The Best World Figure Skaters Spin in Zagreb Again

The best world figure skaters will again delight audiences in Zagreb this November. The Golden Spin continues this year.

One of the oldest figure skating events, not only in Croatia but in the world, will again delight the citizens of Zagreb. Another Golden Spin will take place between 9 and 11 November at the Competition Arena of the Dom Sportova Sports Hall.
According to the program, on the first day of the Golden Spin competition, even before the opening ceremony which will take place in the evening hours, the first event to entertain the ice skating enthusiasts will be the women’s short program and couples’ original dance program. The second day of the competition, Saturday, is reserved for the men’s short program, the couples’ free dance program and the women’s free program. On Sunday, the competition will close with the men’s free program. The traditional winners' award ceremony is scheduled for 18.00.

So far, Zagreb has seen representatives from more than 50 countries from all five continents competing at the Golden Spin, among them a number of famous names such as Anett Potzsch, Katarine Witt, Dagmar Lurz, Christine Kristofich – Binder, Agnes Gosselin, Jeri Campbell, Kelly Szmurlo, Laszlo Vajda, Sergej Volkov, František Pehchar, Jan Hofmann, Jean Christophe Simonda, Rudi Cerne, Heiko Fischer, Scott Hamilton, Viktor Petrenko, and others.

The story of Zagreb's Golden Spin started at the open-air skating rink at Šalata way back in 1967 as a friendly encounter between Zagreb and Sofia. The first competition involved male and female figure skaters and couples, whereas the dance routines were not introduced until 1981. Interestingly enough, the Golden Spin was included into the calendar of the International Skating Union as early as 1972, at the moment when it moved to the indoor skating rink at the Sports Hall, which has been its venue ever since. That year, Zagreb became part of International Skating Union history because of the revolutionary technique used for the first time by the judges. The marks, up to then hidden from the audiences on little pieces of paper as a well kept secret, were shown on a display! This was also the dress rehearsal for the European Skating Championship that Zagreb hosted for the first time in 1974. The Golden Spin was also the last official competition in the world at which the compulsory program, popularly known as the school-program, was organized (1990), before another revolutionary development – the ISU decision to abolish that aspect of competitive figure skating. In 2001, the International Union entrusted the Golden Spin with holding additional qualifications for the 2002 Olympic Games.