Sequins, Scandals & Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s

by Ryan Stevens

Sequins, Scandals and Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980s is an extraordinary history of a decade when figure skating was the talk of the town and its stars were household names.

This one-of-a-kind book expands far beyond iconic moments like Torvill and Dean's Bolero and The Battle of The Brians, exploring intriguing connections between figure skating and real-world events that shaped the decade, including The AIDS Pandemic, The Cold War and The Fall of The Berlin Wall.

Brimming with fascinating facts and eye-opening insights, the book chronologically highlights the competitions, shows and skaters that made figure skating everyone's favourite winter sport.

A must-have collector's edition for any knowledgeable fan of the sport who came of age in the 80s - or wishes they did.

Winner of Best Sports Book - 2024 Firebird Book Awards

Genres: Nonfiction, Figure Skating, Sports, History

284 pages, Hardcover

Published September 3, 2024

About the author

Award-winning author Ryan Stevens is a respected authority on figure skating history. For over a decade, his popular blog Skate Guard has attracted thousands of readers worldwide. Midwest Book Review describes his work as "informative, lively, and scholarly."

Ryan has contributed to Skating magazine and U.S. Figure Skating, and his expertise has been sought by museums and broadcasters, including CBC, NBC and ITV. He is the author of Jackson Haines: The Skating King and Barbara Ann Scott: Queen of the Ice.

Ryan lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. You can follow his blog Skate Guard on Facebook @SkateGuard and Instagram @SkateGuardBlog.

For more information about Ryan and his books, visit http://www.skateguardblog.com

Reviews

[Todd Bouchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I was given an ARC preview copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review of the book.]

I have been a figure skating fan for nearly forty years now, which puts my earliest memories of watching skating in the mid-80s. I have attended US National championships, world championships, and several grand prix events over the past thirty years.

When I received this book, I was very excited about learning the "behind the scenes" of the skating world during this very popular era.

Each chapter sets the scene for the year in question; a nice touch for putting our mind in the time period. After this, there are comments about retirements from the previous seasons, changes made by the ISU, etc.

Information is given about the Canadian and US National championships, as well as details about skating tours, other international competitions, results, and culminating with the world championships of each season. The information is simply that -- information. Not as much "behind the scenes" as I had hoped. That being said, the reading was very slow for me, because the author's style made me want to look up different performances that were mentioned. Each chapter took hours to read, simply because I would then find videos, music, and look up related information online.

This is an excellent jumping off point for discovering the best of the 80s.

I was working from a PDF copy of the book. There were typos that should be corrected before the final printing, I hope. In addition, it would simplify reading if the author used paragraphs more efficiently rather than a large block of text to discuss an entire competition.

I enjoyed this book very much and would highly recommend it to any skating fan as a reference to have in their figure skating library.

[CA · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given an advance copy of this book and am leaving an honest review. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to any skating fan who wants to learn more about this era of skating, or who experienced it and wants to go down memory lane. I went into it only knowing about a few skaters and the 1988 Olympics, and it was interesting to go through it and see many names I recognized appearing, the technical development in this decade, and the (often still very relatable) dramas the sports was going through.

Each year is organized into different sections, starting with general updates on various skaters, then going through different topics like skating-related media and toys, before coming onto what happened at major competitions, with photos sprinkled here and there. While the focus is on the US and Canada, there are also sections on skating around the world, like what was happening in South Africa when they were generally banned from competing due to Apartheid, or discussion of the horrific doping and spying done on East German skaters. The competition reviews discuss the results in a way that is entertaining and including a lot of little stories of competition happenings (including the ever-popular debates on the quality of the judging) along with descriptions of how the skaters performed.

I liked this format because it reminded me of watching a season go by in real time. It's not just the competition results, but also seeing news that so-and-so got married, that a new skating movie is in development, that such-and-such showed up on some reality show I don't watch. I also enjoyed the notes on the developments of precision (synchro) skating and the now mostly lost fours skating.

One thing I thought was interesting was the description of the figures results at many of the competitions, as well as the reactions to them. I happened to recently see someone claim that the judging of figures had been objective, but it's pretty clear just from the quotes in the book that judges, coaches, and skaters who actually competed them didn't feel that way. The figures results are also something that you don't usually get much sense of by watching video of an older competition, so it helped make more sense of the event results.

I also thought the notes on the low number of pairs at some competitions was interesting, considering that (as of the time I write this) there has been some hand-wringing over the potential death of the pairs discipline in the past few years. The book also follows the debates around things like the role of figures and compulsory dances, the attempt at tamping down on glitzy costumes, and the use of lyrics in music. It's a good reminder that the definition of what 'figure skating' is has always been debated and changing.

There was one thing that hampered the reading experience - an occasional paragraph was too long, making it difficult to read, and the competition reviews were presented without any paragraph breaks at all, even when the text covered an entire page. I hope this is just a formatting issue that will be ironed out in the final copies. A couple of phrases ('who's who', 'making history') also started jumping out a lot because they were used so often.

I think the thing that I appreciated the most about the book was how it directly takes on the rise of the AIDS epidemic and how public expressions of homophobia affected skating. In my experience, this is a topic that has been ignored or elided far too often in skating histories, with certain skaters quietly dying of nothing in particular, or else only really focused on one famous person. I don't think I've seen the level of detail that Stevens gets at here presented anywhere else, reminding us that the AIDS crisis affected many people who were part of the skating community at different levels and in different ways, and how while that was happening, the president of US figure skating had the gall to whine about how flowers were too gay and the ISU was worrying about whether men were wearing too many sparkles. Stevens directly points out that there was not, in fact, an absence of men at competitions - there was just homophobia.

Finishing the book made me wish there was another volume covering a different decade. But this one well-researched volume certainly gives you a lot to chew on - and a lot of great performances to look up.

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review: thank you for the opportunity to do so!]

As someone who has been an avid fan of figure skating for a good number of years now, but was not a fan (or born!) in the 80s, this book was of great interest to me. I had some knowledge of some of the more high profile moments of the decade (you would have to live under a rock to miss Torvill and Dean in Britain) but there was plenty for me to learn, and I was more than happy to do so.
My knee-jerk impression was that it appears visually quite dense, and there were a lot of names to hold in the head very quickly for the more uninitiated with the decade; I was a little intimidated for the first few pages. The layout order for each season confused me a little, too, but this was mostly an issue of personal preference; it is perfectly logical. However, all of this faded quickly once I got into the swing of the book. I liked the narrative tone a lot; professional and concise, but witty and entertaining without it ever feeling at the expense of the skaters. But most importantly, the level of detail is a necessary part of what makes this such an impressive project. The care and attention which has been put into this research is astounding. The commitment to recounting the happenings of so many events — from the Olympics to national events to ice shows and professional competitions — means that it’s very easy to get invested in following skaters across the decade, even in print. I have kept a running list throughout my reading of everything I want to research: programs I haven’t seen and want to watch, shows and events that no longer exist, people I don't know much about. I also enjoyed the inclusion of so many interesting stories that were not just about the medals, whether they were particularly interesting costumes, backstage drama, people making history for their country, or stories of the skating community coming together.
A constant source of interest was stumbling across names I am familiar with in much later contexts, as coaches (or parents, or both!) of current skaters, or as commentators and judges and so forth. Something that also struck me whilst reading was the number of issues and arguments that are recurrent to this day; some trivial, some deeply significant. Skating has changed greatly in many ways since the 80s, but equally, many things about its culture have changed little, and there is still plenty of work to be done for the sport to be more inclusive and accepting; this book does a wonderful job of keeping us in mind of this whilst still celebrating the good.
As physical media has dwindled in the last decade and the internet proves an increasingly unstable resource for skating footage and journalism, preserving and sharing skating history becomes the initiative of dedicated individuals. Books like this take on great significance, both for the history they provide, but also as an example of just how much there is to know – and how much we may forget if the effort is not made to preserve it. I have learnt a great deal from this book and would recommend it to anyone with an interest in figure skating. At its core, it was a reminder of all the things that made me a fan of this sport. I will definitely buy a copy for myself upon its release.

[Jason Hunt · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was so excited for this book, but then I read it. Ugh. Where do I begin. First and foremost, there are some interesting parts and as a huge fan of the sport, I learned a few new things! My biggest complaint is that it is VERY POORLY WRITTEN. Several of the sections of the book feel incomplete and unfinished (Snippets seem to be dropped in as an afterthought). In addition, the book is boring because it’s essentially the same skaters, competing in the same competitions over a ten year period, although it was nice to learn about countries that made their debut during this period. There is absolutely NO SCANDAL in this book at all. If you are looking to learn about skating, this is NOT the book for you. If you are a fan of the sport, it’s interesting to a degree, but gets old QUICK. Again, the writing is what really kills it.

[Andrew Baltasar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sequins, Scandals and Salchows" is a fascinating deep dive into figure skating in the 1980s. It covers everything—from legendary performances and skaters to the behind-the-scenes politics, drama, and even how world events like the Cold War and AIDS crisis impacted the sport. The year-by-year format makes it easy to follow, and I loved the mix of competition results, quirky stories, and cultural context. You can really feel how much care and research went into it. Whether you lived through the era or are just discovering it, this is a must-read for any skating fan.

[Mary Justine · Rating 4 out of 5]

[I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.]

The title of this book gives the impression that it is a tell-all of sorts that focuses on the scandals, ins and outs of the figure skating world of the 1980s; it was what I expected going in. Instead, it is more of a history textbook, with the material being presented as such rather than in memoir-esque prose. While reading it I had the impression that it would serve as a companion textbook for a college course on this decade of figure skating quite well; however, the material is still presented in a way that captures the interest of an avid skating fan who is ready for a deep dive into the sport.

Each chapter follows the same format, encompassing one season in the 1980s decade; the first part is the major skating news that happened in each season, including skater retirements, major changes to the rules, and other pertinent information, followed by lists of competition results. This then leads into detailed accounts of the major competitions of each season where we come to the contents referenced by the book's title: Mentions of notable costumes, some of which affected future rules for competition attire; judging and skating federation scandals, and documentation of skaters who made history by performing specific iterations of existing jumps, such as the first quad in competition for the men, and the rare for the era women's skater who successfully landed a ratified triple Axel. While this part of each chapter is the meat and potatoes of the book as a whole, it unfortunately suffers from a formatting choice that renders each chapter a bit difficult and tiring to read, with each competition a wall of text that would benefit from paragraph breaks for each discipline in an event.

There are also sections of each chapter devoted to major world events that intersected with the figure skating world, most notably the AIDS epidemic which is shown to have taken a devastating amount of figure skaters from the sport much too soon. This is the part of the book that is the most frank and open about how the sport chose to deal with -- or really, shove far under the rug -- the fact that many of their best athletes were being taken in their prime by the disease.

Overall, this book is an excellent resource for skating history, and it was interesting to see familiar names that I followed avidly in the 1990s being mentioned in their first appearances in junior competition as well as many I remembered from before I followed the sport closely but still knew as figure skaters, particularly those in the US, were treated as celebrities and became household names back then due to the abundance of television coverage of both amateur and professional competitions. It was also an excellent way to see the foundations of many of the rules and notable achievements and how those events took root and shaped the sport as it is today. For anyone unfamiliar with this era in the sport's history it is quite a valuable resource to expand their skating knowledge, especially as many of those whose competitive histories are chronicled, with Brian Orser as a prime example, went on to become coaches whose knowledge has guided skaters to World and Olympic gold. I would definitely recommend that new fans of the sport in particular give this book a read, as it will help them gain perspective by learning more of the origins of the sport in its present-day form.

[Scott Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This works offers an overview of the figure skating world during a key time in the sport, the 1980s. While figure skating had its share of stars prior to this decade, the sport seemed to take off into another level in the 1980s. Certainly, there were no shortage of intriguing stories and plot lines. The strength of the Warsaw Pact countries and their ability to keep a place of prominence, but also a new wave of American stars managing to work their way into the top levels of the sport and into the consciousness of American pop culture. Throw in some rather significant geo-political type events, such the eventual disintegration of the Warsaw Pact and the rise of social issues such as a growing acceptance of homosexuality and dealing with the AIDS virus, and there is a lot of convey.

Overall, Stevens provides a strong overview of the key plot lines, stories, athletes and events/results from the various competitions/events during the 1980s. Yet, this work does not translate as well in electronic form as it might in another format. In the introduction, Stevens indicates he started this book thinking it would be a type of coffee-table style book. Having read the material and seen the construction, I heartily agree with that sentiment. While the electronic format is solid and there are good pictures/etc, it does feel like the electronic version is a compromise. Get a lot of high-resolution/color photos of the events and skaters and throw them into a hard-bound book with glossy pages, and you would have yourself a major winner. If you can get that done before the 2026 Winter Games, you got yourself a gold mine.

This was a fun read, and if someone wanted an overview of a key time in figure staking, this is a great resource. However, if you can get this into a hard-bound book, combined with some good old-fashioned nostalgia from a child of the 1980s (like me), that would take some good and elevate it into something really great.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an incredible book for those who are interested in figure skating history! The author limits himself here to the 1980s which was a transformative era in the sport, before the Tonya & Nancy brouhaha with the resulting oversaturation of the sport on television. This is also before the introduction of IJS scoring.

Anyone who used to read "American Skating World" will love this book. The author uses the same chronological format as Lynn Copeley-Graves in "Figure Skating History: The Evolution of Dance on Ice." As an aside, her book is crying out for either a second volume or a much-desired update. The author mentions both of those publications along with dozens of others. One small quibble is that I prefer not to have to hunt down citations in the end notes.

Ryan Stevens is a researcher's researcher. His attention to detail is outstanding. Ordinarily, someone with that much information to share tends to have a boring book and simply a recitation of facts. Not Stevens. You can tell how much he loves his subject! You can also see that he pays attention to the details, but also to how he chooses to share them with his audience. Even if you think you know everything about figure skating during this period, believe me, you do not. Stevens presents plenty of new stories and he'll send you to YouTube to search for videos to see programs for yourself. Happy hunting there as so much has been taken down thanks to music copyright issues.

I consider this book an essential part of any figure skating library and also a must-read for anyone interested in where the sport came from, not so very long ago.

In full disclosure, I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. I will be purchasing a hardcover copy when it is released this fall.

[Phillippa Baran · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderfully readable and historically important book

For figure skating, the1980’s were complicated, colourful, and turbulent. It was a time of transformational change. The judging, that for too long had been rife with geo-political shenanigans, rigidity, unfairness, bias and cowardice, was under pressure and struggling to correct. The death of the (often) dreaded school figures was looming and shockingly they would be gone from international competition by the end of the decade. The eternal battle between the technical and the artistic raged on. The athletes continued to push limits and impress. The popularity of the sport was exploding with an insatiable world-wide demand for more competition, more shows, more personalities, more gossip, more danger, more risk, more glamour, more glitz. Underlying it all was the devastating reality of tragedy, fear, and homophobia stemming from the AIDS epidemic that clobbered the world and had a profound impact on the sport.

Ryan Stevens, the author of Sequins, Scandals & Salchows recognized the importance of telling the figure skating story of the 1980s. He is probably the only person on the planet with the vision, dedication, and determination to pull it off. He found creative ways to organize a massive amount of material into a meticulously researched, highly compelling, entertaining, memorable, and significant whole. He managed to put hundreds and thousands of personalities, records, trends, and events into a context that makes complete sense. Ryan Stevens is clever, acerbic, witty, compassionate, positive, and realistic. He loves and understands figure skating and he writes really, really well. This is a wonderfully readable and historically important book.

[Jennifer Robb · Rating 3 out of 5]

As someone who watched figure skating in the 80s, this was a bit of a trip down memory lane. It was nice to remember some of the programs I watched back then. The book also brought to mind skaters I hadn't thought about for a while.

As far as the title: sequins isn't covered much. There are a few paragraphs on new fabrics that came into use as well as some costume rules. The only part I remember specifically mentioning sequins was related to costuming rules.

Scandals: there weren't many in depth discussions of skating scandals as one might think. Judging was a repeated scandal issue within the book.

I did appreciate the history of the AIDS epidemic (in this case mostly as it related to skating). I'm not sure that that qualifies as a scandal though. (When I think of scandals, I tend to think of the judging communication scandal, The Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan event, doping scandals, etc.--not so much AIDS/HIV.)

Salchows: salchows were discussed as were many other jumps (triple axels, certain triple-rriple combinations, quadruple jumps). Of the three, jumps probably took the most precedence in the book.

I did appreciate the history of figures in competition and the process gone through to eventually eliminate them as part of singles competition. (I believe they do still exist as a separate sport. They did at one time, though we don't often hear about it.)

There is a lot of information: many names, results of major events, etc.) and it tended to get a bit dense for reading.

I received an ARC from LibraryThing Early Reviewers (in exchange for an honest review) and, as another reviewer mentioned, there were some typos, which I too hope will be corrected prior to publication.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and every Saturday my dad would drop me off at the local roller rink. I showed up wearing my skating skirt with my high-top skating boots with colorful laces and pompoms slung over my shoulder. I took group skating lessons in the middle of the floor, and I practiced spins, jumps, and yes, salchows, too. It was that word salchows in the book title that drew my attention to this book and drew me into a wave of nostalgia. My early love for roller skating naturally led to my fascination with figure skating. Figure skating was probably the most watched female sports on TV at that time. A highlight of my childhood was going to the Ice Capades in Hershey. I dreamed of being Peggy Fleming in the Olympics with her chartreuse dress, and I even got my Dorothy Hammill haircut like so many others.

“Sequins, Scandals, and Salchows” by Ryan Stevens is a fascinating look at 1980s figure skating. The book is made for people who know and love figure skating, and maybe reminisce and learn more about the history of figure skating. I loved the fashion sections—“sequins.” I also loved the inclusion of what was going on at the time—hit songs, TV shows, movies, and the news.

"Sequins, Scandals, and Salchows" by Ryan Stevens brought back so many memories of my own skating days and my younger life. It’s a great book for anyone who loves figure skating or wants to learn more about its history. The stories about the 1980s skating scene, the fashion, and the big moments in the sport are all really interesting. This book is a must-read for any fan of figure skating.

[Sunny · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, thank you to the author for the free review copy of this book. All opinions in this review are my own.

It was a very deeply and thoroughly researched book. I didn’t know as many figure skaters from the 80’s as I thought I did, seems my knowledge is more 90’s figure skaters. As for the title, there was lots of sequins and salchows, which I enjoyed. I loved seeing the pictures of figure skaters at the end of each chapter b/c I enjoy looking at all the beautiful costumes.

Not really sure where the scandals part comes in. Maybe b/c the 80’s is when AIDS was first discovered and people were using the queer community as a scapegoat and blaming them for an obviously human illness, which is pretty scandalous. Or just downright cruel and hateful in my opinion. Or maybe the scandal lied with the judges, some whom it seems gave lower marks to skaters from other countries and higher marks to their own. They weren’t called out on that nearly enough for me, but it’s something that happens in sports, it seems.

This book is for the serious figure skating lover. Each chapter covers just one year over an entire decade. You will read about every competition that happened, special events in the skating world, retirements, amateurs turning pro and those who passed away. It’s extremely detailed, the authors love for skating really shows. I would love to see this same type of book about 90’s figure skating. Most of my favorite skaters were amateurs in the late 80’s so it was neat to see their names popping up and seeing how they fared before they became Olympic stars.

[Jessica Kemery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sequins, Scandals & Salchows is one of the most comprehensive books about figure skating in the 80’s I have ever read.

It is thick and meaty, full of facts about almost every little detail about 80’s figure skating. Us Gen Xers will remember watching Torvill and Dean, Scott Hamilton, and the battle of the Brians.

It also gives behind the scenes info about what was going on with skater’s lives as they were winning championships and raking in the sponsorships.

It’s interesting that the author notes the AIDS epidemic, and the toll it took on the sport and people involved in skating.

The author is very detailed about the costumes and how they changed over the years. I especially like the photos at the end of every chapter in the ebook format I read. There is a warning that notes the book is printed in a different way, that was not possible to duplicate in ebook form.

My one criticism is that it’s almost too much data that becomes kind of mind numbing at times. I found myself skipping over the listing of winners from each contest in that calender year, although sometimes a famous name caught my eye.

As a person who loved figure skating as a kid, even though I didn’t live anywhere near frozen water, I think you will find this an interesting read.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun fact: I was named after Swiss ice skater Denise Biellmann, who makes a number of appearances in this sizable tome.

While I myself wasn't around yet for most of the 80s to follow all the competitions, brilliant performances, and assorted other goings on, my mother certainly was - and she passed her love of watching this ever beautiful and mesmerizing sport on to me.

Collecting facts and figures, notable names, events and places, developments, glimpses behind the scenes, anecdotes, a wealth of pictures and more, this book is a veritable treasure trove for anyone with an interest in the world of 1980s figure skating. I particularly appreciated the author's devoting sections to the terrible toll the AIDS crisis took on many involved in this sphere.

Unfortunately the ebook format I read didn't do this book any favours, I expect the print version to be more comfortably readable as well as do the photographs justice in a way seeing them on a small screen didn't. Otherwise, very much recommended if you have an interest in the subject!

*** I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily. ***

[Zoe Tasia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember watching Jane Torvill and Christopher Dean perform to the music, Ravel’s Bolero, in the 1984 Olympics to this day. It was like watching magic on ice. I have a nodding familiarity with the big skating names of that time and my desire to learn more and revisit that past led to reading this book.
The author begins each chapter with what I’m calling a yearbook summary of the year. This sets the perfect stage for the information that follows. Pertinent information about the individuals in the skating world is shared along with data about skating around the world. The book covers all championships in the various countries and lists the winners. I learned about how skating competition rules changed and why, the shows and tours that occurred each year, how skating fashion changed, the effect of the AIDS epidemic on the skating community, and much, much more. The amount and details of the information are overwhelming. The addition of photographs at the end of each chapter was a lovely and welcome addition.
If you are interested in a comprehensive look at figure skating during this time period, I strongly recommend this book.

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am obsessed with this book! First off, the book's layout is a tribute to a formative book of my teenage years, Lynn Copley-Graves' "Figure Skating History: The Evolution of Dance on Ice" and that made me feel so nostalgic! Secondly, the years of research that has gone into this book is evident. I am a regular reader of Stevens' blog, own over 50 books on skating and have watched tons of 1980s skating, and this book had many insights new to even me! For example, there's a piece of history about my hometown of Rochester, NY in the 1983-84 chapter that I didn't even know, and it sent me down a Google rabbit hole.

It would have been easy for Stevens to get very academic with this book, but he avoided that, using captivating language and succinct writing. So much skating journalism and writing can tend to get catty or gossipy, and this presents interesting information without going that way. If you love skating and/or Olympic sports, this is a must read and something you will re-read for years to come.

[Deb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you for an electronic advanced readers copy of this book. As a figure skating fan (and figure skater), I knew the major names of skating in the 1980s but was too young to follow and watch except for the Olympics. This was a very thorough accounting of the evolution of Figure Skating in the 1980s, before the explosion of popularity stemming from the Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding scandal.

It's not meant to be a lyrical telling of stories about the figure skating world; it's more like a factual retelling of everything that went on, year by year.

I think the casual fan would enjoy skimming it for the big names and the interesting pictures (and costumes!), but the serious fan will enjoy the minutiae and the extensive details. I had a vague recollection of the professional tours that were going on but didn't know about all the professional skating competitions.

I enjoyed it, I think it will be impressive as a physical book.

[Kevin Fildes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sequins, Scandals and Salchows: Figure Skating in the 1980’s by Ryan Stevens is a very comprehensive history of the figure skating world in the 1980’s. I think this book would appeal to fans of the sport, skaters, and anyone who wants to know about the personalities and backgrounds of the skaters.

Furthermore, the book is a very good social history of the 1980’s. The history of the Aids epidemic is also widely covered and tells of how extensively it touched the world of skating.

I liked the chapter beginnings which told what was popular in the culture in that year such as songs, movies, and tv shows.

Reading this book you will learn about skating around the world. You will learn about what is required in the various events and how these events are judged.

There are may lists of the competitions, lots of background stories and a very good amount of photos.

I would rate this book a 5 and recommend it to any skating fan.

[Brenda Brien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was given an ARC copy in return for my unbiased opinion and I am so thankful for the opportunity as this book is detailed about its time period in skating history. I became a fan of ice skating in 1979 so this book hits all my nostalgia feels. I love learning the behind the scenes tidbits and general knowledge that a young teen at that time wouldn’t have access to. There is a lot to remember as you go through the book. But it’s the best subject for me anyway to stretch those reading memory muscles. So happy this book was written and I will be buying my own hard copy once published. Recommend for all skating fans who want the dish on skating in the ‘80’s!

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review of eBook

Here, by year, readers will find a compilation of information focused on news of the year pertinent to figure skating, competitions, skating tours, ice shows, marriages, retirements, and more as the history of figure skating in that year is presented in charts, narrative, and occasional photographs. Avid figure skating fans will recognize many of the names, evoking memories of incredible performances and accomplishments.

The expected statistics are included, as are facts surrounding the skating world. Readers who have an interest in figure skating will find much to appreciate here.

I received a free copy of this book through the LibraryThing Early Readers program and am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Lance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Expecting more of a book with great stories about figure skating athletes and events in the 1980’s, instead it felt mor like a reference book. For example, if you want to know who were the medalists in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics, this is a good place to look. But say if you wanted a lot of information on Debi Thomas, the American skater who won bronze, then the reader won’t get a lot there. The 4 star rating is given as its use for reference and research more than for reading pleasure.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Casey Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading Sequins, scandal and Salchows. My love for figure skating began with the skaters of the 1980’s. Reading this book it gave me a behind the scenes view of the skaters performances, shows and activities they participated in, the history as well the competitions themselves. As I was reading I saw so many familiar skaters names that brought back so many memories of not only watching their competitions but getting to see them live in ice skating shows as well. I will definitely treasure this book for years to come.

[Valerie Comba · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book to give an honest opinion of it. I loved every minute of it! As a forever figure skating fan, it was so great to go back to the eighties and remember all that went on. It brought back some incredible memories. There are lots of personal stories and all of the statistics. It will be a great book to add to your figure skating collection.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting and informative book! My love of figure skating started while watching the 1988 Calgary Olympics - learning more about figure skating in the 1980’s has given me more insight and perspective. Recommend for all figure skating fans.