Browning born to entertain

Entertainment should be Kurt Browning's middle name.

The pride of Caroline and four-time world amateur figure skating champion has always been an entertainer. Blessed with fast feet and a load of charisma, Browning was the first to land a quad in amateur competition and, like Elvis Stojko who followed, turned in performances that were on the cutting edge.

He carried that trait over into his professional skating career, which started in 1994.

"I was lucky enough to have Kristy Yamaguchi train with me in Edmonton in the early '90s," Browning said earlier this week from Toronto, while looking ahead to guest appearances in the Sears Open Friday and Saturday at the Centrium.

"We would have made a good pair if we had moved on to the pros at the same time. But she went on to win gold at the (1992) Olympics and unfortunately I didn't."

So Yamaguchi turned pro following the Albertville Olympics, joining Stars on Ice, and Browning kept his amateur status and took one more stab at an Olympic medal. He finished fifth in Norway in '94 and his amateur career was over.

The Winter Olympics was about the only competition in which Browning was unable to excel. Otherwise, he was the man in amateur skating from 1989 to '93 and in 1990 was the recipient of the Lou Marsh Award as Canada's athlete of the year and the CP Lionel Conacher Award as the nation's top male athlete.

Now in his ninth year as a Stars on Ice and competing professional, Browning, 36, is still the ultimate entertainer. He also considers himself very fortunate.

"As a pro, a skater has more opportunities to work with fantastic choreographers and skaters like Scott Hamilton," he said. "You're really challenged, but at the same time it's a fun career."

Browning's career keeps him away from his Toronto home and wife Sonia Rodriguez, a principal dancer with the National Ballet of Canada, for six to eight months a year while he visits 60 to 70 U.S. cities and does another 12 shows in Canada and perhaps one or two in Europe.

"Sometimes you're in a city for just one night, so you can't get too comfortable," he said. "I'm loving it but it can be difficult."

Being away from Toronto, where he's lived for the past decade after moving from Edmonton, may become even more difficult in the future.

"My wife and I don't have kids yet and we don't have any immediate plans, but we hope to have a family (one day)," said Browning.

The three-time world professional champion competed in the Sears Open each of the past eight years. He hadn't planned on being involved in this year's event but had a change of heart when he learned it would be staged at the Centrium.

"I decided I wanted to be involved in some capacity with the Open so close to home (Caroline)," said Browning, who's appearing strictly as a guest performer. "It's a chance for me to get on the ice and do a couple of fun numbers. Both of them are exhibition orientated."

Browning arrives in Red Deer today and will return to Toronto following his Saturday performance.

"I would have loved to visit the (family) farm (near Caroline), but I have prior commitments," he said. "I don't get out to Alberta much, so I'm looking forward to seeing my family. I have nieces that are taller than I am now. I'm also looking forward to talking to people like (former Edmonton skater) Michael Slipchuk, an old friend of mine who's now the head coach at Calgary Glencoe."

Caroline's favourite son is confident Central Alberta figure skating fans won't be disappointed this weekend. "There should be a great crowd and it should be a great show with people like Jamie Sale and David Pelletier competing," he said.

The star-studded Sears Open lineup also features the likes of three-time U.S. ladies national silver medallist Sasha Cohen, five-time Canadian ladies champ Jennifer Robinson, British legend Steve Cousins, former world and U.S. champion Todd Eldredge and current Olympic, world and European champ Alexei Yagudin.

Friday's performance, featuring the ladies, pairs and men's short programs, starts at 7 p.m.