The Michigan Daily - Sports Monday - April 1, 1991 - Page 3 q&1418 9ol-'ewo4g ;ee Hamill I 1 After skating into Yost, the former champion talks about her longevity Dorothy Hamill captured the hearts of many when she took home the gold medal at the 1976 Winter Olympics as a teenager. Ten years later, Hamill was still one of the world's top figure skaters, after winning three straight Professional Figure Skating Championships. Now she headlines her own tour, which made a stop in Ann Arbor this weekend for a show at Yost Ice Arena. Daily Sports Writer Jeni burst talked with Hamill about her skating career, past and present. Daily: You have won so many awards and have accomplished so much during your career; is there one award, one moment, that you will always recall as the greatest? Hamill: Wow, that's a hard one. I guess I would have to say the Olympics is really the thing that everybody else remembers most. For me, I think the last few years I have been able to do some kind of fun projects, like putting The Nutcracker on ice in theaters. That's very challenging and a lot more re- warding for me because it's creative and it's fun to do; something that's not really sort of the norm for fig- ure skating. I guess that's one of the projects I have been most proud of. D: Did you ever believe you'd continue skating for so long? H: No. If you would have told me 15 years ago I'd still be skating, I would never have believed it. I guess the-reason I do it is because I really still enjoy it. D: Has there ever been a moment when you considered giving it up? H: There have been lots of those moments. But I think no matter what it is you do and no matter how much you love anything or doing anything, you always have those days. People just have those days when you think, 'Do I really want to do this?' But you know those times pass. That's the way life is; it's a series of ups and downs. But I think the love of it, of skating, is what keeps me going. D: With your new family and new projects, how long do you think J* you'll continue doing shows and performances like the one this weekend? H This kind of thing is fun for me. This is different from what I normally do. And this is great be- cause I can practice at home, or wherever I am, and just come in and do this - rather than having to spend months and months rehears- ing, which I have to do for my other projects. So this I could keep up for a while. But I think when my daugh- ter starts going to school, I'll cut down on the touring and the shows - cut down compared to what I'm doing now anyway. D: You wrote a book with your husband recently and did some other projects. Do you have anything else planned for the future? H: Well, for our new project we re putting together Cinderella that we'll tour in theaters. And I think that will be fun, a fun project, because it will be beautiful skating and also family entertainment. Not for little tiny children, but it will be skating that the parents can enjoy with a family story that children will enjoy. D: The World Figure Skating Championships just took place a lit- tle while ago, what is your assess- ment of the current amateurs? Who impresses you? H: They all impress me; they are really tremendous to see. It has changed so much since I competed. But I really like Kristi Yamaguchi. I like Jill Trenary a lot; I was sorry she was injured this year. And I also love Midori Ito. I don't think we've seen the last of her yet, either. Next year is going to be really exciting at the Olympics, with all of our Americans and hopefully Jill and Midori. It should be a really, really exciting competition. D: Do you plan to get your daughter, Alexandra, into skating? Do you see it as a part of her future? H: No, I don't think so. I chose skating when I was eight years old and I was passionate about it. I didn't want to do anything my mother did, so I don't expect she's going to want to do anything her mother does, either. She's pretty in- right thing? H: I always sort of wanted to do the right thing. The hard part was not having a private life. I'd be tour- ing with Ice Capades and couldn't see my friends - I was away on the road all the time. When I was in those towns I couldn't even go to the shopping center, I just had to sort of sit in my room. People were watching what you eat and watching how you blow your nose and it was uncomfortable; I was uncomfort- able with that. It's very flattering when people want to know a lot about you, but the only thing I'd ever done was ice skate. I'd get questions on women's issues and politics and, hey, ask me about a double axle and I can tell you, but I don't know anything about those things. It was quite an adjustment. People think if you're an Olympic Champion you must be of sympathy or empathy for the ath- letes that are caught. I'm very anti- drug. I was very lucky not to have any peer pressure like that. I guess there were a lot of kids that did drugs - I know there were a lot of kids that did drugs - when I was going to school. But no one ever pressured me. I never felt any pres- sure and I think sports kept me out of a lot of that. I was very deter- mined to do what I wanted to do and excel in something that was impor- tant to me and not just be one of the crowd. I have a hard time under- standing people who turn to drugs as an excuse. D: Very few athletes are vaulted into superstardom like you were and maintained it for so long. What do 'People think if you're an Olympic Champion you must be that great in everything. As much as I knew about skating, I knew that much less about everything else in life. I was so sheltered; all I'd done was skate and eat and train for years. It was a quick growing up i had to do' you think it is about you that caused that? H : I don't know. I think I'm very lucky to have a sport I could continue doing as a professional. Football players can go on playing for a few years, but you can't really take that on into your 30s and 40s. I happen to be in a sport that's female - one of the only female- dominated sports in this country - so I was lucky, there, by choice. There's amateur, which is competitive, Olympics and all that, but afterwards there's shows and entertainment. I happen to be in a re- ally nice sport that's kind to old amateur athletes, to old Olympic Champions. So I think maybe that's why, because I can still do it. Mary Lou Retton can't really go on even though they've tried with gymnas- tics shows. They really can't go on and do that for the rest of their young adult lives. I'm pretty lucky. D: Your life has been kind of a fairy tale to the public, but is there anything that you would want to change if you could go back? Is there anything you feel you've missed out on? H: Well, I don't think I would change anything because the mis- takes I've made have just been grow- ing up and you learn from those mistakes. I've had a couple of man- agers that I didn't really like, that I didn't really trust, that weren't very good for me. But I wouldn't change that because I learned from it. I think the only thing I really feel I missed out on was I never learned how to play tennis; I never picked up a racket until I was 30. I never had those opportunities as a kid, but then if I'd had those oppor- tunities I probably wouldn't be do- ing what I'm doing today either. I don't think I would have changed anything. Mike Gill Thoughts while eating Easter leftovers... While we all recover from the end of the hockey season, celebrate the rebirth of the basketball team, and wonder if it's possible that Anderson Hunt might transfer to Michigan, here's a question to ponder. The North Carolina-Kansas matchup was billed the teacher versus the pupil (Dean Smith vs. Roy Williams). If tonight, there was a consolation game be- tween the Tar Heels and UNLV, would it be called the teacher vs. the cheater? Just wondering. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE: Well, alright! Look at- what I got here. I received a letter from a hockey pep band member. He- - puts his return address on it (clue to all those suspicious: it's one of the' University Streets), yet does not reveal his name. From the handwriting, we'll judge this letter-writing soul is male. Two weeks ago in Band Corner, I gave the hockey band some kudos, in addition to faulting a few of their decisions. Here are excerpts from the letter received. Dear Mike, As a member of the hockey band, I (we) welcome criticisms of oar musical spewage. I know our music isn't always clear nor harmonious, but as many have told us, we're always loud. In the balance between loudness and musical quality, loudness may win over quality, especially given the less-than-receptive acoustics of the venerable Yost Ice Arena. The fans and team seem receptive to our antics. However, this weekend we did have a few problems which, as your article shows, was embarrass- ingly evident to all attending. I feel the necessity to explain our prob- lems merely to break the mindset of those who might think our lacklus- ter showing is typical. We died in period two Friday. Yes, as you wrote, it is so. Problems: We had to adjust to a guest con- ductor (Gary Lewis) who wasn't totally versed in the unusual nature of the hockey game performance. We also had to deal with the Cornell (band?). We ran into problems. We have been asked not to play during penalty breaks because that would drown out the announcement. The Cow Bell. Yes we did end up playing over the cow bell because he started up less than a second before we were to sound the first note of our song. It is virtually impossible to stop 80 people in less than a sec- ond when the air is already partway, through the" horn. We're sorry Mr. Cow Bell (where is this guy during the regular season - he could get the crowd going.) I agree completely about the saxophone debacle. While they do sound "real nice near," the problem is volume and carrying capacity - almost nil with the sax's in Yost's acoustical nightmare. Wouldn't it be nice to think basketball savings for not having to send the band to the NCAA tournament would. be applied to hockey? Seriously though, Mike, do you in your sports experience really expect this to happen in Michigan sports? Hockey has always been relegated to the list's bottom as far as $. I can't sign my name because I wouldn't want to promote "dissension in the ranks" - I might have an angry sax coming after me. Ooh! Scary! Sincerely, Michigan Hockey Pep Band Member Thanks for your letter. And before all you out there want to voice opposing opinions, hold the letters. I know a lot of you probably support the company line, and probably get brownie points for getting your name in the paper with a letter condemning me. But that's alright. Save the stamp. Whomever wrote this letter, I feel sorry for you. You were too harsh. I consider myself a fan of the band. The performances against Cornell were not "embarrassingly evident." So let me take the time to See GILL, Page 8 Former Olympic gold-medalist Dorothy Hamill brought her figure-skating talents to Yost Ice Arena last Saturday night. dependent. She'll probably take up something entirely different. She'll take up watersports or something. I would encourage her if she showed interest in it. It's hard though; I just know what one has to go through to be an Olympic champion and I really don't wish that on anybody. But if she has the drive and the temperament for it, then I think that's great. We'll see. D: You weren't that old when you won the gold medal. How did it feel to have all those kids imitate you? H : It was very flattering, I didn't understand it; I was 19. And you know, I still don't understand it, how it all happened. I just hap- pened to be in the right place at the right time. It was just a whole se- ries of events, I guess. When I look back at scrapbooks my mother put together, it still amazes me. I used to get letters from hairdressers say- ing, 'Please change your haircut, I'm so tired of cutting it.' It was great. I was very lucky to have all those nice things happen to me. D: Did being a role model putj pressure on you to always do the that great in everything. As much as I knew about skating, I knew that much less about everything else in life. I was so sheltered; all I'd done was skate and eat and train for years. It was a quick growing up I had to do. D: With drugs and everything else kids are faced with today, what do you think the responsibilities are for high-profile athletes? H: I think athletes have a huge responsibility to the youth of ath- letics, well, the youth in general. If you're in the public eye, it's very important that you behave properly, I think. I don't think people should try to live a lie. People that do live lies, that do drugs and say they don't do drugs and they promote charities that are anti-drug and in the mean- time they have cocaine and every- thing - I just don't believe in that. I have a hard time having any sort The Quality You Deserve at a Price You Can Afford E rEL 996-1500 Iest preparation 1100 South University JUST OPE-NED Drag out your history bOobS and you'll discover that John Allen and Elisha Rumsey were the two men, with somewhat tarnished histories, who founded Annarbour in 1824. 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