About Us

James Scholdan

Son of Edi Scholdan

Jimmy Scholdan, 11, was the son of Edi and Roberta Scholdan. He and his sisters, Dixie Lee and Ruth, were at the Broadmoor Ice Palace in Colorado Springs, Colo., every day with their father. Scholdan was a typical boy who enjoyed teasing his sisters and the young skaters at the rink. He regularly participated in the annual children's number in the Broadmoor Ice Revue and learned a few jumps and spins, but he was not fully committed to figure skating. He liked to play in the kids' scrub hockey games, but his preference was speedskating. The Broadmoor Speed Skating Club, organized in 1947, hosted national and North American meets. Scholdan joined the club and competed in local events. Edi, who encouraged his students to take up speedskating to strengthen their speed and stamina, flew with his son to St. Louis for the Silver Skates competition. At age 9, Scholdan did well in his age group and continued to improve. He planned to compete in a national speedskating meet in Illinois in February 1961 but instead flew with the 1961 World Team to Prague. Edi wanted to show him his hometown, and Scholdan wanted to visit his mother, who at the time lived in Vienna.

Bio written by Patricia Shelley Bushman, author of Indelible Tracings