#pairs skating
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Ingo Steuer carries his partner Mandy Wötzel off the ice after a fall during the Winter Olympics, 1994.
#figure skating#pairs skating#mandy wötzel#ingo steuer#pairs#1994#1990s#blood#bridal carry#fave pics#1k#injury#whump
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Prometheus and a skater both fly at the rink in Rockefeller Center. No date but probably the 1950s.
Photo: Frank Larson via Queens Museum of Art/Timeout NY
#vintage New York#1950s#Frank Oscar Larson#Frank Larson#Rockefeller Center#skating#pairs skating#figure skating#skating rink#Rockefeller Center skating rink#vintage NYC
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HUGE step forward for gender diversity and progress moving forward in our sport!
Skate Canada has officially announced a change in the rule book for Ice Dance and Pairs teams that will allow for teams of any gender composition to compete at local and National competitions, instead of limiting teams to (1) man and (1) woman.
This is such a marked achievement, and I really hope we see more National organizations and the ISU follow suit <3
#figure skating#isu figure#kaitlyn weaver#weaver Poje#skate Canada#pairs skating#ice dance#my fever dream of same sex competitive skating that I’ve had to gloss over sooooo many rules and ignore other stuff to make FEASIBLE —#I’m cryin y’all#also justice for Cain-Gribble/LeDuc#also true pioneers#lgbtqia
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anastasiia smirnova & danil siianytsia skate to je suis malade
♡ endless list of favorite programs
#the way they've skated this well 0 times and it is still one of my favorites ever#i miss them#truly believe they could have won usnats this szn if healthy!#smirnova siianytsia#anastasia smirnova#danil siianytsia#favprog#fskateedit#figure skating#ice skating#pair skating#pairs skating
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I have no problem watching ice dancers and realizing it's just acting. Honestly it never occurs to me a team would be anything other than friends and colleagues. But I've watched four (4) skates of Sui and Han and my inner shipper romantic is coming out strong.
(Also. I didn't think I enjoyed watching pairs but they are BREATHTAKING.)
And of course this moment was gifed and put on tumblr—
#stumbles into the pairs fandom five years too late#to be clear i have no idea if they're dating and the odds are that they're not#but the way they've held each other after each skate!#they spend half their bowing time in each other's arms#and once he gave her a tiny kiss on her belly right after they finished while they were in their ending pose#but also the relationship between pairs skaters must be SO intense#the trust needed to do what they do#they've been working together for like half their lives!#and it seems pretty clear that they do love each other#pairs skating#figure skating#sui/han#thank you gif makers!
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Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy have split, as Chelsea wants to prioritize her mental health.
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Super stoked to share this beautiful commission of my characters created by the incredible @polar-biscuit!!
IT'S A LOVE/SKATE RELATIONSHIP (HarperTeen, Winter 2025)
Add Love/Skate on Goodreads!
Hockey star Charlie Porter has one shot to make her dreams come true -- literally. One goal is all that stands between her and the coveted Winthrop Cup, along with a life-changing hockey scholarship that could catapult her into the big leagues. But when Charlie misses her shot -- and inadvertently starts a good ol’ fashioned brawl between rival schools -- she waves goodbye to more than just the championship title. She gets kicked off her team, suspended from school, and banished to the Worst Place on Earth: Winthrop High. Things for Charlie cannot get any worse.
Until she meets Alexa Goldstein. A prickly, perfectionist ice princess with her sights set on the Olympics, Alexa is the last person Charlie would ever want to share a rink with -- no matter how good she looks in her figure skating leotard. But when Alexa’s skating partner breaks his ankle and torpedoes her chances for a gold medal career, the two unlikely allies -- along with Alexa’s terrifying, ex-Olympian mother -- strike a deal: Charlie will practice with Alexa until her partner heals, and Alexa’s mother will use her connections to get Charlie back in her hockey uniform.
But as the ice between Charlie and Alexa begins to melt, their partnership only gets more complicated. Charlie’s falling hard -- and not just when she’s trying to land a double Axel. What happens when making Alexa’s skating dreams come true means giving up her own?
#its a love/skate relationship#carli j corson#polarbiscuit#sapphic ya#sapphic fiction#sapphic books#ya romance#ya books#pairs skating#2025 debuts#figure skating#enemies to lovers#idiots to lovers#slow burn
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And now the moment at least one of you has been waiting for...
Presenting "Breaking the Ice," per @its-crazy-its-vii post/request.
"And that's how I learn to play hockey," concluded Jere over breakfast. "It's a good way to fuck around with safety."
Bojan smirked into his tea. He didn't have much trouble picturing a teenaged Jere dressed in hockey gear and coming home covered in bruises. It also made him remember the Käärijä jersey, one of Jere's several parting gifts to him when Eurovision had ended. Bojan almost wished he had brought it with him.
"The place where I play, they keep it open for free skate," Jere explained. "We can go there!"
Bojan was still a little too tired to understand why the Finn wanted to go into another cold place when it was already cold enough outside. If he was at home on a day like today, he would probably still be in bed, reading a book.
"That would be nice, if I knew how to skate."
"You not skate before?"
"Nope, I never tried."
"I show you."
"Wait, Jere-"
"Yes, yes, I be your teacher, you do what I do."
Bojan watched his friend hurry away to get dressed. He had barely processed it, but he knew that Jere had already settled on something for them to do all day. Despite his bewilderment, Bojan tried to remain optimistic. Maybe ice skating wouldn't be so bad, and with Jere as teacher, it could be fun for both of them.
"Okay, okay, just let me get my coat."
The rink wasn't as crowded as Bojan anticipated. Some had come alone, but a couple families had shown up too. Two young parents held their daughter's hands as she shuffled her tiny, skate-clad feet along the ice. She said something loudly in Finnish, and her mother smiled.
"I bring my own, but you did not, so I get some for you," said Jere, then ran off, leaving his hockey skates with Bojan.
As he waited for Jere to return, another skater rocketed by, expertly avoiding all in his path, moving backwards into a hairpin turn, then circling around to race forward again. Bojan watched in amazement, wondering if Jere could skate like that too. Part of him wanted to sit and watch this peaceful scene, but another part knew his friend wouldn't let him. He was going to learn to skate, whether he liked it or not.
"Luistimet sinulle!" Jere cheered, a spring in his step as he returned to Bojan. "Tell me if they can't fit."
"I think these are okay," Bojan replied cautiously. Sure, they were a little tight, but not uncomfortable. They were sleek, with the white laces almost glowing against the black faux leather. Still, his feet suddenly felt like bricks, and the few steps it took to the ice itself began looking like a long journey.
"How do you walk in these?"
"Carefully," Jere replied as he effortlessly made his way to a door in the plexiglass panels around the surface, pushed it open, and stepped inside. He even held it open for Bojan, waving for him to come in.
Bojan held onto anything he could reach as he made his way to the open door. Maybe walking on solid ground in skates wasn't so bad, just more of a hassle than normal. But once on the ice, what would he do? Jere wouldn't have to hold his hand the whole time, would he?
Bojan was snapped out of his thoughts by his first fall onto the ice, then Jere laughing. He couldn't help but laugh with him, but Bojan began to wonder what exactly Jere had roped him into.
"I help you, come on," giggled Jere, holding out his hands. Bojan took them, slowly making his way back up, learning all at once what it meant to stand on a knife's edge.
"It's not different from walking," Jere explained. "You push with one foot, then the other, and you move forward."
They were still holding hands. The uncertainty in Bojan's eyes made Jere rethink his strategy.
"Stay there and look at me," he said, motioning for Bojan to stay put. Then he began to move, skating right, then left, as if he was pacing. His bulky skates moved with grace, giving the impression Jere was simply floating across the ice.
He makes it look so easy.
"Now you try."
"You're not going to-?"
"Not yet, you try."
Bojan pushed off from his spot, teetering clumsily, his eyes fixed on his feet, arms waving stiffly to keep him from falling down. Jere stayed in front of Bojan, watching his feet, watching his face, all with a very fond look in his eyes.
"Look at me, Bojan."
When Bojan's eyes met Jere's, he seemed to steady, for a few glorious seconds...before falling hard onto his butt yet again.
This time, Jere tried his best to hold back a laugh. He would not let his friend get discouraged.
"One more, please get up."
"I don't know Jere, this might hurt my back."
"I promise you will not hurt. Stand up now, come on."
Taking his hands, Jere helped a reluctant Bojan to his feet. This time, he wouldn't let go.
"Remember, one foot, and then another," said Jere as he slid up to Bojan's side, then began gently pulling him along.
For the first time since they got here, Bojan began to understand why ice skating was fun. To simply glide along, owning your own momentum, was liberating in its own little way. And all it took was a simple push of a blade against ice.
"Now you see?" Jere asked, his eyes twinkling with pride. "You can do this!"
"I can see why you like it," Bojan demurred, "but I don't think I'll ever be a hockey player."
"No, no, no, hockey is hard, you get hurt. I wanted only to have you on ice with me."
By now, their footfalls were almost in sync, slowly making their way to the far side of the oval-shaped rink. Bojan was grateful for Jere's hand, he hadn't let go since he had helped him up. And, despite his embarrassment at his failed attempts, he was glad that Jere had the experience and patience to teach him.
"Then maybe we could do this again?" Bojan heard himself ask. "If this is what you like doing, then I could learn."
Jere's eyes seemed a brighter blue than usual under the white lights above, and Bojan almost fell headfirst into them. It was like his friend had suddenly become this funny little ice prince, gliding over everything, not even letting gravity dictate his movements.
He's beautiful...
"Bojan?"
"What?"
"I say we can do this again. Why do you stare at me?"
"Sorry, I guess I didn't hear you."
"Am I your ice princess? Is that what you think?"
Bojan closed his eyes and exhaled a laugh.
"You come to my palace and dance with me!" Jere continued excitedly. "I need a prince, for the happy ever afters!"
They both burst into laughter, leaning on each other so neither would fall over. But gravity wouldn't let them get away that easily, and they both collapsed on the ice, still laughing.
Eventually, the rink began to get more crowded, and Jere thought it best to go home. Now it was strange to remove his skates, Bojan had finally gotten used to them. So many things suddenly felt strange. He would have to get used to walking normally again, how light his feet had become, and Jere's hand not holding his.
In comfortable silence, the pair made their way back to Jere's car. A thin layer of snow had covered the windshield, but Jere paid it no mind. Bojan was grateful for the warm air that roared through the cabin vents. He'd had just about enough of cold places, regardless of Jere's presence. For a second, Bojan wondered if he could talk Jere into a trip to the sauna.
"Bojan."
"Hm?"
"Maybe you are ice princess."
"I'm the ice princess?"
"Yes, yes. And I am the prince."
"And we'll live happily ever after?"
"Yes."
"Hey," Bojan said, taking Jere's hand again. "You know I'll be your princess no matter what, right?"
Jere put an arm around Bojan and leaned his head into his shoulder.
"And I have my happy ever after."
#kaarijan#kaarijan fic#ice skating#pairs skating#please by kind i don't normally post my writing anywhere#fanfic#kaarija#bojan cvjeticanin#i can't believe i just posted a fic on main holy shit
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Video
youtube
STELLATO-DUDEK / DESCHAMPS (CAN) | Pairs Free Skating | Montréal 2024 | ...
#youtube#oh that was lovely to see#deanna stellato-dudek#just became the oldest woman ever to win a gold medal at worlds#(she is 40 and returned to the sport after a 16 year hiatus)#congrats to them both!#also they're skating to interview with a vampire#and the person doing the lestat voice on the soundtrack clearly doesn't know anything about lestat#but whatever! still a very fun performance!#figure skating#pairs skating
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Way to go Canada!!!
It's The World Championships of Figure Skating, and we (Canada) just made history by having the oldest female figure skater become a world champion. Deanna Stellato-Dudek at 40! It's a Gold for Canada in Pairs! GOOOOO CANADA!!!!! 🇨🇦
#world figure skating championships#it's a gold medal for Canada#pairs skating#the winner is you#deanna stellato dudek#maxime deschamps#stelatto dudek and deschamps#figure skating
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Aliona on why she switched to pairs.... my baby 🥺
#figure skating#russian figure skating#someone save those russian girls#aliona kostornaya#aliona kostornaia#pairs skating
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Ludmila Belousova and Oleg Protopopov perform a death spiral, 1965. Photographed by Dave Buresh.
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STELLATO-DUDEK / DESCHAMPS (CAN) | Pairs Free Skating | Skate Canada 202...
youtube
Congratulations Deanna and Maxime for winning Grand Prix Skate Canada 2023 with Interview with the Vampire music. Much improved from Autumn Classic where they debuted it.
The jumps and throw on the note 🤌🤌 And god bless for Deanna's knees, pairs women are really made differently
#interview with the vampire#iwtv#Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps#pairs skating#figure skating#Youtube#i still prefer m/k tho
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instagram.com/fskating_arts
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ICE HOCKEY X FIGURE SKATER - MASTERLIST
these are a few of the more important & personal aspects of my dr
—
shifting diary & ramblings about my dr
about
myself
my iceskating scholarship & university
love interest
wardrobe & clothing style
extra parts of my script
—
back to masterlist
#shiftblr#theo’s shifting#reality shift#shifting diaries#reality shifting#desired reality#theo’s figure skating dr#shifting#figure skating#iceskating aesthetic#pairs skating#ice hockey
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On the definition of team: gender, power, and equality in skating
Skate Canada made waves this week by announcing that it is updating the definition of 'team' with regards to pairs skating and ice dance to no longer refer solely to a partnership composed of a man and a woman, but to include two skaters regardless of gender identity. Skate Canada president Karen Butcher said on the revision, "This change is about removing barriers to participation in skating, and we believe it will have a significant impact in ensuring all gender identities are recognized and accepted equally and without prejudice."
For skaters who identify as non-binary or queer with a gender identity outside of the gender binary, this allows them to compete with lessened gender dysphoria if previously competing under their sex assigned at birth, such as non-binary pairs skater Timothy LeDuc who made history as the first out non-binary Winter Olympian in Beijing. But it also makes history as the first skating federation--and one of the three traditional skating powers--to allow for same-sex partnerships in pairs and ice dance.
It comes at an interesting time in international ice dance where elements have very recently been gendered where they weren't previously, with step sequence and twizzle levels now designated to the woman and man separately. And where in the past year, the ISU's big strides towards equality has consisted of revising communications to say "women" instead of "ladies" and allowing ice dance women to wear pants in the free dance. How progressive. (Men who wish to wear anything other than pants, like John Kerr's kilt for his Scottish OD in 2008, will still need an exception or face a costume deduction).
Gender in Ice Dance
Previously, the only gendered element was the spin, with men able to get a difficult position credit for a basic camel while women had to choose another variation. This change will likely affect dance far more than it will pairs due to the lower barrier for entry and due to far more mirrored elements than in pairs where the skillsets developed for lifting and throwing vs. twisting and balancing and landing are more highly gendered. Especially as only 4 lifts are required across two programs for dance--in comparison to eras where it was 7--ice dance’s brute strength and endurance requirements have evolved greatly in the last decade.
For now, by the nature of this ruling by Skate Canada as opposed to the ISU, unfortunately for the most elite level of skaters this change for young girls will result in partnerships between two women being seen as transitory as a stepping off point to a partnership where they can compete on the international level. But in a sport where young girls often retire due to lacking number of boys to partner with, this provides a massive developmental pathway where these young female athletes can continue growing with one another and increasing their skill levels. While the decision from Skate Canada (IMO) seems to be primarily motivated out of a desire for inclusion of queer athletes, it also could have a massive impact on improving the quality of training and experience for young girls. Whether it encourages them to challenge themselves by choosing a partnership with a stronger peer as opposed to sticking with a stagnant partnership that they are afraid to leave because it means giving up a chance at competing internationally, or just renewing their love of skating by doing it with a friend, this is a massive step forward for young athletes.
Madison Hubbell gave an interview to Russian media about her desire to do a show project with fellow Olympic medalist Gabriella Papadakis specifically about what skating between two women looks like.
"people have to see it. There are so many solo girls that want to do ice dance. And so many that spend years and years searching for a right guy, and I am sick of them sitting there searching. They need to find a way to perform, explore, express themselves, and share what they love about the sports. What would be a better way for two women than to skate together? But many of them are not used to the idea; they have not seen it, and for them, it’s almost like a lower tier. If I skate with a woman, maybe it means that I will never find a boy; it’s almost like admitting the fact that they might never be in competitive ice dance, which is too much to take on. We want to show them that there is no difference and that you can create amazing things – maybe even more amazing than what we are used to see."
Hubbell went through a transition early in her career after her brother Keiffer first split and then retired in 2012. Hubbell proceeded to pair with Donohue, and went on to a very successful career debuting at worlds in the same year. Most successful ice dancers are in fact not partnered since childhood, with the exception of sibling teams and the rare Virtue/Moir or Papadakis/Cizeron who go onto partnerships long enough that they can drive a car or drink. Many young girls spend half of their young careers waiting and wasting their talent because they don’t see another option, or settling for a partnership with a poor personality and/or skill fit.
"Of course, it’s only one aspect of this, but we are both very excited about this initiative to have a non-gendered event, more than creating a female-female event or male-male and then mixed. We think that everyone should be allowed to compete with everyone."
From a body image standpoint, skating has long denigrated and devalued women and girls seen as "too muscular" or "too tall" or "not feminine" enough due to their strength as skaters. Ranging from disgusting comments made to Kaitlin Hawayek this year, to Madison Hubbell and Tessa Virtue speaking about body shaming during their careers, this decision stands to empower young girls to lean into their strength as opposed to being shamed for it. While women have been permitted as lifters since 6.0 rules, very few teams have taken advantage of it in the last decade. The only team to do so being the Brown siblings during their first junior season. Many women in ice dance are afraid of challenging themselves in more athletic or reverse lifts that showcase their strength for fear of seeming less feminine.
"So many things worked really easily right away: transitions, skating skills, twizzles, one-foot, footwork, to track each other close – all have been really easy for both of us. But obviously lifts and tricks – things that we are used to do in one part of it – we have to learn how to be the base or to do a slightly different skillset."
In ice dance particularly, often there is a false gendering of strength in lifts that stems from the traditional mindset of stem and flower presentation: the woman is simply there to be lifted by her partner in a pretty position. She is simply a burden and any extra weight from muscles is not useful because the strength comes from the person lifting her. Incredible lifts like the stationary position achieved by Laurence Fournier Beaudry below involve the most power from the liftee, and are not possible without exceptional core strength.
Image taken by Ronda Churchill/AP Photo
Olympic Silver Medalist Tanith Belbin credits a switch to the coaching camp of Natalia Linichuk for forcing her to confront the toxicity of this regime in ice dance where young women are pressured to lose weight to make their partners' lifts easier. Linichuk ordered to her gain 10lbs and make an nutritionally informed diet to sustain her energy levels and improve her performance on ice. In the 2010 New York Times article on the subject, her partner Ben Agosto said he noticed a huge difference in her skating, "during lifts, she was no longer a sack of potatoes, holding on for dear life. She could hold her positions much better, and that made it easier for Agosto because she did not move around as much."
Hubbell alludes to this change in thought and challenging the notion that men need to lift because they are generally taller and stronger by noting the work that the IAM camp does with Cirque du Soleil acrobats: "often, acrobatic partners are almost the same size and height, so it’s all about leverage and technique."
Challenging this mindset is essential to valuing the amount of work that women in the sport do as incredible athletes and skaters. We see a large culture that values the strength and quality of men in ice dance and pairs, often at the expense of their female partners, where even in partnerships that are equally matched in talent and execution technical panels and officials will value male partners higher levels. We see this especially in reputation evaluation when it comes to individual step sequence levels. Of the top three teams last quad looking at OfSt levels, only S/K had the majority of their unequal level calls favor the lady. Despite for significant portions of that quad, all women were the stronger skater in their partnership looking at edge quality and control. Yet reputation or simply officiating bias, caused phantom no calls for clear mistakes made by men or simply attributed them to their cleaner female partner.
One Foot Step Sequence Level Calling Distribution
While culture changes at the officiating level are unlikely to happen on a scale faster than glacial, challenging the traditional gendering of technical strengths can only be seen as a step forward and potential at the skating community level to challenge the even unconscious bias that we all hold.
Community Reaction
Comments on the announcement have a varied mix of comments from full-throated support, to general trans and queerphobia, and a fair number of Blades of Glory references, but a strikingly common theme was that this change by Skate Canada is pointless because the ISU won't similarly follow--likely for years if at all. And while this is just my two cents on the matter, I truly believe that this is maybe the most positive change in skating in the past two quads. Momentum to make changes does not arise from nothing, this shift by a major federation, and one of the two currently non-sanctioned powers in the sport, provides a template for other federations to follow going forward. The ISU and the Olympics are highly important, what starts most dreams in the rink is thinking about that Olympic podium. But the fuel for the work put in is enjoyment of the sport at all levels. The vast majority of skaters will not see the Olympics or Worlds or international competition at any level. Their largest governing body is their domestic federation and it dictates what skating clubs they are apart of, what goals they work towards, what tier of development they can test into, and where they compete. This change is a massive step forward for not only the most elite tier of skating but those who lace up twice a week just to have fun doing something they love.
I would challenge everyone to view this change with as much idealism as possible. With the events of the past quad it is easy to fall into sheer hopelessness and despair at the state of the sport when it comes to the sheer amount of abuse and mistreatment of athletes, to feel the sheer scale of harm done. But this change provides a massive step forward when it comes to inclusion and equal treatment: for queer athletes and for the sport as a whole.
Lag time by the ISU for follow up is truly not the worst thing either as time is needed for partnerships with same-sex and gender non-conforming skaters to be developed at the domestic level to be ready for international competition. I truly hope we can see massive evolution in the sport, with athletes free to bring new new styles, new techniques, and new modes of expression that allow them to be their most authentic selves.
#ice dance#isu figure#pairs skating#gender equality#skate canada#wtficedance#curious cat#figure skating#gabriella papadakis#madison hubbell#papadakis#hubbell
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