Background
Don Laws was born on May 30, 1929 in Washington, District of Columbia
Don Laws was born on May 30, 1929 in Washington, District of Columbia
Don Laws competed in single skating and ice dancing. He was coached by Osborne Colson. After retiring from competitive skating, Laws became a coach.
His students included Scott Hamilton, Tiffany Chinese, Michael Weiss, and Patrick Chan.
Laws was inducted into the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Professional Skaters Association Coaches Hall of Fame in 2004. Laws was one of the Americans who help create the International Skating Union Judging System, which replaced the 6.0 scoring system in 2004.
He served on the International Skating Union"s Singles and Pairs Committee.
With his ice dancing partner, Mary Firth, he won the United States. junior title in 1948. In men"s singles, he won the 1950 United States. junior title and placed seventh at the 1951 World Championships in Milan, Italy. In 2005, he received a "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Michael Weiss Foundation. He was a former president of the Professional Skaters Association and a Lifetime Achievement Honorary Member of that association.
