Robert Weaver

1998 U.S. Adult Nationals silver medalist, Gold Men II
1999 Adult Skater of the Year, Atlanta Figure Skating Club

Robert Weaver took up figure skating as an adult, and trains under Tami Mickle in Atlanta and Miggs Neenan in Fort Lauderdale. A competitive roller skater with triple jumps as a youngster, he wanted to learn figure skating at age 17, after seeing Cincinnati midwesterns in 1977, but was told he was too old to begin competing.

"I was disappointed with that, but around age 33 I decided I wasn't getting any younger and went ahead and did it, and then I found out about the adult [competitive] structure," said Weaver. "The USFSA was really getting that going when I first started."

Weaver is performing double jumps on the ice now, and is especially proud of his double salchow and loop, because the edge jumps are harder than toe jumps for athletes making the transition from roller skating to ice.

Weaver came out as gay directly out of high school, and said that "one of the things I do love about the sport is the high percentage of out gay adults we have. I realize in the élite ranks the percentage of out people is disappointingly low. But at the same time, there are people who, even though they are not out about their orientation, are very comfortable about it. I know of younger gay male skaters, 16 or 17 years old, who aren't out about their sexuality, but they're not hiding it either. They're just there, and you can take them or leave them. I think the nature of our sport affords that. I find that very beautiful. I'm drawn to the sport because of that."

The 1994 Gay Games was when Weaver truly fell in love with the sport, as a competitor and a spectator. "What I saw at the Unity Games was how unlimited our sport really is," he said. "The pairs team that skated in military gear with X's over their mouths. There were people that skated in cross-gender costumes; a male skater who skated in a slip. It was just so brilliant, the expression you saw at the competition. I was just in awe. I'm trying to find my own expression in the sport."

Two recent highlights of Weaver's career have been competing at the "skater-friendly, stress-free" Mountain Cup in France in May 1999 -- especially since his boyfriend also competed there -- and being voted Adult Skater of 1999 by the skaters at the Atlanta Figure Skating Club.

"That was really cool -- it was something that I always wanted," Weaver laughed. "This year I did pretty well. I chaired the adult Peach Classic, a competition we have down here in Atlanta, and just really got the adults involved in the sport and encouraged new skaters to just participate in the sport. It's funny how when you just do what you enjoy, then people really seem to notice you."

Partial competitive history:

1994:
Gay Games IV, Level C Men, 5th place

1995:
Eastern Sectional Championships, Adult Senior Men, 2nd Place
U.S. Adult Nationals, Adult Senior Men, 6th Place

1996:
South Atlantic Regional Championships, Adult Senior Men, 1st Place
Eastern Sectional Championships, Adult Senior Men, 3rd Place

1997:
Injured, no competitions skated

1998:
Eastern Sectional Championships, Gold Men, 3rd Place
U.S. Adult Nationals, Championship Gold Men, 6th Place
U.S. Adult Nationals, Gold Men II, 2nd Place

1999:
Eastern Sectional Championships, Gold Men, 4th Place
U.S. Adult Nationals, withdrew (injured)
Mountain Cup in Villard de Lans, France, Gold Men II, 3rd Place

2000:
Eastern Sectional Championships, Gold Men, 5th Place




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