Bowling Green’s favorite son, four-time figure skating world champion and 1984 Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton, will showcase his talent and share skills with other skaters in this year’s Ice Horizons show.

Hamilton, who was born in Bowling Green in 1958 and adopted by the late University professors Ernest and Dorothy Hamilton, skated in the first Ice Horizons show in 1968, shortly after the completion of the Ice Arena at the University.

According to Don Schneider, the show’s chairman, this year will mark Hamilton’s 13th appearance in Ice Horizons after a 10-year absence from Bowling Green ice. Schneider hopes that Hamilton will once again encourage skaters to perform to the best of their abilities.

Michael Sterling, Hamilton’s publicity agent of 17 years, is sure that he will.

“He wants to do that and he loves to do that,” Sterling said. “He’s one of those great gentlemen of the sport. He’s been in that situation as a child, so he wants to have the opportunity to talk to them.”

According to Sterling, it was a stroke of luck that brought Bowling Green to know Hamilton as a skater. At age two, Hamilton contracted a mysterious illness that caused him to stop growing. The disease was mistakenly diagnosed as cystic fibrosis, then as Schwachmann’s syndrome, but doctors discovered that his body didn’t absorb nutrients from the foods he was eating. As a result, he was placed on numerous special diets in an attempt to reverse the condition. It turned out he wouldn’t need those diets for too long.

“One day he went ice skating with his sister (Susan) and by a fluke, the cold atmosphere started helping him,” Sterling said. “It did make him a little smaller than his peers, but it didn’t hurt his attitude.”

Though only 5’3″ Hamilton has been able to stand tall through adversity, including a battle with testicular cancer in 1997. “Scott’s attitude is remarkable in the sense that when he was officially diagnosed with cancer, he said, ‘so what’s the bad news?'” Sterling said. “Scott always finds a way to take something and turn it around and make it into something positive.”

Working around lecture tours and inspirational speeches about the adversity he’s faced, Hamilton’s return is a mix of perfect timing and personal connections within the community.

“He remains very friendly with people who were colleagues of his late parents,” Sterling said. “He loves returning to his roots and seeing the old neighborhood.”

Though Hamilton is a favorite, a brief look at the show’s history reveals an abundance of accomplished guest skaters including Paul Wyle in 1995 and Peter and Kitty Carruthers appearing in 1981 and 1993.

Over its existence, the bi-annual show has gained national attention with its ability to attract well-known skaters to the area, and a high level of participation in all aspects of the show. “The show is known throughout the country to be one of the best amateur shows,” Lona Leck, assistant director of the Ice Arena, said. “I’m sure it is going to be an amazing show.”

Slated for Saturday April 26, the show will also feature guest skaters Melissa Telecky and the twin sister duo Alissa and Amber Czisny, all of Bowling Green as well as more than 200 skaters from the community and University. All skaters are members of the Bowling Green Skating Club and the United States Figure Skating Association.

The participation of so many past and present Bowling Green residents makes this show stand out among the rest.

“It’s really a unique community event to Bowling Green,” Schneider said. “Not many communities can boast these kinds of events. Not only do you need an ice arena to do it, but you also need the organization, like the Bowling Green Skating Club.”

Also sponsored by Ice Horizons Inc., a non-profit organization, the goal of the show is to both educate the public and promote the sport of figure skating among youth and adults in Northwest Ohio. “It is merely for the pleasure of ice skating and for the art and craft of learning ice skating,” Schneider said.

A committee forms one year before the event to select the show’s director and begin organizing volunteers. This year, more than 100 volunteers are being utilized in such areas as set design and construction, ticket sales, publicity and costuming. According to Shelly Bressler, director of the show, it is for the love of skating that so many are willing to put in long hours on or off the ice.

“To organize and get them all situated and try and make sure they all make practice is quite a task,” she said. “But if we didn’t love skating, we wouldn’t be doing this.”

A large love of the sport among males in the community isn’t visible, however. But according to Bressler, Hamilton’s return will support the dozen males that are participating in the show. However, an existing stereotype citing figure skating as a female sport will not be broken by his visit, she said.

“Because we are in a very small town, if you’re a male and you do figure skating, it’s weird,” she said. “Because Bowling Green’s such a nice little town they don’t crucify or anything, but you’re just not cool.”

According to Schneider, Hamilton’s visits to Bowling Green serve as times to remember what a “hometown boy” can accomplish through hard work and dedication. It serves as a reminder to Hamilton too.

“I always tell people, he’s got his head on his shoulders and his feet on the ground,” Sterling said. “He always sets his sights on the road ahead, but he doesn’t forget where he’s come from.”