What’s better than watching old ice shows and competition footage on a snowy winter’s day?
A few years ago, I transferred a stack of VHS tapes to DVD. Preparing for a journey down the Arborg Skating Club’s past, I snuggled with a blanket, I pressed play and certain details popped out.
Or, should I say changes?
Helmets weren’t mandatory in CanSkate in the mid-80s. It wasn’t even optional. Who wore a helmet in Novice III? Even beginners, during the Arborg Ice Show, I’d watch them wobble and teeter, trying to maintain their balance and pace with their coaches.
Remember moulded plastic skates? They shunned by CFSA skaters – and scoffed at in CanFigure. Unfortunately, they were popular in CanSkate. They felt like bricks on blades. My second pair of skates were moulded, and my ankles felt as though they’d been wrapped with duct tape.
While kids teetered around without helmets wearing moulded skates, the sound of frozen applause filled the air. Our club didn’t have artificial ice until the 1986/1987 season.
Pre-fall of 1986, our parents swaddled us in long-underwear, snowsuits, scarves, mitts, toques, and two pairs of socks. For ice shows, mom would ensure my older sister and I wore two pairs of tights. However, nothing keeps you warm in a tiny dress in an arena with real ice.
With real ice, the grand finale included a balloon drop. Tons of balloons were hoisted in the rafters by a net, waiting to plummet onto the ice. Skaters would slow their pace, hoping to be under the netting, as a cascade of balloons fell onto the ice. For a child, this was magical.
Skaters would pop the balloons with their toe picks or hockey blades as the P.A. announcer would say, “Give them to the audience, skaters! Skaters, please give the balloons to the audience.” The balloons were sponsored by local businesses, and the older skaters complied while younger skaters continued their stomping.
Once the finale music stopped, since we didn’t have a Plexiglas shield, kids from the audience would leap over the boards and squish the balloons with us.
Those were Kodak moments ingrained in the memories of skaters from that time. And the arena walls, considering the burn from flash cameras.
The Beginners, no helmets. But so cute.
Every carnival, skaters were blinded by a cavalcade of shutterbugs in the audience. A family didn’t appoint one person to take photos and make copies. Too risky. Everyone snapped photos. Sometimes two or three of the same skating position. On the off chance the photo didn’t turn out. After all, it was the era of the 35mm camera. Today, parents and the crowd can only take photos of their skater from their seat. Some competitions have an on-site photographer, and you can purchase professional pictures.
When my dad bought a video camera, I’m not sure he realized he entered “the video zone.” For hours, he’d watch – through a black and white viewfinder – ice shows, competitions, podium finishes, rehearsals, and so forth. Today, that’s not allowed. Some clubs appoint a professional to shoot an ice show or competition. Or a coach and parent can video their own skater, but the coach must video from the side-lines, and the parent must record from their seat or else where so they don’t distract their skater.
But, in the mid-80s, it was a free for all. Kids skated without helmets in moulded skates. In cold arenas blinded by flashbulbs with balloons dumped on them while someone captured the entire thing on video.
Those were the days.
(Originally published on the Edmonton Journal’s website on November 12, 2012)
A modified version of this post will be included in a memoir about my figure skating career and published summer 2025
Photo Credits: Personal archives
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