Priscilla Hill
Encyclopedia
Priscilla Hill is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 retired competitive figure skater who currently works as a coach. She was a two-time medalist at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and competed twice at the World Figure Skating Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

. She was the first American woman to land the triple loop
Loop jump
The Loop jump is a figure skating jump that takes off from a back outside edge and lands on the same backwards outside edge. For a jump with counterclockwise rotation, this is the right back outside edge. It is named from its similarity to the loop compulsory figure. The invention is widely...

 in competition.

Competitive career

Priscilla Hill passed her eighth figure test
Compulsory figures
Compulsory figures or school figures were formerly an aspect of the sport of figure skating, from which the sport derives its name. Carving specific patterns or figures into the ice was the original focus of the sport. The patterns of compulsory figures all derive from the basic figure eight...

 and gold freestyle test at the age of nine, possibly the youngest person ever to do so. In 1972, at age 11, she was the youngest senior lady ever to compete at the United States Figure Skating Championships
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...

.

In her early career Hill was coached by Howard Nicholson in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....

. Because of the distance from her hometown of Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington, Massachusetts
Lexington is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 31,399 at the 2010 census. This town is famous for being the site of the first shot of the American Revolution, in the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775.- History :...

, during the school year she only got occasional lessons and otherwise had to practice on her own at a local rink.

She won the bronze medal at the U. S. Figure Skating Championships in 1978 and the silver in 1981. In 1975 she landed a triple loop in competition, at the Prague Skate in Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...

. She finished 9th at the 1978 World Figure Skating Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

 and 7th in 1981. She missed the 1980 Olympic season due to injury and was not able to challenge for a spot on the Olympic team.

Professional and coaching career

Hill skated in the Ice Capades
Ice Capades
The Ice Capades was a traveling entertainment show featuring theatrical performances involving ice skating. Shows often featured former Olympicand National Champion figure skaters who had retired from amateur competition....

 in 1984 and 1985. She worked as a coach at the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club
University of Delaware Figure Skating Club
The University of Delaware Figure Skating Club was chartered in January 1986. The University of Delaware is home to the Blue and Gold arenas which serve as the home of the University of Delaware Figure Skating Club and the Delaware Ice Skating Science Development Center...

 before moving to coach at The Pond Ice Arena in Newark, Delaware
Newark, Delaware
Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...

 in 2003. In 2007, she moved again, this time to the Skating Club of Wilmington Ice Rink in Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...

.

Hill's most decorated former student is Johnny Weir
Johnny Weir
John Garvin "Johnny" Weir is an American figure skater. He is a three-time U.S. National Champion , the 2008 Worlds bronze medalist, a two-time Grand Prix Final bronze medalist, and the 2001 World Junior Champion....

, whom she coached to the gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Figure Skating Championships
World Junior Figure Skating Championships
The World Junior Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which younger figure skaters compete for the title of World Junior Champion...

 and three U.S. National Championships (2004, 2005 and 2006). She was named the 2004 U.S. Figure Skating Association Coach of the Year for her work with Weir.
Among her other current and former students are Ashley Wagner
Ashley Wagner
Ashley Wagner is an American figure skater. She is the 2008 and 2010 U.S. bronze medalist and 2007 and 2009 World Junior bronze medalist.-Personal life:...

, Melissa Gregory
Melissa Gregory
Melissa Gregory is an American ice dancer. With partner and husband Denis Petukhov, she is the 2004–2007 U.S. silver medalist.-Biography:...

 & Denis Petukhov
Denis Petukhov
Denis Petukhov is a Russian-American ice dancer. With partner and wife Melissa Gregory, he is the 2004-2007 U.S. silver medalist.-Biography:...

, Jenna Syken
Jenna Syken
Jenna Syken is an American figure skater who competes for Israel. In November 2005 she placed 9th on the novice level in the 2006 Eastern Sectional Championships, failing to qualify for the 2006 U.S. Championships...

, Katherine Hadford
Katherine Hadford
Katherine "Kati" Hadford is a Hungarian-American figure skater who skates internationally for Hungary. She is the 2008 & 2010 Hungarian national silver medalist and three time bronze medalist.-Personal life:...

, Vanessa James
Vanessa James
-References:...

, Blake Rosenthal
Blake Rosenthal
Blake Rosenthal is an American figure skater who has competed as a single skater, pair skater, and ice dancer. As a single skater, she is the 2007 U.S. junior pewter medalist and won the silver medal at the 2007-2008 ISU Junior Grand Prix event in Estonia.As an ice dancer, she competed with...

, Christine Zukowski
Christine Zukowski
Christine Zukowski is an American figure skater. She is the 2006 World Junior bronze medalist....

, Andrea Varraux
Andrea Varraux
Andrea Varraux is an American pair skater. With David Pelletier, Varraux won the 2003 Junior Grand Prix event in Croatia and placed fourth in Ostrava. They went on to place sevent at the Junior Grand Prix Final...

 & David Pelletier
David Pelletier (American figure skater)
David Pelletier is an American pair skater. With Andrea Varraux, Pelletier won the 2003 Junior Grand Prix event in Croatia and placed fourth in Ostrava. They went on to place seventh at the Junior Grand Prix Final...

, Christopher Berneck and Viktor Pfeifer
Viktor Pfeifer
Viktor Pfeifer is an Austrian figure skater. He is a six-time Austrian national champion. Pfeifer represented Austria at the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics, where he placed 22nd and 21st accordingly....

.

Competitive highlights

Event 1973-74 1974-75 1975-76 1976-77 1977-78 1978-79 1980-81
World Championships
World Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...

 
9th 7th
U.S. Championships
United States Figure Skating Championships
The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters...

 
3rd 2nd
Nebelhorn Trophy
Nebelhorn Trophy
The Nebelhorn Trophy is an international senior-level figure skating competition organized by the Deutsche Eislauf-Union and held annually in Oberstdorf, Germany. The competition is named after the Nebelhorn, a nearby mountain....

 
1st
Richmond Trophy
Richmond Trophy
The Richmond Trophy was an international figure skating competition for ladies held annually from 1949 to 1980 at the Richmond ice rink near London. It was the only invitational international competition held on a regular basis in the post-war years...

 
1st
Eastern Sectionals
Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships
The Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating which has been held since 1938....

1st 1st 1st 1st 1st
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