SKATING STAR SAYS DEDICATION, NOT SIZE, MATTERS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 28, 1992                   TAG: 9201280423
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: WENDI GIBSON
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
SKATING STAR SAYS DEDICATION, NOT SIZE, MATTERS
You don't have to be a big burly guy or girl - to play a sport.
Just take a look at figure skater Scott Hamilton, a 5-foot-3-inch power-jumper, back-flipper and foot-shuffler.
Hamilton, a U.S. Olympic gold medalist and four-time world champion, will star with other Olympic and world figure skaters today at the Roanoke Civic Center in the Discover Card Stars On Ice Show at 7:30 p.m.
"There are a lot of things for small kids," Hamilton said in a recent interview from Worcester, Mass., where he and the Stars on Ice team were performing.
"You don't have to have physical size to compete. There's baseball, even some football programs, skating, track and field, tennis, golf."
Just pick something that you can dedicate yourself to, Hamilton advised.
He urges kids, however, to "do as much of everything as possible" before deciding to follow one path so closely for the rest of their lives.
Hamilton's interest in skating came when he was 9 years old and recovering from a childhood illness that halted his growth. Putting on skates helped him both emotionally and physically, helping him gain self-confidence, stamina and strength, he said. He even grew a little more.
Today he competes professionally, stars in the Stars on Ice tour, and is a television broadcaster for skating events.
Is he as excited about the upcoming Winter Olympic Games, for which he will be a television commentator, as he was eight years ago?
"I'm more excited than ever; I get to enjoy it now."
Tickets for tonight's performance can be reserved by calling 981-1201.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB