Perhaps so, Smokey. But it prevented my sister engaging in further competitive skating. She had already established herself as a world-class figure skater, first by being there at all, and then by placing in the top ten her first time out. She could have gone on to other world championships or possibly the Olympics. Because she had accepted the offer of a professional job in good faith, the rules of the USFSA required reclassifying her as "professional," whether she got the job came through or not, and that put a stop to the possibility of any further championships.

I repeat, she accepted the job in good faith, and essentially, got screwed. By English regulations that no one told her about before she made her decision to accept the offer. And since the folks at Empress Hall didn't think of this as an ordinary job, like clerking in a store or working in a factory, but a job that required extraordinary attributes, it never occured to them that a work permit might be denied.

This sort of thing was not just a "job." It takes a unique combination of talent and charisma which my sister had, and the folks at Empress Hall recognized, which is why they approached her in the first place. I don't know who they got in my sister's place, but the folks at Empress Hall were not happy at having to "settle" for a lesser talent, just because she was English.

Don Firth