Editor’s note: Skating great Michael Weiss is the spokesperson for National Skating Month (NSM), which will take place during the month of January at clubs and rinks across the country. Contact Susi Wehrli-McLaughlin to order your NSM packet.
NATIONAL SKATING MONTH For Weiss family, skating fills their lives by AMY ROSEWATER M
ichael Weiss will never forget his first skating lesson. He was about 9 years old, and the coach, Nick Perna, was trying to teach him a
basic T-stop. “He told me that eventually I would be able to lean back into a skid,” Weiss recalled and add- ed, “I was thinking, ‘No way.’ I was terrified. “I had plenty of practice falling, but I fell and I learned how to get up.” Again, and again, and again. Eventually, Weiss overcame his fear of
T-stops and made it onto two Olympic teams, and on the podium twice at World Champion- ships and to the top of the medal stand three times at the U.S. Championships. He became so fearless that he is now known for performing back flips and a move he dubbed a “tornado,” and for sporting funky blades that allow him to perform spread eagles on his heels. He has since retired from competitive skat-
ing, but he never left the sport. If anything, he is more involved now than he ever has been. He continues to be active in skating shows
(although more as a host these days than as a per- former); he does TV commentary from Grand Prix events for NBC and Universal Sports; and along with his wife, Lisa, he has organized one of the biggest fundraisers for and about skaters. Tis year marked his eighth annual Michael Weiss Champions Live! Show, which is held in the Washington, D.C., area and helps fund the foundation. His foundation raised more than $75,000 from the show this year and now has surpassed $500,000 overall. Te shows feature top-notch skating (the
show this year featured Olympic champion Brian Boitano and reigning U.S. champion and foun- dation scholarship recipient Ashley Wagner) as well as silent auctions that include skating para- phernalia of all kinds.
Michael Weiss performed on the ice while his daughter Annie Mae sang during the Musselman’s Apple Sauce Family Skating Tribute show in Phoenix. The show aired on NBC on Nov. 18.
Tere are plenty of ice shows orchestrated by skating champions, but none — if any — have been created to benefit the sport of skating like this one. Steve Disson, who produces numerous made-for-TV skating entertainment specials and had been Weiss’ manager during his competitive days, said it is Weiss’ dedication to the sport that makes him such a standout. “What impresses me the most about Mi-
chael Weiss is not his three U.S. national cham- pionship wins, two World Championship bronze medals or two Olympic performances, but how much he personally gives back to the community and to young skaters through his Michael Weiss Foundation.” Even though Weiss’ father competed as an
Olympic gymnast, skating became the sport of choice in the Weiss family. Weiss’ older sister skated and he began taking private lessons when he was about 9. Weiss ended up marrying a cho- reographer (Lisa), and both of their children, An- nie Mae and Christopher, went through the Basic Skills program to learn how to skate. Although Annie Mae and Christopher hav-
en’t followed their father in becoming high-lev- el competitive skaters, they have spent much of their life on ice. Annie Mae is focused on soc-
cer, but also is an avid singer, and recently, in Phoenix, Annie Mae sang Adele’s “Don’t You Remember?” while her dad performed on the ice in the Musselman’s Family Skating Tribute Show. Christopher, meanwhile, is on the ice regularly as a hockey player.
“I think he eats, sleeps and breathes hock-
ey,” Michael said of his son. “He plays center and defense and is a first-year bantam. He’s a good skater.”
As he should be. Performing on the ice with 14-year-old An-
nie Mae singing proved to be one of the most memorable moments of Weiss’ illustrious career. Annie Mae had performed in his foundation’s show, but Weiss did not skate while she was sing- ing then; nor were there high-tech lighting and sound crews or TV cameras. “It was pretty cool,” Weiss said. “Singing live is not easy to do. I think I was more nervous, though, because I hadn’t really performed in about a year and I didn’t want to mess up Annie Mae’s performance. Luckily I landed my jumps and they didn’t have to do any retakes; and Annie Mae did great and didn’t need a retake, either.” Annie Mae made her dad proud; and her
dad showed he’s come a long way from doing T-stops.
Although retired, Michael, his wife Lisa, and their two children continue to give back to the sport with the Michael Weiss Foundation to help talented skaters reach their Olympic dreams.
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PHOTO BY JEREMIAH TAMAGNA-DARR
PHOTO BY BRITTANY EVANS
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