Melville F. Rogers (January 5, 1899 – September 26, 1973) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

figure skater 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 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

and figure skating judge. He competed in the disciplines of

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and fours. He won the Canadian championship several times.

Personal life

Melville Falkner Rogers, son of Amos Frankford Rogers and Margaret Rebecca Falkner, was born in Ottawa, January 5, 1899 (Ontario birth registrations). Melville's siblings included Frankford Ernest Rogers (born April 20, 1897) and Gladys Margaret Rogers (born June 1, 1903). In Ottawa on March 5, 1927, Melville married Isobel Hossack Blyth, daughter of James Thorp Blyth and Isabella Evans Thomson (Ontario marriage registration). According to that marriage registration, Melville was a lawyer. Melville and Isobel (1904–1968) are buried in the Beechwood Cemetery, section 49, lot 44 (Beechwood Cemetery burial registers).

Skating career

National level

As a single skater, he won the

Canadian Figure Skating Championships The Canadian National Skating Championships () are an annual figure skating competition organized by Skate Canada to crown the List of national championships in figure skating, national champions of Canada. While the first official Canadian Champ ...

in 1923 and from 1925 to 1928. As a pair skater, he won the silver medal at the 1922 Canadian Championships and the bronze medal at the 1923 Canadian Championships with partner Cecil Smith. During those years, he represented the Toronto Skate Club in competition. He won the 1925 Canadian Championships, the silver medal at the 1928 Championships, and the bronze medal at the 1929 Championships with Gladys Rogers, representing the Minto Skating Club. He won the bronze medal at the 1926 Canadian Championships with partner Isobel Blyth, whom he married in 1927 (Ontario marriage registration 1927 009200). As an ice dancer, he won the silver medal at the 1940 Canadian Championships with Elmore Davis. They also won the Junior national title that same year. In the fours discipline, he won the 1922 Canadian fours silver medal with partners Sidney Pepler, Frankford Rogers, and Katherine Capreol. He won the 1929 Canadian fours silver medal with partners

Frances Claudet Frances Claudet (April 11, 1911 – October 17, 2001) was a Canadian pair skater. With partner Chauncey Bangs, she won the gold medal at the 1931 Canadian Figure Skating Championships and competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics The 1932 Winte ...

, Katherine Lopdell, and Guy Owen. He won the 1931 Canadian fours bronze medal with the same team as in 1929. He won the 1932 Canadian fours silver medal with partners Elmore Davis, Prudence Holbrook and Guy Owen. He won the 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937 Canadian fours title with the same team as in 1932.

Internationally

He competed at the

1924 Winter Olympics The 1924 Winter Olympics, officially known as the I Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Chamonix 1924 (), were a winter multi-sport event which was held in 1924 in Chamonix, France. Originally held in association with the 1924 Summer ...

as both a single skater and a pair skater. He placed 7th in singles, and 7th in pairs with partner Cecil Smith. At those Olympics, Rogers became the first Canadian men's singles skater to compete at the Olympics and was also a member of the first Canadian pairs team to compete at the Olympics. He won the

North American North America is a continent in the Northern and Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea, and to the sou ...

singles title in 1925 and 1927. He won the 1925 silver medal in pairs with Gladys Rogers. He won the fours title in 1933, 1935, and 1937 with Margaret Davis, Prudence Holbrook, and Guy Owen. He also competed in pairs with Isobel Rogers, formerly Isobel Blyth. They placed 5th at the 1930 World Figure Skating Championships

Results

Men's singles

Pairs

(with Rathbun) (with Smith) (with Rogers) (with Blyth)

Fours

(with Margaret Davis, Prudence Holbrook, and Guy Owen) (with

, Kathleen Lopdell, and Guy Owen)

Professional career

Following his retirement from competitive skating, he worked as a judge. He served as the president of the

Canadian Figure Skating Association Skate Canada (Canadian French: ''Patinage Canada'', lit. "Skating Canada") is the national governing body for figure skating in Canada, recognized by the International Skating Union and the Canadian Olympic Committee. It organizes the annual ...

for two terms and remained active with the

Minto Skating Club The Minto Skating Club is a competitive figure skating club in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, founded in 1904. The Club is a member of the Skate Canada figure skating organization in Canada, and was a founder of the predecessor organization to Skate Cana ...

for many years. He was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1991.

References

* * * IOC * ISU results * Canadian Association of figure skating

External links

Canadian Figure Skating Hall of Fame profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogers, Melville Canadian male single skaters Canadian male pair skaters Canadian male ice dancers Figure skaters at the 1924 Winter Olympics Olympic figure skaters for Canada Figure skaters from Ottawa 1899 births 1973 deaths 20th-century Canadian sportsmen