but that wouldn't have been difficult. Despite wanting to slap the lead character, I actually think the original Cutting Edge was the best of the 3, but it's a pretty low mark. I saw the first one in the cinema, and when they revealed the 'secret move' and the coach said it was 'a grey area', I leaned over to my friend and said, "No, it's illegal". Oh, and the skating competitions with spotlights were also hilarious.

Oh, and there's actually a Cutting Edge 4 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1600058/) - this time it's a speed skater being turned into a pairs skater.