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KIDS' QUESTIONS
November 2005
Kids' Questions with Dick Button
Why do skaters feel more pressure during an Olympic season? Is it just the excitement of the Olympics, or does it come from another source such as the media? How do skaters cope with this kind of intense pressure while trying to succeed?
Kelly Rogers, 15
Arvada, Colo.
Some skaters feel pressure at other championships and in other years, too. It seems to me that the pressure comes from oneself, not the media or any outside influence. A competitor is usually someone who wants to do his/her best, and that sometimes causes pressure you put on yourself. It's OK to be nervous, and, in fact it's a good sign provided the skater does not let it get him/her down and maintains control over himself/herself. Then the pressure and nervousness may contribute to the performance.
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| Dick Button |
When and what led you to take up figure skating? Did you always want to be an Olympic champion?
Shanna Burris, 15,
Pittsford, N.Y.
I always wanted to skate and do not know what it was that so entranced me. It must have been the freedom of flying over the ice, the cold, the music, the fun of movement. It seems to have been all of this even before I could move or fly across anything. What I wanted from the start was to skate and to skate as well as I could, to do the best I could. That was more important than being an Olympic champion. The satisfying thing is to do the best you can.
How and why did you get into broadcasting?
Brittany Pence, 17
Middlesex, N.C.
CBS called me up one day in late 1959 and said they were covering the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California, and would I come and do some commentary for it. I loved it, watching Carol Heiss and David Jenkins win the gold medals. After that, I just seemed to be asked to do the commentary for both CBS and then ABC, where I have been a happy camper ever since.
What do you think Michelle Kwan's chances are to win the Olympic gold medal? Does she have the moves to compete under the new judging system?
Several with same question
I can't answer that because I haven't seen her new program. It's all up to her. It would be very possible, but I do think she has to change a few things to fit the new rules. Never count her out.
You've commentated during many exciting and memorable moments in skating over the years. Are there any moments that stand out as your favorites?
Brooke McDonald, 14
Maple Grove
There are so many exciting and memorable moments in skating that my list of favorites is too long to write down. Seeing the inventiveness of 1952 Olympic champion Tenley Albright, Hayes Jenkins' flying sit spin, Peggy's (Fleming) exhibition at the U.S. Championships in Philadephia, and the exquisite line of Liudmila and Oleg (Protopopov,) John Curry, Scott (Hamilton) and Brian (Boitano), and (Jayne) Torvill and (Christopher) Dean, the power of (Irina) Rodnina and (Aleksandr) Zaitsev ... the list goes on. Wow, don't get me started thinking about all the moments that have been so inspiring. I also liked the time a costume made of stretch material got caught and pulled and pulled and pulled and sent me to hysterical laughter, and the falls that were sometimes funny, sometimes long and sometimes a quick bounce down and up. This could go on forever.
Nowadays, competitive skaters spend almost half of their training time off ice. When you were preparing for the Olympics, did you do a lot of training on dry land, or did you practice jumps on ice? What off-ice training did you do?
Victoria Cai, 15
Millis, Mass.
I did mostly on-ice training. Stretching is the most important thing you can do. You should not get on the ice until you have had an extensive period of stretching and limbering up of the body. We always did on-ice practice jumps. Many things in skating have progressed since my day, which was back in the dark recesses of time. Different teachers have different ideas, and it's always good to be aware of how important it is to be properly warmed up before starting to skate. After that, it's up to each skater and the coach to develop their best way of training.
Who do you think is the best skater of all time in each of the four disciplines?
Layne Gregory, 14
Powell, Ohio
I don't think there is one best skater. You can't or shouldn't try to compare skaters from one period or generation with another later one. How can you compare an apple with an orange or a Bugatti of the early 20th century with a Lamborghini today? Besides, I have too many friends who are wonderful skaters, and if I answered your question I would be crucified.
What do you think has been the biggest change in skating from when you competed to today?
Tara Q, 15
Ridgefield, Conn.
There are so many big changes. There are no figures, which counted for as much as 60 percent of the total score; clothes are freer and not so constricted (for the men, at least). The emphasis has become more on the ability to jump and achieve multiple revolutions. Spins have changed, too. Flying sit spins seldom fly, and the new rules require so many ditsy little variations for increased points that long-lasting, centered-blurred spins are a thing of the past. But the new rules, while fussying up the content of spins, have increased the importance of them, and that's good. Dorothy Hamill can still do a better sit spin than any skater today.
I just started figure skating. Is it too late to compete?
Katherine Lee, 11,
Seoul, Korea
It's never too late, so keep skating and most of all have fun with it. That's what counts, and then you'll soon see how you progress.
