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Copyright 1994 The Associated Press

For decades, a heavy schedule for a figure skater meant four events, perhaps five in an Olympic year. In the brave new world wrought by Tonya vs. Nancy and soaring television ratings, Brian Boitano will compete in six events before he even begins touring in his ice show.

And Boitano won't even be the busiest competitor. Kurt Browning, Viktor Petrenko and Paul Wylie all have more events on their schedules.

Suddenly, figure skating has taken on the look of tennis, with competitions springing up throughout the United States, Europe and the Orient for big purses. And with lots of TV coverage.

"This is a natural progression of the sport," said 1984 Olympic champion Scott Hamilton, who will skate in "a few" events when he isn't doing analysis for CBS. "It all stems from the popularity our sport has gained. We've never had this kind of support."

The dividing line between amateurs and professionals virtually has been erased. The Olympics were the first sign of that, with the remaining amateurs sweeping the individual medals. Now, with corporate sponsorship and television backing, the big-name pros such as Boitano, Petrenko, Kristi Yamaguchi and Katarina Witt don't need the Olympic seal of approval.

"This is the next step for skating," said Browning, the four-time world champion from Canada. "You'll probably see even more competitions each year, leading up to the next Olympics."

Thanks, greatly, to the last Olympics, of course. The Tonya-Nancy saga drew incredible ratings for CBS, which drew ratings of 48.5 for the women's technical program and 44.1 for the women's final at Lillehammer. That ranked fourth and sixth among all TV shows - not just for 1994, but forever.

Those ratings helped CBS draw the biggest audience for any Olympics, with 84 percent of all Americans watching some portion of the Games.

"It's important that we take advantage of this popularity," Browning said. " The more skating events with top names, the more accepted those competitions will become."

So Browning will be all over the place, from Long Island to Massachusetts to Ontario to Landover, Md., for the World Professional Championships, one of the few established pro skating events. Wylie, Boitano, Yamaguchi, Witt, current world champion Yuka Sato and most of the top pairs and ice dancers will be just as busy.

"Don't forget that we're all in tours and shows, too," adds Hamilton, whose Stars On Ice tour, with strong financial backing from Discover Card, has Witt, Yamaguchi, Wylie, Browning, and two-time Olympic pairs champions Gordeeva and Grinkov. "We're going to be skating fools."

There has been some silliness concerning the enhanced pro tour and its reception by the skating establishment. In France, for instance, the sponsors of the Lalique Trophee decided they wanted the professionals, which meant splitting with the French federation. So the federation, which is paying French stars Surya Bonaly and Philippe Candeloro to remain amateurs, is staging its own event on the same weekend as Lalique.

Hamilton chuckles at such politics. But he does like the idea of nationalistic team competitions - on the current schedule, there are two, with several others being contemplated.

"Seeing this format come back in this way is, I think, extremely exciting because of the strength of figure skating around the world," he said. "Years ago, team competitions were normal in professional skating.

"I think this would be a wonderful thing to have at the Olympics. We have the Ryder Cup in golf, the Davis Cup in tennis. This is an opportunity to see skating in a different light.

"Look at Kurt and Viktor. They have been rivals for years, one and two in the world. To see them training together and competing as teammates is awesome. It's intimidating."