At the recent U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Greensboro, NC, the 1961 U.S. World Team was officially inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.  On Thursday evening a ribbon cutting ceremony took place to open the new exhibit at the Hall of Fame and Museum that honors the legacy of that team.  Thirty-four members of the U.S. contingent were killed when a Sabena Airlines flight crashed near Brussels, Belgium on February 15, 1961.  All eighteen skaters perished, as well as sixteen coaches and family members.  They were on their way to the World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Presiding over the ceremony were David Raith, executive director of U.S. Figure Skating, and Doug Price from the Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau.  About sixty people were on hand for the event, including a handful of family members of those killed in the crash.

"This is a fitting tribute that both visitors and residents will enjoy," Price said. 

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was a slide presentation by Patty Bushman, author of the book Indelible Tracings, which chronicles the lives of all the members of the U.S. entourage.  Patty was a skater in her younger years, and got the "inspiration from a plaque outside the skating rink in Paramount, CA, that has all 34 names inscribed."  Her talk specifically touched on the eight members from the Broadmoor Skating Club that were killed:  brother/sister pairs skaters Bill and Laurie Hickox; men's competitor Greg Kelly and sister Nathalie; ladies' competitor Steffi Westerfeld and sister Sherry; and coach Edi Scholdan and his 11-year-old son Jimmy.

Afterward Bushman signed copies of her book, and members of Team USA were also signing posters and such.  One of the members present was Rachael Flatt, silver medalist at the recent Nationals.  "This is a neat experience," she said.  "At some point I came to realize that the crash is part of U.S. figure skating history.  And I think the Memorial Fund was created eight days afterward.  I have benefitted from that in the last couple years."

The U.S Figure Skating Memorial Fund was indeed established on February 23, 1961 to accomodate the outpouring of assistance from the world figure skating community that came in immediately after the tragedy.

Thursday night's exhibit ceremony was the first of four things U.S. Figure Skating is doing in commemoration.  Next Tuesday morning there will be a wreath ceremony at 9:30 at the skate bench on the Broadmoor grounds.  The bench has the names of the eight Broadmoor members killed.  Next Thursday will be the nationwide showing of the film RISE, which will honor the victims and tell the story of the rebirth of American figure skating in its wake.  The film starts at 6:00 pm, and will be shown at both Cinemark locations and the Hollywood Theatres in Colorado Springs.  To reserve tickets, call the theatres or go online to www.rise1961.com.  Then next Saturday there will be a Colorado Springs reception and fund-raiser for the Memorial Fund.  For information on that, contact U.S. Figure Skating at 719-635-5200.  

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Ekaterina Gordeeva is one of the most recognizable figure skaters in history. She is not only one of the most famous figure skaters, she is also one of the most famous athletes as well. Ekaterina started figure skating  when she was only four years old. She began her skating road as a promising singles skater. Ekaterina Gordeeva had artistic promise beyond her years, but her technical skills such as jumps were not as strong. Sergei Grinkov was also a promising singles skater, but showed difficulty with single jumps. Coaches recognized their promise together, and they became a pair team. The pair went on to become arguably, the best pair team, ever. They have won two gold medals, and four world championships.

The pair also developed in other areas of life as well. Ekaterina and Sergei's friendship slowly developed into a passionate romance. The pair's romantic life transcended into their skating life as well. Each movement, each facial expression helped take each performance to another level. In 1991, the pair cemented their partnership by getting married. In 1992, the magical pair welcomed a baby girl into their life named Daria. The pair turned professional which helped them develop further artistically. Ekaterina and Sergei's professional and romantic life was beautiful every day. In 1994, the pair reinstated into the Olympics, and won their second gold medal. The fairy tale seemed to continue for the world's favorite pair.

In November 1995, Gordeeva and Grinkov were practicing a new program for the tour, Stars On Ice. On November 20, 1995, Sergei Grinkov suffered a fatal heart attack leaving Ekaterina and her daughter, alone. The death of Sergei Grinkov shook the skating world, the greatest pair the world had ever seen was gone. Sergei was only twenty-eight years old. Sergei's autopsy revealed that he had a pre-existing heart defect.

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