AN '08 News, stories, anecdotes, RESULT page!!!

[Terri C]

So, I'm here at home instead of rockin Lake Placid.
This is for anyone at AN this year. Feel free to share your results, stories and AN news here!

[Mrs Redboots]

I'm so glad you started this thread, Terri, because if you haven't, I should have done!

Yes please, everybody - Husband and I are badly wishing we were there to see you all, even though we'll be seeing many of you in six weeks' time. So lots of stories, news, gossip, how you skated, where you finished......

[Figureskates]

Well right now it's sunny and almosy 60 degrees!

Lots of adults here already practicing ans getting ready, since competition starts tomorrow...

Life is good at the brewpub....:bow::bow:

[flo]

Had a great blueberry oatmeal cookie from Mr. cookie. Practices are going well, and I got to dog sit a beautiful chihuahua puppy!

It's quite beautiful up here and they put the AN logo on the 1980 ice for us.

[Thin-Ice]

The weather is gorgeous, the ice is wonderful, lots of great people. Unfortunately we had one accident this morning. Connie Webb (kindergarten teacher from Vaca Valley FSC) -- some of you may know her from PCAS... fell during practice on the 1932 rink this morning and has badly broken her left arm. She was SO looking forward to competing here. Everyone please send good thoughts for her. When she returns home she will have to have surgery to place pins in to stabilize the bone according to her coach-for-rent here, who went to the hospital with her. In true adult skater fashion though she did tell her coach "THAT will teach me to be really careful that I'm keeping my left arm in close when I jump". She plans to stay and cheer people on, but is quite disappointed she will not get to compete, since she had worked so hard to get here to compete.

Good luck to everyone competing and for those of you at home.. we wish you were all here!

Thin-Ice

[skaternum]

Aw, poor Connie!! Prayers and good thoughts for her. I'm sure she feels as bad emotionally as she does physically.

[Figureskates]

I was at the 32 Rink when Connie had her accident.


I figured she was in a lot of pain but wasn't sure whether she had dislocated her shoulder or had broken her arm. The above post confirmed the arm break.

I find things like this very sad since adults work so hard to train and qualify, only to have something like this happen during a practice session.

I too wish Connie all the best...

[flo]

My good thoughts for Connie!

[herniated]

Speedy recovery to Connie.:cry: That sucks.

[Terri C]

That is awful about Connie!

Starting orders are now up on icenetwork.com.
Now, if you all will indulge me, I'd like to give some good luck shout outs to some Bronze III Ladies:
Good luck to Jazzpants, Renee P in Group B and Mayumi B in Group A tomorrow!!

[dbny]

Unfortunately we had one accident this morning. Connie Webb (kindergarten teacher from Vaca Valley FSC) -- some of you may know her from PCAS... fell during practice on the 1932 rink this morning and has badly broken her left arm. <snip> When she returns home she will have to have surgery to place pins in to stabilize the bone according to her coach-for-rent here, who went to the hospital with her. <snip> She plans to stay and cheer people on

What a miserable thing to happen! I understand why she would want to stay, but by the time she gets back home, she will have extended her recovery time, as the bones begin to knit immediately, and surgery will disrupt that. When I broke my wrist at LP in 2001, it was 4 days before I could see an orthopedic surgeon at home, and he advised against surgery at that point because I might never have recovered full functionality. If Connie already has an orthopod at home, it would be a very good idea for her to call him and consult on the advisability of her postponing the surgery.

I was at the 32 Rink when Connie had her accident.

I'm beginning to see a pattern here :twisted:.

[mikawendy]

Oh, that's terrible news about Connie Webb. I hope her recovery goes swiftly.

Good luck to Stormy and Jazzpants tomorrow, and flo on Thursday, and everyone else skating!

If any of you get to watch the Silver II, Bronze III, or Bronze II Ladies FS events and both Championship Gold FS events, please shout extra hard--I have bunch of off-board friends in those events, and I wish I could be there to cheer them on!

[coskater64]

That's awful for Connie...
I just got in...very late and while driving the car down the very dark route 9 I accidentally turned off my head lights while trying to find the brights, it is very very dark and really spooky, totally freaked out, stopped car, had small heart attack and then found headlight knob again.

I will be skating Wed night, late and then volunteering events Thursday am through noon so I should be able to give some results, after they are posted.

:halo::halo:

[rlichtefeld]

I don't know Connie, so I'll have to find the lady with the cast and give her a hug.

Sara P, Alex C, I and the Alabama gang (Becca, Jen K.) arrived yesterday. The rest of the Al gang were already here (Pat B., Bob and Jay). We all had pretty good practices. I really liked the USA rink's ice. I hope the 32 rink is the same. It's so good to skate on well kept ice. My home rink (in Atlanta) is under water restrictions due to the on going drought and is limited in how many cuts they can do in a day. Of course the HAVE to cut for hockey, so that means no cuts for publics and limited cuts for freestyle.

It was good to see everyone from years past. You really have to focus during your pre-ice routine, so that you don't end up talking to everyone and not stretching.

One good thing, that will help mine and Sara's nerves, is that there are only 3 teams in Silver Pairs. So, no matter how badly we skate - we medal!!! It appears that a lot of teams have moved up to Gold. So that they can skate Championship.

Practice Ice registration was only open from 10:00-12:00 and 2:00-4:00 yesterday, so we couldn't buy any for today. Hopefully we can get in the line early and get some for later today.

It looks like IceNetwork has most of the events up. They seem to be missing the non-masters interps and the Championship Masters events.

My Silver Mens FS is at 7:15 tonight. There are 11 in the group and I skate 10th.

Rob

[Figureskates]

I have probably passed you all in the halls throughout the Olympic Center and don't know who you are so I can personally wish you all good luck and a great skate!

dbny: Unlike the your accident in 2001, I was not on the ice with Connie!

[Stormy]

Am having good times here already! Had a good practice on the USA rink yesterday. I guess I don't feel 100% ready just yet but I'm sure I'll get all the kinks out at the warm up later today. It's going to be a busy day with my friends competing and then me. The logo on the 80 rink looks amazing!!! i am so bummed I don't get to skate it!

[Debbie S]

First few results (Silver and Bronze Ladies IV) are up on IN. Congratulations to Sexyskates on making the final round in Silver Ladies IV!

[Skittl1321]

Can someone explain to me how exactly the ordinals work? (I get the new system- more points, higher placement. THIS is a mystery to me).

For example (I don't know these people)
Silver Ladies IV
Yamamota recieved 2, 9, 4, 1, 7, 2, 1
Squires recieved 3, 2, 1, 3, 3, 1, 4

So how is Squire second place to Yamamota? It seems like her ordinals are higher. (Not to mention, what did the second judge see differently from the 4th and 7th for Yamamota? That's a pretty big gap from 1 to 9)

[Debbie S]

So how is Squire second place to Yamamota? It seems like her ordinals are higher. To figure out 1st place, they count the number of 1st place ordinals for each. Since they both received 2 1sts, they look at the number of 2nds, specifically, the number of ordinals of 2nd or better (so 1sts and 2nds get added). Yamamota received 4 ordinals of 2 or better and Squires only received 3, so Yamamota wins over Squires.

[NoVa Sk8r]

http://sk8stuff.com/f_basic_ref/how_to_interpret_your_scores.htm

8-)

[Skittl1321]

To figure out 1st place, they count the number of 1st place ordinals for each. Since they both received 2 1sts, they look at the number of 2nds, specifically, the number of ordinals of 2nd or better (so 1sts and 2nds get added). Yamamota received 4 ordinals of 2 or better and Squires only received 3, so Yamamota wins over Squires.

Thanks for the explanation. That is SO weird- I don't know how anyone can consider the new system more confusing. That someone who two judges put 7 and 9th can win over someone who was placed no lower than 4th by any of the judges. CoP has definetly changed the aethetics of skating programs- but at least it makes sense.

[Figureskates]

I recommend to anyone who wants to see a live skating competition, check out the adult nationals.

These folks really put their hearts and souls into their programs and I gurantee they do not disappoint!

[dbny]

dbny: Unlike the your accident in 2001, I was not on the ice with Connie!

Well that's a relief! :lol::lol::lol:

I am genuinely concerned for Connie. When I broke my wrist, the doctor did not tell me that I need surgery, and did not say that it should be done ASAP. I do not trust the doctors up there.

[Stormy]

FS, I have yet to run into you, and I am looking! :) What a long day. My friend Rachel was 2nd in Bronze I with a great skate. Vesperholly did a beautiful, flowy program in Silver I and just missed the podium, unfortunately. NoVa was 2nd in Silver Men I/II. I was 3rd in Silver II, although it wasn't my best skate and I was very happy and surprised to see I got a medal. Now I get to relax and cheer on friends the rest of the week! :bow:

[MusicSkateFan]

Silver Medal for me in Silver Men III. I was very pleased with my skate. Tough competition. I get to stay up here the rest of the week, relax and watch everyone else. I have redemption from last year's disasterous skate in Chicago. I was also thrilled to actually get MARKS! Thanks to the LOC or whoever was responsible for making sure we got our marks and not just ordinals!

[SK8RX]

Silver Medal for me in Silver Men III. I was very pleased with my skate. Tough competition. I get to stay up here the rest of the week, relax and watch everyone else. I have redemption from last year's disasterous skate in Chicago. I was also thrilled to actually get MARKS! Thanks to the LOC or whoever was responsible for making sure we got our marks and not just ordinals!

Congratulations. I saw both the first and third place medalists skate at Sectionals, and they had very strong skates. Glad to hear that things went well for you. Great job! :bow:

[mikawendy]

Congrats to everyone who has skated so far! And kudos to the LOC and icenetwork for getting results up so quickly!!

[coskater64]

I had a wicked hard group in my artistic events, Beth Delano, Sherry Dowlen, Cynthia Jacobsen and Shannon Keeler just to name a few and I was absolutely floored to come in 3rd. Utterly unexpected, I have managed 4th at the masters level artistic once but it has been a very long time, it was very fun and everyone skate well in our group.

Leslie8O

[mikawendy]

I had a wicked hard group in my artistic events, Beth Delano, Sherry Dowlen, Cynthia Jacobsen and Shannon Keeler just to name a few and I was absolutely floored to come in 3rd. Utterly unexpected, I have managed 4th at the masters level artistic once but it has been a very long time, it was very fun and everyone skate well in our group.

Leslie8O

Congratulations!!!! That is a hard group. I'm glad it went so well for you and that everyone had fun.

I can't wait until the footage comes out on icenetwork on down the road, so that I can watch everyone's events.

[flo]

Congrats! Great skate!!!!

[SK8RX]

Congrats coskater!

[rlichtefeld]

I came in 5th in Silver Men IV/V FS last night. However one judge gave me first place ordinals!!!

It was great group, and pretty happy with how I skated. I think it would have been a little better if I hadn't left out my last jump!!!

Now off to warmup for Silver Pairs. There are only 3 teams this year.

Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5818617690811804428&hl=en
Results:
http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=34667

Oh and I met FigureSkates at registration yesterday.

Rob

[looplover]

This is exciting to read! Congrats to those who skated and good luck to those coming up!! :D

[Skittl1321]

Congratulations to everyone who has skated so far! I hope to get my bronze tests eventually to join in on the fun!

[TimDavidSkate]

3:40 - 4:00 ~ Warmup/Practice
I felt on fire and landed all my jump attempts. My spins werent as bad as I expected it to be (like yesterday).
I was a little intimidated with the axels flying all over the place, but Joe stopped me before I start obsessing.

6:10 ~ Competition skate
I took my time preparing and tried to be calm and remained focused. My warmup was just as awesome as my warmup/practice. I felt ready to go and had no negative thoughts heading into my skate.

I took my opening position (changed it at the last second), I felt the music right away and just charged through;
Lutz/Loop,
Lutz,
Flying Camel-BLECH!! no spin and just messy,
1/2-Straight line footwork - as best as I could have done that day,
Flip/Loop,
Spin Combination - travelled on the camel and just lost control of it,
Ena-baur into Salchow/Toe-Loop - my legs werent up to doing the flip (I should have pushed through it though), not having the flip probably cost me 1 tiny bit,
Scratch spin - UGH!!!!

I didnt know how I would place, as usual I hoped it was good enough. Following me was Ken Ho, a newcomer and he had a lot of difficult elements including two axels. Then Jeremy followed with an awesome performance. I didnt watch Stephen and Akira skate so I had no idea on how things would be placed. Joe predicted that I would end up 3rd or 4th.
I just felt so disappointed that I didnt start early enough to prepare the axel and really pushed hard to work on spins. And I have nobody to blame but myself for it.

So the dreaded ordinals came up, we were all confused because the placements were not up. Joe proceeded to do the math and had me in 3rd. It wasnt official at the time but I just nearly dropped. And when it did:

1. Ken Ho 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7/1
2. Stephen Trzaska 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 6/3
3. Tim David 3 4 2 4 2 4 2 4/3 TOM 9
4. Jeremy Balcom 5 3 4 2 5 2 3 4/3 TOM 10
5. Akira Kondo 4 5 5 5 4 5 5 7/5
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
I knew I was being complacent. I thought my artistry would make up the lack of technical element I needed. I was certainly just hoped for the best. This enough makes me mad and really strive to come back strong next season and have all my technical elements solid and in place so there will be no question at the end. I knew something like this had to happen for me to get moving.

[Mrs Redboots]

Well done everybody - you're all fantastic. I see that Jazzpants was not last in her group, which is a great result for your first time, and I am very thrilled to see that my coach's pupil (yes, my coach has sent a pupil to the American Adult Nationals! She's over here for a bit and training with us) won her group and am about to text my coach to tell him so.

[Debbie S]

Following me was Ken Ho, a newcomer and he had a lot of difficult elements including two axels. Ken used to live in my area. He is an awesome skater, and a very nice guy, and I'm so happy for him! He's doing his medical residency, so I imagine he doesn't have a lot of time for practice.

[mskater]

Just wishing lots of luck to all of my skating friends at this competition:] Wish I was there with everyone - hope to be back next year...

Cheers and keep the reports coming!

[NoVa Sk8r]

I had a wicked hard group in my artistic events, Beth Delano, Sherry Dowlen, Cynthia Jacobsen and Shannon Keeler just to name a few and I was absolutely floored to come in 3rd. Utterly unexpected, I have managed 4th at the masters level artistic once but it has been a very long time, it was very fun and everyone skate well in our group.I'm taking the "bar" comment of your interp program to heart and drinking right now! :lol::halo::)

I was happy with my singles program, especially since I totally forgot the last 15 seconds of my program and had to improvise! 8O
I didn't get to watch any of the other men except for 30 seconds of Jeremy. I used to skate with Ken Ho at the Cabin John rink in Rockville, Md., way back in 2004. I actually told him that I hoped I didn't have to compete against him since he was so good, with nice moves. Fast forward 3+ years! :P

Tara and I took first in gold pairs. We had to wait an excruciatingly long time from when the pair team skating beofre us got off the ice, their scores were tallied/read (for IJS programs this year, they announce your technical and PCS marks right after you complete your program), and when they annoucned our name. That was a bit nerve-wracking. But it gave me a chance to skate around the rink and look for ruts and holes and to clear the ice of any debris/rhinestones! 8-)

[Debbie S]

Congratulations, NoVa! And congratulations also to Lovepairs and Pairman on their silver medal!

[skaternum]

I was happy with my singles program, especially since I totally forgot the last 15 seconds of my program and had to improvise! 8OD'oh! Well done.

Tara and I took first in gold pairs.Yay!!!! Can't wait to see the video.

[flo]

congrats Nova !!!!!!!

[coskater64]

Stephen and Tara did a really nice job. Also events from this morning Liz McG won M Nov 3. Yvonne Dowlen came in 3rd in her group and did a very nice lutz. I was the runner for the IJS events but it was the first year they tallied the scores and announced where you placed at that moment. I liked that just like Odorf and MC, they did a nice job mixing groups this year and put age as the priority on the masters events so instead of having Nov 4 & 5 they would put Nov & jr 4 together so they were all the same age this worked well. IMHO.
I am off to the hot tub and the "bar" later on! See ya there NoVa!!8O

[skaternum]

Hmm, I noticed that Icenetwork is a little confused about the pairs events. They should have identified the one listed first as "Championship Pairs" with have the start orders listed and the event further down as "Gold Pairs" with the results from today. Instead they've got them both identified as "Gold Pairs," and they have today's results listed where they should have start orders for the championship event (and vice versa).

[Figureskates]

It is a great time seeing all these adult skaters!

I met Jazzpants and Mel on Ice today.

Great people!!!

Since I am only at the pre- lead level, I can't compete yet but I am having an absolute blast!!

[Terri C]

I was happy with my singles program, especially since I totally forgot the last 15 seconds of my program and had to improvise! 8O
I didn't get to watch any of the other men except for 30 seconds of Jeremy. I used to skate with Ken Ho at the Cabin John rink in Rockville, Md., way back in 2004. I actually told him that I hoped I didn't have to compete against him since he was so good, with nice moves. Fast forward 3+ years! :P

Tara and I took first in gold pairs. We had to wait an excruciatingly long time from when the pair team skating beofre us got off the ice, their scores were tallied/read (for IJS programs this year, they announce your technical and PCS marks right after you complete your program), and when they annoucned our name. That was a bit nerve-wracking. But it gave me a chance to skate around the rink and look for ruts and holes and to clear the ice of any debris/rhinestones! 8-)

Congrats to you and Tara!
I'm sure you have PLENTY of vodka nips to keep you going til Saturday!!

[NoVa Sk8r]

Congrats to you and Tara!
I'm sure you have PLENTY of vodka nips to keep you going til Saturday!!Becca pre-emptively gave me vodka nips (on Wednesday)!

[mikawendy]

Congratulations, flo, on your silver medal in your artistic/dramatic interp event! I hope the sore knee held up!

[vesperholly]

*obsessively watching DVD of performance*
ETA: YouTubed! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGbcFgtB1PA

Well, I fell on my axel. :frus: Buuut, at least this time I got it in the warm-up. I'm pretty happy with how I skated, disappointed about missing the podium (one more judge and I'd have been fourth!). I did get a 1st place ordinal - thank you, judge number 3!! :D My ordinals were 1, 3, 4, 4, 5, 5, 7. A majority of judges had me medaling! But the ordinals were all over the place.

I think to be more competitive, besides standing up the $@# axel, I needed a change-foot spin and more combinations. My only combo was lutz-loop, and didn't do the sal-loop, back sit part of the combo spin or the inside-outside spiral (just outside) because I was so far behind the music. I ended after the music, too. From what I heard of the group, there were lots of axels from everyone and it was a difficult event. I'm just glad I held my own and didn't die at the end of my program. Reading my sports psychology book helped lots. The silver medalist in our group paid me the ultimate compliment today - she said she was scared of competing against me after seeing me practice! 8O :lol:

So, I now know what everyone says when they say it's hard to leave ANs early!! I just got home and I was very sad to leave. I went to the rink today just to get a sweatshirt, ended up staying way later than I intended. Watched Masters with fabulous TreSk8AZ, and chit chatted with some other awesome new people. I can't wait to tie for gold with all my Silver 1 gals next year in Gold 1! (There were TWO people in Gold 1 this year, why did I not test up?!) I am also exceedingly proud of my BFF and national bronze medalist Stormy, who kicked bootay in Silver II with TWO axels and fabulous camel spins!

Next year, I'm staying the whole time!!

[vesperholly]

I had a wicked hard group in my artistic events, Beth Delano, Sherry Dowlen, Cynthia Jacobsen and Shannon Keeler just to name a few and I was absolutely floored to come in 3rd. Utterly unexpected, I have managed 4th at the masters level artistic once but it has been a very long time, it was very fun and everyone skate well in our group.

Leslie8O
Ahh, was that you with the "thinking" program?? People were still talking about that today! Excellent concept!

[blue111moon]

I'll be on my way up this afternoon for a 20-hour stay. It's better than nothing. :)

[coskater64]

Yes my program was the "what was I thinking" program. Today I do the non thought version which is identical, and is actually a "dramatic" program. Different dress same music no thought,...8O

Saw all the gold ladies 3 last night, good job Century and Shannon who both won their qr. The 1980 rink is lovely with the big logo.

I am forgetting many people, but I am still a little sleepy!:D

[Mrs Redboots]

Yes my program was the "what was I thinking" program. Today I do the non thought version which is identical, and is actually a "dramatic" program. Different dress same music no thought,...8O
You intrigue me..... which do we see at the MC?

[sk8er1964]

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080411&content_id=47437&vkey=ice_news

Look who ended up with the bronze. That's simply amazing - congrats!

[FigureSk8Dad]

Coming from an ISI perspective, I don't understand these scoring descriptions:
FPl. Name TSS= TES+ PCS+ SS TR PE CH IN Ded. StN.

Could somebody please explain them. My daughters coach competed and although we see her scores, we don't know what they mean.
Thanks

[Sylvia]

Coming from an ISI perspective, I don't understand these scoring descriptions:
FPl. Name TSS= TES+ PCS+ SS TR PE CH IN Ded. StN.

Could somebody please explain them. My daughters coach competed and although we see her scores, we don't know what they mean.
Thanks
For starters, here's an abbreviation key:

TSS Total Segment Score
TES Technical Element Score
PCS Program Component Score
These are the 5 sub-categories of PCS:
SS Skating Skills
TR Transitions
PE Performance/Execution
CH Choreography
IN Interpretation
Ded. Deduction(s)
StN Start number (starting order)

[happysk8tes]

I've just returned home from a glorious two day stay in Lake Placid. I am thrilled to have been able to attend and cheer on my good friend from Maine. I had great fun hanging around with all Mainers in attendance, and how good it was to meet up with so many folks from last years LP Skating Camp - can't wait until June! Also met some new people from this group,
hello MelonIce and Chis, congrats!

I was pleasantly surprised I had so many friends to root for in the Dance and Woman's Intrepretive events. Thank you all skaters for your dedication - I am so inspired! I'll pass the silly Swing Dance and join you in competition by next year!

Pat

[Terri C]

CONGRATULATIONS FLUTZILLA!!
BRONZE LADIES III SILVER MEDALIST!!

[skaternum]

Congratulations Rob (and Sara) on your silver medal! I watched the video -- awesome synchronization on the sbs spins and jumps!! :bow:

[mikawendy]

CONGRATULATIONS HODMANS _IN OZ!!
BRONZE LADIES III SILVER MEDALIST!!

Congratulations, flutzilla!!!!

[mikawendy]

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080411&content_id=47437&vkey=ice_news

Look who ended up with the bronze. That's simply amazing - congrats!

Congratulations, starskate6.0! Now aren't you glad you didn't stay home?!

[dbny]

CONGRATULATIONS all you medalists! And more CONGRATULATIONS to all brave enough to compete!

[sk8er1964]

Coming from an ISI perspective, I don't understand these scoring descriptions:
FPl. Name TSS= TES+ PCS+ SS TR PE CH IN Ded. StN.

Could somebody please explain them. My daughters coach competed and although we see her scores, we don't know what they mean.
Thanks

Basically, TES is your jumps, spins, and footwork or spiral sequence. They all have a base value (set by the ISU), and you may get positive or negative grades of execution (GOE) based on whether or not it was a really good element, or you struggled on it, or you had an edge violation (ie flutz). On the non-jump elements, there's also levels of difficulty that can increase your base score. For example, a spiral sequence that is a level 4 (like something you'd see the ladies do on tv) is worth more than most double jumps. If you screw something up badly, you may end up with a zero which is not a good thing - last year lots of people were dinged on their toe loops by one of the callers, for example. Also, if you cannot rotate a double jump, don't bother to try it. It will be downgraded to a single, therefore reducing it's base value, and it will also get the maximum negative GOE to boot. Learned that lesson last year! For TES, it's a good thing to be able to use a calculator in this system! :P

Ded = deductions. 1.0 for falling, plus there's other deductions such as time violations. StN = Start order number.

PCS is your old presentation mark. I have yet to accurately figure out this mark. Maybe someone else can explain it better for you.

[FigureSk8Dad]

Thanks Sylvia and sk8r1964, That is exactly what I was looking for. We are proud to see our coach win a 1st, 2nd and 3rd at this competition. Now we must convince her not to retire from competition as she swore Lake Placid would be her last.

[flo]

Thanks! I've had such a great week. My knee held out pretty well with all the tape and icing, and taking Wednesday off! My artistic interp group was a really nice group of people, and we hung around together before and after the event. I felt good about my program, and got a copy of it for my friend who gave me his Army jacket.
I've seen so much good skating - and caught up with lots of friends, and met others face to face for the first time! More later, but have to pack!

[Mrs Redboots]

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080411&content_id=47437&vkey=ice_news

Look who ended up with the bronze. That's simply amazing - congrats!

Well done, Ross! That is brilliant, and I do hope you haven't done any further damage to your leg!

But meanwhile, all of you are winners, just for being there. I don't want to single out anybody else for congratulation (although my fellow-pupil has done brilliantly and our coach will be delighted), but say to everybody:

http://i265.photobucket.com/albums/ii232/hainesstudio/congratulation.jpg

[flutzilla1]

Congratulations, flutzilla!!!!

Thank you Terri and mika! I am still in shock, I don't think it has set in yet. :)

It was great getting to meet and see all the skatingforumers in Lake Placid as well as cheering old skating friends from Peach Classic and Florida on in their events. My husband and son came with me for the week and my little boy had a blast meeting everyone and being at such a big competition. He was especially intrigued by all the Interp costumes. :)

[TimDavidSkate]

Thank you Terri and mika! I am still in shock, I don't think it has set in yet. :)

It was great getting to meet and see all the skatingforumers in Lake Placid as well as cheering old skating friends from Peach Classic and Florida on in their events. My husband and son came with me for the week and my little boy had a blast meeting everyone and being at such a big competition. He was especially intrigued by all the Interp costumes. :)


Congrats dear :bow: - Im so proud of you :bow:
I didnt even get to see you :cry:

[Debbie S]

Congratulations to flutzilla, Stormy, and everyone who medaled! And a shout-out to Heather Piepenburg (she doesn't visit this site, but oh well - lol) on her silver medal in Champ Masters Ladies! :bow:

[Ice T]

I had an absolutely FABULOUS time in LP!! Everyone was so nice and so supportive of each other, and as a result I think I enjoyed this Nationals more than all the others I have been to. Thank you especially to the Georgia & Alabama group for all the goodies you threw me on the ice (Rob, Sara, Becca, and Beth - now San Fran). You guys make me feel so good and it makes me want to keep competing. You all really made my day!

CONGRATULATIONS again to:

Amy H. (my best friend ever!) for winning the Silver in Bronze III finals
Lara T. for winning the Bronze in Gold II
Heather H. for winning the Gold in Gold II

You are all my heros and I am inspired by your skating!! Thank you for some great memories. :bow:

I hope everyone has a great year of training ahead.

Until we all meet again,
Teresa in Tampa
Ice T 8-)

[twokidsskatemom]

Congrats to everyone that skated !!! You all deserve a medal !!:bow::bow:

[NoVa Sk8r]

Protocol sheets for all IJS events are available:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=39370
8-)

[starskate6.0]

http://web.icenetwork.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20080411&content_id=47437&vkey=ice_news

Look who ended up with the bronze. That's simply amazing - congrats!

Thanks for all your support EVERYONE..:) I was thrilled to pull a rabbit out of a hat for that one. . The warm up was a disaster as anyone one of you who saw it will testify. I was very happy to have skated so well. My injury is doing much better and the bruising is about all thats left.. I just wanted to thank you all for being such a great audience , you all know how much it means to me to get a nice applause.. Your support , bells, bears, toys, and applause mean so much to me. You made me feel like I won the event. :)

I got a nice wright up in Ice network as well and I thanks them for being so kind..

[starskate6.0]

I just got home a few hours ago . Does anyone know the condition of Lovepairs..8O? I fo hope she is OK after her accident in the pairs warm up .
anyone got any news..?

[mikawendy]

Some of the videos are already up on icenetwork:
http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=34667

[sk8er1964]

Protocol sheets for all IJS events are available:
http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_details.asp?id=39370
8-)


Wow. The caller was brutal on the flutzes in the champ events. No "e", just called them a flip. Also dinged people for "saving" a jump with a pseudo-loop, negating true loop combos. I've never seen so many --- in adult singles. 8O

I hope lovepairs is ok - what happened?

[FREESK8ER]

Just got home from LP and had a great time.
8th in Bronze Ladies Free final and 4th in Interp 4
I have read this forum for the past year and after seeing the friends I made last year in Chicago I thought I would join in.
I meet Herniated in the 32 rink and I told you what my user name would be.
Kristen and Robin- It was great seeing you again. Bobsled Babes, You are toooo funny.
Farrah - Thanks for the light up toy you threw after my Bronze 4 final.
Anne - Thanks for your support
Maureen and Heather - Thank you for being my "coach" during the Interp.
For all the poeple who threw toys for my Interp 4 Group B;(I was the Music Box Doll)
Megan from DE
Robin - for the towel
Erin from Wagon WheelErica from USFSA -LP
Skating jumpsecrets.com
Rob L from Ga. for the little ducky.
This was the first time I had toys thrown on the ice for me.
Thank You,Thank You,Thank You.

[manleywoman]

I hope lovepairs is ok - what happened?

I heard from one of the other pairs that during the 20 minute WU, she fell out of a lift and landed on her tailbone, and had to be sent to the ER.

[TreSk8sAZ]

Hi everyone! I've been sleeping all day after getting home very late last night!

ANs was AMAZING this year! Even though I didn't medal (8th in Silver I and 7th in Ladies A/D I) I skated quite well and had so much fun! It was great meeting everyone from here. Vesprholly and I had a beautiful chat and enjoyed watching the events together. Jazzpants and I finally connected at an event after missing each other at 2 previously! Mel on Ice, Flyingcamel, and everyone else I met were absolutely wonderful! The arena was beautiful and skating on the 1980 rink was an amazing experience. I met a ton of people and really enjoyed the whole experience. Congrats to everyone! I can't wait til next year!

[sexyskates]

I'm just back from AN2008 and had a fantastic time and my best finishes ever!Thanks DebbieS for the congrats on making final round in Silver4, I was thrilled to be there. And I WON the Artistic Interp with a brand new program - I was stunned! I love the blue vase! And then to top it off, the judges gave me a Silver medal for my Light Entertainment Interp, and I had a grand old time in the final round of my free. I have never had to compete all four days - I'm exhausted.
I loved hanging around with all of the great people. Joanne, you were great in your music box routine and freestyle - 2 medals, you go girl!
Syracuse people were fun as always, as were Becca and her southern crew. And I made a bunch of new friends. You are all wonderful skaters!

[NoVa Sk8r]

Andrea and Lee took a hard fall on the 20-minute warmup (the practice given ~2 hours before each event). They were doing a press-type lift (http://www.ualberta.ca/~droles/skate/MenoSand.jpg), and it looked to me like he caught an edge (the ice was not very good and felt "slanted" and uneven in some parts, and there were 9 pair teams on one warmup :roll::evil:). Andrea took a full-force fall straight down to the ice, landing on her back/tailbone (as I saw it). And sadly, it took the paramedics almost 10 minutes to come to her aid (um, where was the ice monitor during this session who would have been available to call for help with the walkie-talkie?). Thank goodness a few adult skaters have medical training! I also heard that the medical team from Saranac Hospital arrived *before* the Lake Placid venue team. :??

(Apparently, as her partner reported, Andrea has a compression and hairline fracture on two vertebrae, but thankfully, does not need surgery. We're all wishing her a speedy recovery.)

There was no ice cut originally planned for the championship pair event, which came directly after the championship master men event. Shortly after this accident, it was announced that there would indeed be an ice cut. Glad to know that it takes a horrible accident to get clean ice for an event where people are doing overhead lifts.

Not only that, but the USA rink was unused and completely available during the pairs 20-minute warmup, the one where 9 teams were scheduled to skate on. Furthermore, the dancers were granted more than one warmup session, (and on the 1980 rink, the surface where the competition was being held--this was not the case for most, if not all, of the pair events).

Couple all this with the late night practice sessions/early morning competition times really infuriates me, and I hope we can successfully lobby for some changes from USFSA. Or at least make them realize how all of these incidents points to a lack of respect/understanding for adult pair skating and the risks involved.

"Serious" adult pair skating has grown in the past few years, and maybe the organizers need to look at how the discipline has changed. To wit, the last time adult pair skating was held in Lake Placid in 2004, there were only 2 tracks, adult (now, bronze and silver) and masters (now, gold and masters). Only one master team and only one or two adult pair teams were attempting overhead lifts. Contrast that with today, where all of the lifts attempted by the top 6 teams in champ. pairs were full lifts with 2+ rotations. What a sea change.

[Debbie S]

Apparently, as her partner reported, Andrea has a compression and hairline fracture on two vertebrae, but thankfully, does not need surgery. We're all wishing her a speedy recovery.Oh, how awful! It's good that she doesn't need surgery, but what a terrible thing to go through. I hope she isn't in too much pain and that she recovers quickly! I hope Lee is OK, too.

[singerskates]

I came in 5th in Silver Men IV/V FS last night. However one judge gave me first place ordinals!!!

It was great group, and pretty happy with how I skated. I think it would have been a little better if I hadn't left out my last jump!!!

Now off to warmup for Silver Pairs. There are only 3 teams this year.

Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5818617690811804428&hl=en
Results:
http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=34667

Oh and I met FigureSkates at registration yesterday.

Rob

You skaters who compete at the US Adult Nationals need to get some flower kids picking up those stuffies. But where are you going to get them from? At least we Canadian adult skaters have the StarSkaters (kids who are competing at the Senior Bronze [Juvenile] to Gold [Junior] level) who compete either before we do or like this year after we do if we would think of asking them. If only they would come into town early so they could be our flower kids. I'm sure many of us adult skaters wouldn't mind being their flower people. LOL

Are you sure your fans didn't rob a Toy "R" US? Man, you had a lot of lute there Rob! How long did it take you to get all of it off of the ice?

[jazzpants]

I am finally back home and can finally post again!!! :D (Trip back home was fine! No lost luggage and I actually got back a half hour early!!!) :bow:

First thing, I want to say a BIG THANK YOU to all you guys out there at AN for the support and welcoming me into the AN fold!!! You guys are a FUN bunch and I'm happy to have finally met most of you!!! (There are a couple of people I wanted to meet but couldn't this time around. You know who you are and I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to meet you.)

I had fun and it was a very rewarding experience in my skating life!!! I learned a lot about adult competitions at the Nationals level.

I was quite happy that I pretty much skated a clean program for my technical. I didn't expect to medal and was very pleasantly surprised to have come 15th out of 18 in my QR.

Admitted, I was a bit disappointed about my interp, not necessarily b/c of the placement, but b/c I have very little to go on what I have to do to improve my placements. I know... it's an interp!!! It's very subjective. But when it's almost unanimous that your program was the worst of the bunch, you kinda have to wonder whether you did something really bad. I suspected that part of the problem was that I was in the wrong interp group (i.e. I should have been in A/D instead of LE/C.) However, despite that I've made a lot of progress since I passed my Bronze FS tests, I know that I still have a LOT more work to do with my overall skating skills too to become better.)

I'm gonna keep this short, since I JUST got home and am VERY jet lagged right now. I'll post more when I recover from my vacation!!! :P :giveup::lol:

[Figureskates]

It was a fun AN!

Eventhough I didn't skate ( I did Sunday before you all arrived), I managed to lose 4 pounds from all the running I did over the four days. Sprinting up and down the stairs plus the long halls, you sure burn up the calories.

It was fun to meet new people plus run into some old friends.

Good job one and all! :bow::bow::bow:

[rlichtefeld]

Congratulations Rob (and Sara) on your silver medal! I watched the video -- awesome synchronization on the sbs spins and jumps!! :bow:

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!

Thanks.

Rob

[rlichtefeld]

You skaters who compete at the US Adult Nationals need to get some flower kids picking up those stuffies. But where are you going to get them from? At least we Canadian adult skaters have the StarSkaters (kids who are competing at the Senior Bronze [Juvenile] to Gold [Junior] level) who compete either before we do or like this year after we do if we would think of asking them. If only they would come into town early so they could be our flower kids. I'm sure many of us adult skaters wouldn't mind being their flower people. LOL

Are you sure your fans didn't rob a Toy "R" US? Man, you had a lot of lute there Rob! How long did it take you to get all of it off of the ice?

They did have sweepers for most events. However my skate was late, and I think it was past their bedtimes.

Yeah, I have some great friends (and partner) that like to reward me with goodies. It took a few minutes, luckily I was the last skater in my event. At one point I had to just start sliding them towards the door.

For Stephen (Nova Sk8r) in Championship Pairs we through a live critter on the ice. We dressed Becca in a shirt that looked like Wendy's teddy bears and put a large tag on her that said "Sk8 Gr8" and slid her on the ice. And, she was holding nips. While Stephen liked it, I'm not sure his partner did.

Rob

[MusicSkateFan]

My event video is up on IceNetwork! If anyone wants to watch...Silver Men III I am #5. I wish the camel was better but overall was pleased with my Silver Medal performance.

[skaternum]

Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good!
Too funny! I must admit that David & I lucked out like that too in the first competition we ever did. By some bizarre twist of fate, our sbs camels were in perfect unison. I made sure to buy from the photographer and borrow from our friends ALL the pics I could find of those beautiful spins. :P You'd never know by looking at them that we had nothing but botched, out of synch spins after that for the next 2 years!

[Isk8NYC]

It was a fun AN!I guess the coast is clear: Congrats to all our skaters, regardless of how you placed! We'll always be proud of you for working so hard to reach the AN's.

Consolation to those who were injured. Hope you heal quickly and without complications.

[flo]

Love it Rob!!!

From NoVa: "Only one master team and only one or two adult pair teams were attempting overhead lifts. Contrast that with today, where all of the lifts attempted by the top 6 teams in champ. pairs were full lifts with 2+ rotations. What a sea change."

Nova - actually there have been several pairs doing overhead lifts since the begining in adult and masters. At the first Nats we had overhead lifts in adult pairs as well as masters and there were 8 adult teams. In '99 in masters pairs my partner and I had a platter-star and again in 2000. There were several in our flight of 8 masters pairs who did the overheads then, and in addition there were about 5 adult teams, but most of that group has not been competing in the last few years. What's more 'serious' is the attention from the USFSA. At any rate, we should all have reasonably clean ice. We can all fall on anything, but rutted ice does not help! No one wants to see anyone fall from an overhead.

freesk8ter - congrats! What age group?

[manleywoman]

Couple all this with the late night practice sessions/early morning competition times really infuriates me, and I hope we can successfully lobby for some changes from USFSA. Or at least make them realize how all of these incidents points to a lack of respect/understanding for adult pair skating and the risks involved.

I don't disagree with you on your points of ice cuts for pairs, and some other points, but this one i have to address:

You don't HAVE to do those late-night practice sessions if you're competing early the next day. You CHOOSE to. The rink can only schedule so much, and if that's where the practice ice fits, it is what it is. But if any pairs team (or dance, or singles) thinks it's too hard to do a late-night practice and an early morning event, then you have the choice to NOT do the practice.

Andrea fell, and obviously that's terrible. However, that WU was smack in the middle of the day . . . optimal time for Pairs, as I have understood from all those who complain about Pairs being scheduled too early or too late. So it was an unfortunate accident, yes, but you can hardly blame the time of day for it, nor did any of the other items you listed have anything to do with it. They had a bad entry on a lift. It happens.

(and no, I wasn't there, but have several friends in Pairs who all were there and said the ice was fine. It was a bad lift entry. Happens to the Olympic Champs too.)

[flying~camel]

I got home from ANs last night after a nice, long 13 hour drive (including a 1-hour wait in Sarnia to get back into the US) and I'm still coming down from a fabulous week!

I skated a clean freestyle program and got 3rd in Bronze I ladies! My only goal for that program was to stand up on my lutz (I'd fallen on it in the last 2 ANs), which I did, so getting a medal was just icing on the cake!

I also skated in Interp I ladies Artistic/Dramatic, but had a hard time waking up my body up and didn't skate it quite as well as I would have liked. I finished in 6th place, so I was satisfied with that.

It was really nice meeting/seeing you all again and hopefully I'll see you in Grand Rapids next year (if we win the bid)! ;)

[NoVa Sk8r]

Andrea fell, and obviously that's terrible. However, that WU was smack in the middle of the day . . . optimal time for Pairs, as I have understood from all those who complain about Pairs being scheduled too early or too late. So it was an unfortunate accident, yes, but you can hardly blame the time of day for it, nor did any of the other items you listed have anything to do with it. They had a bad entry on a lift. It happens.I was merely pointing out several problems with the schedules and not necessarily that A had to do with D. It's just a grievances list that may also include adding why ice dancers snuck on a few *pairs only* sessions and why that was allowed when it was pointed out to the monitor.

(and no, I wasn't there, but have several friends in Pairs who all were there and said the ice was fine. It was a bad lift entry. Happens to the Olympic Champs too.)Um, yeah, you most certainly were not there. As *I* was skating on that ice, I can testify that it was awful, unless you are used to skating in Rockefeller Center in June. In fact, the top 2 pair guys and I discussed how bad the ice was right after the session (you know, the 2 guys who have competed in senior pairs). Tara and I stayed on the ice a few minutes after most of the other pair teams left the rink to do a, gasp, lift (Craig J. was nice and stayed to watch us to make sure we were not alone--nice, huh? 8-)). As we got off the ice, some of the maintenance crew went out there to check and fix the unevenness of the surface.

[manleywoman]

Um, yeah, you most certainly were not there. As *I* was skating on that ice, I can testify that it was awful, unless you are used to skating in Rockefeller Center in June. In fact, the top 2 pair guys and I discussed how bad the ice was right after the session (you know, the 2 guys who have competed in senior pairs). . . . As we got off the ice, some of the maintenance crew went out there to check and fix the unevenness of the surface.

That's fine, but the Pairs I spoke with said it was fine. To each his own. Some people are fine practicing on very bad ice, other people can only skate on perfect ice. So it is about your personal comfort level.

[flo]

"It's just a grievances list that may also include adding why ice dancers snuck on a few *pairs only* sessions and why that was allowed when it was pointed out to the monitor."

Nova - you're right, the dancers should not have been there. As for the reason - probably the same reason a pair team was sneaking in pairs practice on freestyle only ice at one nats. No consideration for anyone other than themselves.

I did note that the ice was not great on some of the practices - primarily skipping cuts to make up for time. I'd rather run late and have good ice, but it's not up to me. However, it is up to me to determine if the given conditions meet my needs, and if not adjust accordingly.

[MusicSkateFan]

On a different topic......I just counted 11 men who withdrew from the competition from Bronze and Silver singles events alone. Was this from injury or the fact that the events were placed on WEDNESDAY? Is this a normal number of WD's? It seems high to me.

Back to the Ice and Monitors etc at Nats... I think there are some valid points that should be brought to the attention of the LOC and maybe to the Adult committee.

I know that I bassically had to take over for the monitor during the first flight of Championship Gold Men. I think there were many other people who had similar experiences. I do plan on taking some of these issues to the LOC.

Even with all the rain etc. I did have a great time even though my event was very early in the week and nobody saw it!

[jazzpants]

For Stephen (Nova Sk8r) in Championship Pairs we through a live critter on the ice. We dressed Becca in a shirt that looked like Wendy's teddy bears and put a large tag on her that said "Sk8 Gr8" and slid her on the ice. And, she was holding nips. While Stephen liked it, I'm not sure his partner did.I think I saw that too! (bebi: did you fall over the wall trying to slip a nip? All I remembered was seeing you on the front seat blowing the horn and then the next minute over the wall and on the ice and NoVa making off with the nips w/o helping you up! :lol: )

[manleywoman]

Nova - you're right, the dancers should not have been there. As for the reason - probably the same reason a pair team was sneaking in pairs practice on freestyle only ice at one nats. No consideration for anyone other than themselves.

Unfortunately that happens. And unless the monitor is very savvy (and sometimes they aren't, they are parents of a local skater just helping out) there's only so much that can be done. The adults do have to police themselves to some extent, and some adults will sneak in an extra practice at all costs.

(Personally I NEVER do practice ice at ANs, ever. Haven't done it for about 8 years. I find that if i don't know something coming into ANs, no last-minute practice is going to suddenly make that element appear! Plus I've had enough experiences with some adults being overly-aggressive on practice ice, yelling for people to move, get out of the way, etc, that it's more aggrivation than I need. I've managed to compete just fine without extra ice.)

[Mel On Ice]

Wish I could say my AN experience was better. I've been working so hard the past year and I dropped in the standings. Not anyone's fault but my own, I got swingy on my sal/loop and then rushed the entrance in my camel/back sit/scratch at the end. My placement was a disappointment for sure.

What really irritated me was that I let a BUILDING intimidate me - you could see it in my face in my opening pose, as I was facing a huge American flag and the sign that said "1980 Rink - Herb Brooks Arena". The only thing I remember thinking was "oh $#!*" And I skated terrified. I did buy two pictures from that event, as I was startled at how vulnerable I looked - but I do look rather sweet in one of them.

I skated better for interp, but the placement was a big letdown compared to how well I placed at Mids. Half of the panel liked it, the other half hated it. Still, it was flattering to have so many people approaching me after the event to say how much they loved my skate, the energy and the character. I was getting positive vibes from audience members from the moment I stepped off the ice to people "woo hooing" me at the afterparty at Roomers. I guess I'm heading in the right direction.

As for what building blocks I need to work on for next year, I need to find them. I have the heart for it, but frankly, that heart is pretty broken at the moment. I feel the need to lick my wounds, cry, fling skates (luckily, I'm about to take them to get sharpened instead), rest up and not think about skating for a while. At the same time, I cheered myself up by flipping through songs on the iPod on the trip back to find fun music to play with and figure out edits for them. Maybe I'm too stupid or stubborn to quit.

I there were plenty of fun moments, like the artesian glass place in Canada (oh! oh! oh!), seeing Rob's pairs partner skate an interp as him, finally meeting the Cookie Guy, skating at least once on all 3 surfaces, seeing all the Olympic sites, cheering for the judges, cheering for my WMAS friends, cheering for my skating forum and CAS friends. The competitor's party was a riot, as usual. And I kept my promise to jazzpants, from way back in 2004, and presented her with a bottle of champagne after her interp. YOU DID IT JOANNA!

And even though I don't have a medal, I did get something to cherish. I was with my friend Leslie at her practice ice. A woman was there without her coach and I volunteered to watch her do a runthrough of her program from the boards. She skated it beautifully, and I said so, and watched her run through a few other elements. I ran into her the next day,and she presented me with a glass pendant she made embedded with a wire bracket. It was her way of thanking me for caring enough to befriend her just when she needed me. That's an award I can be proud of.

[vesperholly]

(Personally I NEVER do practice ice at ANs, ever. Haven't done it for about 8 years. I find that if i don't know something coming into ANs, no last-minute practice is going to suddenly make that element appear! Plus I've had enough experiences with some adults being overly-aggressive on practice ice, yelling for people to move, get out of the way, etc, that it's more aggrivation than I need. I've managed to compete just fine without extra ice.)
I signed up for practice ice not knowing about the 20 minute warm up. I've never skated in a competition that had a day-of warmup before, and I LOVED it. It made a huge difference to have a mini-practice a few hours before the competition, both in getting the nerves out and mentally readying myself. It's one of the main reasons I'm thinking of competing Championship Gold next year. ;)

[flo]

Manley - you're right. The monitors should not have to police "adult" skaters. It did seem like there were several substitutions as well. The volunteers did a great job, and I enjoyed speaking with the local residents.

I've done the practice ice at most all the events, and fortunately with few problems. Its not so much to fix anything, but to block out the program on that ice and keep skating, as I like to be at Lake Placid for the entire week.
The practices early in the week were great, and I skipped practice the day before my event to give my knee a rest.

The flower girls were wonderful, and too cute!!!


Mel, that was me!!!!!! And you and your friend graciously offering help was one of the highlights of my week.
And I saw your practice - what impressed me was how well you moved over the ice - very fluid.

[rlichtefeld]

And even though I don't have a medal, I did get something to cherish. I was with my friend Leslie at her practice ice. A woman was there without her coach and I volunteered to watch her do a runthrough of her program from the boards. She skated it beautifully, and I said so, and watched her run through a few other elements. I ran into her the next day,and she presented me with a glass pendant she made embedded with a wire bracket. It was her way of thanking me for caring enough to befriend her just when she needed me. That's an award I can be proud of.

In case you didn't realize it, that was our very own flo from this board! She does skate beautifully.

Rob

[Mel On Ice]

I didn't make the connection -- that makes me even more proud!

[flying~camel]

Mel, that was me!!!!!! And you and your friend graciously offering help was one of the highlights of my week.
And I saw your practice - what impressed me was how well you moved over the ice - very fluid.

Mel's friend was me! :)

[MusicSkateFan]

:frus::frus:

Don't Listen to Rumors people! I am not dating anyone!

[kayskate]

I came in 5th in Silver Men IV/V FS last night. However one judge gave me first place ordinals!!!


Video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5818617690811804428&hl=en
Results:
http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=34667

Rob

Your sit spins are great. Very low to the ice.
Kay

[jazzpants]

DCDEN and MusicSkateFan are not a couple!
I don't know who started that one. We skate on the same sessions a lot and DCDEN asked me to put him on the ice for his events.

Two guys can be friends people!:roll:Wasn't me that started the rumor... but now that you brought it up, :P dcden is looking to skate pairs and he's looking to be the girl in the pairs!!! I immediately thought of you as his pairs partner b/c you're in the area and you're strong enough to lift him. :twisted: :P :lol: (Just raggin' 'ya, MSF!!! I know. No pairs either!!!)

But seriously I'm very happy to have met you, MSF!!! And ladies... he may be older but he's still a HOTTIE!!! ;)

It was an interested experience being the liftee for both dcden and NoVa at the AN party. I never would imagined dcden being THAT strong, never mind lift me considering that Jay is about dcden's height and weight and HE couldn't lift me. (Then again I lost like 16 lbs since last year when Jay last tried to lift me so...) Granted this is off ice, but it wasn't as scary of an experience as I thought (getting lifted that is.) And I'm glad I wasn't too heavy for you guys, NoVa and dcden!!! :P (And before we start another rumor, NO I AM NOT DOING PAIRS or DANCE!!! I work solo, folks!!! :lol: )

[jazzpants]

I skated better for interp, but the placement was a big letdown compared to how well I placed at Mids. Half of the panel liked it, the other half hated it. Still, it was flattering to have so many people approaching me after the event to say how much they loved my skate, the energy and the character. I was getting positive vibes from audience members from the moment I stepped off the ice to people "woo hooing" me at the afterparty at Roomers. I guess I'm heading in the right direction. You did better than ME at interp! ALL the judges hated my interp!!! 8O And yes, I was flattered how many people approached me afterwards about my interp program and commented on the big hair and heavy makeup how I was "virutally unrecognizable" from when I was just walking around the rinks. Yup! Passed that test too! (My test for whether I have on enough makeup was if I either look like a hooker or a drag queen...) :lol:

DRATS! I wished I had shared the champagne with you after the interp event! I was pretty down on myself after the interp event too. :cry: I totally missed the Champ Ladies event b/c I just wanted to get all that makeup and hair off and just go back to my cabin to not lug my skates and my hair stuff around for the interp event.

As for what building blocks I need to work on for next year, I need to find them. I have the heart for it, but frankly, that heart is pretty broken at the moment. I feel the need to lick my wounds, cry, fling skates (luckily, I'm about to take them to get sharpened instead), rest up and not think about skating for a while. At the same time, I cheered myself up by flipping through songs on the iPod on the trip back to find fun music to play with and figure out edits for them. Maybe I'm too stupid or stubborn to quit.

I there were plenty of fun moments, like the artesian glass place in Canada (oh! oh! oh!), seeing Rob's pairs partner skate an interp as him, finally meeting the Cookie Guy, skating at least once on all 3 surfaces, seeing all the Olympic sites, cheering for the judges, cheering for my WMAS friends, cheering for my skating forum and CAS friends. The competitor's party was a riot, as usual. And I kept my promise to jazzpants, from way back in 2004, and presented her with a bottle of champagne after her interp. YOU DID IT JOANNA!And thank you SO MUCH for that bottle of champagne, Mel!!! If you guys watch the end of my interp program on icenetwork (and assuming they didn't edit out the clip) you'll get to see my reaction to that. ;)

(Fair warning to Terri C: You are NEXT on the champagne handoff!!! ;) )

The consolation was that (besides that BIG wonderful bottle of champagne that Mel handed me :mrgreen: ) on that is that I got quite a few good action shots for that number. My technical photos were kinda sucky though, which is sad b/c I wanted some good shots of me in the 80 rink. :(

And I bought another consolation prize in that mix -- I spotted a beautiful (purple of course!!!) Frieda B dress that will be custom made for me and it's gorgeous! And what sold me on it is that while I was trying it on, SEVERAL passer byers saw me in the dress and said "That looks GREAT or gorgeous on you!!!" (And Thin-Ice gave me some tips on how to alter that dress and stuff so thank you!!! :bow: )

It will be used in a future program (don't know what but it will either be a technical dress or a interp number) and I gave myself an out on the EWF number if I decide to scrap it.

[rlichtefeld]

Your sit spins are great. Very low to the ice.
Kay

Thanks. I just need to make them faster. But, don't we all.

Rob

[AdultPairSkater]

Andrea and Lee took a hard fall on the 20-minute warmup (the practice given ~2 hours before each event). They were doing a press-type lift (http://www.ualberta.ca/~droles/skate/MenoSand.jpg), and it looked to me like he caught an edge (the ice was not very good and felt "slanted" and uneven in some parts, and there were 9 pair teams on one warmup :roll::evil:). Andrea took a full-force fall straight down to the ice, landing on her back/tailbone (as I saw it). And sadly, it took the paramedics almost 10 minutes to come to her aid (um, where was the ice monitor during this session who would have been available to call for help with the walkie-talkie?). Thank goodness a few adult skaters have medical training! I also heard that the medical team from Saranac Hospital arrived *before* the Lake Placid venue team. :??

(Apparently, as her partner reported, Andrea has a compression and hairline fracture on two vertebrae, but thankfully, does not need surgery. We're all wishing her a speedy recovery.)

There was no ice cut originally planned for the championship pair event, which came directly after the championship master men event. Shortly after this accident, it was announced that there would indeed be an ice cut. Glad to know that it takes a horrible accident to get clean ice for an event where people are doing overhead lifts.

Not only that, but the USA rink was unused and completely available during the pairs 20-minute warmup, the one where 9 teams were scheduled to skate on. Furthermore, the dancers were granted more than one warmup session, (and on the 1980 rink, the surface where the competition was being held--this was not the case for most, if not all, of the pair events).

Couple all this with the late night practice sessions/early morning competition times really infuriates me, and I hope we can successfully lobby for some changes from USFSA. Or at least make them realize how all of these incidents points to a lack of respect/understanding for adult pair skating and the risks involved.

"Serious" adult pair skating has grown in the past few years, and maybe the organizers need to look at how the discipline has changed. To wit, the last time adult pair skating was held in Lake Placid in 2004, there were only 2 tracks, adult (now, bronze and silver) and masters (now, gold and masters). Only one master team and only one or two adult pair teams were attempting overhead lifts. Contrast that with today, where all of the lifts attempted by the top 6 teams in champ. pairs were full lifts with 2+ rotations. What a sea change.

Hi NoVa, Larry here :)

As a colleague in pair skating, I totally agree with all you have said about the warm-up ice, the practice ice and all else, especially the safety concerns. I had a NEGATIVE experience skating this year because of the late night/early AM practices, the crappy ice quality (watch me in competition! I hit a rut going into sbs combo jumps and did no jumps at all due to bad ice) and they broke the 'no-early' rule for my event which rushed me out onto the ice before I could complete my preparations. It was no fun at all. I had a happy time at the event, however, but skating it was no fun this time around.

In any event, the only thing I would add to this terrific post is saying the same things NoVa has said, only in ALL CAPS!!!!!!!

Cheers!

Larry

[Hannahclear]

I really enjoyed my first AN experience. I didn't skate as well as I would have liked, but I was pleased with the placement, considering my noticeable errors. I got very intimidated by the whole thing and I didn't care for the 1980 rink ice. Though it was awesome to skate on Olympic ice and on the big AN logo. Loved the twenty minute warm-up. I've never gotten one of those before and it was fabulous. I preferred the USA rink ice too!

It was great to see people that I've skated with at local events, some old coaches and to meet some new people.

Can't wait to go again, I may even consider flying to get there. This is a big hurdle for me....plane phobia.

[AdultPairSkater]

"I don't disagree with you on your points of ice cuts for pairs, and some other points, but this one i have to address:
You don't HAVE to do those late-night practice sessions if you're competing early the next day. You CHOOSE to."

-----Whatever, ManleyWoman - it was either take that ice or not skate AT ALL for two or 3 DAYS before we competed. We had no other choices, and there are no local rinks to go to in Lake Placid for alternatives.

"Andrea fell, and obviously that's terrible. However, that WU was smack in the middle of the day . . . optimal time for Pairs, as I have understood from all those who complain about Pairs being scheduled too early or too late. So it was an unfortunate accident, yes, but you can hardly blame the time of day for it, nor did any of the other items you listed have anything to do with it. They had a bad entry on a lift. It happens."

-----Whatever again, ManleyWoman - your sympathy is overwhelming :roll:, but there were 9 teams on un-Zammed ice. It was a great stress for them you can't understand unless you are a pair skater. 9 teams seems too crowded and the risk of injury goes WAY UP. It is simply more dangerous and maybe his 'bad entry' was from being in such a crowded environment on poor ice taking a different path than usual into a rough area. We don't know for sure and should not make guesses regarding Lee and Andrea's experience. Let's defer comments until we hear from them directly.

"(and no, I wasn't there, but have several friends in Pairs who all were there and said the ice was fine. It was a bad lift entry. Happens to the Olympic Champs too.)"

-----Whatever again, ManleyWoman - the team you and I know the best on that ice does NO LIFTS at all - so they have no experience as a team with doing overheads in an over-crowded 20-minute warm up or even competition. Again, we can't take their word for it, and the ultimate source of information about the lift experience would come directly from Lee and Andrea.

I believe you should defer your rationalizations regarding our pair skating experiences at the competition to us - those pair skaters who competed there.

My experiences in pair skating at Ann Arbor (2003), Dallas (2006) and Bensenville (2007) were NOTHING like this. All the pair teams were at a disadvantage this year and really, not given the best opportunities to do their best at this competition. It's not really an opinion, it is a fact, because you know last year was better than what is described here, as the feedback you received was mostly positive from the pair skaters, with the exception of one event being scheduled before 8 am last year. There was practice ice, reasonable practice times and a variety of rinks to use as an alternative if necessary. None of that was true this year at Lake Placid.

So many other things happened not worth going into fully here that show the LOC of this competition did many things without foresight. Denny Allen even remarked to me, and he was in charge of practices, that he "forgot about the pairs," and "didn't think we needed practice ice." They simply tacked on the practices at the end of the day without realizing we were to be preparing/competing 9 hours later in the early morning, official warm-ups begining at 7 am. What's more, they even forgot to schedule Championship Pairs on the tentative schedule initially. This "forgetting" is indefensible. Period. "Forgetting" to schedule a Championship event and "forgetting" pairs need quality practice ice and reasonable times as singles skaters do is a major snafu and FUBAR.

The Bensenville LOC didn't make these errors, why did it happen this year? Because they did not do as vigilant and quality a job as you did last year!

Do you understand more now? Is it all clear? Any comparison to singles skaters or singles skating experience is a non-sequeter, as this is an entirely different discipline. NoVa's comments and my agreement with them appear to be more than reasonable and valid.

Cheers!

Larry

[FrankR]

A friend of mine told me about this picture of me on icenetwork.

http://web.icenetwork.com/gen/photogallery/year_2008/month_04/day_11/cf47454.html

(I'm the guy pulling the MacAuley Caulkin-esque pose five pictures from the left in the Robin Hood get-up) :lol:

Ok. So a few of the other Championship Gold men and I, from the second warm-up, were standing in the tunnel about to take the ice for warm-up talking about how we felt about our scores and placements being announced to the audience after our skates. We all pretty much agreed that we didn't care so much about having our own scores announced after our skates but a few of us weren't so sure we wanted to know how the person who skated just prior to each of us did. So as we were having this conversation, the scores for the final skater from the first warm-up were announced. So a couple of us put our hands over our ears and started to go "La, la, la, we can't hear you!!" like a bunch of second graders sort of as an inside joke between ourselves. We got our chuckle and proceeded to warm-up. When it was my turn to skate, as I was skating around prior to my program I skated up to my coach and, once again, as the scores were being read, I winked over at my coach and proceeded to put my hands over my ears and started up again with the "la, la, la..." We got our laugh and that was that. I had no idea the picture was even taken! LOL!! Oh well.

In any case, it was nice meeting jazzpants and I met herniated as well. I ran into quite a few folks from skatingforums. All in all, I had a great time. Had I maintained verticality during my warm-up and my skate it would have been better but all in all I'm not going to get down about anything. :) Last year at Adult Nationals, I got dinged for toe-axeling. This year I got credit for a double toe, albeit landed messily. I'd like to think that the work I put in fixing my take-off paid off and not that this technical specialist was being nice. lol Despite going splat on my second double sal, I got credit for that one and the first on in the program as well. So basically, this year I got credit for two more double jumps than last year. I also got two level 2 elements called. I was happy about that one! Although the technical side of the sport means a lot to me, I know I've got a lot of work to do on my basic skating and my connection to my music and presenting to the audience. I got some nice feedback from one of the judges on my panel regarding PCS and I hope to keep that in mind as I work on new programs for next year.

I think I spoke to mostly everyone in my group but if I missed anyone then a hearty congratulations to all. Ross, you have always had my utmost respect but even moreso now. To come into this event like you did and skate as you did is really inspiring. To everyone else, at this year's Adult nationals, congratulations as well. I enjoyed watching so many of the other events. It was a pleasure to watch everyone.

Frank

[manleywoman]

Larry: And as I said earlier (and you quoted) I agree with a lot of what NoVa said.

But I don't agree with the late-night practice ice complaint. If you have an event early the next day, it is your individual choice as to whether or not you want to take that practice ice. Your body, your call. And if you made that choice, fine. Pairs are not the only ones who have to make the choice between taking the practice ice or not skating for 3 days. That happens to many skaters, Pairs or not. Don't act that like that's a particular issue just for Pairs teams! I once had an event (not practice, an EVENT) at 10:30 pm one night, and another one at 9:00 am the next morning. Happens to all of us at some point!

I come from a perspective as having actually run an ANs. The majority of people have not actually done this, yourself included. It is quite a balancing act making everyone happy, between competitors, officials, rink, USFS and vendors. I find it incredible when I hear all these complaints about scheduling, whether it's events or practice ice. Not everything is within our control. It just isn't. We do the best we can, and certainly don't go out of our way to make people unhappy! We want happy people! But if there's a practice ice that's simply too late for you, then just don't do it. Chicago bent over backwards to avoid scheduling problems. LP wasn't as vigilant. And it's very possible that the next LOC won't be vigilant either! It sucks, but I feel that someone can either take it with a grain of salt and just be happy to be competing (which many people can't do) or complain about it. Pick your poison.

One of NoVa's comments . . . and comments you yourself have discussed elsewhere on this board . . . addressed the fact that Pairs have a harder time practicing early in the morning. THAT was what i was addressing in regards to Andrea. I was simply pointing out that that time of day wasn't the case here. The WU was in the middle of the day, optimal time for anyone, Pairs or not. So I was clarifying that time of day had had nothing to do with her falling, which NoVa's original post didn't clarify. Accidents can happen at any time of day, as we all know and have probably experienced.

I do agree that there should be an ice cut between Champ Masters Men and Champ Masters Pairs. That's just plain common sense. Glad they took care of it.

9 Pairs on an official WU shouldn't have happened, and I've already spoken with TPTB about it. But Kim Sailer while 9 teams were ASSIGNED to that ice, only 4-5 teams actually showed. So it was perfectly negotiable.

You forget that I am friends with many many pairs team, all of whom do lifts (with the exception of Jenny/Ray). And they do have experience doing lifts on crowded sessions, with kids doing triples every which way. I've been on the ice with them and those kids at the same time. Does it suck? Absolutely! And they told me that the ice was crowded, yes, but it was fine and they were able to do what they needed. So I'll take their word for it. I also know other pairs who said it wasn't, and like I said earlier, everyone has a comfort level. Some people can skate on bad ice, others aren't comfortable doing it. NoVa didn't like the ice, but Kim said it was fine.

And yes, I'm extremely sympathetic to Andrea. That's a horrible thing to have happen and I'm glad she's okay. I was just saying time of day wasn't the culprit, as you yourself have discussed just a few weeks ago.

As for the overall scheduling conflicts, I agree that it sucks. But that's LP for you. They don't run like a regular LOC. They are their own entity. But as one of the other skaters said to me, the ice quality was the same for everyone, If it was bad and uncut, it was uncut for the whole group.

(And FWIW, I would love to do Pairs, but partners are hard to come by!)

[starskate6.0]

I wanted to thank you all.

My interp (PT Barnum) went quite well this year and I placed second.
However for all of you that stood and applauded I thank you for your support.
Im my opinion you where my judges and your applause made me feel like I had won.. It was worth it... :D
Thanks

[NoVa Sk8r]

Alison, I mostly agree with you, and yes, my comments need to be clarified! But first, I cannot underscore how well Chicago was last year. Kudos to you and your other coworkers. That's right, you and other adult skaters ran AN. But ORDA is not run by adult competitive skaters, and they do not exactly follow USFSA rules (USFSA explicity has a rule stating how many pair teams--and dancers and singles skaters, of course--are allowed on any warmup/official practice session AND that the official warmups MUST be given on the competition rink). And while there were many volunteers, ORDA has paid staff members who performed many functions. At one point, one told me that she just wanted to go home and not help anyone else with practice ice. (Huh? Sorry to be a burden to you, missy!)
Also, you were magically able to group the practice ice by level (i.e., not allowing master and bronze level skaters on the ice) as I recall.

My comments on the pairs snafus were not meant to be singular examples but to form a collective gestalt of what could be better organized/managed in the future. I relaly do not care about skating at midnight and then competing at 5am (I'm 32 and used to live on 4 hours of sleep during college/grad school). This needs to be put in proper context with what Larry said about pairs being an afterthought. In fact, nearly all of the pairs practices were late night.
But I don't agree with the late-night practice ice complaint. If you have an event early the next day, it is your individual choice as to whether or not you want to take that practice ice. ...

I come from a perspective as having actually run an ANs. ... Not everything is within our control. It just isn't. ... Chicago bent over backwards to avoid scheduling problems. LP wasn't as vigilant. And it's very possible that the next LOC won't be vigilant either!

I would hardly call pointing out several serious safety issues "complaining." :roll: Too bad that's how you really feel about it.
It sucks, but I feel that someone can either take it with a grain of salt and just be happy to be competing (which many people can't do) or complain about it. Pick your poison.

Sorry, this is just incorrect. There were 7.5 or 8.5 pair teams on the warmup (Jason was skating his champ. master men event at the same time and I cannot recall if Kim&David were even out there).
9 Pairs on an official WU shouldn't have happened, and I've already spoken with TPTB about it. But Kim Sailer while 9 teams were ASSIGNED to that ice, only 4-5 teams actually showed. So it was perfectly negotiable.

Yes, agreed! (But having uncut ice for everyone does not excuse it.)
As for the overall scheduling conflicts, I agree that it sucks. But that's LP for you. They don't run like a regular LOC. They are their own entity. But as one of the other skaters said to me, the ice quality was the same for everyone, If it was bad and uncut, it was uncut for the whole group.

[NoVa Sk8r]

Flo, I stand by my post about what the teams were doing the last time the event was held in 2004 at Lake Placid. (I was speaking in context of 2004 because, in ORDA's eyes, that is what they last saw of adult pair skating.) Here is the list of competitors (http://www.usfigureskating.org/event_related_details.asp?ri=content/events/200304/adultnats/masterspairs.htm). Lynn and Chris only did half lifts, as did many of the adult track teams. I recently watched the video from the 2004 event, and what few overhead lifts that were done that year did not have the ice coverage and speed of what we saw this year.

With speed and ice coverage and difficulty comes risk, though. And my point was that this year’s pairs event looked very different, and so what the LOC had to accommodate/account for in terms of practice ice needs this time as compared to the last time the event was in Lake Placid, it was very different. Not only were there more teams (how many total in 2004 from adult/masters vs. bronze-masters/champ. this time, 9 in 2004 vs more than double in 2008?), but the level of difficulty was definitely higher. Multiple teams did back press lifts, one-arm star/platter lifts, lifts with three-second carries, throw axels and throw doubles, sbs doubles. The top three teams in Championship Pairs had as part of the team a former “standard track nationals” competitor in pairs! Craig J in senior pairs, Will Abel in senior pairs, Ray Belmonte in junior pairs. And all the other folks on or near the podium have pretty advanced singles backgrounds, too. Judy had qualified in Champ. Gold ladies before; Jenny, Jason, and Joy all current or former Champ. Masters singles competitors at Nationals; and Choeleen, a former senior lady. Kim S also is a former Champ. Masters ladies qualifier, and Tara in Champ Gold Ladies and three-time gold pairs champ. These are all fast, strong skaters.

I am not trying to diminish your accomplishments (which run deep in pairs, singles, and interp!) from back when you competed in pairs, Flo, but a lot of people were talking about how high the quality of pairs competition has gotten, and I think if you review the old videos and compare to today you’ll find this is true (even last year, I would never have dreamed that I would be doing group 3 and 4 lifts--plattr and press--as I only did group 1 lifts last year!).

And my point is that higher quality and higher difficulty equals much more risk, and that risk needs to be catered to more effectively. The last time the event was in LP, there was no Champ. Pair event; there were only two masters teams, so there was no issue relating to having nine teams in a Championship Round warming up on one surface. This is now an issue. Add to that the amount of speed the skaters are now carrying into this risky elements, and it compounds the risk of having so many teams on the ice at once. When the teams were doing less and doing it with less speed, perhaps it wasn’t as big of a deal. But as more former standard-track competitors and high-level adult singles skaters are coming into the fray, the issues that organizer of standard track pairs events face now come to the fore, and you’d never dream of having 9 novice pairs teams on the ice at once at a standard track event, would you?

Nova - actually there have been several pairs doing overhead lifts since the begining in adult and masters. At the first Nats we had overhead lifts in adult pairs as well as masters and there were 8 adult teams. In '99 in masters pairs my partner and I had a platter-star and again in 2000. There were several in our flight of 8 masters pairs who did the overheads then, and in addition there were about 5 adult teams, but most of that group has not been competing in the last few years. What's more 'serious' is the attention from the USFSA. At any rate, we should all have reasonably clean ice.
Exactly. I saw the fall happen in front of me, and I am still shaken by it. I can only imagine how A&L feel!
We can all fall on anything, but rutted ice does not help! No one wants to see anyone fall from an overhead.

[PersnicketySk8r]

My fav moments:

3. Jason Spicer counting out three seconds' worth of spiral for the judges in his freeskate, then giving the audience that priceless "look".

2. Tiffany Wright's "Charlie Chaplin" routine (Masters Ladies LE/C B).

1. The audience applauding and throwing gifts onto the ice for the sweepers after Championship Ladies -- classy!

[Terri C]

You did better than ME at interp! ALL the judges hated my interp!!! 8O And yes, I was flattered how many people approached me afterwards about my interp program and commented on the big hair and heavy makeup how I was "virutally unrecognizable" from when I was just walking around the rinks. Yup! Passed that test too! (My test for whether I have on enough makeup was if I either look like a hooker or a drag queen...) :lol:

DRATS! I wished I had shared the champagne with you after the interp event! I was pretty down on myself after the interp event too. :cry: I totally missed the Champ Ladies event b/c I just wanted to get all that makeup and hair off and just go back to my cabin to not lug my skates and my hair stuff around for the interp event.



And thank you SO MUCH for that bottle of champagne, Mel!!! If you guys watch the end of my interp program on icenetwork (and assuming they didn't edit out the clip) you'll get to see my reaction to that. ;)

(Fair warning to Terri C: You are NEXT on the champagne handoff!!! ;) )

Yeah, I have yet to solve the interp "mystery."

Jazz, and any others, you may be starting your champagne shopping as early as NEXT MONTH!! I will be retaking my Bronze free then. I did a exhibition at the rink on Satuday and it was the strongest version of Jumpin Jack Flash that I have ever skated!

[NoVa Sk8r]

Yes, this is a prickly topic for me because as partner and I were doing pair Y-spirals (into the back inside death spiral), a dance team cut us off, and I let go of tara on the death spiral entrance. She went slamming into the ice and thankfully she fell on her good hip, otherwise we would have been finished right then and there!
Nova - you're right, the dancers should not have been there. As for the reason - probably the same reason a pair team was sneaking in pairs practice on freestyle only ice at one nats. No consideration for anyone other than themselves.

[NoVa Sk8r]

I think I saw that too! (bebi: did you fall over the wall trying to slip a nip? All I remembered was seeing you on the front seat blowing the horn and then the next minute over the wall and on the ice and NoVa making off with the nips w/o helping you up! :lol: )Ack, I needed major 'nippage' (:lol:) after that skate/day/week!!! :P

[flo]

It is had to pass up practice ice, but I've done it when I've felt it's not in my best interest. I do well understand the needs of pair skaters and all skaters for that matter. There is a great potential for injuries all around, and if you don't think so, ask Connie. I also realize there are 600 competitors to attempt to accomodate. At other events when I want "at home" practice conditions, I stay home until the day before.

The pairs warm ups in Lake Placid have a history of being crowded. At the first one with 8 pairs I said something to the then person in charge, Karen Courtland. Her reply was, "Oh well, It's a big rink".

I thought the max was 6 pairs on a practice.

Nova - anyone cutting off a death spiral deserves a smack on the nose with rolled up newspaper.

[AdultPairSkater]

Hi :)

There are certain things you are attributing to me that I discussed in a general way in prior threads to gather people's thoughts on the matter that are not entirely true. My own personal preferences for the time of day I prefer to skate are not stated. I stated that all of my serious injuries, and I have had them, were in the morning. I personally skate in practice at 6:45am 3 times a week, so early morning has never been a personal complaint of mine. However, you must admit the scheduling of the ice cuts, practice ice and the like at this event wasn't up to snuff for a 3 surface facility with no surrounding alternatives like other venue cities. I just compare it to your work, and it pales in comparison.

I brought up for discussion that several other pair teams do object publicly about skating early and site safety concerns. I wanted people's views of the safety concerns they raised publicly. There was little input regarding the safety concerns, but there was a discussion and debate and a lot of venting about bad personal experiences. I felt the concerns to be valid. I'm split down the middle about it because I do feel you can always be prepared for whatever schedule if you know what it is. It is the ultimate choice of the skater(s).

And yes, I did forget for a minute in my prior note that of course you are friends and familiar with most of the skaters too. I will apologize sincerely for that here and only claim too much emotion as the cause. Andrea, Lee and I are close and she called for me from the ice. It was painful to experience it so up close with such a good friend. So I ask your forgiveness for getting snippy. I never like carrying my friends into ambulances when they are hurt, frightened and suffering.

My point here is that it is always the stated goal that whatever LOC is awarded the bid is to provide to the best of their ability the best opportunity possible and safest environment for the skaters to perform. The way things were done were not up to the quality of your work, Allison, or the work they themselves did previously 3 times.

It simply was inferior to what you and other have done when entrusted with that bid. The details now are up for discussion, and that is always a good thing. I remember the Illinois Counsel taking notes the year before and being intensely prepared. Other venues have also done it very well (I have been at 11 ANs now). I suggest the next LOC be as intensely prepared and patient as others have demonstrated, your work included.

Cheers!

Larry

[Figureskates]

My fav moments:

3. Jason Spicer counting out three seconds' worth of spiral for the judges in his freeskate, then giving the audience that priceless "look".

2. Tiffany Wright's "Charlie Chaplin" routine (Masters Ladies LE/C B).

1. The audience applauding and throwing gifts onto the ice for the sweepers after Championship Ladies -- classy!

The one thing the sweepers could not pick up was the nips since the girls were under age.

It was a great week...I never watched so much skating in my life and when I close my eyes I still see skaters whirling around the ice.

There are rumours that there is going to be a figures competition in June of 2009 in Portland, ME...I better get my scribe oiled!

[looplover]

Any news on AN 2009???

I'll even take rumor!!! :lol:

[doubletoe]

Wow. The caller was brutal on the flutzes in the champ events. No "e", just called them a flip. Also dinged people for "saving" a jump with a pseudo-loop, negating true loop combos. I've never seen so many --- in adult singles. 8O

Really? Whose lutzes got called as flips? I was actually curious about whether there would be any edge calls and was surprised that I didn't find a single "e" in any of the protocol sheets. I'm wondering if maybe they didn't have this year's software or something. But even so, all the caller had to do was to announce "lutz, wrong edge" and every judge was supposed to take off at least -1 GOE. . . Hmm. . .?

[flo]

Nova - I do believe that the overall levels have increased, but overhead lifts have been around since the first nats and thus the risks are not that different to the person falling. And the numbers of pairs were just as high if not higher in the early years, and then dipped, quite obvious in 2004. If anything, the probability for injury is less with the "former standard track" skaters as they obviously have more experience. I do not believe at all that the LOC should "accomodate" the pairs events any more now just because of these competitors. All event have naturally increased in difficulty and all skaters need to be safe, and all skaters need to accept responsibility. I don't think that there should be more practice time for greater difficulty, but for the numbers the usfsa guidelines of how many pairs on the ice do need to be followed now just as they should have been followed all the other years nats was there. I'd like to see more common sense used in the scheduling as far as late night followed by early am, and maintained ice for all. But again, its the skaters responsibility to determine if the conditions are "safe" for them.

[icedancer2]

There are rumours that there is going to be a figures competition in June of 2009 in Portland, ME...I better get my scribe oiled!

That would be Portland, OREGON - not Portland ME.

Come on down (up? Across?). We would love to see you here!

[manleywoman]

My point here is that it is always the stated goal that whatever LOC is awarded the bid is to provide to the best of their ability the best opportunity possible and safest environment for the skaters to perform. . . .

It simply was inferior to what you and other have done when entrusted with that bid. The details now are up for discussion, and that is always a good thing. I remember the Illinois Counsel taking notes the year before and being intensely prepared. Other venues have also done it very well (I have been at 11 ANs now). I suggest the next LOC be as intensely prepared and patient as others have demonstrated, your work included.

Thanks for the kudos. The Chicago LOC worked really hard to make it great (and I give GREAT credit to the whole crew. There were a lot of dedicated volunteers who really made it work, a lot of whom who were adult skaters, which helped).

As a result, I'm for sure sensitive to complaints about scheduling issues. Some are very legit. Some not so much. Some are legit, but there's simply nothing to be done about it, regardless of intentions. So I have to roll my eyes a bit at some of the complaints. We just can't make everyone happy. It's impossible. So all I can offer is that the ANs schedule give you lemons, make lemonade! We've all had a crappy schedule at times.

I'm not poo-poing the safety issues of Pairs at all, since a lot of my closest friends do pairs! I want everyone safe! But when it's not possible to accomodate the Pairs, then I think the Pairs teams need to take a hard look at what's comfortable for them. If the ice is bad on the practice ice and it's crowded, perhaps don't practice the lifts for that session. If it's too late in the day for your body, don't do it. Everyone has to make their choices. The LOC can do the best they can to address the safety issues, but ultimately it's up to the skaters to decide what's best for them given the circumstances.

A few of us from Chicago, the Adult Committee, and USFS have started writing a "how-to" manual on how to run an ANs. I don't know if it will be ready for the next LOC. But we figured it was a good guideline on what to think about and when. Many of the scheduling issues . . . and safety issues for Pairs . . . that have been discussed here have been addressed in the manual. So it is already well on everyone's radar.

Having said that . . . that doesn't guarantee anyone will take our advice!! It's up to each LOC to do things their own way, as only they know the resources available to them. Chicago had a lot of resources. Other locations will not. Personally, i thought KC did an incredible job, and they had the least amount of resources available, so ANs CAN be done well with less. Conversely, LP has all the resources in the world. But if their volunteers are just going to leave, as NoVa described, well, what can you do!

[manleywoman]

Any news on AN 2009???

I'll even take rumor!!! :lol:

I heard rumors of the following. Again, just rumors:

Grand Rapids, MI
Detroit, MI
UDel
IceWorks (south of Philadelphia)
Hackensack

[Stormy]

Those are the 5 that I heard, but was told at the meeting that 12 clubs have bid!! I can't even think of 12 clubs that would want AN! They are keeping it hush hush as to exactly what clubs they are to discourage rumors. :) But we should know within a week or so! Personally, I am hoping for Hackensack! :)

[Terri C]

Rumors about AN '09 location... pulleaze... the word eventually gets out.
I have a feeling, just a feeling that if a West Coast club bids and has a good package, that club may very well get it. AN hasn't been on the West Coast in years!

[FREESK8ER]

I want to thank Ross for his support for my events. You talk funny but you know skating. Congrats also on your events. I need a cowbell.
Diana - It was so good to see you at AN. Thanks for the tip on Velcro. You have been a fixture at every competition I go to for the past 6 years. You love the "Dress Up".

When will we know where AN is next year?

[Mel On Ice]

add Raleigh, NC to the "rumor" list. I can confirm GR, MI did put in a bid.

[Terri C]

add Raleigh, NC to the "rumor" list.

OMG...that is a three hour drive for me and home to skaternum, mskater, skatingatty, and several other adult skaters!!

[NoVa Sk8r]

Really? Whose lutzes got called as flips? I was actually curious about whether there would be any edge calls and was surprised that I didn't find a single "e" in any of the protocol sheets. I'm wondering if maybe they didn't have this year's software or something. But even so, all the caller had to do was to announce "lutz, wrong edge" and every judge was supposed to take off at least -1 GOE. . . Hmm. . .?Burton's lutz got an "e" in masters novice/senior men (on page 22 of the men's protocol sheet), yet a judge still gave it a +1 GOE. :roll:
Interestingly, the same jump was called as an outright flip in the champ. master men event, which sucks, since he ended up doing 3 flips, the last one not getting credit!

[AdultPairSkater]

OMG...that is a three hour drive for me and home to skaternum, mskater, skatingatty, and several other adult skaters!!


And my twin brother lives in Chapel Hill, NC, and I feel like it would be in my "home-away-from-home" town!

The facility there is lovely.

Cheers!

Larry

[flo]

I'd love to go to Portland! I also have fond memories of skating in Grand Rapids. Ann Arbor has also done a wonderful job at hosting AN's. The Carolinas would also be fun.

[PersnicketySk8r]

I think I saw that too! (bebi: did you fall over the wall trying to slip a nip? All I remembered was seeing you on the front seat blowing the horn and then the next minute over the wall and on the ice and NoVa making off with the nips w/o helping you up! :lol: )

Pic of her on the ice holding up nips is now up at http://web.icenetwork.com/gen/photogallery/year_2008/month_04/day_14/cf47683.html.

[Stormy]

Hahahahahaha!!! That was the funniest thing I'd seen all week! :bow::bow:

[flying~camel]

I really enjoyed my first AN experience. I didn't skate as well as I would have liked, but I was pleased with the placement, considering my noticeable errors. I got very intimidated by the whole thing and I didn't care for the 1980 rink ice. Though it was awesome to skate on Olympic ice and on the big AN logo. Loved the twenty minute warm-up. I've never gotten one of those before and it was fabulous. I preferred the USA rink ice too!

It was great to see people that I've skated with at local events, some old coaches and to meet some new people.

Can't wait to go again, I may even consider flying to get there. This is a big hurdle for me....plane phobia.

You were in Bronze I, right? If so, we were in the same group! I finished 3rd!

[Isk8NYC]

add Raleigh, NC to the "rumor" list. I can confirm GR, MI did put in a bid.
Cool - about a half hour from me! I have a "matched pair" of sweepers that would love to help out!
(I haven't heard any buzz about that down here, but I don't coach in Raleigh, proper.)

[looplover]

add Raleigh, NC to the "rumor" list. I can confirm GR, MI did put in a bid.

Ooh! right near me! (I doubt I'll be living here then, but that's still a good location!)

[skaternum]

OMG...that is a three hour drive for me and home to skaternum, mskater, skatingatty, and several other adult skaters!!
I haven't heard a peep out of my club about hosting AN. The other club in the area is in Hillsborough and doesn't have enough ice surfaces. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the pro who is trying to pull out of our club (and start his own) is contemplating a bid, but they're not a full member club and couldn't get a sanction right now.

[Debbie S]

Hey, if AN '09 is at UDel or IceWorks, I might actually go, since those places are so close. But IceWorks is not the greatest facility - no heat, frigid rinks (and locker rooms), and hard ice. And there's not much in the immediate area in terms of hotels - people would have to stay in Wilmington (DE), most likely. Same hotel situation with UDel (although the rinks are nicer). I've never been to Hackensack, but there are probably more accommodations in the immediate area, but also expensive, I imagine. But I could stay with friends who live in the area....

Hmmm...

I'm not traveling to Michigan, though. Especially after going to Cleveland in January to watch (standard track) Nationals.

[starskate6.0]

Regarding ice Works as a possible venue for AN09 .
As a club member Iv not heard anything at all , however I will admit Im out off the loop in most cases when it comes to any rumors . Im about the last to know, even though I probably skate more hours there than some off the kids..:lol:

[starskate6.0]

I want to thank Ross for his support for my events. You talk funny but you know skating. Congrats also on your events. I need a cowbell.
Diana - It was so good to see you at AN. Thanks for the tip on Velcro. You have been a fixture at every competition I go to for the past 6 years. You love the "Dress Up".

When will we know where AN is next year?

Your Welcome Freesk8er.. Im going to Oberstdorf.. Ill bring you back a bell.. no cow attached..:lol:

[sexyskates]

I would like to thank the organizers for a very professional and well run competition. Lake Placid is a wonderful facility - I feel as if I'm at the Olympics! I think they did a great job in avoiding conflicts since most people had multiple events. I can't imagine the difficulty of scheduling a competition of this size. I thought the "Official Warm-ups" were nicely scheduled and the perfect length of time to be sure that all my elements were there.

[doubletoe]

Burton's lutz got an "e" in masters novice/senior men (on page 22 of the men's protocol sheet), yet a judge still gave it a +1 GOE. :roll:
Interestingly, the same jump was called as an outright flip in the champ. master men event, which sucks, since he ended up doing 3 flips, the last one not getting credit!

Wow, very interesting. I need to go back and look through that sheet again. Still, I would have expected a lot more edge calls. Either we're not flutzing badly because we're only doing singles (in some cases doubles) or they've decided to take it easy on us unless the flutz is particularly bad. . .?

I don't understand competitors needing to do program runthroughs after they have left home, and requiring hours of practice ice at the competition venue. It must be a nightmare to schedule all this. As far as super early "official warm-ups" go, I have slept through them and skated my events just fine without them. It's all training and mental preparation, and the six minute warm ups at Nationals are quite generous.

It can be disconcerting skating in a different rink, with different visual cues and in the competition environment. I know I focus better and feel a lot more confident once I've skated my program in the competition rink.

[NoVa Sk8r]

Pic of her on the ice holding up nips is now up at http://web.icenetwork.com/gen/photogallery/year_2008/month_04/day_14/cf47683.html.Go Becca! Loved the raspberry nips! (And no, pair partner was NOT happy with the stunt you pulled, neither was the team that followed us!)

[jazzpants]

I really enjoyed my first AN experience. I didn't skate as well as I would have liked, but I was pleased with the placement, considering my noticeable errors. I got very intimidated by the whole thing and I didn't care for the 1980 rink ice. Though it was awesome to skate on Olympic ice and on the big AN logo. Loved the twenty minute warm-up. I've never gotten one of those before and it was fabulous. I preferred the USA rink ice too! You were in Bronze I, right? If so, we were in the same group! I finished 3rd!And so was my fellow skater, WeirFan06!!! :D

BTW: Thank you for the back scratcher! It came in handy today at the rink. :lol: :P

Yeah, I hate to admit it... 1980 was heavily hyped as the rink surface to skate on and when I did, it was QUITE hard and unforgiving. QUITE sucky for me. (Then again, I suspect that they were still "flooding the ice" when the event was happening, so that's why the ice is so hard.) The other thing that was depressing is seeing the Lussi rink all ripped up. Anyone there know what they're doing on that particular rink? And my favorite rink ice wise was the USA rink three! :mrgreen:

It was great to see people that I've skated with at local events, some old coaches and to meet some new people.

Can't wait to go again, I may even consider flying to get there. This is a big hurdle for me....plane phobia.Good meeting 'ya, Hannahclear! At least NOW I know for sure who you are, so I can look for 'ya at future AN's.

My fav moments:

3. Jason Spicer counting out three seconds' worth of spiral for the judges in his freeskate, then giving the audience that priceless "look". That was HILARIOUS!!! It was like "Why does he have this one finger, then two... and then it dawned on me about the 3 second spiral rule!!! :lol: :P

The other fun moment was watching the Michigan group (Mel's, f~c and techskater's club) yell out "GO JUDGES!!! GO JUDGES!!!" I was right behind them at one point when they were doing that, so I just joined in!!! You guys are having WAAAAAY too much fun there and you didn't even have any alcohol in your system yet!!! :P :lol: (For those who weren't at AN... the judges responded by going "the wave!" LOL!!! )

[NoVa Sk8r]

Wow, very interesting. I need to go back and look through that sheet again. Still, I would have expected a lot more edge calls. Either we're not flutzing badly because we're only doing singles (in some cases doubles) or they've decided to take it easy on us unless the flutz is particularly bad. . .?

It can be disconcerting skating in a different rink, with different visual cues and in the competition environment. I know I focus better and feel a lot more confident once I've skated my program in the competition rink.I spoke at length with one of the controllers (he helped partner and me go from a level 1 to a level 4 spiral from gold pairs to champ. pairs after I questioned our features after the gold pairs event). He said that they were not being very stringent this year with toe-waltzing and toe-axeling and with other things that people got dinged on last year, and that when something was borderline, the panel would give the benefit of the doubt to the skater.

I hope everyone operating under IJS knows that you can request to speak to the technical controller for your respective event (never the technical specialist or assistant technical specialist). They actually have the planned program content sheet with notes written on it, so you know exactly what you got credit for. For example, on the spiral sequence, Tara and I had "V," "CE," and "V2" written for each spiral (variation, change edge, and variation for three spirals, or level 4). Unfortunately, Tara held her blade the whole time, had no unsupported spiral, and thus had an automatic level 1 (there was slash through all the shothand notes!). We somehow overlooked this, but the controller was able to easily point it out. And just like that, we changed it and got a level 4 for the champ. pair event.

[vesperholly]

Yeah, I hate to admit it... 1980 was heavily hyped as the rink surface to skate on and when I did, it was QUITE hard and unforgiving. QUITE sucky for me. (Then again, I suspect that they were still "flooding the ice" when the event was happening, so that's why the ice is so hard.) The other thing that was depressing is seeing the Lussi rink all ripped up. Anyone there know what they're doing on that particular rink? And my favorite rink ice wise was the USA rink three! :mrgreen:
I didn't get to skate on the 1980 rink at all, because both practices and my competition were on the 1932 rink, and I suppose I should be glad for it! The official warm-up was on the USA rink, which was OK. I loved the ice on the 1932 rink - very soft, my spins centered easily and all my toe jumps felt like they had a lot of pop.

[Figureskates]

I would like to thank the organizers for a very professional and well run competition. Lake Placid is a wonderful facility - I feel as if I'm at the Olympics! I think they did a great job in avoiding conflicts since most people had multiple events. I can't imagine the difficulty of scheduling a competition of this size. I thought the "Official Warm-ups" were nicely scheduled and the perfect length of time to be sure that all my elements were there.

We tried.

The volunteer portion of the event was in the works since late winter with e-mails going back and forth. A lot of the volunteers were adult skaters who come to the adult weeks in Lake Placid during the summer, and many more competed so it was a fun reunion in addition to the competition.

Getting a full staff of volunteers is always difficult during the first two weeks of April in Lake Placid since this is the traditional "vacation time" for Lake Placidians since this is mud season. That is why some of the stores were closed during thr week.

The sometime "disconnects" that occurred during the event is due mostly to the fact that ORDA controls certain aspects of the competition with the volunteer aspects of the competition being left to my club. What is a great help is having volunteers who are also competitors so thay know "both sides of the table" so we can make the operation run smoother.

I am open to any comments, criticisms, ideas, and suggestions you folks might have. I will make sure it gets to the proper people within my Club. Also the same goes for ORDA. I know all the folks in there as well and I am not shy in bringing anything to them.

[rlichtefeld]

Pic of her on the ice holding up nips is now up at http://web.icenetwork.com/gen/photogallery/year_2008/month_04/day_14/cf47683.html.

This was supposed to by my pairs partner, but she chickend out at the last minute, so our favorite nip thrower did it.

The original idea was to take the "critter" to the door, put down a plastic bag and then push her out. But, the guy at the door said we couldn't go through. That's why she went over the boards.

When we had practiced it earlier that day, we realized that the critter would go further if you put a plastic bag under it, but with her going over the boards instead, that didn't happen. In practice I could get Sara almost to the center when she was on the plastic!

You can't see it in the photo, but the shirt was made to look like Wendy Bauer's teddy bear sweaters. And, we were working on the "tag" as we walked across the street to the rink. And, believe it or not, the string attaching the tag to the critter is ONE of my boot laces.

Rob

[blue111moon]

Re: scheduling complaints

Isn't it the Chief Referee who makes up the event schedule, including the official practices? That's the way it works at the Non-Adult Nationals.

The Chief Referee is assigned by Headquarters and is not a member of the LOC. So rather than addressing complaints about the schedule to the Lake Placid people, maybe people should address their issues with US Figure Skating, the members of the Adult Skating and Competitions committees, and even the Chief Referee him/herself.

I agree with Manleywoman. The logistics of scheduling an event as huge as AN, with people competiting in multiple events on multiple surfaces is a nightmare. It's impossible to please everyone. They do the best they can. Maybe the complainers should take on the task next year and see if they can do better?

[Mrs Redboots]

Granted this is off ice, but it wasn't as scary of an experience as I thought (getting lifted that is.) It's a lot more scary in the cold, sober light of day.... ask anybody who's been at the Mountain Cup Sunday night parties.....

[pairman2]

Thanks to everyone for your concerns

Andrea is resting fine now. She has a compression fracture on L1 and a hairline fracture on one of the sacrum (sp?) vertebrae. Both are stable and in place and are not expected to need surgery. She was in a lot of pain the first night but it was well managed by the EMT's and hospital staff. She was stabilized and x rayed at Lake Placid Hospital and then transferred to Saranac Hospital for a Cat Scan. That's where the sacrum fracture showed up. She was admitted there. By Sunday morning she was able to smile a lot and as of mid afternoon, the torso brace man came and fitted her. She felt a lot better just having that on. (perfect posture always feels good).
She was discharged yesterday, Monday mid day and she managed the ride home pretty well and is resting as comfortable as can be expected. She will be in the brace for 6 weeks and then PT.

Thanks to Nova and Larry for a very accurate summery of the circumstances.

I'll just add a couple notes. The time of day did not figure into the accident. The practice was at 6:30 PM and we had made adjustments to our routine to accomodate this. On a semi related note, we did take exception to the late night practice just prior to our 8 am event 2 days earlier and as a result, we drove 2 hours to Saratoga Springs very early Wednesday in order to accomodate what we felt we needed. As for the practice in which we fell, the ice conditions that Nova described were accurate and as for the numbers on the ice, there are regulations for offical practices that were exceeded. For a number of reasons, it wasn't a realistic option for us to compete our program elements without the minimum 20 minute official practice, so we took what was assigned to us, even though we knew going in that it was substandard.

Thanks to all, for your encouragement and support.
Lee

[Mrs Redboots]

Poor Andrea - do draw her attention to the thread that Tim started with best wishes for her. I do hope she heals fast.

[bebi]

Pic of her on the ice holding up nips is now up at http://web.icenetwork.com/gen/photogallery/year_2008/month_04/day_14/cf47683.html.

Guys, I wish I could take credit for this great dramatic gesture, but the individual lying prostrate on the ice in the picture is actually Becca Guthrie from Alabama, the same generous person who threw out all the little nips to everyone during the event.

I can't say what I was actually doing at the time. It was probably much worse! 8-)

BeBi

[doubletoe]

I spoke at length with one of the controllers (he helped partner and me go from a level 1 to a level 4 spiral from gold pairs to champ. pairs after I questioned our features after the gold pairs event). He said that they were not being very stringent this year with toe-waltzing and toe-axeling and with other things that people got dinged on last year, and that when something was borderline, the panel would give the benefit of the doubt to the skater.

I hope everyone operating under IJS knows that you can request to speak to the technical controller for your respective event (never the technical specialist or assistant technical specialist). They actually have the planned program content sheet with notes written on it, so you know exactly what you got credit for. For example, on the spiral sequence, Tara and I had "V," "CE," and "V2" written for each spiral (variation, change edge, and variation for three spirals, or level 4). Unfortunately, Tara held her blade the whole time, had no unsupported spiral, and thus had an automatic level 1 (there was slash through all the shothand notes!). We somehow overlooked this, but the controller was able to easily point it out. And just like that, we changed it and got a level 4 for the champ. pair event.

Last year I found that the caller we had for Champ. Gold Ladies and Gold III FR was much stricter on the toeloops and spiral sequences than the one we had for Gold III QR (so after Gold III QR I made some changes to avoid downgrades in Champ. Gold). This year the calling looked like it was much more consistent, and more forgiving across the board. I didn't see that many downgraded toeloops, and I was surprised to see that a fan spiral (unsupported free leg to the side/front) was actually counted as a feature in a spiral sequence even though it is no longer considered a feature this year unless done in an extreme position.

[jazzpants]

Guys, I wish I could take credit for this great dramatic gesture, but the individual lying prostrate on the ice in the picture is actually Becca Guthrie from Alabama, the same generous person who threw out all the little nips to everyone during the event.

I can't say what I was actually doing at the time. It was probably much worse! 8-)

BeBiTee hee hee... you guys are having WAAAAAY too much fun down there!!! (And drats!!! I missed out on meeting Beccapoo too!!! :cry: Maybe next year...)

Yup!!! You guys were definitely the right people for Matt's horn!!! Thin-Ice and I couldn't blow that thing to save our lives!!! Maybe we should have had some vodka nips beforehand so our lips would be loosen up for the horn!!! LOL!!!

Bebi: Sorry I mixed you and Becca up... (and I haven't had any nips too... honest!!!) :P

[herniated]

I had a great time at AN. Came in 12th out of 16 in my Artistic. Wish I had placed higher but those are the breaks. Didn't skate my best. I should of had flo come to stand by my side. I was the only one in my warm up group without coach. I could of used a friendly face. Usually, it doesn't affect me but this time it did!! But, it was a great experience anyway.

I met some great new friends and met Frank R., Freeskater, and others from the board. Sorry, I forgot the names. Brain is still fried from the week. Wasn't feeling too well for most of it. I should change my name from herniated to kidney stone. I passed another the week before and it leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. My family had a great time as well. We stayed till Monday just to relax.

[jazzpants]

I met some great new friends and met Frank R., Freeskater, and others from the board. Sorry, I forgot the names. Brain is still fried from the week. Wasn't feeling too well for most of it. I should change my name from herniated to kidney stone. I passed another the week before and it leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. My family had a great time as well. We stayed till Monday just to relax.Sorry to hear you were sick... and I was looking for you actually but unfortunately didn't get your REAL name... :oops:

And hey, you did better than me in my interp event!!! :P

[flo]

Herniated - anytime. I put a couple of friends on and was fortunate enough to have mel and camel at my practice.

I had a great time catching up with folks. Every 5 feet there was someone to greet and hug. I even babysat Hercules while his parents were dancing. I love being in Lake Placid - it's such a magical place to do what you love.

[doubletoe]

Herniated - anytime. I put a couple of friends on and was fortunate enough to have mel and camel at my practice.

I had a great time catching up with folks. Every 5 feet there was someone to greet and hug. I even babysat Hercules while his parents were dancing. I love being in Lake Placid - it's such a magical place to do what you love.

Oh, Flo, was that you? Then we've met! I had just gotten off my practice ice and was having a hard time resisting little Hercules myself so we chatted a little and you told me about your fur kids. ;)

[daisies]

I had a fabulous time at AN. Having been to every AN since the beginning, I believe this one ranks up there as one of the best. I am sorry to hear that the pairs had a hard time of it, but from my perspective the competition was extremely well run. It was neat to finally have the AN logo painted on the ice after all these years -- although it would have been nicer to have practice ice on that surface. But, hey ... it's the thought that counts! Even the competitors' party was well done.

I had a great time skating my FS event ... which is odd for me because I'm not really a FS person! I just really enjoyed being judged under IJS. I placed third, and doubletoe pointed out to me that I was the first skater ever at AN to receive a level 3 step sequence ... and since she was the first skater at AN, last year, to get a level 4 spiral sequence, I feel like I am in good company!

I skated my Interp pretty well but ended up 6th. I found myself saying what I say every year, no matter how I place, "Well, that's Interp for you! Always a crap shoot!" Looking at the ordinal sheets every year is almost as entertaining as watching the programs! Ordinals all over the place. I remember one year I actually won Interp without having one single first-place ordinal. It was that wacky!

The only thing that marred my trip was the flight home. Unfortunately I was sick all week, and I was no less congested when I had to fly home. I have trouble with my ears on planes when I am well -- I always take Sudafed and use nose spray when I fly, to open everything up -- but this time those methods did nothing and the pain in my ears upon descent was absolutely excruciating. And unfortunately I had to do it twice, because I had a layover in Chicago. The flight attendant on my first flight gave me a Claritin D, but unfortunately, by that time, it was too late. It's been 36 hours since I landed, and I still can't quite hear properly. I am seeing an ENT tomorrow morning!

Congrats to everyone!

[flo]

Doubletoe - how funny! I also found out after having dinner with her that I met climbskate! I remember your practice - it was pretty good. Hercules was a cutie! Congrats on your skate.

Daisies - congrats! I hope you feel better. How many are here now who have been to all nats? This was definitely one of my favorites.

[daisies]

Daisies - congrats! I hope you feel better. How many are here now who have been to all nats? This was definitely one of my favorites.
Thanks! I counted seven: you, me, Colleen Conroy, Ted Gradman, Angie Prevost, Walt Horton and Dorothy Ray. I have a feeling I am missing one, though!

[doubletoe]

Doubletoe - how funny! I also found out after having dinner with her that I met climbskate! I remember your practice - it was pretty good. Hercules was a cutie! Congrats on your skate.

Thanks! If only my actual competition skate had been that good! :giveup:
I look forward to seeing you again next year!

[herniated]

Sorry to hear you were sick... and I was looking for you actually but unfortunately didn't get your REAL name... :oops:

And hey, you did better than me in my interp event!!! :P

Hi Jazz, I'll PM you my real name. I was hoping to meet you too! I'm still eating the two bags of cotton candy I bought there. It makes me sick, but what a great 'sick' it is!! :D

[herniated]

[QUOTE=flo;362057]Herniated - anytime. I put a couple of friends on and was fortunate enough to have mel and camel at my practice.

Thanks flo. Next time I'll PM you and make arraingements.:D

[jazzpants]

Hi Jazz, I'll PM you my real name. I was hoping to meet you too! I'm still eating the two bags of cotton candy I bought there. It makes me sick, but what a great 'sick' it is!! :D
And I have replied your PM with my real name too...

Cotton Candy! Mmmmm Mmmmm!!!! :yum:

Of course, I'm waiting 'til after my dietitian's appt. this weekend to splurge on a REALLY good JUICY burger!!! But I did have an okay burger right after my freeskate. Apparently a couple of people griped that I didn't leave any more leftover fries for them. (You know who you are...) :twisted: :P :lol:

[mr7740]

Really? Whose lutzes got called as flips? I was actually curious about whether there would be any edge calls and was surprised that I didn't find a single "e" in any of the protocol sheets. I'm wondering if maybe they didn't have this year's software or something. But even so, all the caller had to do was to announce "lutz, wrong edge" and every judge was supposed to take off at least -1 GOE. . . Hmm. . .?

Also, in the Master's Junior/Senior Ladies I+II group there was an 'e' call on the second place skater. From the stands her lutz looked great to me and likewise half the judging panel gave it a -1, the other half a 'O'... I thought edge calls were a mandatory -1 GOE, but I guess not.

Speaking of deductions, does anyone know why Edward VanCampen got a costume deduction? He wore an all black tight fitting costume and I can't even imagine what merited the violation.

[NoVa Sk8r]

Speaking of deductions, does anyone know why Edward VanCampen got a costume deduction? He wore an all black tight fitting costume and I can't even imagine what merited the violation.I think he was wearing black tights. Men are only allowed to wear pants or trousers.

(In the Grand Prix series this fall in France, the Russian ice dancers Khokhlova & Novitski received a costume deduction (http://www.isufs.org/results/gpfra07/gpfra07_IceDancing_FD_Scores.pdf) in the FD because he wore tights (http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4844-128610-19728-18886-280290-3572-4771-layout160-129918-news-item,00.html).)

[icecatepairs]

hello all,
Many of you know that i have not posted in a very long time. Athough there are generally good intentions among the group i found some of the negativity on the board to be something i needed to step back from as nothiung possitive was coming from it for my own skating. For each their own. But in light of the recent pairs accident i will post a point by point summary of a few items of concern. I am not at liberty at this time to discuss certain details of the actual event , but the events leading up to it. please read my words carefully and be careful not to assume conclusions that are not given from me.

first a kittle ventng:
From the beginning of the week the practice ice problem existed for skaters of every discipline in the sense that the practice ice for some reason could not be organized in advance by computer. Instead people were forced to spend time they would be resting and preparing for an event sitting in practice ice line everyday to meet with the man with the quill and ink pen from the stone age. Stephen and i were treated rudely by a certain lady in
the practice ice office, who said "DON"T BLAME ORDA" yes miss "wouldn't want to mention any names" we are blaming orda not the loc. Every other venue has moved from the stone age so how about giving it a try. Im sure if you ask for advice from thoise who ran it in the past they would be glad to help you, but you might have to admit your system sucks first. As for how you "don't have to stay here to help us" we paid to get here, we pay usfsa membership dues and you are not here as a volunteer like the loc. Theres things I don't like doing at my job lady but i get paid to so i do. if you don't like yiour job try monsterjobs.com I wouldn't suggest customer service fields.


okay standup act over...now the facts

In 20007 sectionals there were no practice sessions until Andrea and i became the joan of arch for the pairs community and stuck our necks out and recieved nasty emails of a personal level from organizers there. In the end a few early sessions were tacked on. the needs of the dance teams were recognized in advance. not a problem there.

AT AN 2008 the pairs ice sessions were tack ons at the end of the day. I too am a singles skater (ahem although not a very good one:oops:) however I have quite a bit of experience in pairs. sorry people, pairs is more dangerous and if you want to try flying across the rink oversomeones head and falling you would not argue that fact. I wish I could say that it is a matter of opinion, but its really just common sense. lifts are timing oriented. I have had the honor of being lifted and instructed by many senior level pairs skaters and olympians, and guess what? J Paul didn't take a blade to the head in a singles element.

as for the commentary that we could choose not to go to it, (the late night sessions) i am not interested in starting a war here, i am willing to respect everyones freedom to speak, but Im assuming yiou may not have been aware that there were no other options open. I could however choose to to not practice singles that late BECAUSE THERE WERE OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE!!!! timing is everything in pairs. we do have to practice.

I would like correct a certain someones statement from the powers that be. Dance was not mingled with pairs in practice sessions. dance was allowed to invade practice ice on pairs sessios but we were not allowed to invade theirs. thats not mingling, its a one way problem that only compromised the safety of pairs. Eye for an eye should have been allowed to walk onto a dance session and do an over the head twist lift amid the compulsory dances? of course not that would be ridiculous.

the day of the accident:

9 teams were assigned the ice together. the ice had not been cut prior. the ice was not in good condition with divits like a bad golf game. if you were not on the ice please don't assume to know the condition of the ice. If you are a team that does overheads you know the ramifications of divits. we all do now.

nova will correct me on this but i beleive that a few rules were being broken at the time of the incident . I believe the rule already states the limit to the number of teams on the ice and that in a sanctioned championship event the official practice must be on the same surface as the competition. if that is the case then a certain comment from the powers that be saying we are working on creating rules and regulations to limit the number of teams" is even sadder. thanks, but you don't need to make rules you need to follow them!!!!

I realize this is a long post but its most likely the only one.

oh as far as the lift having a bad entry comment, Im sorry but if you were not there , did not witness it, and do not have extensive experince in over the head lifts I don't think yiou can make that judgement. so to say the lift had a bad entry is odd. can you pick a man out of a police lineup if you did not see the bank get robbed?

these are simply statements made by someone who was there for all of the events discussed in previous posts. everyone has the right to speak there mind. its the beauty of the freedom of speech. but we must all be careful to keep the difference between an opinion and a fact. feel free to comment but be careful what you state as fact if you were not there. thank you for entertaining my cameo ont eh board LOL if there are any changes that can come of this then that will be great for the future safety of adult pairs. its sad however that we fought so hard to get someone to listen for years. yet suddenly when someone fractures a few vertabrae, now certain people are concerned and all ears. Why is that ? no cared before but now we fear being held responsible so CYA? you kow megeans law is a great thing but the bottom line is its not going to bring megean back. hindsight is 20 /20 but listening the first time would have been a better idea!


as far as the human critter on the ice. shame on the ice monitor who allowed that to be pre planned, and at my rink we have a no shoes on the ice rule for a reason. you bring dirt from the street out on the ice. if you can't hold your liquor don't drink. it was disrespectful to the team taking their bows center ice and the next team to skate. some people just need to be the center of attention at all times. but if i have to explain to you that thats rude, its probably a waste of o2

[rlichtefeld]

as far as the human critter on the ice. shame on the ice monitor who allowed that to be pre planned, and at my rink we have a no shoes on the ice rule for a reason. you bring dirt from the street out on the ice. if you can't hold your liquor don't drink. it was disrespectful to the team taking their bows center ice and the next team to skate. some people just need to be the center of attention at all times. but if i have to explain to you that thats rude, its probably a waste of o2

T.,

I can't speak to the other points in your post, but there were no shoes on the ice with the critter. She was in her sock feet, and we had worked out with the sweeper to pull her back so that she wouldn't even step on the ice with her socks.

I'm sorry that this show of support for you and your partner bothered you.

This was not a drunken prank, we had planned and practiced it so that it wouldn't interfere with the event, but show support. And, also be funny.

Rob

[blue111moon]

hello all,
entire post



Since nothing anyone does seems to be up to your standards, maybe you need to chair a competition and run it yourself? That way you can set up everything just the way you want it and the h#@& with everyone else.

Personally, I found the ORDA people to be very pleasant to deal with, within the restrictions that they were forced to deal with. And all of the LOC volunteers were very nice and willing to help.

The only issue I had was with the scheduling of official warm-ups on different rinks from the competition ice. It made it difficult to block out the program and get oriented on the competition surface. But, hey, it's skating, you go with the flow. *shrugs*

[happysk8tes]

[QUOTE=jazzpants;361950]

The other thing that was depressing is seeing the Lussi rink all ripped up. Anyone there know what they're doing on that particular rink?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They're replacing the Lussi Rink with a full size sheet of ice, and building an attached Convention Center.

Progress? Guess so, but I'll miss the Lussi rink's charm and regret I never skated on it.

Pat

[Figureskates]

My understanding it is not a full sheet of ice but rather a studio rink which would be about the same size as the Lussi.

The point may be moot anyway since the construction has been placed on an indefinite hold as of last Saturday.

[FrankR]

[QUOTE=blue111moon;362127]The only issue I had was with the scheduling of official warm-ups on different rinks from the competition ice. It made it difficult to block out the program and get oriented on the competition surface. [QUOTE]

I confess to getting disoriented in my program twice. When I think back on it now, I think I changed the layout of the program twice right in the middle of my competitive skate without realizing it. :lol: I'm still not sure exactly at what point or when I got turned around. As much as I thought the ice looked nice without the lines, circles and dots, it made me realize just how dependent I've become on those markings when I skate. It also made me realize how much I still must be looking down when I skate. :oops: lol Let's just say this event, regardless of the final outcome, has been an incredible learning experience for me in many ways. :)

[pairman2]

I want to thank everyone for the condolences of everyone that has posted their well wishes towards Lovepairs and me. Your support is felt and very much appriciated.

Andrea, for various reasons is focusing on her healing process and is conciously staying away from the public forum discussion process. I have passed on to her the level of support that has occurred here and I know she is in individual contact with many that post here.

This morning, I copied and sent Tara's post to her. She found the reference to poster that mentioned the possibility of a 'weak entry' into the lift. She asked that I post the following on her behalf as she will not be posting directly for some time:

"About the "weak entry" comment: most likely it will be a very long recovery time before I can skate again, but all of the suffering I'm going through right now, was totally worth how wonderful it felt to go up on a perfectly smooth entry. It was the best "up" (as pairteams call it)that Lee and I ever experienced doing the Back Press, which we've been practicing for over two years now. For those of you who have never skated pairs, please don't speculate upon what happened. What happened is very intimate to the entire pairs community and we will take care of it. Any negativity, or criticism about Lee's footwork is not welcomed at this time, because all of the pairsmen will rally behind him and tell you that he has some of the best lift foot-work in the business."

As everyone knows, this has been very difficult for me for obvious reasons and I'm grateful to have Andrea's continued support throughout this time.

At the time of the fall, the lift (or 'up' as Andrea refers to it) had been fully established. The fall occured at the begining of the rotation phase.

Thanks again for everyones support

[jazzpants]

Frank: I'm so sorry that you DID went thru that b/c I know what you were capable of when you skate. (((Frank)))

I was worried about the lines too! However, I did noticed that there were lines along the wall and I followed that. That seemed to help me a lot! (And yes, I did do a bit of scoping of the rink PRIOR to the event (particularly my starting position) pretty much b/c I wanted to avoid what you went thru.

I think he was wearing black tights. Men are only allowed to wear pants or trousers.I thought he was wearing a unitard. Maybe that's why he got a deduction on costume?

And he looks GREAT for a guy who's closing in on 50 there!!! Frank: Would you please give Moves Guru a hug and a kiss for me. And tell him that I was so happy to see him again. :mrgreen:

[TimDavidSkate]

It is very scary and dangerous when you get on the ice with pair skaters. I almost ran into Tara and Jason during an overhead lift ... extremely scary 8O

[AdultPairSkater]

Since nothing anyone does seems to be up to your standards, maybe you need to chair a competition and run it yourself? That way you can set up everything just the way you want it and the h#@& with everyone else.

I find this kind of response inappropriate. It is also a cop-out if you consider that one does not need to actually run an event to comprehend the logistics of the situation.

For example, I have not headed an LOC or scheduled a competition, but in my professional experiences as a Chief Resident and physician at a large medical center, I was entrusted to schedule 40 doctors in training for covering two ERs, two in-patient wards and two hospital consultation services 24 hours a day/7 days a week for an entire year. I scheduled for 40 doctors of all different backgrounds, and had to schedule around conflicts ranging from family responsibilities, vacations, religious obligations and their educational/training needs. If you think scheduling a competition is stressful, think about scheduling MEDICAL CARE for very ill people with overworked resident doctors. It's tough and I know it. I had to schedule all this under enormous pressure, as people very lives (the patients) and careers (the doctors) depended on it.

I understand the issues of scheduling through this kind of "real-life" professional experience, and people cannot always assume others "have no idea what it is like...." Many of us do know through analogous and similar life experiences.

That being said, I will refect a common sentiment often posted here. It's a CHOICE for LOC members and volunteers to put out the bid to make money for their home clubs. If you don't believe you can do it well, or it is too difficult, then don't do it. It's a big responsibility, but the difficulty does not reliquish the responsibility to do it well. It was the choice of all who volunteered.

Cop-outs like the one above do not add to the discussion of how things can be improved to enhance safety for the adult pair skaters.

Cheers!

Larry

[manleywoman]

oh as far as the lift having a bad entry comment, Im sorry but if you were not there , did not witness it, and do not have extensive experince in over the head lifts I don't think yiou can make that judgement. so to say the lift had a bad entry is odd.

I will apologize for repeating this, as you're right, I was not there. It's what I was told from others who were there (who don't come to this board). And it was in no way intended as a slight against Lee at all.

It does happen to the best of skaters (look at Maxim Marinin!) so i don't think those who told me their opinion that it was a bad lift entry meant it as a slight either. Just an accident.

Certainly if Andrea doesn't think the entry had anything to do with it, then I defer to her opinion.

As for the quality of ice issue, I will only say that again, I was told by some who were on the ice that it was fine. And that was all I said. To each his own. I was told by singles skaters that their ice was a mixed bag between good and bad as well. If the ice is bad, obviously that sucks, but then it was equally bad for everyone.

Yes, as already clarified, rules were broken about the number of teams allowed on the ice. That was never under debate, thankyouverymuch, and should have been followed. And yes, it sucks if practice ice was late. And it sucks if the ice was bad. My point throughout this entire discussion, coming from the perspective of a past LOC organizer, is simply that you have to make lemonade out of the lemons you are given. Make your choices accordingly. The organizers really don't go out of their way to piss off the skaters. If there are things that need improvement, and there always are, politely address the LOC and Adult Committee with things that require improvement. Every year there are going to be problems, that's just a given. It's up to every adult skater as to how we handle them.

And for what it's worth, I did hear (again, I heard, I wasn't there) that a Pair team got onto a designated singles ice practice and were eventually asked to leave. If that is indeed true, so what of all the safety issues there? It rings very hollow for some of the Pairs to scream "safety issues!!!!" while one of their own gets on a designated singles practice. That Pairs team certainly didn't represent the other Pairs teams' cause very well by pulling that stunt.

From my understanding, Lake Placid did a lot of things right: logo on the ice, announcing IJS scores after every skater, and just being the gorgeous location that it is. It would be nice if that were more acknowledged by some here.

And why, since I wasn't there, might I even have an interest in knowing how well LP was run? Well, since I'm working on writing the manual, and I'm on the Adult Committee, it is important to me that I know what went well and what didn't. As a skater and competitor, it is also in my personal interest to have a well-run event after all!

[blue111moon]

Larry, while I bow to your expertise as a physician, I have to say that unless you HAVE run a skating competition, you don't really KNOW how to run one. I've run more than 20 and while none of them have been on the scale of Adult Nationals, they're still totally different from all of the other events I've run and scheduled in my professional life.

Plus your focus seems to be entirely on pairs. Which is understandable because that's your event. However, nine pairs = 18 people. There were what three pairs events at Lake Placid. In the grand scope of the entire competition that's pretty minor. Demanding that the entire competition be scheduled to suit 9 entries seems a little (okay, more than a little) arrogant to me. There are a lot more people concerned with the competition than your small group.

To quote the old Peace Corps slogan "If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem." If you want a competition run the way you think it should be run, then run it yourself and SHOW people that your way is better. But just grousing and whinging about how bad things were after the fact isn't going to get you anything other than a reputation as a griper and a whinger.

From my perspective Lake Placid did a great job. Whether they made money or not is debateable - competitions don't make nearly the profits that a lot of people seem to think they do (and that's something else you learn when you run one). From the comments I've seen here and elsewhere, the gripers and whingers make up a very small minority of the skaters who went to AN. 90% of the people there had a positive experience. It would be a shame if the 10% who didn't spoil it for everyone else.

[manleywoman]

From the comments I've seen here and elsewhere, the gripers and whingers make up a very small minority of the skaters who went to AN. 90% of the people there had a positive experience. It would be a shame if the 10% who didn't spoil it for everyone else.

That is, thankfully, always the case. And I'd actually say it's more like 95% to 5%. But it's a very vocal 5%! ;)

But to be completely fair, some of the whining has produced some positive changes in how to approach future ANs, and the legitimate complaints have been/are being addressed.

My only hope is just that when ice isn't perfect, the stars aren't aligned properly, and things aren't scheduled perfectly, everyone could take a deep breath and realize it wasn't done personally against them. All any of us in life can do is make the best of bad situations. Because . . . I'll repeat it again . . . we can make recommendations over and over and over to future LOCs, but there's never a guarantee they will be able to accommodate everyone's wishes.

[TimDavidSkate]

From my understanding, Lake Placid did a lot of things right: logo on the ice, announcing IJS scores after every skater, and just being the gorgeous location that it is. It would be nice if that were more acknowledged by some here.

One of the things that impressed me was every 45 min practice ice there was a resurfacing. (That was Tuesday when I was there, I dont know how it was during the week)

I did like the way Bensenville handled their practice ice - no long lines, everybody was there to help you out. {Honestly I thank heavens that I didnt have to deal with those lines at LP}
When I was there at 2004 and thought that they would have improved on that}
I know everybody's situation is different, but being an OCD person, I like to know and reserve things way in advance - even a week beforehand, because I certainly dont want to be worried when I arrive at the site.

And yes, I do agree that LOC really dont intend and go out of their way to piss off their competitors. Thats silly, Im sure they want things to go smoothly. And if there are bumps...were human..and we all make mistakes

[flo]

Also as a person who has been on top in overhead lifts and been taught by Sr. pairs and olympians....... the first lesson I was taught was safety, and that in the end it was my responsibility. Good ice, or bad ice, low numbers or high numbers on the ice - once you are aware of these conditions it is your responsibility to determine if the conditions are safe for your needs and your abilities. Yes, there were probably too many pairs on the ice, as there have been for my previous pairs events at LP, the ice may have been poor. If you go out there and skate, it is up to you to you account for and accept these conditions. If you decide to skate under "substandard" conditions, fine, then you accept the responsibility. All pair skaters are, or at least should be aware of the risks in overheads, and should as well be aware of their own abilities. Knowing this, having "no choice" is not an excuse for poor judgment. You can't preach the risks, and then not take responsibility for your own choices. You have a choice and you make it. If you felt safe - great, but you can't make the decisions for the others on the ice.

Also unfortunately accidents happen - not due to ice or bad lifts or too many people on the ice. If you have suggestions to make, then do so in an appropriate manner. If you have lessons to learn, then great. An attempt to place blame without being willing to first accept personal responsibility does no one good.


As quoted:
"What happened is very intimate to the entire pairs community and we will take care of it. "
Please remember that for good or bad no one person or team represents "the entire pairs community". What we all do represents and reflects on our community.

[NoVa Sk8r]

It is very scary and dangerous when you get on the ice with pair skaters. I almost ran into Tara and Jason during an overhead lift ... extremely scary 8ONot recently, right? They last skated together in 2005--unless they've been sneaking aorund behind my back! :P

[FrankR]

Frank: I'm so sorry that you DID went thru that b/c I know what you were capable of when you skate. (((Frank)))

I was worried about the lines too! However, I did noticed that there were lines along the wall and I followed that. That seemed to help me a lot! (And yes, I did do a bit of scoping of the rink PRIOR to the event (particularly my starting position) pretty much b/c I wanted to avoid what you went thru.

I thought he was wearing a unitard. Maybe that's why he got a deduction on costume?

And he looks GREAT for a guy who's closing in on 50 there!!! Frank: Would you please give Moves Guru a hug and a kiss for me. And tell him that I was so happy to see him again. :mrgreen:

Hey Jazzpants,

Thanks! I'm alright with how I skated. I can't say I don't wish things had gone differently but there were some positives to go in with the negatives and like I said, the experience has certainly reinforced what I need to work on and what I need to focus on as I prepare for an event. Though I'd have been thrilled if things had gone much better, I'm kind of glad this happened. It's given me a new perspective on things. I'm already looking forward to next season. I'll pass your message on to Edward. ;)

Take care,

Frank

[FrankR]

Not recently, right? They last skated together in 2005--unless they've been sneaking aorund behind my back! :P

<<Gasp!!>> A potential pairs tryst in the making?!?!?! SKANDALOUS!! :P;):lol:

[AdultPairSkater]

Larry, while I bow to your expertise as a physician, I have to say that unless you HAVE run a skating competition, you don't really KNOW how to run one. I've run more than 20 and while none of them have been on the scale of Adult Nationals, they're still totally different from all of the other events I've run and scheduled in my professional life.


Again, while this may be true about my direct experience, you can't assume that others will not understand or be able to discuss. The ability to relate to the organizers through similar life experiences should be recognized. We may not know directly, but we are intelligent enough to understand discussion about the matter.

There's also more to mention. I have a great deal more singles experience than pair skating (I have skated in 9 ANs as a singles skater and been to LP four times), which I took up in 2002. In 11 years of ANs, no one can accuse me of ever ragging on an LOC or even being displeased (with the exception of 2006) publically in a forum such as this. I have skated early, skated late, been forgotten, been conflicted in scheduling, etc. all as a singles skater, and just worked through it. Others will attest to this fact that in general I roll with the punches. When things are done well, I give my sincerest thanks. When things are poor, I just consider not returning to that venue the next time. Personal choice, as all advise here.

However, my focus in this thread is the pair event because that appears to be a necessary discussion topic. There is no need to re-iterate all the problems, but if members of this LOC would recognize and take responsibility for them, we can all move forward, somehow benefitting from this traumatic experience.

I find your position that intelligent adults "can't understand" an impasse to fruitful discussion, and it is also narrow-minded to believe "no one will understand unless they have done it........" I also object to the classification of stating one's objections to problems as "whining". Your cynicism is evident, and if you view valid concerns as "whining", maybe you should evaluate how you respond publically, because it appears you may be unintentionally insulting your colleagues who have issues to discuss.

We can understand and we all need to discuss when traumatized like this to start healing. Maybe you should be a little more understanding about that. This was a trauma for many, not just the skaters involved, but a large part of the adult pair skating community. It will take a long time for this to heal. Your patience and understanding would be appreciated.

Cheers!

Larry

[manleywoman]

. . . and it is also narrow-minded to believe "no one will understand unless they have done it........"

Ahhhhh! I just want to point out that I had heard repeatedly throughout this thread and elsewhere this exact statement from Pairs skaters! That I just don't understand it unless I have done it myself, and therefore my opinion isn't valid. Seems a bit hypocritical, no? ;)

(Just giving you a hard time, Larry! :D)

As someone with many friends in Pairs, and who would love to do Pairs myself, and who has sat in on numerous Pairs clinics, and have considered the safety issues from an LOC point of view, thank you for understanding that non-pairs skaters do, in fact, understand the safety issues involved in pairs.

[NoVa Sk8r]

But to be completely fair, some of the whining has produced some positive changes in how to approach future ANs, and the legitimate complaints have been/are being addressed.Excellent. The point now is to collect and detail all these anecdotes and incidents so that they can serve as examples such that the process can be more efficient and more fully thought out next time.

My only hope is just that when ice isn't perfect, the stars aren't aligned properly, and things aren't scheduled perfectly, everyone could take a deep breath and realize it wasn't done personally against them. All any of us in life can do is make the best of bad situations. Because . . . I'll repeat it again . . . we can make recommendations over and over and over to future LOCs, but there's never a guarantee they will be able to accommodate everyone's wishes.Spot on, again. I think some folks feel (and granted, perception is not reality) that nothing has changed from year to year or that certain issues have been blatantly ignored. I don't think it was one things but several problems, such that it was the accident on the practice ice that was the final straw that broke the camel's back.

To be sure, I had a fantabulous time in Lake Placid. The people at the registration desk (especially Linda) were amazing. Some of the volunteers even said that their hands were tied becasue of what ORDA would or would not do. (I think it also must be said that ORDA is NOT a typical LOC; it is, really, a corporation. They have more resources than a typical LOC.)

As someone else said, that does not mean that we cannot express our discontent with certain issues that we feel are not merely inconveniences, but *legitimate* safety problems and serious oversights. In fact, many of us have volunteered at events organized by our clubs, and some of our clubs have even hosted standard track regionals/sectionals/nationals, or in my club's case, cohosted Worlds in 2003.

(P.S. For the record, there were 5 pair events with 16 teams competing from bronze pairs through championship pairs. Hopefully, these numbers will grow. 8-))

[Figureskates]

The people at the registration desk (especially Linda) were amazing. Some of the volunteers even said that their hands were tied becasue of what ORDA would or would not do. (I think it also must be said that ORDA is NOT a typical LOC; it is, really, a corporation. They have more resources than a typical LOC.)



Linda is amazing. She compiled all the feedback we got from AN2004 and instituted new ideas to make the process run smoother. I worked registration both in 2004 and last week and believe me, things were a lot better this time around. Perfect? No, but better. Any ideas people have from this AN will be most helpful and we can incorporate them into AN when we do it again.

ORDA is funded by the state and we have to bow to their whims. It drives us crazy as well.

[NoVa Sk8r]

Linda is amazing. She compiled all the feedback we got from AN2004 and instituted new ideas to make the process run smoother. I worked registration both in 2004 and last week and believe me, things were a lot better this time around. Perfect? No, but better. Any ideas people have from this AN will be most helpful and we can incorporate them into AN when we do it again.

ORDA is funded by the state and we have to bow to their whims. It drives us crazy as well.Ah ha! Thank you for confirming my suspicions! :P

Linda really is a treasure. Tara and I need to send her a fruit basket for helping us out so much.

[Figureskates]

Linda really is a treasure. Tara and I need to send her a fruit basket for helping us out so much.

I think she would love it!

All in all we cannot say enough good things about the adult skaters.

My wife worked the 2nd hand shop on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and everyone who came in was really nice.

[TimDavidSkate]

Not recently, right? They last skated together in 2005--unless they've been sneaking aorund behind my back! :P

Yeh this was at the Brewster rink - I was doing my feeling begins program and zoned out and before I knew it Tara was above me within 3 ft so I hurled to the side as quick as I can 8O very scary

[jazzpants]

<<Gasp!!>> A potential pairs tryst in the making?!?!?! SKANDALOUS!! :P;):lol:

Yeh this was at the Brewster rink - I was doing my feeling begins program and zoned out and before I knew it Tara was above me within 3 ft so I hurled to the side as quick as I can 8O very scary

DRATS!!! No pairs tryst scandal!!! *pout* :lol: :P

My wife worked the 2nd hand shop on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday and everyone who came in was really nice.Figureskates, it was an honor to finally meet you too. And I really wished I had time to go into the 2nd hand shop. I saw a TON of dresses from the outside but never had the oppty. to go in and look for one reason or another!!! :frus:

[Figureskates]

Likewise Jazzpants!!!!:D

It was fun to finally place a face to a user name! :bow:

Hope to run into you again at some future competition!

[Mrs Redboots]

Thanks! I counted seven: you, me, Colleen Conroy, Ted Gradman, Angie Prevost, Walt Horton and Dorothy Ray. I have a feeling I am missing one, though!
We have the 10th anniversary Mountain Cup this year and there are, we think, five of us who will have been to all 10 (me and frbskate63 from this forum, another UK skater and Dorothy Ray) - we said last year we'd be there this year if we had to crawl over broken glass on our hands and knees to get there! BlueIIIMoon, you are bringing Dotty, aren't you????

[MusicSkateFan]

In regards to the Ice on the 1980 Rink........

I had checked the ice schedules of that rink for the week before Nats to see if they were having any freestyles before Nats started. The 1980 Rink was scheduled to be down over a week before nats. From what I heard,(just what I heard) the Logo was to be painted on and ice finished in the early weekend before Nats. This was delayed(as I heard it) and the ice was not put in until Monday. In fact, when I got to the rink on Tuesday at 1pm the workers were out there putting finishing touches on the logo and other things. The first people to skate on 1980 rink were the Bronze ladies at 8am Wed for their events. I watched as the ice crumbled under their blades and even the smallest toe jumps were creating holes down to the concrete! It took several cuts/floods before that ice was in better shape. They didn't have sufficient "slushers" filling the holes so even when the Zam did cut/flood the holes pretty much stayed there. The logo from what I heard was pretty much a "no skate zone" because of serious ruts.

I really think there were some serious miscalculations on the rink maintenance crew and as such the skaters paid the price.

I skated 2 times on the 1932 rink and although it wasnt terrible...It still had holes that need to be slushed. I did notice on my official 20 minute warm up on the USA rink that there was bits of paper made into the ice along the one side of the rink. A couple guys stopped to try to pick them out...I wasn't going to lose warm up time for that...it was distracting!

[jazzpants]

It was fun to finally place a face to a user name! :bow:

Yes, my favorite comment from someone (I think it was w.w.west... but in my state of extreme lack of sleep, it's probably someone else...)

ETA: It wasn't w.w.west... it was coskater64!!! (See what I mean???) :lol:

"You are NOTHING like what I'd imagined you'd be... 8O "

:lol: :lol: :lol: (Thanks! I needed that!!!) ;)

[AdultPairSkater]

Seems a bit hypocritical, no? ;)

(Just giving you a hard time, Larry! :D)



Good-natured ribbing I will never object to, Allison! But with similar life-experience scheduling complex items (see my previous post about scheduling medical care at hospitals with overworked residents) in which conflicts and complicated 'events' had to be covered, it can be assumed I am able to understand logistical issues when it comes to scheduling a skating event. I was told by BlueMoon that my life experience wasn't enough to "understand", and with this I respectfully disagree.

For example, if you told me you understand overhead lifts because you were a cheerleader at football and basketball games, I would immediately assume you could understand when we discuss lifts. I wouldn't tell you this experience is not valid because it wasn't on the ice on skates.

So no, I don't think I was hypocritical as I was drawing on a similar life-experience and trying to discuss. The response from BlueMoon was "you can't understand", meaning no discussion, and this appears to be a useless response in getting anything beneficial out of discussion.

Cheers again!

Larry

[AdultPairSkater]

OK all, I must add in my two-cents here in a happy post, as many of you saw me having a great time this past week. I would like to share of few of my fave moments.....

1. My dear friend from Ohio, Angela Prevost, qualified for finals in her Gold Ladies event for the first time. The magic moment was being at the results area when she found out and being able to share that accomplishment with her. It was very up-lifting and it could not have happened to a nicer person.

1a. Ms. Prevost asked me to be a "prop" from the boards in her Interp number to music from "Gypsy", in which she would flirt with me as a part of her program. I was honored.

2. In Masters Ladies III Artistic/dramatic, my friend Maureen Lindhardt skated the best performance of a program I have ever seen her do to the music of Freddie Mercury. It was moving and I was deeply touched by her performance, to the point of tears. Terrific performance!

3. In Ladies II Light Comedy, a new friend of mine from the GGR area, Leslie, skated to "Blue Moon" with a beautiful blue skating dress. When she exposed the moon on her rear-end under the skirt, I proceeded to laugh for the next 3 minutes - long after her program was done. So clever, so funny and very well skated. It was hilarious!

4. Watching my friend Erica Hartl skate in Silver Ladies and get the Gold, as well as seeing her do her first interp number ever - she was breathtaking.

5. Lauren my partner landing her first throw flip in competition - it was huge!

6. Rob and Sarah from Georgia throwing out chickens - and me realizing the chickens had velcro butts with eggs in them. I could not stop laughing for a good 10 minutes. I wanted one, and they gave me one after out skate - thank guys!

7. Seeing my ice dance inspiration Jennifer Simon return to FS competition with a gorgeous program!

8. Watching my friend Virginia return and make finals in Silver Ladies IV with her "Take Five" program - she was unable to skate last year, and seeing her back doing so well was terrific.

9. Watching another dear friend Janine Davis skate a terrific Flamenco program to "Barcelona Nights". She looked stunning.

10. The competitors party was a hoot! Maggie Harding is a great dancer! Century Leigh is really fun at a party!

11. and of course, visiting with so many friends, and you all know who you are, who showed me a great deal of love and support. Hanging out all week with Daniel and Greg - we had a great time.

12. and I can't forget my friend Kristin's party dress!! Whoa!

So see? I won't condemn my entire experience, as I have many memories to take with me.

Cheers!

Larry

[manleywoman]

Century Leigh is really fun at a party!


That is very true!

[doubletoe]

That is very true!

. . . and even more so at an after party! 8O

[coskater64]

Yes, I have photos!!:twisted::twisted:8O8O:halo::halo:

[jazzpants]

Yes, I have photos!!:twisted::twisted:8O8O:halo::halo:
Post link, please??? :mrgreen:

[AdultPairSkater]

Hi all :)

I will not reveal any party secrets!!! Coskater has pictures :)

Larry

p.s: at after-parties I like french toast and coffee, thanks.

[starskate6.0]

I think he was wearing black tights. Men are only allowed to wear pants or trousers.

(In the Grand Prix series this fall in France, the Russian ice dancers Khokhlova & Novitski received a costume deduction (http://www.isufs.org/results/gpfra07/gpfra07_IceDancing_FD_Scores.pdf) in the FD because he wore tights (http://www.isu.org/vsite/vcontent/content/transnews/0,10869,4844-128610-19728-18886-280290-3572-4771-layout160-129918-news-item,00.html).)

Dam.. and I was going to do mel Brooks "Men in Tights" next year for an interp.. " where butch" that would be a scream. ( its a movie if your not a Mel Brooks fan)

[coskater64]

Due to the "nature" of the photos I send them to the "photee" and if they want to post them....they can...:twisted::twisted:

[Ice T]

In regards to the Ice on the 1980 Rink........

I had checked the ice schedules of that rink for the week before Nats to see if they were having any freestyles before Nats started. The 1980 Rink was scheduled to be down over a week before nats.

My husband and I came up on Friday evening for some extra vacation time. There was the annual CAN/AM hockey tournament going on at the rink, which did not end until noon on Sunday. They used all three rinks for the tournament. That is the reason there was no freestyle ice available. After the tournament ended, they painted the logo on the ice, taking the rest of the day Sunday and all day Monday to remove all the hockey lines, paint the logo, and relay the ice. All practice ice on Sunday was done on the 1932 rink. My practice on Monday was also on the 1932 rink, although by that time, they may have used the USA rink too, but not the 1980. I believe that the 1980 rink was not made available until Tuesday.

[sk8er1964]

Dam.. and I was going to do mel Brooks "Men in Tights" next year for an interp.. " where butch" that would be a scream. ( its a movie if your not a Mel Brooks fan)

I love that movie!!!

I don't think the costume rules apply to interp, do they? Anyone who knows more about that want to chime in? Besides, you would have a short tunic over your tights, right.

[flo]

Just curious, what was the dress like at the party? I partied with Century in France then taken the high speed train to Paris the next am - not a pretty sight !!!!

[Skittl1321]

Dam.. and I was going to do mel Brooks "Men in Tights" next year for an interp.. " where butch" that would be a scream. ( its a movie if your not a Mel Brooks fan)

You just have to make the program good enough that the deduction for tights..."tight tights!" doesn't affect the placement :)

[SkaterBird]

I love that movie!!!

I don't think the costume rules apply to interp, do they? Anyone who knows more about that want to chime in? Besides, you would have a short tunic over your tights, right.

Oh, yeah, especially the scene where he put the Club (that anti-auto-theft device) on his horse. I laughed myself into serious hiccups over that scene.

I don't imagine that the no-tights rule would apply to Interpretive performances since part of what you are judged on (as I understand it) is how well the costume fits with and helps to express the program. I have seen some EXTEMELY imaginative costumes in Interp performances that would doubtless earn a deduction in a freestyle performance, but they were perfect for the Interp. And in a couple of instances the person won, so the outfit couldn't have drawn much of a deduction if it drew any at all.

[jazzpants]

Due to the "nature" of the photos I send them to the "photee" and if they want to post them....they can...:twisted::twisted:
Alright! How about PM for me, please? LOL!!! :P (Alright! Didn't think so either... *sigh* )

[Figureskates]

My husband and I came up on Friday evening for some extra vacation time. There was the annual CAN/AM hockey tournament going on at the rink, which did not end until noon on Sunday. They used all three rinks for the tournament. That is the reason there was no freestyle ice available. After the tournament ended, they painted the logo on the ice, taking the rest of the day Sunday and all day Monday to remove all the hockey lines, paint the logo, and relay the ice. All practice ice on Sunday was done on the 1932 rink. My practice on Monday was also on the 1932 rink, although by that time, they may have used the USA rink too, but not the 1980. I believe that the 1980 rink was not made available until Tuesday.

The only freestyle sessions were on Sunday afternoon in the USA rink which was the only time I skated the whole week I was in Lake Placid. From 5pm on it was all Adult practice.

[blue111moon]

We have the 10th anniversary Mountain Cup this year and there are, we think, five of us who will have been to all 10 (me and frbskate63 from this forum, another UK skater and Dorothy Ray) - we said last year we'd be there this year if we had to crawl over broken glass on our hands and knees to get there! BlueIIIMoon, you are bringing Dotty, aren't you????

Yup. Or rather, we're meeting at Mountain Cup since Dotty is going to Obertsdorf first and I'm not. I'm also bringing my friend Jean. We're all doing the camp.

Latrry, I'm not going to argue with you. You say that non-pairs skaters can't understand pairs skaters needs unless they've done pairs. I say that skaters can't understand the difficulties of organizing a competition unless they've actually done it. We're not going to agree.

BTW, I've been lifted but I don't presume to think that because I was in there the air for about four seconds in my friend's kitchen, I know what it's like to be a pairs skater. I don't and I probably never will, unless the Jolly Green Giant comes looking for a partner. :)

[Ice T]

The only freestyle sessions were on Sunday afternoon in the USA rink which was the only time I skated the whole week I was in Lake Placid. From 5pm on it was all Adult practice.

Me and Flutzilla practiced at 4pm on Sunday in the 1932 rink.

[skaternum]

Ross, the costume rules do NOT apply to interps, just like the music rules do not apply. The rules that DO apply to interps are always published in the competition announcement.

[FrankR]

I love that movie!!!

I don't think the costume rules apply to interp, do they? Anyone who knows more about that want to chime in? Besides, you would have a short tunic over your tights, right.

Absolutely. I'd be more than happy to lend Ross my shirt and vest from my Robin Hood number this year. :lol:

Oddly enough, as I was getting ready for work this morning they were showing "Men in Tights" on a local cable channel. My favorite part is when Brunhilda tries to jump off the balcony onto her horse and the horse dodges her. LOL!! "Farvegnunen!! If I vur yoo I vood nevah do zat again. Any kvestchuns? Good." :lol::lol:

[Figureskates]

Me and Flutzilla practiced at 4pm on Sunday in the 1932 rink.

We were on the same session.

[flo]

Just missed you three - I was on the 5pm session on Sunday.

[Figureskates]

Just missed you three - I was on the 5pm session on Sunday.

I left around 4:45pm.

I had my red, white, and blue club jacket on...

[flo]

I think I saw you. I was in lime green and black - red hair. It's interesting seeing how many "listers" I saw or met without knowing.


Freesk8ter - Did you skate in group B? If so I have our "patriotic" picture.

[Figureskates]

I think I saw you. I was in lime green and black - red hair. It's interesting seeing how many "listers" I saw or met without knowing.


Freesk8ter - Did you skate in group B? If so I have our "patriotic" picture.

Yup, definitely saw you...I always notice someone with red hair as my wife has red hair as well. She was there taking pictures.

[Mrs Redboots]

Yes, I have photos!!:twisted::twisted:8O8O:halo::halo:
You are bringing them to France, aren't you!!!! I

Dam.. and I was going to do mel Brooks "Men in Tights" next year for an interp.. " where butch" that would be a scream. ( its a movie if your not a Mel Brooks fan)
Oh yes, you must! I hear you're doing Oberstdorf - you staying on for the MC?

Just curious, what was the dress like at the party? I partied with Century in France then taken the high speed train to Paris the next am - not a pretty sight !!!!Who wasn't, you weren't or she wasn't? I was at that party, if you remember.... I do remember dancing in the street, and pairs lifts....

[doubletoe]

My husband and I came up on Friday evening for some extra vacation time. There was the annual CAN/AM hockey tournament going on at the rink, which did not end until noon on Sunday. They used all three rinks for the tournament. That is the reason there was no freestyle ice available. After the tournament ended, they painted the logo on the ice, taking the rest of the day Sunday and all day Monday to remove all the hockey lines, paint the logo, and relay the ice. All practice ice on Sunday was done on the 1932 rink. My practice on Monday was also on the 1932 rink, although by that time, they may have used the USA rink too, but not the 1980. I believe that the 1980 rink was not made available until Tuesday.

Actually, the 1980 rink wasn't available for practice until Wednesday, which was the day the actual competition started. They opened it up for three 20-minute sessions from 6:30am to 7:30am and that was it. The ice really wasn't ready, either, since it was still so delicate, and not packed hard enough (it felt weird under my blades). In the last 20 minutes, an overly powered lutz left a divot that was about 4" in diameter and went all the way down to the base. I was so afraid someone was going to catch a blade in it and end up getting carried out on a stretcher!
I was glad to see that they went over it with fine-toothed comb and patched it up before the first competition, but I actually just wished they'd been able to leave the ice as it was instead of re-painting it, even if it had the Can-Am logo on it. It may have been out of the question due to the intellectual property restrictions on the use of the Can-Am logo (that's the only GOOD reason I can think of).

[Mel On Ice]

nothing was scarier to me than taking the '80 rink for the first time.

[flo]

Hi Mrs. Redboots - Centuary was hurting a bit the next am.
I do remember the lifts in the street and was actually telling the folks about it on our way to dinner. We had piggy back races on Main street and lifts before dinner.

[AdultPairSkater]

Due to the "nature" of the photos I send them to the "photee" and if they want to post them....they can...:twisted::twisted:

Whew!!!!!!! :oops: Thank heaven for this because I believe that I may appear in a couple of said photos? :oops:

[flying~camel]

OK all, I must add in my two-cents here in a happy post, as many of you saw me having a great time this past week. I would like to share of few of my fave moments.....

Oh, so all of our talk (and snorts!) about taking the Browns to the Super Bowl didn't make your list of faves?! I see how it is... ;)

[starskate6.0]

Absolutely. I'd be more than happy to lend Ross my shirt and vest from my Robin Hood number this year. :lol:

Oddly enough, as I was getting ready for work this morning they were showing "Men in Tights" on a local cable channel. My favorite part is when Brunhilda tries to jump off the balcony onto her horse and the horse dodges her. LOL!! "Farvegnunen!! If I vur yoo I vood nevah do zat again. Any kvestchuns? Good." :lol::lol:

I get the impression that some of you would get a real kick out of seeing me in a pair of green tights..:mrgreen::lol: I was only kidding about the regulations on the costume , most of you who know me , know dam well Id sacrifice nothing for a good performance even bending the regs...if I look good in green tights..I understand there are no costume rules in interp but I may have to draw the line with the green tights.. :lol::lol: Would be funny though.. " Men in tights" "Where Butch" I love that bit...Thats how Id finish.

[starskate6.0]

Just to answer a couple of Questions.

Q. Going to Oberstdorf . A . Are you kidding , I wouldn't miss it for the World.
Q, Going to Mountain Cup A. Can never get the time off to do both sorry.
Q. :Men in Tights " A. No time to put it together , but Ill work on it for next year.. :lol: It would be a scream ..

[AdultPairSkater]

Oh, so all of our talk (and snorts!) about taking the Browns to the Super Bowl didn't make your list of faves?! I see how it is... ;)

That was hilarious! You guys were like boys at summer camp.

Cheers!

Larry

[NoVa Sk8r]

Due to the "nature" of the photos I send them to the "photee" and if they want to post them....they can...:twisted::twisted:Please delete any photos/video from Roomers! :twisted::D;):halo:

[Beccapoo2003]

What happens at Roomers...stays at Roomers!!!! ;)
Watta great week.... SOOO good to see everyone!!! Skaternum, we miss you! Jazzpants, does Matt want his horn back?!
P.S. Skiing was kewel on Whiteface Sunday! Hope everyone had a safe trip back home.
Big hugs,
Becca

[MusicSkateFan]

Yikes.....Someone was taking pictures at Roomers? I am very glad I was a good little boy:??:lol::lol:

[coskater64]

MSF, were you?:D:twisted:8O

[skaternum]

I understand there are no costume rules in interp but I may have to draw the line with the green tights.. :lol::lol: Would be funny though.. Chicken!!! Bok, bok, bok.

:lol:

[MusicSkateFan]

I was good (I think) until about 30 minutes before last call! I think the only thing I was talking about was my back spin from my program(what a loser!)

[rlichtefeld]

You probably saw this young lady running back and forth during the week, and she has a blog where she wrote about AN:

http://lakeplacidskater.blogspot.com/2008/04/live-from-lake-placidits-saturday-night.html

I love her quote:
"They take their sport seriously, but rarely take themselves that way"

Rob

[flying~camel]

I LOVED her "shout out" to us West Michiganders! :D

[Mel On Ice]

That was hilarious! You guys were like boys at summer camp.

Cheers!

Larry

erm, you missed a discussion in the golden arrow's "grotto" comparing body parts to dogs

Melissa, the Great Dane

[flying~camel]

erm, you missed a discussion in the golden arrow's "grotto" comparing body parts to dogs

Melissa, the Great Dane

I miss the "grotto"! :(

Jen, the Golden Retreiver