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On Edge: Backroom Dealing, Cocktail Scheming, Triple Axels, and How Top Skaters Get Screwed
During the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, figure skating nearly lost its edge. The Russian gold medal debacle in the Pair Event publicly revealed the hidden world of bribery and collusion that is standard operating procedure across the sport. In On Edge, former Olympic level judge and competitive figure skater, Jon Jackson, bares the facts of the figure skating world—the image-making and social climbing, the prescription drug abuse, the affairs, the delusions of grandeur, and power-hungry scheming. He takes readers on a journey spanning 20 years through the private hotel rooms and hospitality suites where the culture thrives and multiplies, culminating in the days, weeks, and months following the Salt Lake City gold medal scandal.
Rebelling against this culture of nightly cocktail parties, where judges predetermine the next day’s winners, Jackson co-created the World Skating Federation in hopes of freeing the industry from the stranglehold of the seemingly omnipotent US Figure Skating Association (USFSA). The fallout was immediate. Detailing his battle with the USFSA, Jackson reveals his reservations about the continued corruption and the new scoring system, setting the stage for an even more dramatic and controversial scandal waiting to happen at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
Rebelling against this culture of nightly cocktail parties, where judges predetermine the next day’s winners, Jackson co-created the World Skating Federation in hopes of freeing the industry from the stranglehold of the seemingly omnipotent US Figure Skating Association (USFSA). The fallout was immediate. Detailing his battle with the USFSA, Jackson reveals his reservations about the continued corruption and the new scoring system, setting the stage for an even more dramatic and controversial scandal waiting to happen at the 2006 Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 11, 2005
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 4, 2018
I raided my library's figure skating collection, and this was one of the books they had on offer. Never one scared to jump into the dark side of a sport right off the bat, I started with this, not realizing that it was centered on the 2002 SLC Olympic pairs' skating scandal. Considering the author's reaction to said event was diametrically opposite of my own, I braced myself for this insider's account.
It basically reads like a ton of sour grapes, a screed of name-calling and invective and gossip gone bad. The author knew how the system worked, and how much he'd been against the judging system he was trying to break into in the first place. Yet once he got there, he rode that gravy train for all it was worth for 20 years, leading a jet-set lifestyle scanning the globe in pursuit of this hobby. When he saw the inevitable conclusion (the Olympic pairs' cheating scandal), he seemed more upset that nobody was willing to believe him when he ran off to share his juicy eyewitness account of the French judge's breakdown than he was about the actual vote-swapping injustice.
His case would've been stronger if not for his inherent anti-Russian bias (referring to them as Soviets and mobsters throughout) and his penchant for sarcastically referring to everyone he disagreed with as witches, patsies, clowns, puppets, turncoats, etc. Everyone knows that when you start calling people names, you have lost your argument on maturity alone. Even if you have one, you appear to be grasping at straws before of the personal invective you're spewing instead.
He has salient points about the corruption in figure skating and the shady shit still going on, even with the new judging system, even 12 years after this book was published. Yet, it feels like karmic justice that his World Skating Federation went nowhere: the perfect end to an incredibly bitter man's "dream" of reforming the sport that ultimately consumed him.
It basically reads like a ton of sour grapes, a screed of name-calling and invective and gossip gone bad. The author knew how the system worked, and how much he'd been against the judging system he was trying to break into in the first place. Yet once he got there, he rode that gravy train for all it was worth for 20 years, leading a jet-set lifestyle scanning the globe in pursuit of this hobby. When he saw the inevitable conclusion (the Olympic pairs' cheating scandal), he seemed more upset that nobody was willing to believe him when he ran off to share his juicy eyewitness account of the French judge's breakdown than he was about the actual vote-swapping injustice.
His case would've been stronger if not for his inherent anti-Russian bias (referring to them as Soviets and mobsters throughout) and his penchant for sarcastically referring to everyone he disagreed with as witches, patsies, clowns, puppets, turncoats, etc. Everyone knows that when you start calling people names, you have lost your argument on maturity alone. Even if you have one, you appear to be grasping at straws before of the personal invective you're spewing instead.
He has salient points about the corruption in figure skating and the shady shit still going on, even with the new judging system, even 12 years after this book was published. Yet, it feels like karmic justice that his World Skating Federation went nowhere: the perfect end to an incredibly bitter man's "dream" of reforming the sport that ultimately consumed him.
June 21, 2019
This was an amazing read written by an amazing person!
May 7, 2010
As with many memoirs, this book, written by a former figure skating judge, contains a tiny kernel of interest. Though I was previously aware that figure skaters are 'held up' (or, indeed, 'held down') in scoring, according to their résumés, Jon Jackson lays plain the amount of campaigning and "chatter" that goes on among the judges, leading to skaters receiving good marks, despite putting in poor performances. For the figure skating nerd, there are also a few (emphasis on a few) delightful behind-the-scenes morsels.
(For some reason, the description of Viktor Petrenko's wife, Nina, dolled up for a night at the ballet, as an Oksana Baiul lookalike, sticks in my mind, although other readers may be more interested in the shenanigans at 2001 Junior Worlds.)
Unfortunately, the interesting stuff takes up maybe 10 pages, and the rest of it is just a long slog through the minutia of Jon Jackson's life. On Edge is written in the type of chatty tone that many authors seem to hope will disguise their lack of writing skill, but Jackson's attempts at humour quickly become wearing.
Badly paced, the book starts with an overly-long account of his own failed career as a skater, with lots of personal experiences (his friends and crushes and mentors) thrown in. However, halfway through the book, it changes gear. Out goes the personal stuff, replaced instead with pure figure skating talk.
Despite long, langorous descriptions of Jackson's relationship with his first sort-of-boyfriend, we never hear ANYTHING about his love life after the age of 25. His boyfriends get namechecked and that's it. After detailing his early career as a lawyer, that becomes another dropped story point. Near the end, he abruptly informs the reader that he has moved to Las Vegas, but we're never told why. I mean. I'm not sure I actually CARE why Jackson moved to Vegas, but following the overly-personal first half, it's weird to suddenly get no information about Jackson's life outside of figure skating.
The final section of the book, where Jackson and his friends try to overthrow the ISU -- spoiler: they don't succeed -- makes a particularly pointless and anticlimactic end to a book that probably shouldn't have ever made it into print.
(For some reason, the description of Viktor Petrenko's wife, Nina, dolled up for a night at the ballet, as an Oksana Baiul lookalike, sticks in my mind, although other readers may be more interested in the shenanigans at 2001 Junior Worlds.)
Unfortunately, the interesting stuff takes up maybe 10 pages, and the rest of it is just a long slog through the minutia of Jon Jackson's life. On Edge is written in the type of chatty tone that many authors seem to hope will disguise their lack of writing skill, but Jackson's attempts at humour quickly become wearing.
Badly paced, the book starts with an overly-long account of his own failed career as a skater, with lots of personal experiences (his friends and crushes and mentors) thrown in. However, halfway through the book, it changes gear. Out goes the personal stuff, replaced instead with pure figure skating talk.
Despite long, langorous descriptions of Jackson's relationship with his first sort-of-boyfriend, we never hear ANYTHING about his love life after the age of 25. His boyfriends get namechecked and that's it. After detailing his early career as a lawyer, that becomes another dropped story point. Near the end, he abruptly informs the reader that he has moved to Las Vegas, but we're never told why. I mean. I'm not sure I actually CARE why Jackson moved to Vegas, but following the overly-personal first half, it's weird to suddenly get no information about Jackson's life outside of figure skating.
The final section of the book, where Jackson and his friends try to overthrow the ISU -- spoiler: they don't succeed -- makes a particularly pointless and anticlimactic end to a book that probably shouldn't have ever made it into print.
November 4, 2012
This book reveals what went on during the pairs competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics, but it takes three-fourths of the book to get there. Prior to that, you get Jon Jackson's autobiography as a young gay man who loves figure skating. He eventually becomes a judge, and indulges himself in the luxurious surroundings and refreshments given to judges, yet at the same time he condemns that sort of treatment, as the skaters don't get anything close. However, Jackson seems to like the judge's lifestyle of perks, which he definitely enjoys, but his enjoyment of the perks make his argument that skaters deserve better pale a bit. Which is it, Jon? Do you want the glamorous life? Or are you going to keep it real with the skaters? I think I know which way you are heading.
Overall, this was an okay read, but it doesn't really read as anything unique: upper middle class boy falls in love with figure skating. Ho hum.
Overall, this was an okay read, but it doesn't really read as anything unique: upper middle class boy falls in love with figure skating. Ho hum.
January 4, 2010
I have a different expectation of this type of book than I would of a novel or an essay collection. For one, I don't expect stellar writing -- but I do expect competent writing, and this book did not deliver. Maybe it's not even the writing that failed so much as it's the editing. Typos abounded, spelling of names changed, random words appeared in sentences... The mistakes were so distracting that I was tempted more than once to put the book down out of frustration. Also, the last portion of the book was a bit hard to follow. The events were so compressed that I wasn't 100% sure of what was happening. The first 2/3 of the book was well-paced, though, even though it sometimes went on tangents. That said...this book did give me a lot to think about, so that's good.
June 17, 2011
Jon Jackson's "memoir"? is disjointed, full of typographical errors and doesn't seem to distinguish between events of importance and those that are trivial.
I know a fair bit about figure skating so I could follow the book without too much trouble, but a person with little exposure to the sport would be at a complete loss.
On a personal note, I wish Florence Sifferd's name had been spelled correctly. The author wrote glowingly about how helpful she was to him early in his skating career and what a marvelous person she was. Florence was absolutely beloved by everyone I know who knew her. She was one person who I never heard anyone have a bad word to say about her. That said, she was one of the toughest judges in the Washington Figure Skating Club. Fair but tough.
I know a fair bit about figure skating so I could follow the book without too much trouble, but a person with little exposure to the sport would be at a complete loss.
On a personal note, I wish Florence Sifferd's name had been spelled correctly. The author wrote glowingly about how helpful she was to him early in his skating career and what a marvelous person she was. Florence was absolutely beloved by everyone I know who knew her. She was one person who I never heard anyone have a bad word to say about her. That said, she was one of the toughest judges in the Washington Figure Skating Club. Fair but tough.
May 13, 2013
Someone has a triple axel to grind here, and his name is J-o-n. Reading this was like watching someone bang their head against a wall. Jackson was never going to be able to change ISU politics, but he did a triple flip trying. I know from experience on a much smaller scale that competitive sports are rife with this stuff and it was painful to read, because he's right: there is backroom dealing, cocktail scheming, and top athletes deserving of much better get fed into the grinder. The end.
April 12, 2010
It's a little too much personal history at the front, and it's not especially well written, but the last third is so full of Real Talk that it almost makes up for the clunking sound every zing makes as it lands. It's too bad it wasn't written after the '06 Olympics, and didn't focus more on the ISU and the WSF instead of Jon Jackson's personal history/investment in figure skating.
December 12, 2012
Overall a good read that chronicles Jon Jackson's life as a skater and progressing through his judging career. The timeframe includes the Salt Lake City Olympics with the pair judging scandal. From there, however, turns into a temper-tantrum type rant that borders on ridiculous. Still, for fans of figure skating, an interesting read.
March 5, 2010
While the beginning of the book is a very enjoyable and readable look at Jackson's childhood and skating career, the second half, which focuses on the sorry state of figure skating, really could have used some better editing. A quick read, overall.
April 28, 2010
Awkward writing, but it starts okay with the author's coming of age and coming out as a young gay Mormon skater. There are also some nice recollections of a young Michelle Kwan. Loses steam toward the end when it becomes a tale of feuding skating associations.
June 23, 2014
an illuminating book but it does get bogged down in parts, while simultaneously zipping other things, or dropping them wntirely. However, I would still recommend this book to skaters and skate parents.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews