Katie Orscher.....in Singles?!!

[FSWer]

Say everyone. I was watching Expresion on Ice 3 on ch. 3 that was taped in Simsbury, and it was the first time I ever saw Katherine (Katie) Orscher skate solo!!!! Call me crazy!!!! But I don't think I've ever known her to be a Singles skater. Anyone else catch this? Thanks.

[fadedstardust]

Yup, she does both. Although she's a much better skater in pairs, IMHO.

[Sylvia]

Katie Orscher used to be a successful competitive singles skater at the junior level -- she was the 2000 U.S. national junior ladies bronze medalist (she competed as a junior internationally and won a gold medal at 2000 Triglav Trophy in Slovenia and also competed singles at one Junior Grand Prix) before she decided to stop competing in singles and focus on learning pairs.

[CanAmSk8ter]

Everyone starts out in singles at one point. No one finishes Learn-to-Skate and goes right into pairs. Like Sylvia said, Katie was a very accomplished singles skater who actually went into pairs fairly late in the game at, I think, 16 years old.

[Trillian]

Like Sylvia said, Katie was a very accomplished singles skater who actually went into pairs fairly late in the game at, I think, 16 years old.

That's right, and I believe she hadn't trained or tested in pairs at all prior to pairing with Garrett in 2000. I'm pretty sure she had to pass all her tests through senior in the year before they started competing. Her decision to quit singles was rather sudden--IIRC she paired with Garrett in July or August of that year, did one JGP event within the next month or two, and then decided to pass on her second JGP assignment and qualifying competitions that year even though they weren't competing in pairs yet. It was pretty clear where her interest was.

I liked Katie a lot as a singles skater, but considering how many promising girls there were in her age group (she's the same age as Cohen, Kirk, etc.), I think going into pairs was a good decision. If she'd stuck with singles, I doubt she'd have been to worlds twice by now, for one thing. However, I've heard she kept up her jumping skills after she went into pairs, and could still land most of the triples in practice. It might be interesting to see if she decides to try competing in singles again at some point. Top pairs skaters have done it before--for instance, Kyoko Ina was still competing off and on in singles at least through '97, I think. (I do remember that she was fourth at nationals in '95.)

[FSWer]

Any photos on-line of her singles skating?

[celtic]

It might be interesting to see if she decides to try competing in singles again at some point. Top pairs skaters have done it before--for instance, Kyoko Ina was still competing off and on in singles at least through '97, I think. (I do remember that she was fourth at nationals in '95.)

I think Katie Orscher is a much better pairs skater than single, and with our lack of really good pairs teams, she gets to compete much more in internationals than she would have as a singles skater. IMO, she just didn't have the whole package.

As for ladies who did singles and pairs both, the most successful was probably Kristi Yamaguchi, who skated pairs with Rudy Galindo.