Collegiates

[kgl2]

Any word on who's competing at Collegiate Nationals?

[Sylvia]

The St. Paul FSC, in St. Paul, Minn., will be hosting the 2003 National Collegiate Championships Aug. 6-9, 2003 -- applications available at:
http://www.usfsa.org/programs/collegiate.htm

Katie Lee (she completed her freshman year at Bradley University in Peoria, IL) mentioned in her recent journal entry that she's hoping to do Collegiates:
http://www.skatinginc.com/Skaters/Lee/Home/Journal.asp

[Impromptu]

One thing I'm wondering about is which rink? The St. Paul FSC says they'll be holding this competition at the Depot Rink. But the Depot Rink is closed until somethink like October or November, because they're doing some kind of remodelling.

Will whatever they're doing be finished enough to have the competition there anyway? Or will they move it to the Richfield Arena (where they had UGL a couple years ago).

[skatewizard]

Where is the Richfield Arena with respect to the Depot Hotel?

[Impromptu]

Originally posted by skatewizard
Where is the Richfield Arena with respect to the Depot Hotel?

About a 15 - 20 drive south. It's not really that bad. I live about 15 blocks from the Depot (which is downtown, it's a very nice hotel), and I've driven to the Richfield Arena in about 15 minutes (taking a shortcut to avoid rush hour traffic).

Anyway, this is all speculation. The St. Paul FSC still lists the Depot as the rink, so unless I hear otherwise, I would just assume that whatever they're doing to the rink (putting in some kind of seating? There wasn't any before. Maybe adding some shades to the windows, too) will be done in time for Collegiates. It's a new rink, so I can't imagine there would be any problem with the ice surface itself. Since the St. Paul FSC normally practices there during the day, I'm sure they know that it's closed for the time being. It could just be that they're doing some remodelling to accomodate Collegiates, and then staying closed afterward until it gets cold outside.

[kgl2]

St. Paul FSC used the Depot for it's home ice until March of this year. The ownership of the rink and hotel complex couldn't make a go of it as a year-round rink, and decided to close it during teh spring and summer, if my sources are correct. SPFCS is now skating at a local private school in St. Paul.

[kgl2]

My hubby & I drove though downtown MPLS this afternoon, and since we were right on Washington Ave, stopped at the Depot. The hotle staff looked as if they were sprucing the place up for an event: washing windows and floors, etc. THe ice is out, and I assume it's been out since SPFSC finished it's fall contract in March. I sure hope they put the ice up intime for some of the local kids to "test-drive" it.

[Josef]

The USFSA site has a bunch of new info up, including a tentative event schedule, a competitor's list, and the senior ladies' qualifying groups (44 seniors are competing). Interesting to note that the senior ladies roster includes Jennifer Don, as well as Katie Lee, Angela Lien, and Christina Gordon. Sean Calvillo and Braden Overett are competing in the senior men's event.

Anyone out there planning on attending? I'll be there for at least for the short programs and some of the senior ladies qualifying and I'm working on being there for finals day as well. I'm looking forward to this event!

http://www.usfsa.org/programs/collegiate.htm?siteid=983

[Impromptu]

Originally posted by Josef


Anyone out there planning on attending? I'll be there for at least for the short programs and some of the senior ladies qualifying and I'm working on being there for finals day as well. I'm looking forward to this event!


I'll be there. :-) Well, I might not make all of the senior ladies qual rounds (I have my own skating lesson that night at a different rink), but I should be able to get to the rest of the competition.

[kgl2]

I'm not familiar with Christina Gordon. What region has she represented in the past? And I thougth Jennifer Don was doing pairs, but maybe I have her confused with someone else.

[Sylvia]

Christina is from Alaska and competed at 2002 Nationals. Don is still doing singles and pairs -- she placed 11th and 6th, respectively, at 2003 Nationals. Don has a singles assignment to Nebelhorn Trophy in early September, then two Grand Prix events (Canada, France) with Jonathon Hunt in pairs.

[A.H.Black]

Impromptu, I would very much like to hear about Braden Overett and Joe Knazak. The last time I saw Joe compete was when he won Novice in San Jose. Braden was second that year.

This is only if you can. Thanks.

[kgl2]

Is anyone posting results from COllegiates? I will be attending some, but not all, events andI'm willing to post, but I know it'll be hit and miss as to the events I attend.

[Josef]

I'll be attending for most of the three days of competition, but will not have internet access until after the event is complete, unfortunately. I will be posting reports once I get back, however. Looking forward to a great event, as I'm getting anxious to watch some skating! :)

[A.H.Black]

kgl and Josef, we will appreciate anything and everything you can tell us. For me, I would like especially to hear about Senior Men - Joe Knazak and Braden Overett specifically. Thanks.

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by kgl2
Is anyone posting results from COllegiates? I will be attending some, but not all, events andI'm willing to post, but I know it'll be hit and miss as to the events I attend.

The USFSA should be posting results pretty quickly (same day, IIRC, that's what they did last year). "Impromptu" will be there, as she has already posted, and she's a very good note taker! :)

Besides Braden Overett in senior men (10th at 2003 Nationals) and Jennifer Don in senior ladies (11th at 2003 Nationals), Angie Lien is another skater to watch. She qualified for 2003 Nationals (3rd at Midwestern Sectionals) but was selected to represent the USA at the Winter World University Games in Italy, chose to go there instead, and won the silver medal behind Shizuka Arakawa! Lien has a true outside edge 3lutz, and I saw a nice 3toe-3toe combo from her in a practice at Mids. Here's an interview with her after Mids last year and before the World Winter University Games:
http://geocities.com/unseenskate/interaction/spotlight/angie.html

Others to watch include Katie Lee (she qualified for 2000 & 2001 Nationals), Lisa Horstman (qualified for Novice Nationals in 2000 and skated well at Liberty earlier this month), and Luke Capizzo in junior men (his footwork was great at Mids!).

I look forward to reading the reports from Collegiates!

[kgl2]

The ice is in at the Depot and skaters are starting to arrive. It must have been put in sometime yesterday. Still, I can't imagine where the judges will sit. And there's no bleachers. I guess they're not expecting a crowd.

[Josef]

Anyone been by the rink in the past few days? Are we still bleacherless? Thanks!

[Impromptu]

Peeked in yesterday. There is a very small set of risers at the end of the ice (3 or 4 rows, maybe 15 feet across), and some high chairs (sort of like barstools, only with backs) along one side (there were only about 10 or 11 of these, so I'm thinking these are for the judges).

Hope they bring in more seats, otherwise it looks like a "Bring your own chair," kind of event.

[kgl2]

This is as low-key as it gets! Most of the kids didn't bring their coaches, and there are few if any spectators. Mostly just moms and dads. A small set of bleachers was set up and there are lots of bar stool type seats at one end.
Lots of skaters who have passed their senior tests, with the test requirements only. A 2-axel is not a requirement to pass the sr. freestyle test, so many of the kids are trying them but not landing them. Most of the kids were just walking through programs, getting used to the ice. There's no hockey lines on this rink, so unless they are used to skating without lines, they need to get acclimated to their surroundings. A few may have trouble with the plexiglass boards and the traffic right outside the full-length windows that face a major thoroughfare.
The Depot is a neat facility, and the hotel complex it is part of is awesome. The rink is under an old train shed,and the origianl station was restored and is now a Marriott hotel. Beautiful old wood and fireplaces.
Of the ladies I saw, Angie Lein, Katie Lee, Steffie Smith, Lisa Horstman and Jennifer Don have consistent 2-axels. There may be others, , but I didn't take notes, so this is just the ones I remember, and with over 30 sr. ladies, it's hard to remember who did what. I thought Lisa Horstman landed a 3Z2T combo, but my daughter said it wasn't. I could be wrong. Steffie Smith warmed up 2X, 3S, 3T and a 2 footed 3R. Jennifer Don has a HUGE 2X and a 3T. Struggle some with the 3S, but like I said, they're just getting used to the ice. Katie Lee warmed up a 3R and 3S but repeatedly fell on 3T attempts. Angie Lien fell on a huge 3Z but it was fully rotated. I think she landed her 3T.
Didn't see the men, went out to eat. The Spaghetti Factory is right down the street, and there's plenty to do in Minneapolis. It's not a huge city, but everything's conveniently connected by 2nd story skywalks, so it's easy to get around.
I'll probably have more news tomorrow.

[A.H.Black]

Jennifer Don has a HUGE 2X and a 3T.

Yep, she does. Watching those jumps is just part of what makes her so fun. Then, of course, there's that smile! Enjoy!

[kgl2]

Last night, apparently Christina Gordon's broke a blade. Apparently she wears a blade not readily available in the Mpls area, and no one knew where to get a replacement set, short of overnight mail from home in Alaska or the manufacturer. This AM she appeared to be limping as she left the ice, and looked ready to burst into tears. Poor kid, this one isn't going easy for her.

[PAskate]

Day One Results...


http://www.usfsa.org/events_results/results/200304/ncc/index.htm

[Sylvia]

And here's the USFSA's recap of the ladies' qualifying round last night:
http://www.usfsa.org/programs/collegiate/natl-collegiates.htm?siteid=983

[kgl2]

The senior men were a mixed bag of ability levels. The highlight was Braden Overett, with an enormous 3X and a 4T that was soooooo close! He makes it look effortless. Also skated well: Sean Cavillo (sp?)- 3z2t, 2x, 3t or f (I can't always tell them apart).
After that, friends came by, and we had a lot of catching up to do.
Senior ladies must have been a nightmare to judge. Anything from messy double jumps to under- & over- rotated triples. Not one clean skate, and the ordinals for anyone below 5 were all over the place. My best guess is that the judges are putting emphasis on the quality of the skating, not necesarily the jumping, and if the skater can present a cohesive, mature, senior level program, that goes a long way. Don landed a 2x, over-rotated a 3t, and didn't do ftwk into her 3s. Horstman landed a 2x and a 3t. Lee fell on every jump but kept the program going and made most of the other elements. Lien popped a 3z doubled a 3t and landed a 2x. Christina Gordon didn't skate. She practiced with the group on the 20 min warmup, but it was obvious the new blades were something she needed to get used to.

[kgl2]

Senior Men
Braden Overett won, but not a decisive win. 2 judges placed Sean C above him, and I heard that Braden had problems in many elements. I'm still a fan though! His style is amazing.

Senior Ladies
Jennifer Don won, but again, not convincingly, at least to the crowd. She is a beautiful skater, but tonight every triple was flawed. Hand down of the 3S, huge mess on the 3T, and a fall on the 3R. Angie Lien came in 2nd in the FS, to pull up to 3rd overall. 2X and a 3T, and possibly one other jump, but as I didn't take notes, it all became a blur. Lisa Horstman landed a 3f and 2-2x's to take 3rd place. Katie Lee landed a 3S and stepped out of a 3R to maintain 4th.
I heard from farily reliable source (not someone known to goddip)that Horstman may be done, but as Notre Dame has an ice arena, I doubt if this is true. Maybe they don't have a good skating coach there. I don't know.

[Josef]

I've been back from Minnesota for a few hours and I have my Friday report on the short programs posted. E-mail me if you would like to know something about any of the other competitors not mentioned:

http://www.theskateblade.com/events/reports/2003collegiates/

Also, some more notes on the free skates from Saturday.. In the junior men, Michael Turner moved ahead of Luke Capizzo, who just made too many mistakes (I do like his skating though).

For the junior ladies, Sara Holwerda remained in first.. she hit a nice double axel and good expression. Andrea Pinter had a nice free skate to move up from 5th to 2nd, and hit a variety of double jumps (a few nice loop combos) and had a nice overall flow. Tiffany Chung moved up to third skating to Schez.. she doesn't have the best technique as she cheated both her double axel and triple salchow and was on an inside edge on the double lutz.

In the senior men's warm-up, Braden was on fire.. I don't think I saw him miss anything. He fell on a quad and a triple loop and had a few other mistakes.. only one clean triple. Sean Calvillo had a nice skate overall and hit two triple toes and a triple loop.

Also, some corrections on the senior ladies LP. Jen did cleanly land a triple toe/double toe in her program to "Patch Adams", and Lisa landed a clean triple toe, not a flip. Angie Lien hit two triples -- a salchow and toe loop.

More on the free skates tomorrow at the above link.. I'm going to bed!

[KDSk8BU06]

Is there a website with any action photos of the competitors?

[Louis]

This is actually at least the fourth year Jenny Don has been using her Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto short program. She used it as a novice, a junior, and a senior, and now she's using it for another year. Oh well, no complaints from me; I love the program.

[Josef]

Saturday free skates report is up. Let me know if you have any questions/comments.

http://www.theskateblade.com/events/reports/2003collegiates/saturday.htm

And thanks for the correct, Louis.. I was wondering if it was more than three seasons that she had been using it. It is a beautiful program.

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by Louis
This is actually at least the fourth year Jenny Don has been using her Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto short program. She used it as a novice, a junior, and a senior, and now she's using it for another year.

Actually, the USFSA site's Friday recap at http://www.usfsa.org/programs/collegiate/ncc03-shortrecap.htm
includes this important news flash! ;):

Skating to a classical violin concerto, she [Don] performed her short program from the 2002-03 season for the final time.

Thanks for your detailed reports, Josef and kgl2!

[A.H.Black]

Can someone help my memory of Michael Turner please. I have a vague memory of him skating really well in the short program at a Nationals a couple of years ago and then not doing as well in the long. I remember that he was "very" excited after the short and I seem to remember that there was more to the story than that. School? Scholarship? Something....

I think it was Michael Turner...

[Sylvia]

Originally posted by A.H.Black
Can someone help my memory of Michael Turner please.

Michael Turner (Lakewood Winter Club in WA state) won NW Pacific Regionals in Novice men last season and then placed 8th at Pacific Coasts in Salt Lake City -- perhaps you're remembering him from the latter competition?

[A.H.Black]

You're right Sylvia. My memory is wrong. It was another skater I was thinking of. Thanks.