ANNE GERLI — 1924-2016
FOR ANNE GERLI, IT WAS ALWAYS ABOUT THE SKATERS
by BARB REICHERT Ask the multitude of people who knew Anne
Gerli and they will echo her passion: It was always about the kids. Gerli, a U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame
member, passed away March 3, 2016, in New York. She was 92. Terri Levine, executive director of Te Skat-
ing Club of New York, worked closely with Gerli as SCNY president from 2001 to 2015. “Anne was one of my mentors,” Levine said.
“She instilled in me that it must always be about the skaters, and that is always my agenda. I hope that I can be the kind of advocate that she was. I will never have the credentials and respect she had, but I will try to be the voice speaking up for what is right for our skaters. Anne would want me to do that.”
A SCNY member and national judge for
more than 70 years, Gerli, along with Lucy Bren- nan, herself an ISU and Olympic judge, tackled problems with creative solutions. “I was just her sidekick,” Brennan said
humbly. “We would dream up programs at Mid-Atlantics during test sessions. Anne loved to experiment there. She was so creative. One of the first important events created was Junior Nation- als [1991–2012].” On the heels of that success, they created the
Young Internationals Program, which from 1995 to 2005 sent juvenile and intermediate athletes such as Sarah Hughes and Evan Lysacek to Euro-
pean nonqualifying competitions to gain experi- ence. When asked if that program helped SCNY member Hughes on her path to an Olympic title, Brennan left no doubt. “I know darn well it did!” she said. “It gave
her confidence. When Sarah came back, she start- ed taking from Robin Wagner exclusively and got all her triples.” Brennan, a 15-year-old skater when she met
Gerli, said her longtime friend had an eye for tal- ent.
“Anne had the magic formula and could
recognize very early who could go on to become great,” Brennan said. “She had the magic of rec- ognizing [2016 U.S. champion] Adam Rippon at a very young age. She had Sarah pegged, too.” Gerli created the Accelerated Judges Pro- gram in 1997, which helped produce many of to- day’s national and international judges, including U.S. Figure Skating President Sam Auxier. “When I started trial judging in the Chicago
area, I was told that it may be at least 20 years before I could ever be a national judge and it was very unlikely I would become an international judge,” said Auxier, an ISU and Olympic judge. “Tis was very discouraging. I really questioned whether I should continue to trial judge. But then I heard about the accelerated program that Anne Gerli had started for former skaters, which kept me motivated to continue. “Tat program made a huge difference in
Olympic champions Scott Hamilton and Sarah Hughes salute Gerli during the on-ice hall of fame induction ceremony in 2015 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
U.S. Figure Skating President Samuel Auxier credits Anne Gerli for her vision to attract former skaters to the judging profession, including himself.
not just increasing the number of judges, but also attracting many former skaters back into the sport. Tat took a lot of foresight and courage. Initially there was a lot of resistance to that pro- gram, but Anne drove that program and it made a huge difference in our sport.” Gerli served U.S. Figure Skating as vice pres-
ident (1985), Olympic representative (1981–82), U.S. World Team leader (1985) and chaired nu- merous committees. She earned her first judging appointment in 1944 and became a national singles/pairs judge in 1966. Since 1998, Gerli judged more than 500 tests and continued to do so into her 90s. Gerli attended nearly every U.S. Figure Skat-
ing Governing Council since the early 1950s and was an opinionated and vocal contributor. Auxier recalled his inaugural experience as president at Governing Council in 2015. “My biggest concern was Anne Gerli step-
ping to the microphone to make a statement that was usually so insightful and delivered with that direct, yet sarcastic New York wit that there was no way to really respond sufficiently,” Auxier said with a smile. “No one will ever replace her, and we will miss her ability to keep us all in line.” Her passion will live on through the SCNY’s
Anne Gerli Award, which honors the top juvenile skaters at Mid-Atlantics. She was the recipient of the 2014 New England Amateur Skating Foun- dation’s LeeAnn Miele Spirit of Skating Award, the 2008 PSA Distinguished Official Award and honored by U.S. Figure Skating in 1995 for her dedication to the sport. In 2015, Gerli was inducted into the U.S.
Figure Skating Hall of Fame at age 91, an honor that somewhat surprised her. “With all those people who are in [the hall],
I just don’t feel like I should be there,” she said at the time. “Tere are such good people, such good skaters. I feel like I’m out of my league.” Gerli is survived by daughters Coco Shean,
Mary Clarke and Carol Deane. Shean is an ISU and Olympic judge.
28 APRIL 2016
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