The Best and the Worst Figure Skating Events of 2009

The 2009 ISU World Figure Skating Championships was held in Los Angeles, California, USA from March 22 through March 29, 2009. New champions were crowned in three of the four events. People who loved figure skating came together from all over the world. Ice skating fans began to look forward to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Nicole Bobek, who was once an ice skating star, became an alleged criminal. It is said she could face up to ten years in prison.

In 2009, U.S. National Men's Figure Skating Jeremy Abbott, 2008 and 2009 U.S. Pair Skating Champions Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker, 2006 U.S. Pair Skating Champions Rena Inoue and John Baldwin, and 2008 U.S. Ladies Figure Skating Champion, Mirai Nagasu, announced coaching changes.

Rachael Flatt is the 2008 World Junior Champion and the 2008 and 2009 U.S. ladies silver medalist. In 2009, Olympic Champion, Dorothy Hamill, became Flatt's mentor and friend.

2006 Olympic Figure Skating Silver Medalist, Sasha Cohen, went back to training under her longtime coach, John A.W. Nicks. In 2009, Cohen returned to competitive skating after a three year absence. Her intention was to take part in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

The National Solo Dance Championship, a pilot figure skating competition, took place for the first time, in Colorado Springs, Colorado in September of 2009.

In October of 2009, Pair skating legend, Oleg Protopopov, had a stroke.

2006 Olympic champion Evgeni Plushenko returned to competitive figure skating just in time to take part in the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

Figure skater, Haley Rose Gans, died tragically in a skiing accident on Friday, November 20, 2009. She was fourteen years old.

Ice skating show star and figure skating coach, Skippy Baxter, celebrated his 90th Birthday on December 6, 2009. Ice skating show legend, "Mr. Debonair" Richard Dwyer, and world figure skating champion, Charlie Tickner, came to Santa Rosa, California's Snoopy's Home Ice to help him celebrate.