After a Stars on Ice show in Worcester, Mass. in April, Michael Weiss joked that he toured for five months and had nothing to do as a professional skater for the other seven. In reality, he uses his time and celebrity for good causes.

In August he will be the guest star at the 2008 Mariposa Gala. Presented by The Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia and The Mariposa School of Skating, the show takes place Aug. 7 at the Molson Centre in Barrie, Ont.


Weiss, a three-time U.S. champion and two-time World bronze medalist, has set up his own foundation and gives back to the skating community each year with his “U.S. & World Figure Skating Champions LIVE!!” skating show and silent auction. This year’s event takes place at Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va. Sept. 6 at 4 p.m.

The money raised through the show and auction is used to fund scholarships the Michael Weiss Foundation awards to U.S. Olympic hopefuls.

Some big-name skaters are in the cast of this year’s show, including 1988 Olympic champion Brian Boitano and 2006 Olympic silver medalist Sasha Cohen.

Reigning World champion Jeffrey Buttle, 1996 World champion Todd Eldredge and eight-time British champion Steven Cousins are in the cast along with reigning U.S. ladies champion Mirai Nagasu, Jennifer Robinson (a six-time Canadian champion) and Emily Hughes (a two-time U.S. medalist).

Yuka Sato (the 1994 World ladies champion) and husband Jason Dungejn (a two-time U.S. pairs champion) will skate together as a pairs team as will another married couple – Sylvia Fontana (A three-time Italian ladies champion) and John Zimmerman (a three-time U.S. pairs champion and the 2002 World bronze medalist).

Fontana and Zimmerman are skating in several shows as a pairs team this summer, including one this weekend in Lake Placid, at the Mariposa Gala and at Weiss’s show.

Tickets for Weiss’s show start at $20. For more details visit www.MichaelWeiss.org.

Editor's note: International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

Nancy Kerrigan to be Honored by ITNY

Nancy Kerrigan will be honored by Ice Theatre of New York (ITNY) in October. Paul Wylie will be the master of ceremonies at the event.

The annual benefit gala begins at 7 p.m. on Oct. 27 and will include a performance by the Ice Theatre of New York at Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers. Cocktails and dinner will follow at The Lighthouse at Chelsea Piers.

Kerrigan is a two-time Olympic medalist and the 1993 U.S. champion. She has co-produced a number of shows, including “Halloween on Ice” and “Footloose on Ice” and was a long-time performer on the Champions on Ice tour. In 2004 Kerrigan was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

The Massachusetts native is currently the voice of the icenetwork and has her own show on the cable network CN8 called ”Nancy Kerrigan’s World of Skating.”

The mother of three, she was chosen as Mother of the Year by the Mother's Day Foundation in 2002.

In addition, ITNY will be recognizing its trustee, Joan Erdheim, with the Ice Angel Award for her tireless contributions as a volunteer for ITNY and other arts organizations in the New York Metropolitan Area.

The evening will support Ice Theatre’s New Works and Young Artists, an outreach program for public school children in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens, as well as all of our artistic programming.

For more information about the event, contact ITNY at itny@icetheatre.org.

Editor's note: International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

Joan Manley, the mother of hall of fame figure skater Elizabeth Manley-Theobald, died Saturday of ovarian cancer. She was 73.

Joan Manley heavily invested in the career of her daughter who rose to superstardom in the late 1980s. Divorced when Elizabeth was 9, Joan Manley was the sole financial supporter of her daughter’s career, which began when she first laced up her brother’s hand-me-down skates at age 5. Her talent was immediately recognized, but money was tight and Joan Manley went into a reported $26,000 debt financing her daughter’s skating.

The Canadian skater's career was as up-and-down as a roller coaster. She left the sport for a while in the early 80s and was not chosen by any of the pundits as a medal contender in Calgary.

Yet, Manley (who now goes by Manley-Theobald) gave an electrifying performance on the world’s biggest athletic stage – the Olympics. She won the free skate and the silver medal at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary. She went on to claim silver at the 1988 World Championships in Budapest a month later and became a national hero in Canada.

Retiring from amateur competition following the 1988 season, she signed with the Ice Capades. She was given a reported $50,000 signing bonus and paid off her mother’s debt. She went on to star in her own television specials and tour, and she later coached in the United States (she is now married to Brent Theobald and lives in Ottawa).

Manley-Theobald moved back to Canada from Pennsylvania to coach at the Gloucester Skating Club last summer. In a July 26, 2007 interview with The Ottawa Citizen, she said the move was being made due to a desire to be near her parents as well as her husband who was unable to get his immigration application processed due to a one-year backlog in applications.

Manley-Theobald told the paper: “We’ve barely seen each other. I'm busy coaching, he’s working full-time and my mom has been ill. It has been rough. I’m exhausted emotionally. I’ll feel better when I’m closer to my parents, home and family.”

At the time, the newspaper indicated that Joan Manley had Stage 3 ovarian cancer and was receiving chemotherapy treatments in Kingston.

The paper also reported that Manley-Theobald’s father, Bernie, has Alzheimer’s disease and was splitting his time between his home in Ottawa and a medical care center.

A three-time Canadian champion (1985, 1987 and 1988), Manley-Theobald was inducted into the Canadian Amateur Sports Hall of Fame in 1988. In 1998, she was made a member of the Order of Canada and was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in 2001.

Joan Manley, the catalyst behind this great skater, is survived by her four children, Tim, Tom, Greg, and Elizabeth as well as nine grandchildren.

The funeral service will be held Friday, July 11. Memorial donations can be sent to the National Ovarian Cancer Association, 101-145 Front St. East, Toronto, Ontario, M5A 1E3 or www.ovariancanada.org.

Editor's note: International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

2008 U.S. bronze medalist Ashley Wagner is training under the tutelage of Priscilla Hill in Wilmington, Del. Wagner plans to split her time between her training base and her home base of Alexandria, Va.

The two are working on revamping the teenager's style. “A weakness that I have is in my skating skills and choreography. We are working on becoming more mature and graceful in my skating this season,” Wagner told IFS shortly after she had begun working with Hill. “I feel the one thing that sets me apart from others is my endurance. I love to do my Lutz at the very end of my program.”

On June 23 Wagner announced that she has ended her six-year relationship with coach Shirley Hughes to work with Hill. “I'm hoping this change helps … bring a new maturity to my skating and brings me closer to my dream of competing in the Olympic Games,” Wagner said at the time.

Wagner began training with Hughes in January 2002. She made her presence felt in the fall of 2006 at the junior level, when she won both of her Junior Grand Prix assignments and finished second at the JGP Final. She followed that up with bronze medals at the 2007 U.S. Figure Skating Championships (at the junior level) and the 2007 World Junior Championships.

In her debut season on the senior circuit last year, Wagner came in fifth at 2007 Skate Canada and earned the bronze medal at Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris.

Capturing the bronze at the 2008 U.S. Championships earned her a berth to the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships and 2008 World Figure Skating Championships, where she placed eighth and 16th, respectively.

“I appreciate all that Mrs. Hughes has done for me; I wouldn't have made it to the World Championships without her,” Wagner said. “Right now I'm concentrating on my future and where this change will take me.”

“I am very proud of Ashley and all we accomplished together,” Hughes said. “I wish her the best of luck in all her future endeavors.”

Hill coached Johnny Weir to three straight U.S. titles from 2004-06 before the two parted ways last summer. She also coaches four-time U.S. silver medalist ice dancers Melissa Gregory and Denis Petukhov.

“I'm looking forward to a very exciting season with Ashley,” Hill said when the move was announced. “She has great talent and a strong competitive spirit, and I am pleased to be a part of her growth and development.”

Wagner will be starting her senior year at West Potomac High School in the fall. She has two Grand Prix assignments in the fall -- Cup of China in Beijing and the NHK Trophy in Tokyo.

Wagner’s full interview with IFS will be in the September/October issue of the magazine.

Editor's note: International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

The coaching change game continues. 2008 World champion Mao Asada, 17, will now work with famed Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova.

Asada split with her American-based coach Rafael Arutunian before the 2008 World Championships in March, citing a desire to return to Japan. She worked with Tarasova over the course of the year.

"She has worked with a lot of famous skaters over the years and I'm sure there is much I can learn from her," Asada told the AP.

Asada is based at the skating facilities of Chukyo University near Nagoya, Japan and plans to keep this venue her training home. She plans to spend some time in Moscow to work with Tarasova and the Russian coach will also will travel to Japan to train her new charge.

Tarasova is also a stellar choreographer. "She tailored a new program just for me with next season in mind," Asada also told the AP. "She has a lot of power."

Tarasova has been a coach for over 40 years. Her career highlights include working with Olympic champions in men's, pairs and ice dancing. Her former Olympic gold medalists include: Ilia Kulik and Alexei Yagudin; Irina Rodnina and Aleksandr Zaitzev; Oksana (Pasha) Grishuk and Evgeny Platov; Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko; and Natalia Bestemianova and Andrei Bukin. Grishuk and Platov are the only two-time Olympic ice dancing medalists since this discipline became an Olympic sport in 1976.

More recently Tarasova assisted in coaching 2006 Olympic gold-medalist Shizuka Arakawa and silver-medalist Sasha Cohen; two-time Olympic medalist Michelle Kwan; and three-time U.S. champion and 2008 World bronze medalist Johnny Weir. She has also provided advisory assistance to athletes and coaches of the Russian National Team and other world-class skaters.

1988 Olympic gold medalist Kulik feels Tarasova's greatest strength is her ability to see exactly what it is her skaters need. "She knows everything about figure skating, all the techniques,” Kulik said. “nd as a choreographer, she is perfect."

Asada is a favorite for the gold medal at the 2010 Olympics Winter Games in Vancouver . She wasn't age-eligible for 2006 Winter Olympic Games because of the International Skating Union's age restrictions.

Editor's note: International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

Johnny Weir, the 2008 World bronze medalist graces the cover of the August 2008 issue of International Figure Skating (IFS) magazine. Weir is also featured in our four-page cover photo section exclusive to our digital edition.

A two-page spread of 2007 World champion Brian Joubert also appears in the current digital version IFS. The photos are never-before-published shots from IFS cover shoots.

IFS subscribers can buy a yearly subscription to the digital edition for only $2. For non-subscribers, a subscription to the digital edition costs $25.

Click here to subscribe. Use the “Term” pull-down box for subscription options.

The August issue will be available on newsstands July 10. The August digital edition is available online now.

The 2008 Mariposa Gala, presented by The Rotary Club of Barrie-Huronia and The Mariposa School of Skating will take place Aug. 7 at the Molson Centre in Barrie, Ont.

This annual event, now in its 19th year, is a showcase of some of the nation’s finest talent with a splash of international flavor.

Organizers have put together an exciting line-up for this year’s show that is sure to be a fun-filled evening. If you have not had the chance to congratulate 2008 World champion Jeffrey Buttle, this is your big chance.

Buttle will headline a star-studded cast, which includes Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, Annabelle Langlois and Cody Hay, Jennifer Robinson, Steven Cousins, Chris Mabee and many more.

This year’s special guest star is former U.S. champion Michael Weiss.

The line-up has not been finalized and more stars will be added as the event draws closer. To stay up-to-date on who will be appearing, check out the official website at: www.mariposagala.info.

Show time is 7 p.m. To reserve your tickets for this not-to-be-missed event, go to www.ticketmaster.ca or call 705 739-7666.

Editor's note: International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

By Susan D. Russell

For Canada’s Patrick Chan the 2007-08 season is one he will never forget.

A bronze medal at Skate America; gold at Trophée Eric Bompard, a trip to the Grand Prix Final and the greatest prize of all, the Canadian national title. Chan had a banner year.

He rewrote the Canadian figure skating history books when he claimed gold in Vancouver, becoming the youngest man to ever stand on the top step of the podium. And winning that title, Chan said, was his finest achievement last season.

“The greatest thing for me last season was winning the national title. It was huge and means more to me than any other competition I won a medal at,” he said.

Following his win at the national championships his school announced a sporting award in Chan's name that will be given away each year. “They said that they felt I had met their requirements to nominate a trophy in my name, which is amazing,” he said.

“After nationals, the school made a big, big poster which was hung in front of the office that said ‘Congratulations Patrick Chan’ and that made me glad I have stayed in school. Sometimes it is hard to juggle school and skating but that kind of thing makes me realize how much I cherish school.”

Though Chan has never failed a course, he still has one more year of high school. “I don’t have enough credits to graduate, because of skating, so I have to do one more year.”

The only disappointment for the 17-year-old was placing 9th at his first senior Worlds in Sweden last March. “I learned a lot from the experience,” Chan said. “Now I know what to expect at that level of competition.

“The guys at Worlds were really down to business, there was no joking around. It was the first time I had competed in that kind of atmosphere and in a venue that was sold out. It was crazy. I could not even find a seat to watch the rest of the competition after I had competed. It was a good experience and it has inspired me to work even harder.”

After Worlds Chan returned to what he described as the real world. “I went back to school to be a normal person and just relax,” he said with a touch of humor.

When asked about his schoolmates’ reaction on his return to classes, Chan laughed. “Well, the reaction was better after I won nationals,” he said. “A lot of my peers asked, ‘How did you do at Worlds?’ and I said 9th and they were like ‘oh … congratulations.’ It is hard for them to understand.”

And just when Chan thought all the excitement was done for season he received a telephone call one evening in April from a gentleman in Korea. The caller wanted to know if Chan would be interested in performing in a show in Seoul in May.

Though initially reticent about traveling half way around the world to perform in a show, Chan agreed when he was told his friend Yu-Na Kim was the headliner.

“Going to Korea I was a little uneasy because I had not had a good experience in Asia,” he said in reference to his poor showing at his debut appearance at NHK Trophy in 2006.

But all his doubts faded after the first “Festa on Ice” show. “It was awesome. I had the greatest time ever in Korea,” Chan said enthusiastically. “Maybe it was partly because of the group I was with –- you know, Brian (Orser), Tessa (Virtue) and Scott (Moir).

“And the fans! Oh my goodness! The first show was crazy, off the wall –- like off the charts,” Chan recalled.

“The fans were amazing but it is tiring because you are just presenting so much more. The crowds were screaming the whole time. I mean, you are just doing crosscuts and they are screaming. It was scary but it was fun.

“It took the first show for me to get used to it but then it was just cruising -– it was a lot of fun just taking it all in. The last show was the best; it was phenomenal. I got tons of gifts. I would go back there again. Definitely.”

Orser, who choreographed “Festa on Ice,” said the reception Chan received from the Korean crowds was unbelievable. “Patrick was really incredible. The fans were just crazy and not just for Yu-Na,” Orser said. “Korean fans are crazy for good skating. All of the skaters in the show just fed off this amazing energy, which was just overwhelming at times. And by the third show, Patrick was on fire.”

Co-choreographer David Wilson laughed when asked about Chan’s popularity in the Asian nation. “I kept telling Patrick ‘you’re a star,’” he said. “The crowds were loving him and he was feeding off it. He just came alive and was performing like I have never seen him before.”

Chan admitted he did not know how much fun it was going to be when he signed on for the show. “It was amazing and I am so glad I had the chance to experience that. It was a great end to a great season.”

When school ends on June 23, the amiable teenager plans to take some time off before he heads to Florida to start training with coach Don Laws. “I think I will take like four days off to gear down and get ready to gear up again,” Chan said.

He plans to open his season at Liberty International, a competition he won in 2007, before he hits the big time. “I have Skate Canada and Trophée Eric Bompard as my Grand Prix assignments which I am happy about. Skate Canada is the only domestic competition I have never done. I did not want Russia or Japan -– they are too far away.”

Lori Nichol choreographed both programs for the upcoming season. His short is a tango and the long is a classical piece by a Russian composer.

The Toronto native knows he is up against a tough field this coming season. “I think this will be one of the hardest seasons in the history of skating. Everyone is so competitive, no doubt about it,” Chan said.

“Obviously many of the guys in the field do not have as much time as I have but I definitely want to be competing against them all. I don’t want to be competing against the next generation that comes after them.”

International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

The International Skating Union has announced the Grand Prix of Figure Skating events and assignments for the upcoming season.

The 2008-09 season will kick off in Everett, WA. with Skate America (Oct. 23-26). The women's line-up for this event is the strongest in memory and no doubt it will be a showdown for three of America's finest. Kimmie Meissner, 2006 World champion, Rachel Flatt, 2008 World Junior champion and Mirai Nagasu, the 2008 U.S. champion are all assigned to this event.

Ottawa, ON. will host the second event, Skate Canada (Oct. 31-Nov. 2) and Beijing, the third stop in the Series, will once again be home to Cup of China (Nov. 6-9).


Skate Canada will be the first event for reigning World champion Jeffrey Buttle while golden girl Mao Asada will commence her season at Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris (Nov. 13-16).

Brian Joubert, the 2007 World champion has been assigned to the French Grand Prix event and will then test the waters at Cup of Russia, which will take place in Moscow (Nov. 20-23).

The final event of the Series, NHK Trophy, will take place in Tokyo, Japan (Nov. 27-30).

The 2009 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final will combine both senior and junior ranks this season for the first time. Seoul, South Korea will host the event Dec. 10-14.

International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.

By Susan D. Russell

South Korean skating sensation, Yu-Na Kim is happy to be back on “home” ice at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.

Kim returned to Canada on Thursday, June 12 and despite a late night flight arrival was back on the ice the following day working with coach Brian Orser. Choreographer David Wilson will begin choreographing her new programs today. “I missed Brian and David and I am happy to be back,” Kim said.

Life in Canada is a far cry from the one the bubbly teenager has led the past two months. After claiming her second consecutive bronze medal at the 2008 World Championships Kim returned to Korea to have a recurring back and hip injury treated by specialists. Her training schedule was essentially cancelled in order to allow her injuries to properly heal.

But Kim has become a megastar in her homeland and life was anything but dull during her downtime. “I did many television commercials and a photo shoot for a magazine,” she said. “It is hard work doing commercials. It takes a long time to shoot a commercial and I had to smile all the time. I was a little restless waiting around a lot but it was fun.”

According to her manager, Ryan Kim, “Yu-Na has reached a high tier of celebrity status in Korea. She is one of the most important celebrities in Korea.”

The sentiment was echoed by Canada’s Patrick Chan who went to Seoul in May to perform in the “Festa on Ice” show. “Yu-Na is like a rock star in Korea,” Chan said. “She is not just a figure skater to them. Whenever the skaters went out when we were in Seoul we had bodyguards. It was incredible. We went to a shopping mall one day and the crowds were crazy. The bodyguards had to keep all the people away from her.”

Kim was joined by an all-star cast at the “Festa on Ice” show. “I have done other shows in Korea,” she said, “but this was the best show ever. Great skaters came.”

One of the highlights Kim said was performing a number with her friend Johnny Weir who she described as being very special. “He is the best. It was a lot of fun performing with him,” she said.

Orser said his student’s injuries have finally healed and now she has to buckle down and work hard. “It is great to have her back. We all missed her,” he said.

The Korean junior champion, Yeaji Yun, is currently training at the Cricket Club. She will spend two months working with Orser and Wilson who will craft a new long program for her. “Yu-Na’s success has fueled a whole new generation of skaters in Korea,” Orser said. “It is amazing.”

International Figure Skating magazine has gone digital. The August 08 issue's digital extra is a four-page photo spread of Johnny Weir and Brian Joubert. Click here for a sneak peek of the spread.