Tara/USFS Hall of Fame Induction

[kwanette]

Tara will be inducted into the USFS Hall of Fame at Nats in St. Louis..There is an article on FSU..

Congrats to Tara..Well-deserved..

[lasaslav]

Wow. Well, good for her! I know this is a silly question, but has Michelle ever been inducted, or do you have to have retired for a certain number of years before you can be inducted?

[Fumbilicious]

That's cool, congrats to Tara!

[Krista]

I'd think you have to be retired before you can be inducted. But I don't know for sure.

Congrats to Tara :clap

[kwanette]

las, I believe that you have to be retired..I don't know if there is a time limit involved, ie, 5 years..The info may be on the USFSA site..

[CaraMora]

Congrat to Tara this is a well earned honor.
To answer your question, a skater has to not compete in eligible competitions for 5 years before they are eligible for introduction. I'm not sure if they have to declare that they have officially retired or not.

[iluvtodd]

I'm not 100% per cent sure about this, either, but I thought that a skater had to be retired from Olympic eligible skating for a minimum of five years. When we attended 1998 Nationals in Philly, Kristi was an inductee.

[iloveskating]

When MK retires, they will rename it the Michelle Kwan Figure Skating Hall of Fame!
:SJ

[betty]

Congratulations to Tara. It is certainly well deserved.

[kwanluver]

Congrats to Tara...being inducted into a Hall of any kind is a tremendous honor.

However, I wonder how she feels....she has made numerous comments that she is distancing herself from the skating world because she doesn't want that to interfere with her acting.

It would be great to see her at Nationals though. Her first public amatuer skating competition since she saw the Olympics in Salt Lake in 2002.

[NeverGivUp]

I wonder if Tara will even show up. She said that she basically wants to move on past her life in figure skating. I have a feeling that she will not be staying for the womens competition. She acts as though she still has a problem hearing Michelle Kwan's name. Therefore, she will have a more difficult time seeing her old rival.

[GoldenMichelle]

Congrats to Tara. She certainly deserves her spot. Has anyone here ever been to the Hall of fame? Its in Co. Springs right?

[brenlynn]

i would imagine tara will be there, and if she doesn't... i will be shocked. sure she doesn't really want to be associated with skating anymore, but this is a huge honor and she should show up if it means anything at all to her.

congrats to tara, she totally deserves this. :clap

[attyfan]

When Nancy Kerrigan got inducted, she also awarded the medals at the ladies event. Was that a special situation, or, do the inductees always get to award the medals? (and why do I think it would be so funny for Tara to award the gold to Michelle?)

Seriously -- Congratulations to Tara; this is well deserved.

[bardtoob]

. . . this is a cat fight waiting to happen.

Can you imagine if Tara "felt" upstaged after her induction because Michelle won her 10th National Title?


------------------------------------------------

I am happy for Tara. You can't deny her accomplishments . . . she skated very well to earn all her titles.

[Katty52]

When Nancy Kerrigan got inducted, she also awarded the medals at the ladies event. Was that a special situation, or, do the inductees always get to award the medals? (and why do I think it would be so funny for Tara to award the gold to Michelle?)

Seriously -- Congratulations to Tara; this is well deserved.


Attyfan I think that would be funny also. Cannot wait to see if Tara does get to award the medals.

On another note Congratulation to Tara.

Oh yeah here are my guys in honor of MK for the SG's
:bow :bow :bow :bow

[Louise1991]

It will be interesting to see what Tara has to say about this in her future "Tell-All Book" about figure skating that she hinted at writing a while back. I mean, we all know how much she respects the sport, how lucky she feels to have been a part of it, and of course, the high regard in which she holds her fellow skaters.

[Arch]

Why is Tara being inducted into the Hall of Fame? Has there been any other significant accomplishment aside from her OGM?

[IceSkate98]

Congratulations to Tara for a well deserved honor. :clap

[kwantasy]

Congratulations to Tara, on a well-deserved honor. Youngest national, World and Olympic champion, and likely to remain so, given the age rule changes. Those were some memorable performances, and regardless of what people think about her certain skating shortcomings, I admire how she always went for it. And you could always see her passion for skating, even in the most high pressure situations.


When Nancy Kerrigan got inducted, she also awarded the medals at the ladies event. Was that a special situation, or, do the inductees always get to award the medals? (and why do I think it would be so funny for Tara to award the gold to Michelle?)

LOL, that reminds me how right after Michelle's best Tosca performance ever at those Nationals, they immediately cut to Peter C., who asked for Nancy's reactions to Michelle. That would be funny if that happened with Tara!

[Jarrett]

Why is Tara being inducted into the Hall of Fame? Has there been any other significant accomplishment aside from her OGM?
Besides winning almost every title worth anything? :troll First to land a triple loop/triple loop at Worlds/Olympics, first woman to have to two 3/3 combos/sequences at the Olympics?

Tara completely deserves to be in the hall of fame. Michelle will be in there too even without the OGM. It would be interesting if Tara got to present a medal to Michelle (it doesn't have to be gold!) I know I would be :clap

[iluvtodd]

Has anyone here ever been to the Hall of fame? Its in Co. Springs right?

Yes, it's in Colorado Springs. We were there in the summer of 2003 (during our vacation to Rocky Mountain National Park, Pike's Peak & Colorado Springs). We had a great time visitng the museum, and spent a good 2 &1/2 - 3 hours there. I remember that there was a huge picture of the US Olympic Team from 1998 in the main office there.

Congrats to Tara on this great honor! :clap :clap

[honey827]

Congrats to Tara.

[lavender]

Congrats Tara.

Nancy didn't win Worlds or the Olympics so I'm not surprise. Isn't this for anyone that has won Nationals?

This is not the big one that Kristi was inducted into so I don't think Tara will be in that one.

[diamondqueen]

Congrats Tara on your selection to USFS Hall of Fame:clap A well deserved honor.l

diamond:)

[redvispa]

Congrats to Tara...being inducted into a Hall of any kind is a tremendous honor.

However, I wonder how she feels....she has made numerous comments that she is distancing herself from the skating world because she doesn't want that to interfere with her acting.

It would be great to see her at Nationals though. Her first public amatuer skating competition since she saw the Olympics in Salt Lake in 2002.

I think I'd be surprised if she'd actually show up. Just because in the last couple of years, she has tried to distance herself from the sport. And for some reason, my initial reaction when I read this was that Tara will not be there, but her mom will be there to accept it for her. I don't know why .. but I have a feeling that's what's going to happen..... Do we have a clairvoyant smilee?

[DaveSato]

When Jenny retired, I felt going to St Louis would be un-eventfull because I feel Michelle and Sasha are a shoe-in for the Olympics. The third spot is the drama spot and with Jenny out, I didn't really care who got the 3rd spot. With Alissa's run at SA and SC, I tend to like her chances to get the 3rd spot. I also wouldn't mind seeing Katy or Kim getting that third spot.

NOW... with Tara getting inducted into the HOF, now that's one more reason to go to St Louis.

[Eeyora]

She may show up because it is an Olympic year.

[NeverGivUp]

Some responses to your posts.

Will Tara give out the medals? Yes, that will be interesting especially if Michelle won gold and her 10th National title. I can see Tara barely looking at Michelle when giving her the gold medal. However, I can see her hugging Sasha and the other medalist when giving them their medals. I can see Tara smiling a lot more if Michelle lost Nationals and finished second or third. I think that she would be more up to the task of
presenting medals then.

Will they cut to Tara about Michelle's performance or everyone's elses? I think that would really put Tara on the spot especially if Michelle skates another great program. Yet, I would not put it over Tara find a way of not mentioning Michelle's name, and still directing a "remark" towards her. I can imagine that Tara would say something like, "I didn't watch the competition, but I heard that everyone skated well. It's important to realize that anyone can still win the Olympics even if they didn't win here [referring to Michelle Kwan if she win nationals]. This was only a step in the procedure." However, if Michelle loses, I would expect something like this, "Sasha skated great. I think that this has been the best National performance since 1997 [the year that she won]. I think that she has really established herself as the best US lady. Many people have felt that way for years [referring to Michelle Kwan not being the best national lady]."

I'm not trying to be mean, but I think that I know Tara's personality well enough. For the doubters out there, I will say "I told you so," when and if it really does happen.

[DaveSato]

Never,
And if it doesn't, are you going to eat your words?

[bagelpuss]

Hmm, seems to me that this honor is quite appropriate. This is just where Tara belongs--in a museum. MEOW

[moxie]

Some responses to your posts.

[B][U]I can see Tara barely looking at Michelle when giving her the gold medal. However, I can see her hugging Sasha and the other medalist when giving them their medals. I can see Tara smiling a lot more if Michelle lost Nationals and finished second or third.

Sorry, but I have never seen any evidence that Tara would treat Michelle with less respect than she would other skaters. And certainly not in a highly public situation. Tara and Michelle were clearly not "bets buds," but they were always polite to one another.

[Krista]

I maybe could have seen some of that happening if she was still 15, but Tara has grown up and matured. She wouldn't be that way now.

[kwanluver]

I maybe could have seen some of that happening if she was still 15, but Tara has grown up and matured. She wouldn't be that way now.

How you seen any of Tara's diary entries yet?! She all but put down the lives of professional figure skaters not to mention how little she put into keeping up with the amatuer world after she turned pro.

Tara never showed in interest in amatuer when she turned pro. She attended SA in 1998 to watch just because it was in Detroit and she was still so "new" from her Olymic win. She didn't attend amatuer skating events like other past Olympic champions (especially the biggest one which is Nationals in the USA).

The other intersting thing is that Tara and her mom never missed an opportunity to bash the USFSA because they didn't "support" the Lipinski family like they did the Kwan family. Pat, herself, admitted that other organizations in other countrys (such as the ISU) supported the family and not the USFSA.

It's a great honor for Tara...one that she should be proud of and one that she should be in St. Louis to get her induction.

But...there is a part of me that is angered that she bashed the USFSA, along with her mother, had all but "run" from the sport when she got her medals and never took a glance back as far as amatuer skating went.

How do you except a medal, an induction, from someone that you so publicy dissed?!

[lavender]

How you seen any of Tara's diary entries yet?! She all but put down the lives of professional figure skaters not to mention how little she put into keeping up with the amatuer world after she turned pro.


I've never seen these entries. I might have to take a look. Why is she so angry with them.

[Krista]

well when its hard to skate and do the jumps to compete in eligible competition, you probably wouldn't want to look back at eligible skating much after you had retired from it.

(omg, im actually defending Tara :lol)

[EigthAv]

Congratulations to Lipinski! US Novice silver,US junior silver,US Senior bronze,gold and silver.I hope Tara does "show up" in St.Louis and does gush over Michelle. ........lol........if it happens will Never eat those words? It's not so bad.I've gotten fat off of eaten words. Steam them good and add a little pepper sauce.:>)

[graciesfriend]

Congratulations to Tara. I can't imagine she would be less than gracious to Michelle (or any other skater, for that matter). Why would she be; it would just reflect badly on her and why would she want that? It's one thing to throw a hissy fit in a journal but quite another in full view of the Nationals audience, most of whom will be looking forward to another love-fest for Michelle.

[VCW]

In all fairness Tara and her mother never bashed Michelle, they did have some words with the USFSA. Truthfully they were not the only ones who had problems with that organization -cough Todd Eldridge cough-. Tara's mother had a problem with they way Tara was treated in comparison to the way Michelle was treated. I don't think they blamed Michelle but they could have been more gracious about the whole thing. As for Tara not being favorable to the pros, well her pro career was non-existent. In fact her going pro pretty much destroyed her marketability and then she was not treated the way she expected to be treated by SOI. Her mother has since stated she should have stayed with COI, I agree. I think Tara is just the victim of bad advice and poor judgment. She should have stayed the heck away from Scott Hamilton, same thing with Sarah Hughes.

[lilahupa]

Whether sincere or not, I would bet that Tara will act very gracious while handing Michelle her Gold medal at Nats this year.;)

[bekalc]

I have no issue with Tara wanting to move on with her life. Tara lived and breathed skating for years. I always wondered if part of the problem was that she had a definite stage mom? Although I think she seemed to love it too.

She then was in a position where she had to retire do to injuries at a very young age. Perhaps Tara still has a few what ifs herself. She seems like a perfectionist who probably would not want to compete in a pro like competition unless she could win, and I don't blame her there. I have no issue with Tara wanting to pursue things other than skating and yes leaving skating behind. Especially if having to retire early was kind of hard on her. This doesn't mean though that ten years from now she might come to back to the sport as a judge/coach or whatever. But I Think pursuing other interests is healthy for Tara. Plus, I never got the idea that Tara isn't proud of her achievements. She did go to the Olympics, she did talk about how she is in a special club. She doesn't want to be 24/7 around skating and I think that's kind of healthy. It must be especially hard a bit for her since some of the top skaters in the world Irina (Kwan) were her competitors people she beat.

I don't know how anyone could say that Tara doesn't deserve the Hall of Fame. She was a national, World and Olympic champ. She won the grand prix too, and really I think Tara was only on the senior level scene for 3 years, that's a really impressive record. Tara isn't Sarah Hughes, who only won one major event (Skate Canada doesn't count) Tara won all the big things out there, and I really don't see how Kristi's resumee is that more impressive than Tara's. I'm just saying Tara deserves to be in there, she was definetly not a one hit wonder a la Sarah. (Although to be fair to Sarah, Sarah was consistent, and one of the top skaters in the word consistently, she just wasn't consistently number 1)

Let's give Tara credit where credit is due. She was a great competitor, and she upped the ante technically. She also skated her heart out at that Olympic games.. You have to give it to someone who delivers when the pressure is on.

[redvispa]

In all fairness Tara and her mother never bashed Michelle, they did have some words with the USFSA.

hmmm...that's not how I remember it -- I seem to remember Patty getting snarky and alluding to the fact that then 15 year old Michelle was supporting her parents -- who according to her, weren't working...

but whatever, alll in the past...... I for one, would love to see Tara at this year's nationals -- if only for the possibility of seeing her awarding Michelle her 9nth national title....

[betty]

Tara was a wonderful and dedicated skater. She does deserve the honor and I am sure, that if she is in St. Louis she will be very gracious. I for one, will be watching. It will be wonderful to see Tara again & I must say, I have missed her smiling face, from the sport.

[EigthAv]

I keep reading these posts about Lipinski presenting Kwan's next US Nats gold medal.I hope ya'll are correct,but how are you so sure? Is handing out the next ladies gold at big Nationals a tradition for new ladies' Hall of Famers? Have Sasha and Co already conceded the event? ...........if it is Tara,then I hope it's not Sasha.........lol....... watching Lipinski hand over the gold to Cohen would be just tooooooooo weird.

[Luv2Sk8]

I'm happy for Lipinski- a positive way to look back on her career. I can't imagine her being disrespectful towards any of the other skaters. I don't get the feeling she harbors any hatred towards the other skaters, perhaps just a desire to move on from the sport in general.

[lilahupa]

Not sure, Mike, just hopeful is all! I have no idea if Tara would actually hand out the medals or not, but it would be sweet to have Tara hand Michelle her 10th Gold Medal, but I don't know if I could stand watching her hand the Gold to Sasha....I'm not a good enough sport for that!

[NeverGivUp]

We'll wait and see. However, I will not hestitate to say, "I told you so."