The Art Of Special Figures

"For quite a long period... this branch of skating was placed in the forefront of skating artistry, and halted the development of pure skating. More than anything else it was a skater's ability to cut upon the ice the most original creation in artistic design and to execute it with ease and elegance that stamped him as a champion. But the craze for a designing was a temporary diversion from the true course of development in skating. It did however show how much could be done upon a skate." - Nigel Brown, "Ice-Skating: A History", 1959

Figure skating was first contested at the Olympic Games in London, England in 1908. Sweden's Ulrich Salchow and Great Britain's Madge Syers were the victors in the men's and women's events and Germany's Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger won the gold medal in the pairs competition. Russia's Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin had the distinction of winning a gold medal in a fourth category, at the time termed Gentlemen's Special Figure Skating. The 1908 Games marked the only time that Special Figures were contested at the Olympic Games, but the rise in popularity and demise of this specialized branch of skating was far from straight-forward. 

Skaters have had a fascination with carving out discernable patterns on the ice for centuries. In 1772, in the oldest surviving book on figure skating, Captain Robert Jones described how "to cut the figure of a heart on one leg". Throughout the first half of the nineteenth century in North America, the best 'fancy' skaters of the day were celebrated not for their jumping and spinning prowess, nor their skill at basic figures, but their ability to use their blades as quills. 

In 1882, the Internationalen Preis-Figurenlaufen (Great International Skating Tournament) was held in Vienna, Austria. Skaters were required to demonstrate their proficiency at a long list of school figures, as well as exhibit a specialty or 'special figure' of their own choosing. It was in this 'special figure' category that Axel Paulsen demonstrated his namesake jump. Another skater, Theodore Langer, chose to perform an intricate star figure. By the time the Neva Skating Association in St. Petersburg hosted another major international competition in 1890, there were three distinctly defined, separate categories: compulsory figures, special figures (patterns) and 'fantasifigurer' (free skating). The winner of the special figure competition, Russia's Alexei Pavlovich Lebedeff, tied for first place in the free skating category and included several of his special figure designs in his winning performance. 

Georg Sanders, in Irving Brokaw's book "The Art Of Skating", posited, "The origin of the name 'Special Figures' is pretty obvious. It first came into vogue when, many years ago, an opportunity was given to figure skaters to exhibit whatever special degree of proficiency they might have attained in movements or drawings on the ice. Thus some were past masters in jumping, executing pirouettes, spread-eagles, grapevines, and pivot figures... Then deftness in cutting various patterns on the ice surface furnished the basis of another important class of special figures... A more correct designation would, perhaps, be Figure Combinations or Figure Designs... Special figures ought, as far as possible, to be original, the creations of the artistic faculty of each individual, and a proof of his ability to adapt, combine and harmonize. The elements of school figures and various supplementary figures supply the materials on which his ingenuity goes to work, out of which he produces fresh designs."

Special Figures were often skated on one foot, through a combination of rockers, loops, counters, brackets and threes connected by edges and crosscuts. They also often included a type of figure at the time referred to as Beaks, which were variations on rockers and counters where, instead of the curves being carried forward, they were brought sharply back by swinging the free foot forward at the same time the skating foot moved in front. 

Special Figures emphasized pattern over form, and due to their small size often entailed rather jarring, lurching movements of both the free foot and arms, which made them inherently unattractive to English Style skaters. Montagu Sneade Monier-Williams' 1892 book "Figure-Skating Simple And Combined" bemoaned, "Small figures which are performed on one foot, and which, owing to the energetic action of the unemployed leg, and strange contortions of the body they seem to necessitate, have earned for themselves the generic name of 'Kickers.'... These interesting little figures are of a too stationary nature to work well in 'combined skating'... These figures so often proved themselves to be absolutely destructive to the good form of those who practise them."

However, the very best exponents of Special Figures were able to accomplish both form and finesse. In their book "The Art Of Skating: International Style", Madge and Edgar Syers recalled, "Most of them are difficult to skate in good form, owing to the incessant and rapid action of the free foot, which is apt to give the appearance of a series of kicks. These figures should be skated slowly and the effort should be concealed as much as possible... Panin, who has made this branch of skating his [specialty], was mathematically precise in his tracings, and his positions and movements were never in the least awkward or jerky; with body and head erect he found it only necessary to glance occasionally at the maze of curves and turns which his skate described with such consummate ease."

Special Figures were a specialized niche, practiced mainly by only the best skaters in the world... because they were hard to do. They were particularly popular in Russia and Finland, which was then a Royal Duchy of the Russian Empire. Georg Sanders, Alexei Pavlovich Lebedeff, Karl Antonovich Ollo and John Catani were all masters of the art. 

The earliest winners at ISU Championships - skaters like Gustav Hügel, Gilbert Fuchs and Ulrich Salchow - all excelled at Special Figures, in addition to school figures and free skating. The top skaters of the day in the Victorian and Edwardian eras often plagiarized each others' designs, no doubt leading to many skirmishes that were never recorded. Ulrich Salchow's famous row with Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin at the 1908 Olympic Games was likely exacerbated by the fact that Panin-Kolomenkin handed him a rare defeat at an international Special Figures competition in St. Petersburg earlier that year.

A skater's skill talent at Special Figures was a boost to their reputation, and indeed an integral part of their success at free skating. A well-balanced free skating program for much of the early twentieth century included not only dance steps, small jumps and spins, pivots, spirals and spread eagles, but both school and special figures.

Arthur Cumming, the 1908 Olympic Silver Medallist in Special Figures (top) and Special Figures of Cumming's design (bottom)

As was the case at the 1908 Olympics, skaters competing in Special Figures competitions in Russia, Russian Finland, Sweden, Austria and Germany at the turn of the century were required to submit  diagrams of their figures in a sealed envelope, as well as provide descriptions, to the judges days before any competition. This format took Planned Program Content to the extreme... nearly a century before the IJS System was even conceived.

Not every attempt to translate art to ice was a success story. In an article in "The Field" in 1909, Geoffrey Hall-Say, who won the bronze medal in Special Figures at the 1908 Games, remarked that some unsuccessful attempts of translating designs to the ice resulted in "something like that which would be produced by a child scrawling in a large unformed hand with a diamond on a sheet of plate glass." Hall-Say also jokingly suggested that "Fig. 40 - the portrait of a skating judge - may be recommended to an unsuccessful competitor." Hall-Say and Arthur Cumming's participation in the Special Figures event in 1908 was particularly interesting, as Great Britain's National Skating Association had abandoned their test for Special Figures seven years prior to the Games.

A Portrait Of A Skating Judge figure, described by Geoffrey Hall-Say

Numerous factors contributed to Special Figures falling out of vogue. The ISU's 1897 adoption of a schedule of school figures, as well as their exclusion of Special Figures at ISU Championships after 1896, was one factor. The rise in popularity of the Continental Style, with its focus on free movement and form, was another. Of Special Figures in 1913, Hugo Winzer wrote, "These tricky things demand continual training - and spoil the fine, artistic skating."

It's also key to recognize the fact that as this branch of skating was such a specialized, niche pursuit, the premature deaths of several of its top exponents no doubt hastened its popularity. Alexander Nikitich Panschin committed suicide in 1904; Karl Antonovich Ollo and Ivan Pavlovich Malinin died on the front lines during The Great War. 

Gillis Grafström

By the roaring twenties, exceedingly few skaters devoted any effort whatsoever to Special Figures. Madge and Edgar Syers suggested that weather played a rule in their exclusion from free skating programs. Many ISU Championships were held outdoors under unpredictable and, at times, grueling conditions. In their "Book Of Winter Sports", the Syers' wrote, "The uncertainty of reproducing in competitions figures which a slight inequality in the ice or a gust of wind may mar, has led to their being generally omitted from free skating."

Gillis Grafström's Change-Of-Edge star figure

Though he was in the minority, Olympic Gold Medallist Gillis Grafström, demonstrated an unusual interest and ability in this area. Though Grafström never competed in a Special Figures competition, he was responsible for the creation of dozens of new patterns. In 1943, future ISU Historian Benjamin T. Wright recalled, "He invented more than fifty... In England in 1937 the National Skating Association instituted a Platinum Test, even higher than the Gold, which included some of [his] special figures, such as rocker eights, counter eights, three-loop-three, bracket-rocker-bracket and various others. This test was taken and passed at Bournemouth by Graham Sharp, the present World Champion." North American skaters Tim Brown and Gary Beacom devoted time and effort to mastering Special Figures in the decades that followed.

Quilt created by Marion Wolfe of Wisconsin, displayed at the 1993 U.S. Championships. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

Many know that dramatic video of the last figures being skated at the World Championships in Nova Scotia in 1990 and the gradual demise of the compulsory figures in international competition, but few mourn the loss of Special Figures. Perhaps that's because beautiful pictures are still being painted on the ice today... just in a different way.

SPECIAL FIGURES COMPETITIONS OF NOTE

This data has been compiled from various German, Austrian, Russian, Swedish and Finnish newspaper archives, as well as Gilbert Fuchs' book “Theories und Praxis des Kunstlaufs am Eise” and Georg Sanders' chapter on Special Figures in the first edition of Irving Brokaw's book “The Art Of Skating”.

Year and Location	Event	Winner	2nd	3rd
1879 (St. Petersburg)	Yusupov Gardens Specialfiguren-Wettbewerb	Alexei Pavlovich Lebedeff	(not recorded)	(not recorded)
1882 (Vienna)	Internationalen Preis-Figurenlaufen (Great International Skating Tournament)*	Leopold Frey	Eduard Engelmann Jr.	Axel Paulsen
1883 (Helsinki)	Skridskotäflan i Helsingfors	Alexei Pavlovich Lebedeff	John Catani	Rudolf Sundgrén
1887 (Munich)	Preis-Figurenlaufen	Robert Büchtger	Victor Seybert	Franz Rosenstengel
1888 (Stockholm)	Skridskotäflingarna i Stockholm	Rudolf Sundgrén	Ivar Hult	Alfred Franklin
1889 (Helsinki)	Skridskotäflingarna i Stockholm - Den Internationella Amatörstäflingen - Men	Rudolf Sundgrén	Ivar Hult	John Catani
1889 (Helsinki)	Skridskotäflingarna i Stockholm - Den Internationella Amatörstäflinge – Women	Nadja Franck	Anna Weibull	Magda Mauroy
1889 (St. Petersburg)	Wettlaufen St. Petersburg – Simesnovski-Eisbahn	Georg Sanders	N. Semenoff	(not recorded)
1890 (St. Petersburg)	Internationale Kunstlaufen**	Alexei Pavlovich Lebedeff	Louis Rubenstein/John Catani (tie)	Carl Kaiser
1891 (St. Petersburg)	Kunstlaufen, Simesnovski-Eisbahn	Georg Sanders	(not recorded)	(not recorded)
1891 (St. Petersburg)	Kunstlaufen, Stern-Eisbahn	Georg Sanders	Herr Simnitzki	(not recorded)
1892 (St. Petersburg)	Spezialfiguren-Wettlaufen (St. Petersburg Society Of Ice Skating Amateurs)	Georg Sanders	(not recorded)	(not recorded)
1896 (St. Petersburg)	World Championships – Special Figures	Georg Sanders	Gilbert Fuchs	Gustav Hügel
1897 (St. Petersburg)	Spezialfiguren-Wettlaufen (St. Petersburg Society Of Ice Skating Amateurs)	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Herr Morozoff	Herr Rimer
1903 (Munich)	Specialfiguren-Wettlaufen des Münchener Eislaufvereines	Gilbert Fuchs	Ludwig Niedermeyer	(not recorded)
1906 (St. Petersburg)	Specialfiguren-Wettbewerb um den Alexander Panschin-Preis	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Ulrich Salchow	Karl Ollo
1907 (Davos)	Spezialfigurenlaufen (held in conjunction with European Speed Skating Championships)	Phyllis (Squire) Johnson	Edgar Syers/Dr. Halden (tie)	H. Charles Holt
1907 (St. Petersburg)	Specialfiguren-Wettbewerb um den Alexander Panschin-Preis	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Fedor Datlin	(not recorded)
1908 (St. Petersburg)	World Championships - Specialfiguren-Wettbewerb um den Alexander Panschin-Preis***	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Ulrich Salchow	Karl Ollo
1908 (London)	Olympic Games – Special Figures	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Arthur Cumming	Geoffrey Hall-Say
1909 (Paris)	Specialfiguren-Wettlaufen Club des Patineurs	Louis Magnus	Lucien Trugard	Maurice del Valle
1909 (St. Petersburg)	Jubileumstäfling	Karl Ollo	H.O. Wächter	Oskar Hoppe
1909 (Vyborg)	Internationell konståkning om N. D. Bojarinoff's vandringssköld****	Karl Ollo	Aleksander Huuri	T. Landelius
1910 (Vyborg)	Internationell konståkning om N. D. Bojarinoff's vandringssköld****	Karl Ollo	Aleksander Huuri	Sakari Ilmanen
1912 (Vyborg)	Internationell konståkning om N. D. Bojarinoff's vandringssköld****	Karl Ollo	Herr Langenheim	(no other competitors)
1913 (Vyborg)	Internationell konståkning om N. D. Bojarinoff's vandringssköld****	Herr Langenheim	Sergei van der Vliet	(no other competitors)

*The 1882 competition in Vienna consisted of both Compulsory and Special Figures. Leopold Frey was the overall winner, but Axel Paulsen's Special Figure, which was actually his namesake jump, earned top marks in that phase of the event. Eduard Engelmann Jr. won the compulsory figures, but Frey was judged the overall winner.

**Though held before the formation of the ISU, the 1890 competition in St. Petersburg was billed by its organizers as a World Championship for amateurs. Skaters from Austria, Canada, Russia and Scandinavia participated. There were three separate categories: Compulsory Figures, Special Figures and 'Fantasifiguren' (Free Skating). Canada's Louis Rubenstein won the Compulsory Figures and Russia's Alexei Pavlovich Lebedeff the Special Figures. Lebedeff and Finland's John Catani tied in the Free Skating class, in which Rubenstein did not participate.

***The competition for the Alexander Panschin-Preis, held in conjunction with the 1908 World Championships for pairs in St. Petersburg, included Special Figures as part of the programme.

****Archives of the “Finskt idrottsblad” note that the annual competition for the N.D. Bojarinoff Shield consisted of three Special Figures and a five minute free skating competition. Compulsory figures were not included.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html. 

The First Summer Skating School In Canada

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

In modern times, we take it for granted that any elite Canadian skater would have the opportunity to train year round. This simply wasn't always the case. In the early twentieth century a number of skating clubs still operated solely on outdoor ice and with the thaw, the skates returned to the shelf. Though a handful of Canadian skaters travelled abroad in the summer for a couple of weeks to train in year-round rinks, but it wasn't until the roaring twenties that there was really any serious discussion of year-round skating in North America.

Many elite Canadian skaters got their first taste of summer skating in 1932, when they travelled down to the United States to perform in North America's first Mid-Summer Carnival, supervised by H.L. 'Jack' Garren at the newly opened Lake Placid Arena, site of the 1932 Winter Olympic Games. By the outbreak of World War II, summer skating had exploded in the U.S. There were about a dozen schools in all, the most popular being in Lake Placid, Colorado Springs, Sun Valley and San Francisco. Detroit even boasted a summer skating school in a cold storage warehouse called 'The Ice Box'. While Canadian skaters were thankful for the opportunity to receive expert instruction 'closer to home' during the warmer months, they no doubt longed for a summer skating school of their own.

Otto Gold teaching his daughter Frances at the Kitchener Summer Skating School. Photo courtesy University of Waterloo Library, Special Collections And Archives.

The first summer skating school in Canada officially opened its doors on July 15, 1940, after three years of offering ice time in July and August on an informal basis. Held in Kitchener, Ontario, the school operated for six weeks and promised "a professional staff of unquestionable merit", lounge and locker room accommodations and the use of Canada's "largest swimming pool within a mile of the Club." The instructors at the Kitchener school in the summer of 1940 were Otto Gold of the Minto Skating Club and Madge Austin of the Toronto Skating Club. Compared to the flashy summer schools in America, which offered ice dance conferences and open competitions, the Kitchener school was a decidedly modest affair, but within a year it had proven successful enough to expand to an eight-week program.

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

In 1942, the famous summer school at the home of the Porcupine Skating Club, the McIntyre Community Building in Schumacher, Ontario, opened its doors. Madge Austin was the head instructor, and was supported by Beryl Goodman, Robert Courter and Freddy Mésot. The brand new half a million dollar facility gave skaters access to a gymnasium, game rooms, lounges, a ballroom and a host of outdoor summer activities within walking distance. It also offered skaters three patch sessions a day and the opportunities to appear in two carnivals and take the new CFSA dance and figure tests. It made the school in Kitchener look like small potatoes.

Otto Gold

However, Otto Gold's modest summer skating school in Kitchener persevered through the War years. Among its more prominent attendees were perennial U.S. Champion Gretchen Merrill, future Olympic Gold Medallist and World Champion Barbara Ann Scott and future Canadian Champion Roger Wickson. A popular feature of the school was a weekly session where skaters could exhibit their free skating program before an audience. Today, we call sessions like this simulations. 

In 1942, the first summer skating school on the West Coast opened at the Forum Arena in Hastings Park, Vancouver. In 1944, Sadie Cambridge and Albert Enders opened a summer school in Niagara Falls. In 1946, Mary Rose Thacker organized a school in Nelson, British Columbia. In 1947 came Sadie Cambridge and Albert Ender's summer school in St. Catharine's and Osborne Colson's Summer Ice Club in Toronto. In 1948 and 1949 came Gerrard and Betty Lee Blair's school in Cobourg, Ontario and Marcus Nikkanen's school seven miles west of Toronto. 1950 brought the first summer school in the Prairies, held at Edmonton Gardens, and Beryl Goodman Williamson's Royal City Summer School in Guelph, Ontario. In 1952, Arnold Gerschwiler came over to teach at Lewis and Eleanor Elkin's new school in Stratford On Avon. 

These new schools, coupled with the success of the Schumacher school and the popularity of the schools 'south of the border', were the death knell to Otto Gold's pioneering effort in Kitchener. He disbanded Canada's first summer skating school in the late forties and spent his summers teaching in Lake Placid.

Skate Guard is a blog dedicated to preserving the rich, colourful and fascinating history of figure skating. Over ten years, the blog has featured over a thousand free articles covering all aspects of the sport's history, as well as four compelling in-depth features. To read the latest articles, follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube. If you enjoy Skate Guard, please show your support for this archive by ordering a copy of figure skating reference books "The Almanac of Canadian Figure Skating", "Technical Merit: A History of Figure Skating Jumps" and "A Bibliography of Figure Skating": https://skateguard1.blogspot.com/p/buy-book.html. 

Historical Results From Pre-World War II World Championships

Photo courtesy Czech National Library

It's really not an overstatement to say that one of the biggest misconceptions in figure skating history are how ISU Championships worked prior to World War II. More often than not, World Championships for different disciplines were held at different times in different countries. As the organization of these events was left largely to the host club or federation, it was extremely common for these events to consist of multiple competitions. Both women's and pairs events were indeed held prior to the first ones that the ISU recognized, as were valsing (waltzing) and tenstep competitions - precursors to the first ice dance competitions at the World Championships in the early fifties. These records not only paint a more accurate picture of these competitions, but shed further light on some of the careers of the top skaters of the early twentieth century. 

These results were compiled from various sources, including British, Swiss, Austrian, German, Swedish, Norwegian and Hungarian newspaper archives and back issues of "Skating" magazine. A very special thank you to German skating historian Dr. Matthias Hampe for his generous assistance with the correct names and spellings of many of the German and Austrian skaters that are listed.

A few notes:

- A '*' next to a category denotes that it was a World Championship event.

- In many cases, you will see multiple events for the same discipline. It wasn't uncommon for organizers to hold one competition for a World title and another for senior skaters who didn't wish to compete for that title. 

- Many of these competitions were also held in conjunction with speed skating races, ice hockey games, which haven't been noted.

1896

St. Petersburg, Russia

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gilbert Fuchs	Gustav Hügel	Georg Sanders
Special Figures	Georg Sanders	Gilbert Fuchs	Gustav Hügel

1897

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gustav Hügel	Ulrich Salchow	Johan Peter Lefstad

1898

London, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Henning Grenander	Gustav Hügel	Gilbert Fuchs
Challenge Shield For Combined Skating In The English Style (British Championship)	C.E. Bell's team (C.E. Bell, H.M. Morris, D. Mann, Robert Muirhead Hewett)	International Skating Club of Davos (J. Le Fleming, George K. Wood, H.B. Hawes, E. Gwynne-Evans)	Ipswich team (L.E. Pretty, Frank Pretty, Stanley Turner, S.A. Notcutt)

1899

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gustav Hügel	Ulrich Salchow	Edgar Syers

1900

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Gustav Hügel	(no other competitors)

1901

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Gilbert Fuchs	(no other competitors)
Pairs (International Amateur Figure Skating Championships for the Nordiska Spelens pris)	Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Gustav Euler	Madge and Edgar Syers	Hedwig Müller and Martin Gordan
Men (International Amateur Figure Skating Championships for the Nordiska Spelens pris)	Oscar Holthe	Einar de Flon	Martin Gordan
Same-Sex Pairs (Nordisks Spelens pris)	Egron Wirström and Nils Rosenius	E. Ehrnström and E. Nordling	Walter Rosenberger and Per Thorén

1902

London, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Madge Syers	Martin Gordan
Pairs	Madge and Edgar Syers	Emmy Sjöberg and Christian Soldan	Hedwig (Müller) Weingartner and Martin Gordan
Valsing	Gladys Duddell and French Brewster	Miss Irby and Mr. Adams	Miss Marshall and Mr. Clayton
English Style – Challenge Cup (Combined Skating)	Frank G. Fedden (partnered by H.M. Morris)	Phyllis Squire (partnered by H.D. Hoffman)	H.M. Morris (partnered by Frank G. Fedden)
English Style – Individiual (British Championships)	Frank G. Fedden	Alan J. Davidson	(no other competitors)
English Style – Team (British Championships)	H.D. Hoffman's team (H.D. Hoffmann, Phyllis Squire, H.M. Morris, H.M. Elder)	Figure Skating Club team (Frank G. Fedden, George R. Wood, Alan J. Davidson, F.T. Leeming)	Mr. Hawes' team (F.B.O. Hawes, A.W. Bristow, W.A. Russell, R. Moreland)

1903

St. Petersburg, Russia

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Max Bohatsch
Pairs	Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Carl Euler	Mizzi and Max Bohatsch	(no other competitors)
Men (Jubilee Prize)	Herr Roß	Karl Ollo	Fedor Datlin

1904

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Heinrich Burger	Martin Gordan
Pairs (Jubilee Prize)	Madge and Edgar Syers	Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Gustav Euler	Fraulein Müller and Herr Rasche
Men (Jubilee Prize)	Anton Steiner	Herr Hoffmann	Ernst Lassahn
Pairs (Internationales Paarlaufen)	Frau and Anton Beranek	Frau and Herr Hoffmann	Frieda Bellinger and Franz Zilly
Junior Men	Max Rendschmidt	Herr Hagenow	Adolf Schmidt

1905

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Max Bohatsch	Per Thorén
Women (International Amateur Figure Skating Championships for the Nordiska Spelens pris)	Muriel Harrison	Lili Kronberger	Mrs. Kellie
Pairs (International Amateur Figure Skating Championships for the Nordiska Spelens pris)	Mizzi and Max Bohatsch	Madge and Edgar Syers	Valborg and Emil Lindahl
Men (International Amateur Figure Skating Championships for the Nordiska Spelens pris)	Bror Meyer	Karl Axel Holmström	Nils Rosenius

1906

Munich, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gilbert Fuchs	Heinrich Burger	Bror Meyer
Pairs	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Fraulein Beer and Ludwig Niedermayer	Frau and Grete Pfeiffer
Men (German Championships)	Heinrich Burger	Karl Zenger	Martin Gordan
Junior Men	Georg Velisch	Alois Wilschek	Robert Sonder
Junior Women	Elsa Rendschmidt	Anna Hübler	(no other competitors)

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men (European Championships)	Ulrich Salchow	Ernst Herz	Per Thorén
Women*	Madge Syers	Jenny Herz	Lili Kronberger
Pairs	Madge and Edgar Syers	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson
Women (Internationales Damenlaufen)	Elsa Rendschmidt	Jenny Herz	Anna Hübler

1907

Vienna, Austria-Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Max Bohatsch	Gilbert Fuchs
Women*	Madge Syers	Jenny Herz	Lili Kronberger
Pairs	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson	Madge and Edgar Syers
Pairs “for all couples not going to big pair skating”	Helene Kuich and Karl Mejstrik	Else Barthel and Alois Wilschek	(no other competitors)
Karl von Korper Prize	Max Rendschmidt	Fedor Datlin	Gustav Schöning

1908

Troppau, Austria-Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Gilbert Fuchs	Heinrich Burger
Women*	Lili Kronberger	Elsa Rendschmidt	(no other competitors)
Pairs	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Else Barthel and Alois Wilschek	Helene Kuich and Karl Mejstrik
Men (Internationales Seniorlaufen)	Alois Wilschek	Oscar Hoppe	Erich Gutleben

St. Petersburg, Russia

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men (Alexander Panschin Wanderpreis)	Nikolay Panin-Kolomenkin	Ulrich Salchow	Karl Ollo
Women	Lili Kronberger	Elsa Rendschmidt	Elna Montgomery
Pairs*	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson	Lidia Popova and Aleksandr Fischer

1909

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Per Thorén	Ernst Herz
Women	Elsa Rendschmidt	Zsófia Méray-Horváth	Elna Montgomery
Pairs*	Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson	Valborg Lindahl and Nils Rosenius	Gertrud Ström and Richard Johansson

Budapest, Austria-Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men (European Championships)	Ulrich Salchow	Gilbert Fuchs	Per Thorén
Women*	Lili Kronberger	(no other competitors)	(no other competitors)
Pairs	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Helene Kuich and Karl Mejstrik	Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson
Men (International Senior Herrenkunst)	Andor Szende	Walter Jakobsson	Ludwig Richard
Women (International Senior Damenkunst)	Jenny Herz	Elsa Rendschmidt	Zsófia Méray-Horváth
Junior Men	Robert Sander	George Müller	B. Wrobel
Junior Women	Helene Fräter	Hedwig Müller	Hermine Proschel-Kunz

1910

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Werner Rittberger	Andor Szende
Pairs	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson	Hedwig (Müller) and Hugo Winzer

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Elsa Rendschmidt	Lili Kronberger	(no other competitors)
Pairs*	Anna Hübler and Heinrich Burger	Ludovika Eilers and Walter Jakobsson	Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson

1911

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Ulrich Salchow	Werner Rittberger	Fritz Kachler
Women	Zsófia Méray-Horváth	Grete Strasilla	(no other competitors)
Pairs	Alice Rolle and Bruno Grauel	Else and Heinrich Weber	(no other competitors)
Valsing	Else and Heinrich Weber	Alice Rolle and Bruno Grauel	Fraulein Lehmann and Herr Maerländer
Junior Men	Artur Vieregg	F. Born	Erwin Schwarzböck

Vienna, Austria-Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men	Fritz Kachler	Harald Rooth	Walter Jakobsson
Women*	Lili Kronberger	Zsófia Méray-Horváth	Ludovika Eilers
Pairs*	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	(no other competitors)	(no other competitors)
Junior Men	Artur Vieregg	Rudolf Kutzer	Erwin Schwarzböck

1912

Manchester, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Fritz Kachler	Werner Rittberger	Andor Szende
Pairs*	Phyllis (Squire) and James Henry Johnson	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	Alexia (Schøien) and Yngvar Bryn
Junior	Basil Williams	Walter Hennig	Herbert James Clarke

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Zsófia Méray-Horváth	Dorothy Greenhough Smith	Phyllis (Squire) Johnson
Junior Men	Basil Williams	Francis Pigueron	Ernst Seitz
Waltzing	Daphne Wrinch and Herr H. Jensen	Lady Cadogan and Arthur Cumming	Gwendolyn Lycett and Louis Magnus

1913

Vienna, Austria-Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Fritz Kachler	Willy Böckl	Andor Szende
Junior Men	Alfred Berger	Karl Linsenmeyer	Ferdinand Weber

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men (Nordiska Spelens Prize)	Gösta Sandahl	Harald Rooth	Arthur Cumming
Women*	Zsófia Méray-Horváth	Phyllis (Squire) Johnson	Svea Norén
Pairs*	Helene Engelmann and Karl Mejstrik	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Leo Horwitz
Women (International Prize)	Eva Lindahl	Astrid Nordsveen	Margit Johansen

1914

Helsinki, Finland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gösta Sandahl	Fritz Kachler	Willy Böckl
Women	Anna-Lisa Allardt	Magda Mauroy	(no other competitors)

St. Moritz, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Zsófia Méray-Horváth	Angela Hanka	Phyllis (Squire) Johnson
Pairs*	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	Helene Engelmann and Karl Mejstrik	Christine (Engelmann) von Szabo and Leo Horwitz
Junior Men	Paul Jarosz	Kenneth Macdonald Beaumont	Herbert James Clarke

1922

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gillis Grafström	Fritz Kachler	Willy Böckl
Women*	Herma Szabo	Svea Norén	Margot Moe
Pairs	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	Helfrid and Agard Palm	(no other competitors)

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Pairs*	Helene Engelmann and Alfred Berger	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	Margarethe and Paul Metzner

1923

Vienna, Austria

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Fritz Kachler	Willy Böckl	Gösta Sandahl
Women*	Herma Szabo	Gisela Reichmann	Svea Norén
Pairs	Margrete Weise and Georg Velisch	Lisl Meisner and Oscar Hoppe	Elle and Öskar May
Men (Senior, not contesting World title)	Jack Ferguson Page	Emil von Bertanlaffy	Karl Kronfuss
Women (Senior, not contesting World title)	Käthe Wulff	Hildegard Thiel	Mizzi Schilling

Oslo, Norway

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men (European Championships)	Willy Böckl	Martin Stixrud	Gunnar Jakobsson
Women	Herma Szabo	Margot Moe	Ingrid Guldbransen
Pairs*	Ludovika (Eilers) and Walter Jakobsson	Alexia and Yngvar Bryn	Elna Henrikson and Kaj af Ekström

1924

Manchester, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gillis Grafström	Willy Böckl	Ernst Oppacher
Women	Ethel Muckelt	Cecil Smith	Kathleen Shaw
Pairs*	Helene Engelmann and Alfred Berger	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page	Elna Henrikson and Kaj af Ekström
Waltz	Miss Lancashire and Henry C. Lowther	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page	Kathleen Lovett and Albert Proctor Burman
Tenstep	Miss Lancashire and Henry C. Lowther	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page	Miss Aspinall and Mr. Burwell

Oslo, Norway

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men	Zakken Johansen Jr.	Jens Larsen	(no other competitors)
Women*	Herma Szabo	Ellen Brockhöft	Beatrix Loughran
Pairs	Randi Bakke and Christen Christensen	Margit and Bjarne Engebretsen	Fru Quinland and Herr Zürig

1925

Vienna, Austria

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Willy Böckl	Fritz Kachler	Otto Preißecker
Women (Internationales Damen-Kunstlaufen um den Gurschnerpreis)	Melitta Brunner	Ilse Hornung	Hildegard Thiel
Pairs*	Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede	Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser
Men (Internationales Herren-Kunstlaufen um den Preis des Wiener Eislauf-Vereines)	Ernst Oppacher	Hugo Distler	Paul Jarosz

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women	Herma Szabo	Ellen Brockhöft	Elisabeth Böckel

1926

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Willy Böckl	Otto Preißecker	Jack Ferguson Page
Women	Ellen Brockhöft	Elisabeth Böckel	Hildegard Thiel
Pairs*	Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser	Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede
Men (Senioren Kunstlaufen)	Walter Jakobsson	Paul Jarosz	Herbert Haertel
Pairs (Senioren Paarlaufen)	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page	Else Flebbe and Bruno Grauel	Else and Oscar Hoppe
Valsing (“Berliner Zeitung Preis”)	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page	Else Flebbe and Bruno Grauel	Olga Schiffelers and Robert van Zeebroeck

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women	Herma Szabo	Sonja Henie	Kathleen Shaw

1927

Davos, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Willy Böckl	Otto Preißecker	Karl Schäfer
Pairs	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser	Ilse Kishauer and Ernst Gaste	(no other competitors)

Oslo, Norway

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men	Walter Müller	Artur Vieregg	O.R. Kolderup
Women*	Sonja Henie	Herma Szabo	Karen Simensen

Vienna, Austria

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men (European Championships)	Willy Böckl	Hugo Distler	Karl Schäfer
Women	Herma Szabo	Fritzi Burger	Melitta Brunner
Pairs*	Herma Szabo and Ludwig Wrede	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser	Liesl and Oscar Hoppe
Men (international senior)	Herbert Haertel	(no other competitors)	(no other competitors)
Waltzing	Minna Klingel and Willy Petter	(no other competitors)	(no other competitors)

1928

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Willy Böckl	Karl Schäfer	Hugo Distler
Women	Fritzi Burger	Melitta Brunner	Ellen Brockhöft
Pairs	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser	Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede	Ilse Kishauer and Ernst Gaste
Men	Markus Nikkanen	Ernst Baier	Hugo Danzig
Junior Men	Ernst Baier	William Nagle	Rudolf Praznowski
Junior Women	Lilly Weiller	Grete Lainer	Annemarie Deitze
Tanz-Wettbewerb (Dance Competition)	Frieda Staffa and Eugen Richter	Trude Wintersteiner and Walter Malek	Frau and Herr Strumling

London, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Sonja Henie	Maribel Vinson	Fritzi Burger
Pairs*	Andrée Joly and Pierre Brunet	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser	Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede
Waltzing	Kathleen Lovett and Jack Ferguson Page	Maribel Vinson and Roger Turner	Dorothy Greenhough Smith and Conrad Rivett

1929

London, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Gillis Grafström	Karl Schäfer	Ludwig Wrede
Women	Fritzi Burger	Melitta Brunner	Kathleen Shaw
Pairs	Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede	Ilse Kishauer and Ernst Gaste	Ethel Muckelt and Jack Ferguson Page

Budapest, Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Sonja Henie	Fritzi Burger	Melitta Brunner
Pairs*	Lilly Scholz and Otto Kaiser	Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede	Olga Orgonista and Sándor Szalay

1930

New York City, United States

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Roger Turner	Georges Gautschi
Women*	Sonja Henie	Cecil Smith	Maribel Vinson
Pairs*	Andrée (Joly) and Pierre Brunet	Melitta Brunner and Ludwig Wrede	Beatrix Loughran and Sherwin Badger

1931

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Roger Turner	Ernst Baier
Women*	Sonja Henie	Hilde Holovsky	Fritzi Burger
Pairs*	Emília Rotter and László Szollás	Olga Orgonista and Sándor Szalay	Idi Papez and Karl Zwack

1932

Montreal, Canada

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Montgomery 'Bud' Wilson	Ernst Baier
Women*	Sonja Henie	Fritzi Burger	Constance (Wilson) Samuel
Pairs*	Andrée (Joly) and Pierre Brunet	Emília Rotter and László Szollás	Beatrix Loughran and Sherwin Badger

1933

Zürich, Switzerland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Ernst Baier	Markus Nikkanen
Women	Hilde Holovsky	Grete Lainer	Olly Holzmann
Pairs	Idi Papez and Karl Zwack	Hansi Kast and Otto Kaiser	Mr. and Mrs. Anderson

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Sonja Henie	Vivi-Anne Hultén	Hilde Holovsky
Pairs*	Emília Rotter and László Szollás	Idi Papez and Karl Zwack	Randi Bakke and Christen Christensen

1934

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Ernst Baier	Erich Erdös
Women	Megan Taylor	Vivi-Anne Hultén	Maribel Vinson
Pairs	Emília Rotter and László Szollás	Idi Papez and Karl Zwack	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier

Oslo, Norway

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Sonja Henie	Megan Taylor	Liselotte Landbeck

Helsinki, Finland

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men	Markus Nikkanen	Dénes Pataky	Erich Erdös
Pairs*	Emília Rotter and László Szollás	Idi Papez and Karl Zwack	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier

1935

Budapest, Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Jack Dunn	Dénes Pataky
Pairs*	Emília Rotter and László Szollás	Ilse and Erich Pausin	Lucy Gallo and Rezső Dillinger
Junior Men	Herbert Alward	Béla Barcza	Kristóf Kállay
Junior Women	Hedy Stenuf	Éva von Botond	Gina von Botond

Vienna, Austria

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Sonja Henie	Cecilia Colledge	Vivi-Anne Hultén

1936

Paris, France

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Karl Schäfer	Henry Graham Sharp	Felix Kaspar
Women*	Sonja Henie	Megan Taylor	Vivi-Anne Hultén
Pairs*	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier	Ilse and Erich Pausin	Violet (Supple) and Leslie Cliff

1937

Vienna, Austria

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Felix Kaspar	Henry Graham Sharp	Elemér Terták
Women	Emmy Puzinger	Hanne Niernberger	Martha Maria Mayerhans

London, England

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Cecilia Colledge	Megan Taylor	Vivi-Anne Hultén
Pairs*	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier	Ilse and Erich Pausin	Violet (Supple) and Leslie Cliff

1938

Berlin, Germany

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Felix Kaspar	Henry Graham Sharp	Herbert Alward
Pairs*	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier	Ilse and Erich Pausin	Inge Koch and Günther Noack
Junior Women	Herta Wächtler	Anita Wageler	Erna Scheibert

Stockholm, Sweden

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Megan Taylor	Cecilia Colledge	Hedy Stenuf

1939

Budapest, Hungary

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Men*	Henry Graham Sharp	Freddie Tomlins	Horst Faber
Women (Jubilee Prize)	Daphne Walker	Hanne Niernberger	Éva von Botond
Pairs*	Maxi Herber and Ernst Baier	Ilse and Erich Pausin	Inge Koch and Günther Noack

Prague, Czechoslovakia

Category	Winner	2nd	3rd
Women*	Megan Taylor	Hedy Stenuf	Daphne Walker

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