Broadening Skaters’ Edge : SAVVY SPONSORS AND POPULARITY OF ICE MATCHES GIVE THE SPORT A HIGH TV PROFILE

“Please be sure you say it’s the ‘DuraSoft Colors’ Challenge of Champions,” Dick Button, the two-time Olympic figure skating champion and longtime ABC commentator, says of one of the two professional skating competitions he created. “They’re the sponsor.”

His request points up one of the more interesting developments in the world of televised figure skating. Gone are the days when just about the only skating coverage was of amateur competitions, with an occasional Peggy Fleming or Dorothy Hamill special on the schedule.

Professional skating now regularly appears on the small screen, in part to satisfy the public’s growing appetite for the sport but also because media-savvy sponsors want to take advantage of the massive exposure of television.

Thus, viewers last April watched 1984 and ’88 Olympic champion Katarina Witt vamp her way to a win in the “Diet Coke Skaters’ Championships, of which MasterCard and Reebok also sponsored segments.

More recently, Witt, Brian Boitano and a host of other former Olympic medalists appeared in “Disney’s Christmas Fantasy on Ice.” And one of last year’s novel outings was “Sudafed’s Symphony of Sports,” in which figure skaters and gymnasts combined their artistic talents.

With the cost-cutting climate at the networks, many of these shows are what’s called time-buys: Rather than being paid television rights by the networks, the sponsors purchase the air time themselves.

Button pioneered the concept of high-quality, televised pro-skating competitions 13 years ago, creating the World Professional Figure Skating Championships, which are broadcast annually by NBC. He is executive producer of the event.

Initially pitting teams of recent and not-so-recent Olympic and world-class skaters against each other, the show has evolved into a head-to-head competition for women, men, pairs and dance. Participants, who are invited on the basis of their amateur and professional track records and reputations, vie for the highest purses of any pro meet--most recently, a $40,000 first prize per division. Sponsored first by Avon and then for many years by Nutrasweet, the show is presented this year, as Button said, by DuraSoft Colors.

“I always felt there was a huge gap--the professional skaters were just beginning to reach their peak when they would leave the amateur world,” Button says of the inspiration behind the World Pros.

“Now they have the opportunity to continue displaying (their talent) in a competitive framework, focusing not only on artistic routines but on technical ones as well. It’s also become a most beautiful evening of skating.”

The competition will be telecast in 47 countries and, this year for the first time, part of it will be broadcast in prime time. Button’s companion competition, the “DuraSoft Colors Challenge of Champions,” will air for the eighth time on ABC, where he has provided skating analysis for 30 years.

Previously held in Paris, Moscow and Oslo, this year’s edition took place at the Forum in Inglewood. With a slightly different lineup than its predecessor, the “Challenge” features one competitive routine per skater, followed by a non-judged exhibition. Somewhat bolstering the link between television and skating, the show’s announcer this time out was former “Dukes of Hazzard” star John Schneider.

One pro skater grateful for the chance to expand his performing horizons is 1984 Olympic champion Scott Hamilton, a three-time winner of Button’s competitions. In 1987, Hamilton co-created and became producer of the “Discover Card Stars on Ice” show, a touring revue of individual and ensemble numbers designed to showcase the artistry and athleticism of a cast that this year includes 1992 Olympic champion Kristi Yamaguchi and silver medalist Paul Wylie.

“I did two years with Ice Capades,” he says. “I had a wonderful time, and I learned a lot, but doing eight to 12 shows a week really beats you up, mentally, physically and emotionally. With this tour I can keep my skating up but also rest and compete. Having more opportunities as a pro makes you more comfortable in front of an audience, more confident.”

Aired annually on cable, “Stars on Ice” receives a network airing for the first time next week.

The number of skating shows will probably continue to rise, Hamilton says, because of a 1992 ruling by the International Skating Union that allows amateur skaters to participate in sanctioned pro events and still retain their Olympic eligibility. The Chrysler Concorde Pro/Am Figure Skating Challenge was telecast on CBS in November and December, and there may be a follow-up event in Los Angeles.

“(The ruling) is still all so new,” Hamilton says. “It will be interesting to see how it affects the overall sport.”

“Discover Card Stars on Ice” airs Saturday at 2 :30 p.m. on NBC.

“DuraSoft Colors World Professional Championships” airs Jan. 29 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. on NBC. “DuraSoft Colors Challenge of Champions” airs three Saturdays on ABC, Feb. 20, March 13 and March 20.