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TAIT: Kurt Browning exits professional figure skating on his own terms
| Source: |
Edmonton Sun |
| Date: |
May 20, 2023 |
| Author: |
Cam Tait |
A favourite interview of Kurt Browning was him describing what he
wanted his audience to think about on the way home from a
show.
A personal connection, he said: having folks feeling they trusted him
that, empathically, left everything out on the ice.
Browning, now 56, may very well have that sentiment next
weekend. After a Stars on Ice performance at Acrisure Arena of Greater
Palm Desert, the former four-time world skating champion turns east,
which seems funny to consider a boy from Caroline, Alta., is heading
that direction, to go home to Toronto.
Along the way Browning and the Stars on Ice galaxy will brightly shine
in Rosemount, Ill., Batilmore and Boston before his final performance
June 4 in Hersey, Pa.
Browning has attached plastic skate guards over his skates millions of
times. But when he does so for the last time when the house lights go
up at the Giant Centre, a bittersweet moment will wash over
him.
“Thirty is a pretty good number,” Browning said referring to the three
decades he has performed some 10,000 shows.
He was steadfast. When COVID-19 clamped global public gatherings,
Browning didn’t skate, and he didn’t want to end his Stars on Ice
voyage during the pandemic.
He can still skate, and his jumps, moves and arm stretches appear as
nimble and powerful as they were when he began.
He knows his biological clock won’t pause so he can skate until he’s
ready, on his terms, for a final bow.
A profound statement on going out on top.
It’s just another Browning trait which makes him a fan favourite, a
fierce competitor and a dream interview.
Browning had an 11-year love affair with Edmonton and the Royal
Glenora Club — where he perfected the quadruple jump, and made history
in 1988 when he became the first to land it in competition.
“We practised at the Royal Glenora when nobody was around. If I messed
up, nobody would see.”
He didn’t, and those four airborne twirls before landing on piece of
steel 3/16 inches tick — no problem, right? — became his signature
move.
He remembers the Sidetrack Cafe, just south of 104 Avenue, as a great
place to hoist a cold one to celebrate what he achieved when he was
living in Edmonton.
Last weekend was his last performance in the venue he calls “a
spaceship” — Rogers Place in Edmonton.
A couple of hours before showtime Browning — unshaven, clad in a
T-shirt and Edmonton Oilers black cap — glided across Rogers Place ice
in warmup.
After he was confident with his work, he walked up the south stairs to
meet friends and family sitting in seats.
His final Edmonton number was set to Who Are You?, by The Who. But
everyone knows …
Browning is still going to be involved in the sport which has given
him so much.
He wants to teacher adults to skate — not to, one day, garner a
national championship or a lucrative professional contract … but just
to enjoy going for a glorious glide over the ice.
With ease and grace.
We hear if so often when professional athletes are in conversation:
they are even greater people than the God-given talent which gives
them such deserved notoriety.
Browning’s personal grace speaks for itself.
In the early 1990s, this scribbler called him on Valentine’s Day, and
in a twist, asked him what his biggest broken heart moment
was.
“My mom,” he said, thoughtfully pausing for reaction “She made the
world’s best rhubarb pie.
“When I left home I no longer could eat my mom’s rhubarb pie and I was
heartbroken.”
We’re going to miss you, my friend. But, thanks so much for always
giving something special to talk about on the way home.
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