Martin Skotnický (born 24 August 1947) is a Slovak

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

coach and former competitor for

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. With his sister,

Diana Skotnická Diana Skotnická is a figure skating coach and former ice dancer who competed for Czechoslovakia. With her brother, Martin Skotnický, she is the 1970 Figure skating at the Winter Universiade, Winter Universiade champion and a five-time Czechoslov ...

, he is the 1970

Winter Universiade The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

champion and a five-time Czechoslovak national champion (1970–74). They placed sixth at the 1973 European Championships.

Personal life

Skotnický was born on 24 August 1947. He has Slovak and French citizenship. He is the brother of Diana Skotnická. He is married to Bruni Skotnicky, who competed in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

for Germany as

Brunhilde Baßler Brunhilde "Bruni" Baßler (Bassler), married surname: Skotnicky, is a former pair skater who represented West Germany. In 1970, she and her skating partner, Eberhard Rausch, won gold at the Kennedy Memorial Winter Games and West German Champio ...

Career

Competitive

Skotnický switched from

single skating Single skating is a discipline of figure skating in which male and female skaters compete individually. Men's singles and women's singles are governed by the International Skating Union (ISU). Figure skating is the oldest winter sport conteste ...

after a fracture. He teamed up with his sister,

. Their coaches included Ivan Mauer,

Hilda Múdra Hilda Múdra, née Hildegard Klimpel (1 January 1926 – 22 November 2021), was an Austrian-born Slovak figure skating coach (sport), coach. Her most notable student was Ondrej Nepela, the Figure skating at the 1972 Winter Olympics, 1972 Olympic ...

, and Míla Nováková. The siblings took silver at the

1968 Winter Universiade The 1968 Winter Universiade, the V Winter Universiade, took place in Innsbruck, Austria. The Soviet Union topped the medal standings. Medal table Sports * * * * * * * References

{{Universiade Winter World University Games, 19 ...

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

, Austria. In the 1969–1970 season, Skotnická/Skotnický won the first of their five consecutive national titles and placed 11th at the

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 ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

, Yugoslavia. They concluded their season with gold at the

1970 Winter Universiade The 1970 Winter Universiade, the 6th Winter Universiade, an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes, took place in Rovaniemi, Finland. 416 athletes from 25 countries participated in the games. Medal table Sports * ...

Rovaniemi Rovaniemi ( , ; ; ; ) is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Lapland (Finland), Lapland. It is located near the Arctic Circle in the northern interior of the country. The population of Rovaniemi is approximately , while the Rovaniemi su ...

, Finland. Skotnická/Skotnický competed at nine ISU Championships. Their best continental result, sixth, came at the 1973 European Championships in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, West Germany. A few weeks later, they would achieve their career-best world result, finishing eighth at the 1973 World Championships in

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

, Czechoslovakia. The two retired from competition in 1974.

Post-competitive

In 1975, Skotnický became director of a figure skating rink in

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

, France. In the early 1980s, he was an assistant coach for British ice dancers

Jayne Torvill Jayne Torvill, OBE (born 7 October 1957) is a British professional ice dancer and former competitor. She and her partner Christopher Dean are considered amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Wint ...

Christopher Dean Christopher Colin Dean, OBE (born 27 July 1958) is a British ice dancer considered, with his skating partner Jayne Torvill, amongst the greatest ice dancers of all time. The pair won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and a bronze medal ...

. He now coaches in

Oberstdorf Oberstdorf (Low Alemannic German, Low Alemannic: ''Oberschdorf'') is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality and skiing and hiking town in Germany, located in the Allgäu region of the Bavarian Alps. It is the southernmost settlement in German ...

, Germany. He has worked with: * Isabelle Duchesnay / Paul Duchesnay *

Susanna Rahkamo Dr. Susanna Rahkamo (born 25 February 1965) is a Finnish former competitive figure skater, sports leader and leadership consultant. Education and research Susanna Rahkamo holds a PhD (Aalto University, Industrial Engineering) and a master's deg ...

/ Petri Kokko *

Nelli Zhiganshina Nelli Nailevna Zhiganshina (; born 31 March 1987) is a Russian-born German ice dancer. With Alexander Gazsi, she is a six-time German national champion (2007, 2011–2015) and has won twelve international medals. They have placed as high as 6t ...

/ Alexander Gazsi * Kati Winkler /

René Lohse René Lohse, married Sachtler-Lohse (born 23 September 1973) is a German former competitive Ice dancing, ice dancer. With partner Kati Winkler, he is the 2004 World Figure Skating Championships, 2004 World bronze medalist and a six-time German ...

* Christina Beier / William Beier * Petra Born / Rainer Schönborn * Jennifer Goolsbee / Hendryk Schamberger * Claudia Leistner *

Tanja Kolbe Tanja Kolbe (born 7 September 1990) is a German former competitive ice dancer. With Stefano Caruso, she won seven international medals and two German national silver medals. They placed eighth at the 2013 European Championships and competed a ...

/ Stefano Caruso

Results

(with Diana Skotnická)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skotnicky, Martin Living people Czechoslovak male ice dancers Slovak figure skating coaches Figure skaters from Bratislava Winter World University Games medalists in figure skating 1947 births Slovak male ice dancers FISU World University Games gold medalists for Czechoslovakia Competitors at the 1968 Winter Universiade Competitors at the 1970 Winter Universiade