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Figure Skating Talks Up Its Tough Side

Canadian campaign aims to ice sport's sissy stereotype

By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff

Posted Feb 4, 2009 8:03 AM CST

(Newser) – Canada's figure skating authorities have launched a controversial campaign to convince people the sport is as manly as any other, the Globe & Mail reports. Skate Canada, concerned about dwindling interest in the sport, is trying to scrap figure skating's sissy stereotype and play up "the danger, speed, risk, and difficulty" of the pro skating world.

Critics say the campaign, which focuses on gritty tales from the skating circuit, smacks of homophobia. But many in the skating world say it's about time the sport's image got a makeover. "Skating is about power and strength,” said former Canadian champ Elvis Stojko, whose rugged style once irked the figure skating establishment. “It's so much more than dressing up as a frou-frou.”

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[Videos (1)]

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Elvis Stojko of Canada competes in the Men's Free Skate at the 2001 World Figure Skating Championship at General Motors Place in Vancouver, Canada. (Getty Images/Doug Pensinger)

Canada's Jessica Dube and Bryce Davison perform their pairs free skating routine on the second day of the World Figure Skating Championships in Goteborg, Sweden, Wednesday, March 19, 2008. (AP Photo/Francois Mori)

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Elvis Stojko of Canada skates in the 1997 Champions Series Final, Men's Free Skate. (TripleAxel1996)

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We wanted to get away from the idea that the sport is kind of fluffy and genteel. We haven't bragged enough.
- Skate Canada marketing director Debbi Wilkes

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Figure Skating Talks Up Its Tough Side