...and it is snowing again...just stopped sleeting thank goodness...I don't like the ice and I am not going out when there is ice because I don't want to fall...

Hope all is doing well..my son-in-laws parents live just outside of Washington DC and they have about 30" of snow right now...Haven't talked to my daughter in Reston (that is near Eastcoast) to see what they have...

 2016 U.S. FIGURE SKATING HALL OF FAME INDUCTEES

Gustave F. Lussi (not pictured)
Sasha Cohen
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto
Evan Lysacek (not pictured)





 
LYSACEK, COHEN, BELBIN & AGOSTO, LUSSI ELECTED TO U.S. FIGURE SKATING HALL OF FAME

(12/15/15) - Olympic champion Evan Lysacek leads a U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame class loaded with Olympic medalists. Joining him in the Class of 2016 are 2006 Olympic silver medalists Sasha Cohen and ice dancers Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto. Gustave F. Lussi, who coached four U.S. Olympic champions, enters the hall posthumously.

Their inductions will be held Jan. 22 at the 2016 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

"The U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame Class of 2016 is among the most memorable in recent history," said Larry Mondschein, the hall's nominating committee chair. "Evan Lysacek demonstrated an exceptional level of skill, effortless movements and pure determination. Sasha Cohen expressed sheer artistry, beauty and movement in her skating. Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto epitomized extraordinary elegance, musicality and unison. And Gustave Lussi transformed figure skating like no other coach in the history of the sport."

Lysacek captured the gold medal at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver to become the first American men's champion since Brian Boitano (1988). Lysacek won 11 major titles, including a World championship (2009), two U.S. championships (2007, '08), the Grand Prix Final (2009), and two Four Continents Championships (2005, '07), making him the most-decorated American male skater of the past two decades. He also placed fourth at the 2006 Olympics in Torino, Italy. Upon his induction, Lysacek will join his coach, Frank Carroll, and choreographer, Lori Nichol, in the U.S. Hall of Fame.

Cohen, known for her spirals and strong character portrayals on the ice, earned the silver medal at the 2006 Olympics. She is a three-time World medalist (silver 2004, '05; bronze '06), 2002 Grand Prix Final champion and 2006 U.S. champion. Entering the 2015-16 season, Cohen still held top-five scores competed by ladies in the U.S. in the short program (69.63, 2010 U.S. Championships) and free skate (134.03, 2006 U.S. Championships). She is the last American lady to earn an Olympic medal.

Belbin and Agosto helped pave the way for the current success of American ice dancers, raising technical standards while becoming fixtures on international podiums. They earned the silver medal at the 2006 Olympics, are four-time World medalists (silver 2004, '09; bronze 2006, '07), three-time Grand Prix Final medalists and the winners of five-consecutive U.S. titles. From 2005 until the 2010 Olympics, the team of Belbin and Agosto medaled at 26 of 27 events.

Lussi's contribution to the sport is best exemplified by his most noted student, Dick Button. The only U.S. figure skater to win two Olympic championships (1948, '52), Button was Lussi's student his entire amateur career. In his seven senior seasons, Button won two Olympic gold medals, five World titles, three North American crowns and the European Championships. Together, Lussi and Button transformed the sport by accentuating athleticism and developing elements such as the double Axel, the flying camel and the first triple jump (the triple loop, performed at the 1952 Olympics). Lussi went on to coach U.S. Olympic champions Hayes Jenkins, David Jenkins and Dorothy Hamill at various stages of their careers.

For reception information, CLICK HERE.

The U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame was established in 1976 to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the sport of figure skating in the United States.

- U.S. Figure Skating -
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of more than 690 member clubs, collegiate clubs, school-affiliated clubs and more than 950 registered Basic Skills skating schools representing more than 178,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States�including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.

The tour still has a lot of dates left....


Jan 23: Merrillville, IN (Star Plaza Theater)

Jan 24: Cincinnati, OH (Taft Theater)

Jan 26: Durham, NC (Durham Performing Arts Center)

Jan 27: Jacksonville, FL (Moran Theater)

Jan 28: Orlando, FL (Walt Disney Theater)

Jan 29: Sarasota, FL (Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall)

Jan 30: Clearwater, FL (Ruth Eckerd Hall) **MATINEE ADDED**

Feb 1: West Palm Beach, FL (Kravis Center)

Feb 4: Austin, TX (Bass Concert Hall)

Feb 5: Thackerville, OK (Winstar Casino)

Feb 6: San Antonio, TX (Majestic Theater)

Feb 8: San Diego, CA (Balboa Theater)

Feb 9: San Jose, CA (San Jose Center)

Feb 10: Stockton, CA (Bob Hope Theater)

Feb 12: Reno, NV (Grand Theater at Grand Sierra Resort)

Feb 13: Riverside, CA (Fox Performing Arts Center) ) **MATINEE ADDED**

Feb 14: Phoenix, AZ (Comerica Theater) ) **MATINEE ADDED**

CEK40 wrote:

...and it is snowing again...just stopped sleeting thank goodness...I don't like the ice and I am not going out when there is ice because I don't want to fall...

Hope all is doing well..my son-in-laws parents live just outside of Washington DC and they have about 30" of snow right now...Haven't talked to my daughter in Reston (that is near Eastcoast) to see what they have...

Hi CEK.  I am so with you about ice and sleet and not wanting to fall.   Snow itself I love.  I well remember that I was also terrified when I had to learn to drive a car on ice with automatic shift after driving only stick shift for all my life until the summer of 1989.  

My daughter and her family live right outside of DC.  Her girls were on their sleds by late in the afternoon yesterday.
I do not think that we got 30 in. of snow in this short of a time here in Illinois, not in 2014 when we had lots and lots of snow. 

 

april6263 wrote:

gabriele wrote:

KeepOnSinging wrote:

Gabriele, wow, I did not know this.  Of course I know very little about autism compared to you and to the mom of the 23 year old autistic son whom I have often hung out with when his mom is teaching.  He is able to play basketball.  And about two months ago he moved into home for adults who are autistic or have downs syndrome.  He is doing exceptionally well, much better than his mom had expected.   You and my friend have my undying admiration and respect for keeping your boys with you and giving them so much love and attention physically and emotionally.  Here's to finding activities that will help him strengthen his bones and joints. 
 

 Thanks KOS!  Sorry, I didn't get a chance earlier to catch up properly.  I feel so sorry for the parents who have gone through the journey many years ago.  First we had the 'refrigerator mum' idea, then the money was on the genetic cause with little positive practical follow on for the people who live with autism.  Only now and with the epidemic increase (no such thing as a 'genetic' epidemic), there is funding into the medical causes of autism.  I watched a series of interviews/lectures through the autismintensive.com on the weekend.  Positive is that we now have around half a dozen autism phenotypes that respond to biomedical treatment.  Very exciting.  We have done biomedical interventions since 2008, as soon as we could get in with a practitioner.  I went for it based on a gut feeling, as I could see he was physically unwell oftentimes, thinking he won't be the best he can be without feeling well.    Our prognosis then was severe autism, likely to remain non-verbal.  My little guy talks now, still very delayed, but we probably wouldn't be where we are without biomedical treatment.  Our next goal is to transfer him from special education to mainstream.     

If you don't mind me asking what is the "refrigerator mom" idea?????

  It was an early explanation of what causes autism and prevailed for quite a while.  The child's autism is caused by cold, unloving mothers.  Too add insult to injury, if you want.  It came out of one of the universities, Chicago, I believe and was the paradigm within the medical community.  Along came Bernie Rimland, a MD who had a son with autism.  He debunked the idea and became the founder of the Autism Research Institute.  Even since, it was often a parent-professional to push medical practice forward.