Skating entrepreneur Tom Collins passes away at age

Tom Collins, whose Champions on Ice figure skating tour helped hundreds of skaters prolong their careers, had died. He was 88.

His family says Collins died Sunday at his home in Minneapolis.

A former skater in Holiday on Ice, Collins organized an exhibition tour of the United States with world champion skaters in 1969. It was the forerunner of Champions on Ice, which became known to people in the sport as “Tommy’s Tour.”

Among those champions on that tour were Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano and Michelle Kwan.

Collins was inducted into the figure skating halls of fame of the United States and Canada — he was born in Canada — and in 2006 sold the U.S. rights to the show.