Skating greats honor ‘Tommy’ Collins
Readers’ Choice Award
SKATING magazine Editor Troy Schwindt pre- sented the Michelle Kwan Trophy to Readers’ Choice Award winners Alexa Scimeca and Chris- topher Knierim during a break at the Smucker’s Skating Spectacular.
(l-r) Dorothy Hamill, Tom Collins, Michelle Kwan and Christine Brennan pose for a star-studded selfi e, taken by none other than Brian Boitano.
It was a true who’s who of U.S. fi gure skating
elite, all gathered in one room to honor one man: Tom Collins. Collins, the skating impresario whose Tom
Collins Enterprises produced decades of top-qual- ity skating shows, was the honored guest at the annual Alumni Association Reception, which also recognized the 40th anniversary of the 1976 Olympic Team. Hosted by Alumni Committee Chair Bri- an Boitano and Linda Leaver, Collins was sur- rounded by friends, family and more Olympic and World medals than you could count. To even attempt to name-drop would do a disservice to those who packed a large bar inside the Xcel En- ergy Center in Saint Paul. But even with such star power in the room, the brightest star was a man everyone calls “Tommy.”
Scholastic Honors Team Colledge Awards
Haley Beavers and Eric Sjoberg, the novice singles champions, received the Cecilia Colledge Memo- rial Fund Award. T e Colledge Award is presented annually to the novice lady and novice man who achieve the highest combined program compo- nents score of the U.S Championships. T e award was established by Ms. Colledge’s estate following her death in 2008. She enjoyed a successful skating career, winning the silver medal at the 1936 Olym- pic Winter Games and the 1937 World title while representing Great Britain. She relocated in 1952 and joined T e Skating Club of Boston’s coaching staff , where she taught until 1977. Gloria Minor, board member of T e Skating Club of Boston, presented Beavers and Sjoberg with an award cer- tifi cate.
SKATING 31
Members of the Scholastic Honors Team were honored following the senior pairs competition on Jan. 23. Ten outstanding student-athletes were recognized for their eff orts in the classroom, in their commu- nities and as competitive fi gure skaters. T ey received scholarships and U.S. Figure Skating Scholastic Honors Team letter jackets. T e program is funded through the generosity of the Pioneer Fund, the lega- cy of the late Helen McLoraine. Pictured are (l-r) Olivia Yao, Cindy Yang, Harrison Wong, Amber Wolf, Benjamin Shou and Kelvin Li. Not pictured are Ariel Hannum, Caroline Leadmon, Layne Williams and Amanda Zhou. U.S. Figure Skating President Samuel Auxier and National Vice Chair of Scholastic Honors Jonathan Geen presented the awards.
Taking the lectern to praise/roast Collins
were Boitano, Scott Hamilton, USA Today col- umnist Christine Brennan, Dorothy Hamill, Michelle Kwan and Collins’ longtime executive assistant, Sandy Reed. Each shared stories of his generosity, and thanked Collins for a lifetime of memories while touring with his shows. When it was Collins’ turn to speak, the lively
crowd grew quiet as they hung on every word. Nods and winks were shared among the stars as Collins gave a brief history of his life and openly thanked all who made Champions on Ice one of America’s most beloved skating shows. U.S. Figure Skating President Sam Auxier
and Executive Director David Raith presented Collins with a trophy of appreciation. T e Min- nesota Wild presented Collins, a Twin Cities resi- dent, with a personalized jersey.
PHOTO BY JOE LEMKE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88