John Allen Wisden Nicks (born 22 April 1929) is a British

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, with its introduction occurring at the Figure skating at the 1908 Summer Olympi ...

coach and former

pair skater 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 a ...

. With his sister, Jennifer Nicks, he is the 1953

World champion 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 ...

. As a coach, his skating pupils have included

Peggy Fleming Peggy Gale Fleming (born July 27, 1948) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 1968 Winter Olympic Champion in the ladies' singles, being the only American gold medalist at these Games, and a three-time World Champion (1966–1968) in ...

, pairs team

Tai Babilonia Tai Reina Babilonia (born September 22, 1960) is an American former pair skater. Together with Randy Gardner, she won the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships and five U.S. Figure Skating Championships (1976–1980). The pair qualified for ...

and Randy Gardner,

Kristi Yamaguchi Kristine Tsuya Yamaguchi (born July 12, 1971) is an American former competitive figure skater, author and philanthropist. A former competitor in women's singles, Yamaguchi is the Figure skating at the 1992 Winter Olympics, 1992 Olympic champion, ...

Paul Wylie Paul Stanton Wylie (born October 28, 1964) is an American figure skater, and the 1992 Olympic silver medalist in men's singles skating. Personal life Wylie was born on October 24, 1964, in Dallas, Texas, to Bob Wylie (a geophysicist) and B.L. ...

Sasha Cohen Alexandra Pauline "Sasha" Cohen (born October 26, 1984) is a retired American figure skater. She is the 2006 Olympic silver medalist, a three-time World Championship medalist, the 2003 Grand Prix Final Champion, and the 2006 U.S. Champion. S ...

, Rory Flack and

Ashley Wagner Ashley Elisabeth Wagner (born May 16, 1991) is an American former competitive figure skater. She is the 2016 World Figure Skating Championships, 2016 World silver medalist, a Figure skating at the 2014 Winter Olympics, 2014 Olympic bronze medali ...

Personal life

Nicks, the son of a sporting goods store owner, grew up in

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. He is the brother of Jennifer Nicks. Nicks moved to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in the 1960s with his wife Denise, son Christopher and daughter Carolyn and was briefly an undocumented immigrant but received his

green card A green card, known officially as a permanent resident card, is an identity document which shows that a person has permanent residency in the United States. ("The term 'lawfully admitted for permanent residence' means the status of having been ...

a few weeks later. He married American former ice dancer Yvonne Littlefield. He became a

U.S. citizen 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 Consti ...

around 2008.

Career

Nicks began skating at age 10 or 11 after his father – who knew nothing about skating but wanted to sell skating equipment – put him in skates in order to learn more about them. John and Jennifer competed initially as singles skaters but agreed to train together 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 ...

upon the request of the British association, which promised to support them. They made their first Olympic appearance at the

1948 Winter Olympics The 1948 Winter Olympics, officially known as the V Olympic Winter Games (; ; ; ) and commonly known as St. Moritz 1948 (; ), were a winter multi-sport event held from 30 January to 8 February 1948 in St. Moritz, Switzerland. The Games were the ...

, where they finished 8th. Recalling the competition in a January 2013 interview, John said, "it was snowing so much they had to stop the skating after every three skaters to clear the snow." He was impressed by the American skaters at the event, in particular

Dick Button Richard Totten Button (July 18, 1929 – January 30, 2025) was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-Euro ...

– this would later influence his decision to come to the United States. The Nicks siblings won the first of their four World medals, silver, at the 1950 World Championships. They won World bronze the next two seasons and competed at their second Olympics in 1952, where they finished 4th. The pair won gold at the 1953 World Championships in

Davos Davos (, ; or ; ; Old ) is an Alpine resort town and municipality in the Prättigau/Davos Region in the canton of Graubünden, Switzerland. It has a permanent population of (). Davos is located on the river Landwasser, in the Rhaetian ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. John said, "We were skating outdoors back then, and the temperature was, like, 28 degrees during a practice. It was so cold that I remember when I was taking off my boots that my laces were frozen." The siblings retired from competition after the event. John moved to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, where he skated in shows and began coaching, but moved back to England in 1960 and eventually on to Canada, coaching in

Trail, British Columbia Trail is a city in the western Kootenays region of the British Columbia Interior, Interior of British Columbia, Canada. It was named after the Dewdney Trail, which passed through the area. The town was first called Trail Creek or Trail Creek Lan ...

. Following the February 1961 crash of

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Idlewild Airport in New York City to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 15 February 1961, the Boeing 707-329 operating the flight crashed on approach to Brussels Airport, kill ...

, which killed the entire US figure skating team, he received four offers of a coaching job in the United States and agreed to coach at a rink in

Paramount, California Paramount is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. According to the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 53,733, down from 54,098 at the 2010 census. Part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, Paramount is bordered by ...

owned by Frank Zamboni. He first appeared at the U.S. Championships as a coach in 1965. As of 2012, Nicks coaches in

Aliso Viejo, California Aliso Viejo (Spanish for "Old Sycamore") is a city in the San Joaquin Hills of southern Orange County, California. It had a population of 52,176 as of the 2020 census, up from 47,823 as of the 2010 census. It became Orange County's 34th city ...

. He has coached over 1,200 skaters during his career. In April 2013, he said he would no longer travel but would still coach Ashley Wagner at the Aliso Viejo Ice Palace. Nicks was inducted into the

World Figure Skating Hall of Fame The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. It is located at the Broadmoor Resort in Co ...

in 2000. He appeared as a judge on the 2006

FOX Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

television program ''

Skating with Celebrities ''Skating with Celebrities'' is an American figure skating talent show that began airing on Fox on January 18, 2006. The show also aired in Australia on Network Ten in early 2006 and in New Zealand in October 2008. The show was the U.S. version of ...

''. P.S.A. Hall of Fame, I.S.I.A. Hall of Fame, U.S.F.S. Hall of Fame, I.S.U. World Hall of Fame, Skaters have won 29 National Championships, Coached for U.S. in 31 World Championships, Coached for U.S. in 10 Winter Olympics His students have included: *

* Angela Nikodinov * Jo Jo Starbuck /

Kenneth Shelley Kenneth Gene Shelley (born October 4, 1951) is an American figure skater who competed in both singles and pairs. As a single skater, he won the 1972 United States Figure Skating Championships and placed 4th at the 1972 Winter Olympics. His highes ...

/ Randy Gardner * Tiffany Chin *Dana Graham /

Christopher Bowman Christopher Nicol Bowman (March 30, 1967 – January 10, 2008) was an American figure skater. He was a two-time World medalist (silver in 1989, bronze in 1990), the 1983 World Junior champion, and a two-time U.S. national champion. He compete ...

Natasha Kuchiki Natasha Maria Hanako Kuchiki (born October 28, 1976) is an American former competitive pair skater. She is the 1991 World Figure Skating Championships, 1991 World bronze medalist with Todd Sand. Personal life Kuchiki was born in Burbank, Califo ...

* Jenni Meno /

Todd Sand Todd Sand (born October 30, 1963) is an American pair skater. With his wife Jenni Meno, he is the 1998 World silver medalist, a two-time World bronze medalist (1995, 1996), and a three-time U.S. national champion (1994–96). With his previou ...

Rudy Galindo Val Joe "Rudy" Galindo (born September 7, 1969) is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, he is the 1996 U.S. national champion, 1987 World Junior Champion, and 199 ...

Naomi Nari Nam Naomi Nari Nam (born July 6, 1985) is an American former competitive figure skater who competed in both single skating and pair skating. As a single skater, she was the 1999 U.S. national silver medalist. As a pair skater, she was the 2006 Skate ...

(since June 2011) *

Michael Christian Martinez Michael Christian "Mikee" Martinez (born November 4, 1996) is a Filipino Olympic figure skater. He is the 2015 Asian Figure Skating Trophy champion, a two-time Triglav Trophy champion and has won one ISU Challenger Series medal, silver at the 2 ...

* Michael Novales * Rory Flack

Competitive highlights with Nicks

John Nicks Pairs Challenge

The John Nicks Pairs Challenge is an annual international

competition hosted by U.S. Figure Skating. It is held in September in

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harb ...

. Medals are awarded on the senior and junior levels. Named in honor of British figure skating coach and former pair skater John Nicks, the event was first held in 2021.

References

External links

Brighton and Hove
- John and Jennifer Nicks {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicks, John 1929 births Living people American figure skating coaches British male pair skaters British emigrants to the United States European Figure Skating Championships medalists Figure skaters at the 1948 Winter Olympics Figure skaters at the 1952 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Great Britain Place of birth missing (living people) Sportspeople from Brighton World Figure Skating Championships medalists

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...