By Alicia Kelso

For the past 20 years, Olympic champion and figure skating icon Scott Hamilton has thrilled audiences with his brainchild, the Smucker’s Stars on Ice Tour. As part of its 21^st season as America’s premier figure skating tour, Stars on Ice will visit Value City Arena on Feb. 3 for a 7:30 p.m. performance.

The event will include two-time World Bronze Medalist and three-time U.S. National Men’s Champion Michael Weiss, celebrating his first year with the tour.

Weiss is the first American man to land a quadruple toe loop in competition and the first American to land a quadruple toe loop in a short program. He is also one of the first skaters to have earned the U.S. and World Junior Champion and U.S. Senior Champion titles.

The former Olympian and Washington D.C. native began skating in 1985, when he was just 9 years old. His resume is long and impressive, and includes his signature trick – The Tornado, a back flip with full twist – which he first landed at the Hallmark Skater’s Challenge in 2003 – in Columbus. He was the first person in the world to land such a jump.

Weiss is looking forward to returning to the Buckeye State, and took a break from practicing for the tour in Lake Placid, N.Y. (where the tour is kicking off), to talk with CityScene about competing, performing, retiring and his life on ice.

CS: This is your first year on the tour, what are you looking forward to most?

Michael Weiss (MW): I just finished my competitive career and was figuring out what to do next. I guest starred as a skater a couple of years ago on a tour and liked it a lot. This is the first time I’ll be on for the entire tour. It’s just a great transition from competitive to show skating, a great way to keep skating with less pressure.

CS: How is the pressure different between competing and performing?

MW: Well, with show skating, you’re basically having to entertain, versus competing where you have to meet all of the criteria judges are looking for, so there’s pressure with both, but it is certainly different. With the tour, I can concentrate more on entertaining the crowd, and having a lot more freedom, with the music, doing things that aren’t necessarily “legal” in competition and enjoying myself. With competing, I have to worry about meeting as many technical elements as possible, and being critiqued down to every little toe point.

CS: You’re used to competing on your own, in a very individual sport. Has it been a big adjustment for you to work with a group?

MW: We are doing a lot of rehearsals, with group numbers and with costuming and everything the show is about. It is a great cast of skaters, and a very detail-oriented show. Usually skating is very individual and being expected to do group numbers is a huge change for me. I’m used to having my skating be all on my shoulders, but this is much more team-oriented. I have to learn very quickly to keep up with the group numbers – especially since I had no experience with pairs or anything. I’m not used to that type of responsibility. But we’re all in the same place in our lives, and we all get along very well, so it’s been a lot of fun.

CS: Is it more work because of the adjustment?

MW: It’s different. I have solo numbers during the tour, and that’s been the same type of skating that I’ve been used to. But then we’ve also got these group numbers with a smaller cast, so I’m on the ice much more frequently. There are quick changes where I have to turn around right away and put a different outfit on and re-adjust, and that’s been a lot of work, but it’s what makes the show as great as it is.

CS: You’re 30, what made you decide to retire from competition?

MW: I retired after the national championships last season because I had a successful career. I was happy with all of the stuff I had done, especially going to two Olympics. I just decided it was time to move on and take the next step and show skating became my focus.

CS: You’ve been doing this for awhile, but when did you really know you were a good skater?

MW: When I was 9, I started skating, and I just picked things up pretty quickly. By the time I was 11, I was competing in national championships. There are three different levels of national championships. I started at the lowest level, then moved up to the second highest level when I was 15, and the senior level when I was 17. That is when I realized I could probably make a career out of it. When I was at my first international competition, I got the silver medal and I could finally really gauge myself among the best skaters in the world. I knew that if I really worked hard, I could continue on this pace, that the Olympics were not out of the question. So I went back and worked really hard and everything followed on a sort of natural progression.

CS: When you broke onto the international scene, how did you handle all of that success?

MS: Well, when you first get started, you never know where it’s going to take you. And I was fortunate enough and worked hard enough that it took me to being a three-time national champion and two-time Olympian, ranked second in the world. That’s what people dream of. It still doesn’t quite sink in fully, but I just took it one step at a time and now that it’s all over I can look back and say “Wow, I worked really hard.” Nothing came easy, but I certainly enjoyed my career.

CS: How has being at that level of competition affected who you are now?

MW: I got so much out of my career. People at every level learn so much from sports and athletics – from discipline and focus and how to set goals and persevere through hard times. You can use those lessons in any area of your life. I always want to do my best, no matter what I’m doing.

MW: I still have that competitive nature, even when I’m just performing. I definitely still get nervous when I go out there, but there were so many high stress moments in my career. I loved it when I did it, but I’m glad it’s over and I’ve moved on to the next phase.

CS: Talk about The Tornado, your signature move. How did you even think to begin practicing something like that?

MW: It is crazy. But I come from a family where my dad was an Olympic gymnast, so I grew up flipping and twisting. My dad taught Scott Hamilton how to do his back flip on ice. So when I was 11 or 12, I started doing regular back flips on ice. The Tornado is a back flip with a full twist, which I did a lot on the trampoline as a kid. My friends came over and we got on the trampoline and I did the back flip/full twist and they told me I had to do it on ice, that it was “the coolest thing ever.” A few months went by, I would do it on the trampoline, then practice it on the ice with a harness, then practice it with hand spotting, then with a helmet and shoulder pads. The first one I did without any spotting or protection was terrifying. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done.

MW: I will do it in select cities. I’m not sure where yet. I know the more times I do it, the better the chances are of me getting really hurt, so I’m going to be somewhat conservative with it.

CS: You said your dad taught Scott Hamilton the famous back flip that brought a new element of gymnastics into figure skating. Was Scott Hamilton a big influence to you?

MW: He inspired every skater when I was growing up. When I watched him perform, it was amazing. He would get standing ovations, and I really remember the energy in the building whenever he would skate. Seeing that is when I decided that’s what I wanted to do someday. I wanted that reaction. It’s weird. He commentated during my performances and he has known me since I was 7 or 8 years old, and basically watched me grow up. It came full circle. It’s pretty wild.

CS: Do you have any other influences?

MW: I was married in 1997, and I have two kids, and my parents and my family were always there when I was doing this, so my family, to me, is what has always been important. You can come off the ice and skate great and get a standing ovation and everybody loves you. But sometimes you’re out there, and you fall five times, and nobody wants to talk to you and everything’s a disaster. But your wife and your kids and your parents still love you. That’s support. And that’s why you keep doing it.

CS: What was your best professional moment?

MW: I have a number of them for a number of reasons, but the one that I remember most often is in 2000 in Cleveland for the National Championships. The year before I was full of injuries and had been down for awhile. I was up against (Timothy) Goebel, who went out and landed three quads, and it was the first time that had been done. I skated last and it was my first 6.0 – my first perfect program – and I ended up winning. I couldn’t believe it.

CS: It seems like Ohio brings you luck?

MW: The first time I did The Tornado was in 2003 in Columbus, so perhaps!

MW: My daughter skated for about a year, then just sort of lost interest. My son plays hockey. I know I wouldn’t want them out there practicing The Tornado even with harnesses.

CS: How is that for irony? You probably know how your dad felt now?

MW: Yeah, I don’t know how he did it, but I’m glad he did.

MW: Well, I’ll probably do this for another five or so years, and explore the creative side of skating. Maybe after that I’ll become a stay-at-home dad. I have the freedom to do new and innovative things, and I’m really looking forward to it.

 

The Smucker’s Stars on Ice tour will visit the Value City Arena on Feb. 3 for a 7:30 p.m. performance. The all-new production titled “Double Exposure: The Many Lives of Figure Skaters” will be co-headlined by Weiss, 2002 Olympic Pair Champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier; two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Ekaterina Gordeeva; 2002 Olympic Men’s Champion and four-time World Champion Alexei Yagudin; World Champion and six-time U.S. National Champion Todd Eldredge; World Champion and two-time Japanese National Ladies Champion Yuka Sato; World Bronze medalists and three-time U.S. National Pair Champions Kyoko Ina & JohnZimmerman;eight-time British National Men’s Champion Steven Cousins; two-time U.S. National Pair Champion Jason Dungjen; and six-time Canadian National Ladies Champion Jennifer Robinson.

The Columbus performance will also feature a guest appearance by Olympic Gold Medalist Ilia Kulik.

For ticket information, visit www.ticketmaster.com.