A letter from Chris Obzansky

[Chris O.]

To whom it may concern,

As of two weeks ago, Kendra Goodwin and I will no longer be skating together due to my change in life plans.

Recently, I made the decision to serve a two year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This church is also referred to as the Mormon Church. In the Mormon Church, young men at the age of 19 have the choice of serving a two year mission. Since I am 19 years old and very active in my church, I decided that I wanted to serve a mission. I have been called to serve as a missionary in the Baltic Mission and to speak Russian. The Baltic Mission covers the countries of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.

I understand that this decision is affecting a lot of people's lives; however, Kendra and my coaches, Jerry Santoferrara and Yovanny Durango, were well informed of my decision.

Despite my decision to serve a mission, Kendra and I finished an amazing season at the U.S. Nationals.

Kendra is an awsome skater, a great friend, and I wish her the best of luck in whatever she does in life.

Sincerely,

Chris Obzansky

[butterfly]

Good luck to you Chris and I know the world of figure skating will be more than a little diminished that you are no longer a competitor. Kendra was fortunate to have you as a partner.

[IdmaIjan]

What a thoughtful, classy post. Good luck to you in the future Chris. Your fans will miss seeing you and Kendra skate, but there is more to life than skating. I wish you continued success and fulfillment in all you do.

[vesperholly]

The world of skating is losing a fine competitor but the world at large is gaining a wonderful person. Good luck, stay safe, and I hope to see you return to skating someday.

Jocelyn

[purplecat]

Thank you for sharing that. I'm only sorry I never got to see you skate. Good luck to you!

[A.H.Black]

Baltic states hun? You'll have to take the primary kids skating on "P" day. Congratulations. Good luck with the Russian.

[Alexeiskate]

Good luck to him. I think being a missionary is potentially dangerous work though, even if they do travel in pairs. I see these missionary kids riding their bikes in the hot sun, in the freezing cold, in the rain ...and I feel bad for them. I don't know how they're able to go through it.

[what?meworry?]

i've greatly enjoyed your skating over the years with lydia and kendra.
thank you for adding quality to the world of ice dance.
you will do great honor to God and yourself on your mission, if your standards in skating are any indication. God speed you on your way.

[Gary Cochran]

Dear Chris:

I want to thank you for the advice and support you have given to Melissa over the last couple of years. She appreciates your kindness and thoughtfulness. Wherever life's path takes you, please remember that you have made friends along the way who care about you, and wish you the best.

I'm glad to have met you and to have talked briefly with you on a couple of occasions. I've seen your maturity in the face of adversity. You've shown the strength of your faith and the mark of a man who knows that success in life is more than the success of achieving a short term objective.

May God keep you in the palm of His hand, and return you home safely in a couple of years.

-Gary

[bbtano]

I have a lot of friends who are missionaries and they wouldn't be able to put their heart and 100% effort into anything else because they truly feel God has called them to missions. If Chris feels that same way, then staying home and continuing to train and compete probably wouldn't benefit him or his partner.

I wish them both the best!

[haribobo]

That said, thank you Chris for taking the time out to post this. I have enjoyed your skating since I first saw you and Kendra last year, and I'll definitely miss watching your skating. I wish you the best with your future endeavors.

[Spinner]

Inappropriate posts moved for review, one post edited to keep it in the topic of this thread. --Spinner

[jp1andOnly]

I wish Chris all the best. It seems like he knows what he would like to do in his life, and this must be very important to him that he is willing to stop skating for it. I don't see anything different between this and people choosing to go away to school. I'm sure Chris has discussed it with all people involved and they obviously support him. Whether or not you agree with his religion is a totally seperate matter.

Please don't bash someone for choosing to do something they find important in their lives.

[what?meworry?]

i would like to add this comment to kendra:

please take your time to find a quality partner. your reputation is solid, so you could handle a season "off ice" if you don't have an appropriate partner right off for next season.

[leepn]

Chris,

Many people in this sport should have half the respect, self worth and ability to know what is right for them as you do. I am sure this decision wasn't an easy one. You are way beyond your years. I applaud you and God Speed!