SkateHistory.Ca

The Competitive Years

The training atmosphere at the Oakland Club was a very positive one, not only because friends got to skate and be together, but also because of the support they received from t Skating Outdoors he instructors at the club, in exchange for demonstrations from the members of this group in the basics of skating to their students. These skaters, already working at levels between the 6th and Gold tests, had to rely on help from one another, as the most highly qualified instructor had achieved a 3rd test level.

The Baxter and Galbraith brothers, and Neil Rose would meet on the ice, 30 minutes or so into the public session, after people had had a chance to practice their school figures, and work on whatever good ice that was left. There was no doubt that Skippy Baxter was the most advanced skater at the club at that time.

Sheldon recalls: "Skippy was a jumper from the beginning. He was the first guy we saw do a double anything. In 1939, he did triple Salchows and double Axels in Los Angeles" In that same year he was listed in Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" for his triple Salchow which he performed in exhibition along with the split Lutz he invented.

Attending the 1939 Ice Follies they met Gene Turner the Pacific Coast Senior champion and liked him immediately. He was very generous with his time and expertise. Gene an amateur, as well as professional show skaters were always happy to offer guidance and advice to younger amateur skaters. Gene's mother was a national judge and also very helpful to Sheldon and Murray. Gene was a fighter pilot during World War II.

In addition to the physica Eton Jacket & pin l preparation required leading up to competition, there was also the need to address the issue of costuming. National Championships were typically held in the dead of winter, late in February or March, and often in the more chilly areas of the northern U. S. This was challenging to the western skaters, who had a hard time adjusting to the much colder temperatures, both out -of-doors and in the rinks. Our skating friends from California often trained in ski pants tucked into their socks and draped somewhat over their skating boots, resembling knickers in a way, but lower.

When competing "back East" in the1939 US Novice class held in St. Paul Minnesota they wore Eton jackets and a cravat secured with a special pin resembling a figure eight crafted for them by a jeweler in San Francisco. They also wore heavy wool tights, used in stage performances, but useless against the temperatures they were being exposed to. Sheldon remembers trying to decide between cutting the foot out of the tights, and securing them by a strap under the arch of the boot, or leaving them as is, with the big seam at the back of them, which caused cramping in his feet. Never getting used to performing in their costumes was just another obstacle to be overcome in their rise in the competitive ranks.

The Oakland skating club continued to be their training ground on the weekends, but feeling put in a similarly exploited situation by the Sutro's Baths rink, their club, the The Galbraith Brothers Skate and Ski club made a move to San Francisco's Winterland, which boasted an enormous rink. Normal dimensions of the day were 180' long by 80' wide, and this rink was 220' long by 110' wide, considered to be excessive to say the least.

This move backfired somewhat, particularly evidenced by Sheldon's performance at the 1940 National U.S. Junior Championships hosted in Cleveland. Suffering from a cold, and used to the much larger ice surface where he had been training, he turned in a poor performance in the freestyle event. There were seats for spectators on one side of the rink, and skating on this much smaller ice surface, he crashed through the barrier, landing in someone's lap. He was defeated by Bobby Specht, who went on to become the National Champion with Murray finishing second and Sheldon third.