grievances


Figure Skating Club of Hunterdon v. Robert Daw (1) Figure Skating Club of Hunterdon v. Robert Daw (PSA Grievance)(2) Robert Daw v. Figure Skating Club of Hunterdon (3) Robert Daw v. Stanley Houston (4) These four cases were consolidated for the hearing. In the first case, the FSC of Hunterdon alleged a violation of U.S. Figure Skating GR 1.02(A) and 1.02(F). In case number two, the FSC of Hunterdon filed a grievance with the Professional Skaters Association alleging a violation of PSA Code of Conduct 1, 4 and 7. In case number three, Mr. Daw alleges a violation of U.S. Figure Skating GR 1.01(A), 1.01(B)(4)(a), 1.03(A) and 1.04. In case number four, Mr. Daw alleges a violation by Mr. Houston of U.S. Figure Skating GR 1.0l(A), 1.0l(B)(4)(a), 1.02(A), 1.03(A) and 1.04. On November 10, 2014, a telephonic hearing was held in all of these matters.


obituaries


Hamilton a painting when he did a retirement show. The painting, of a dragon, hangs on the bedroom wall of Hamilton’s sons, Aidan and Jean Paul. News of Cranston’s death spread through-


out the skating community that had gathered in Greensboro. Texts and phone calls were being sent all over, and many were connecting with friends and coaches who were at the Canadi- an Championships, which were held the same week as the U.S. Championships, in Kingston, Ontario. Rosalynn Sumners, the 1984 silver medal-


ist, was in constant communication with friends who were in Greensboro even though she was at home in Seattle. She said she exchanged stories, which she


CRANSTON The event taking place in Greensboro,


North Carolina, was the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, but throughout the concours- es in the Greensboro Coliseum, skaters, coaches and choreographers were lamenting the loss of Canadian champion Toller Cranston. Cranston, who won the Canadian men’s title


from 1971 to 1976, a World bronze medal and the 1976 Olympic bronze medal, died on Jan. 24, 2015, of a reported heart attack in Mexico at the age of 65. Scott Hamilton, who grew up marveling


at Cranston’s dynamic skating and equally ec- centric personality, was notified of Cranston’s loss while working an NBC broadcast at the U.S. Championships. Hamilton, who toured with Cranston, said he quickly went from feeling sor- row to smiling about the many memories he had of Cranston. He even recalls Cranston, who was working


for Canadian television during the 1984 Olym- pics, when Hamilton won the gold medal. “He gave me the thumbs-up, so I knew I did


OK,” Hamilton said. Hamilton said that touring with Cranston


was unlike anything he has ever encountered. “Having Toller as a cast member was the


greatest experience of all,” Hamilton said. “There was no one else like him and there will never be anyone like him. He would go after any type of music, and sometimes people got it and some- times they didn’t. But I always respected him. The man was massively entertaining and flat out hysterical. “If you earned his respect, you knew you did something special.” Cranston, a painter as well as a skater, gave


dubbed “Tollerisms,” with friends who were at- tending in Greensboro. “When I was skating and competing he was


one of my heroes,” Sumners said. “Who knew we’d become such good friends?” The two even skated together in the early


days of Stars on Ice. Sumners recalls doing a trio number with Cranston and another Canadian skater, Brian Pockar. “He truly helped transition me from a


competitor to an artist,” Sumners said. “I al- ways loved watching his programs because they were always different. I particularly re- member his Firebird costume with these elab- orate red and orange fire strips hanging every- where. It never got boring.”


— Amy Rosewater


STRONG DAVIS Susan Strong Davis, a tremendous support-


er and friend to generations of figure skaters, died on Dec. 24, 2014, in Palos Verdes Estates, California. She was 90 years old. Strong Davis impacted the lives and careers


of countless figure skaters with her generosity and friendship. She enjoyed helping young ath- letes achieve their skating dreams. Her love affair with skating actually began


as a young woman, becoming a professional ice skater and touring in the chorus line of Sonja Henie’s ice revue. Years later, after her husband passed


away, she returned to a rink to watch how the then-current generation of skaters worked at their craft. And according to Peter Oppegard, it was


the dedication and determination of these athletes that again drew her to the sport. “It kind of renewed her faith in people and she just wanted to be part of helping these ath-


letes achieve their goals,” Oppegard said. A friend of Susan’s, Nora Kirby, helped her to


identify a few skaters she could become directly involved with in supporting their careers. Oppegard was one of those skaters. “Nora felt that I could do well if I got a little bit of help and that’s how it got started,” he said. “Susan became a great friend to my family and we to her; she attended all the weddings and family outings. We just became very close and shared the same love of skating.” One of the first skaters that Susan helped


was 1984 Olympic silver medalist Rosalyn Sumn- ers.


“She was involved back then and has been


involved ever since,” Oppegard said. Susan traveled all over the world to watch


figure skating events and support the skaters. She made countless friends along the way. “She had a wonderful heart and just want-


ed to help support these athletes; it was such a reward for her to be able to do that,” Oppegard said. “There is such a list of people who are so thankful she got involved. All she ever asked was that all these athletes try their best and go out there and work really hard. That was reward enough for her and that’s the way it should be.”


FRASER Philip (Phil) Fraser passed away on Jan. 26,


2015. Phil worked as a profession- al figure skating coach at The Skat- ing Club of Wilm- ington in Delaware since its inception in 1963. As a Profes-


sional Skaters Asso- ciation master-rat- ed coach, he filled an important place in club activities for more than 40 years, ranging from teaching skaters of all ages to producing and choreographing “Brandywine Blades” ice skating shows. Born Nov. 11, 1925, in New Glasgow, Nova


Scotia, Canada, he is survived by his sister, Car- roll Wilkinson and her husband, Stuart. Donations may be made to the American


Heart Association or the Parkinson’s Disease Foundation.


Witnesses were called and evidence was reviewed. The Hearing Panel unani- mously found in favor of Robert Daw and dismissed grievance number one and grievance number two. The Hearing Panel unanimously found in favor of the FSC of Hunterdon and therefore grievance number three was dismissed. The hearing panel unanimously found in grievance number four that Stanley Houston engaged in wrongful ethical conduct consisting of videotaping Mr. Daw and his minor students without their permission or the permission of the students’ parents. The remainder of the grievance was dismissed. Stanley Houston was suspended from membership in U.S. Figure Skating for


six months. The six-month suspension of membership will be stayed for that six month period of time. In the event that during the six months stay of the suspen- sion of membership there are no reports of any misconduct by Stanley Houston, then the six-month suspension of membership will be vacated.


SKATING 79


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