Priscilla Hill-Wampler (born October 4, 1961) is an American

figure skating Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, when contested at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic disciplines are me ...

coach and former competitor. She is a two-time

U.S. national Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...

medalist (silver in 1981, bronze in 1978) and finished within the top ten at two

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

. She won gold at three international events – the 1974

Nebelhorn Trophy The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. It became part of the ISU Challenger Series in the 2014–15 season. The competitio ...

, the 1975

Prague Skate The Prague Skate (sometimes titled Golden Skate; from 1994: Czech Skate) is an international figure skating competition. It was a senior event from the 1960s to 1997, usually held in November or December in Prague. Medals were awarded in the discip ...

, and 1977

Richmond Trophy The Richmond Trophy was an international figure skating competition for ladies' singles held annually from 1949 to 1980 at the Richmond Ice Rink in Twickenham, London. It was the only invitational international competition (as opposed to the IS ...

. In 1975, she became the first American woman to land the triple

loop jump The loop jump is an edge jump in the sport of figure skating. The skater executes it by taking off from the back outside edge of the skating foot, turning one rotation in the air, and landing on the back outside edge of the same foot. It is oft ...

in competition.

Personal life

Priscilla Hill was born on October 4, 1961. She would marry Jon Wampler, a commercial airline pilot. In 2005, she was diagnosed with Graves' disease. After pausing her coaching career in 2012, she became a certified Sporting Group and Terrier Group groomer with the National Dog Grooming Association of America and also began competing in agility events with her dogs.

Competitive career

Hill passed her eighth

compulsory figures Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly a segment of figure skating, and gave the sport its name. They are the "circular patterns which skaters trace on the ice to demonstrate skill in placing clean turns evenly on round circles". For ...

test and gold freestyle test at the age of nine, possibly the youngest person ever to do so. In 1972, at age 11, she was the youngest senior lady ever to compete at the

United States Figure Skating Championships The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often ...

. Early in her career, Hill was coached by Howard Nicholson in

Lake Placid, New York Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,303. The village of Lake Placid is near the center of the town of North Elba, southwest of Plattsburg ...

. Due to the distance from her hometown of

Lexington, Massachusetts Lexington is a suburban town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is 10 miles (16 km) from Downtown Boston. The population was 34,454 as of the 2020 census. The area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, and was firs ...

, during the school year she only got occasional lessons and otherwise had to practice on her own at a local rink. Hill won the bronze medal at the

U.S. Figure Skating Championships The U.S. Figure Skating Championships is a figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is ofte ...

in 1978 and the silver in 1981. In 1975 she landed a triple loop in competition, at the

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. She finished 9th at the 1978 World Championships and 7th in 1981. She missed the 1980 Olympic season due to injury and was not able to challenge for a spot on the Olympic team.

Professional and coaching career

Hill performed with the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Olympic and US National Champion figure skaters who had retired from formal competition. Started in 1940, the Ice Cap ...

in 1984 and 1985. She worked as a coach at the

University of Delaware Figure Skating Club The University of Delaware Figure Skating Club ''(UDFSC)'' was chartered in January 1986. The University of Delaware is home to the Blue (Fred Rust Arena) and Gold arenas which serve as the home of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club ...

before moving to coach at The Pond Ice Arena in

Newark, Delaware Newark ( )Not as in Newark, New Jersey. is a small city in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. It is located west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is home to the Uni ...

in 2003. In 2007, she moved again, this time to the Skating Club of Wilmington Ice Rink in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. Hill's most decorated former student is

Johnny Weir John Garvin Weir (; born July 2, 1984) is an American figure skater and television commentator. He is a two-time Olympian (representing the United States in the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, respectively), the 2008 World bronze medalist, a t ...

, whom she coached to the gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Championships and three U.S. national titles (2004, 2005, and 2006). She was named the 2004 U.S. Figure Skating Association Coach of the Year for her work with Weir. Other former students include Ashley Wagner, Melissa Gregory / Denis Petukhov, Jenna Syken,

Katherine Hadford Katherine "Kati" Hadford (born 24 July 1989) is a Hungarian people, Hungarian-American former competitive figure skater who skated internationally for Hungary. She is the 2008 and 2010 Hungarian Figure Skating Championships, Hungarian national si ...

Vanessa James Vanessa James (born 27 September 1987) is a Canadian retired pair skater. Representing France with her former skating partner, Morgan Ciprès, she is the 2019 European Champion, the 2018 World bronze medallist, the 2017 European bronze meda ...

, Blake Rosenthal, Christine Zukowski, Andrea Varraux /

David Pelletier David Jacques Pelletier (born November 22, 1974) is a Canadian pairs figure skater. With his former wife Jamie Salé, he was the co-gold medal winner at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. They shared the gold medal with the Russian pair Elena Ber ...

, Christopher Berneck, and

Viktor Pfeifer Viktor Pfeifer (born May 16, 1987) is an Austrian former competitive figure skater. An eight-time Austrian national champion, he has placed as high as eighth at the European Championships (2013) and has competed three times at the Winter Olympi ...

. Hill-Wampler paused her coaching career in 2012. In 2018, she became the skating director at the Patriot Ice Center in

Competitive highlights

References

Skatabase: World Championships – Ladies Results: 1970–1979

* ''Skating Magazine, October 2005'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Priscilla American female single skaters American figure skating coaches 1960 births Living people Female sports coaches 21st-century American women