| | Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Scott Hamilton doesn't look at it as retirement.
He's merely shifting gears.
Skating's master showman knows the show must go on. As he
prepares for life without his very own creation, the Stars on Ice
tour, Hamilton is comfortable in the knowledge there are other
stars available to take his place.
"It will be cool, great to see the show without me," Hamilton
said Thursday as he contemplated a future away from the tour he
began 15 years ago with appearances in a handful of small towns. He
built it into a six-month international series, but will leave the
show in April.
"I can step aside and allow these really ambitious, young,
talented people the opportunity to shine in their own spotlight
without making room for me," he said. "This has been a phenomenal
success, but to grow, it has to do so without me. The show will not
be diminished with my absence. It will take on a new identity."
Hamilton's identity was established at the 1980 Olympics, when
the young skater who overcame a paralyzed intestine as a child
carried the U.S. flag into the opening ceremony.
A year later, he was the national and world champion. Hamilton
won each of those titles four times, and took gold at the 1984
Olympics.
He then turned professional and, despite some early setbacks,
built one of the strongest followings of any skater. He wasn't
merely an athlete, but an entertainer, a comic on ice, and even a
friend to those in the stands. Hamilton touched audiences in ways
few figure skaters ever have.
"I feel like I was honored to be able to tour with him," said
1998 Olympic champion Tara Lipinski. "I think every skater who has
ever been in contact with Scott has learned from him."
Hamilton, 42, certainly hopes that is true.
"I try not to get involved with what impact I've had," he
said, "but how I have been touched. All the great skaters I've had
the privilege to skate with and know ... I don't worry about what
my significance has been, but I am proud of what I have
accomplished so far."
Hamilton envisions putting together a theatrical production,
although he isn't close to settling on a format. He also wants to
remain involved in television work -- he's been CBS' main skating
announcer for 14 years.
"The only thing that grows in an inactive career is the ego,"
he said.
Hamilton also won't shy away from taking on the skating
establishment when he believes it needs some tweaking. He doesn't
like the current setup of international events in which the World
Championships have, he says, lost luster.
"The World Championships are THE event, or should be," he
said. "The Olympics can be THE event every four years. You've got
to protect those events that are special with all you've got and
it's not being done. If you water it down with all these others,
the World Championships will hold on, but they won't be elevated to
what they should be.
"These events like the Grand Prix series and even the Olympics
should be held before the World Championships, which should be the
be-all and end-all."
While he's far removed from the competitive aspect of figure
skating -- he stopped competing a bit before his 1997 battle with
testicular cancer -- Hamilton remains a powerful force in the
show-business aspect of skating, helping attract the likes of
Lipinski and fellow 1998 Olympic champion Ilia Kulik to his tour.
He simply won't be so visible any longer.
And it's time.
"It's as if I was teaching a child to ride a bike without
training wheels," he said. "I've been doing that for 15 years,
holding on even though the kid is ready to ride by himself. And
now, he's saying, `Let go. I'm almost old enough to drive.'"
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