Indy challenge 2009 senior pairs freeskate notes & UNOFFICAL RESULTS

Typing on iPhone  in announcing booth- excuse typos.

Paetsch/Meekins: phantom… Nice transitions and strong presentation from both. Two huge throw triples landed. Love final layover lift position and difficult entrance into first throw. Sbs jumps problems twice. Potential for strong program.

Brunn and Elefante: Last of Mohicans. Intense intro choreography. 2 great throws landed. Star lift very nice… Give them a few more months!

Denney and Barrett. High triple twist. Nice sbs triple toes. Huge throw triple lutz. Sbs jump combo ok. Shakey second lift. Landed second throw. Nice death spiral. Started slow but picked up speed. Very good but not yet great – program could and should be by grand prix events.

Moore and Gaumond: scary twist landing. Sbs double Axels. Fall on throw. Lifts looking stronger. Sbs jump seq ok. Fall on popped throw. Scary lift dismont. Nice death sprial. Little errors here and there. But nice moments

Moore-Towers and Moscovitch
Nice sbs seq and throw triple. Really unique one foot lift. Nice throw. Fall on sbs jumps butgood unison on sbs spins. Good energy.

Castile and Okolski; turnout o sbs tripsals. Lovely death spiral. F
Good speednice twist. HD onhuge throw trip. Sbs jump probs. Elegant program and calm. Solid throw. Polished lifts. [edit: Last year's program]. Ben and Brooke are back! Huge response!

Katz and Lynch:
Sbs jump probs but fun firstvlift entry. Strong throw. Good speed. Very much a pair out here in this program. Sbs jump issues fall. Turnout throw tripsals. Good unison sbs spins. Fast combo spin.

Jone and Sandor (CAN)
Td on throw, lift super close to my boards eel. Sbs jumps ok. Fall sbs jumps. Spirals nice but slooooow. Turnout throw. Some fun moments presenting in transitions. Folky music.

Pause for the ice make. I’ve moved to a laptop so I can WATCH the skating more.

Moyle and Pottenger: 3 twist. NICE speed to start. HUGE throw triple — solid. Mr. & Mrs. Smith music. fall sbs triples. sbs triple toes (did he double?) landed. issues on pair spin first half good recovery. thow double loop. lunge entry to lift failed–aborted lift. (And I love that move!). Ah man… I was hoping they would keep their momenteum from their strong short program.

Paulin & Shales (CANADA):
turn out sbs jump seq. (Piano concerto… can’t recal which). EASY throw triple twist. SCARY first lasso lift, but safe landing-aborted. two foot throw triple sal. some very nice line, choreography… and transitions: I wish they would express through their faces. another two foot throw. sbs spin unison pretty strong. Program has nice potential.

Lepzinzki & Burgess:
Nice twist (3). sbs triple sals clean (did she double?). some very nice transitions … solid sbs 2 axel-2something. (missed takeoff). both presenting the program nicely. nice arch in death spiral. fall on large throw 3 loop. Near fall out of a lift 3 seconds into lift… nice recovery on 4th lift.. still carrying good speed. fall on throw3sal, leaning in air. Spirals were a nice moment. Oh… how I wish they would skate clean! Hope his shoulder is okay… and her.

Vise and Don. Huge triple twist. Fall on sbs jumps turn out on second sbs jumps. Good speed. Bailed out off lift early. Lost net connection… Bear with me.

Yankoskas and Coughlin. Pearl Harbor.
Nice intro … Way to sell John! Good twist fall on huge trple throw. Turn out sbs jumps lovely lift. Some very nice moments and transitions good speed. Fall on throw. Small errors on sbs jumps . One gorgeous lift nearly covered full rink, full circle! Both strong presenters of this program. Enjoyable despite errors.

Evora and Ladwig.
Great speed as always nice triple twist. Sbs jump issues. Hansdown on throw triple lutz. Nice sbs spins unison and nice transitions with great ice coverage. Sbs double axels. Awesome throw triple loop. Very nice chore and moments. Solid lifts. I thought this is last years program, so it was as strong, solid, with great ease and flow. [Edit to say that it is apparently a new program? Choreography is very reminiscent of last year's freeskate.] Now can they please put together these two solid performances at nationals this year? Finally?

Hole and Johnson (CAN)
fall on sbs jumps, TD on throw triple, sbs spins with nice unison. Look fairly young for seniors, both of them. Firebird stravinsky. sbs double-doubles clean. EASY throw triple sal.  nice transitions, but program looks new and not presented to it’s potential (yet). Needs more speed to pull of Firebird to it’s potential as well… hopefully that will come as the season progresses.

Smith and Batholomay: NICE throw triple. SBS triple sals (fine: did she double?). Speed, flow, and line is all there… they don’t have the higher levels of difficulty as some of the higher teams but I feel they belong in senior at this point  (junior last year). She has a pleasant basic presentation that makes them enjoyable to watch. Fall on throw triple. issues on sbs jump combo. I’d like to see how they develop by next season ( along with Dobbs and Jacobsen who aren’t performing in the freeskate.)

Best & Young:
Opens with sbs spins, interesting choice. Quick triple twist. sbs 2axels – she singled but clean. Huge throw triple — 2 foot I believe. she fell hard on sbs 3toe-something combo. 2foot/turn out of large throw triple sal. had to abort final lift, never lifted above head. An elegant but modestly presented program… very calm… some classica ballet, either swan lake or romeo and juliet but I’m not sure. I just pop the CD in and call the names.

Aaron and Cohen:Lawrence of Arabia
3 twist pretty good, fall on throw triple. she fall on sbs solo jumps. fall on throw triple (loop?). issues on sbs jump combo. some of his footwork on the lifts is scaring me tough it’s not effecting her too much in the lift. I’ve been watching her since she starting coming here as a juvenile pairs skater years ago and I wish she would relax and really SELL the programs like she did in Juvenile-Novice levels because she was just a joy to watch. nice death spiral.

This completes the senior pairs freeskate. Some teams will be back on the ice late tonight for USFS monitoring. On to the junior pairs freeskate at 2:45 p.m. EDT (about an hour away). Kids are having WAYYYYYYYY too much fun filling in the ice holes/divets.

I’m assuming the top three should be Castile/Okolski, Denney/Barrett, and Evora/Ladwig but I won’t attempt tp predict the order since I’m not fully educated on the exact levels of each of the lifts and death spirals and pairs combination spins. (I just know my singles IJS rules so far).

**Anything I’m not listing here is just normal/run of the mill/no major problems. PLENTY of moves I’m not listing and discussing, of course.

EDITTED TO ADD UNOFFICIAL RESULTS:

SENIOR PAIRS (I think I’ve left someone off of here, I know, but I have to get back to my duties. http://twitter.com/SylviaUnseen should have more complete results… I’ll post the final results whenever the accountant e-mails me later in the day. )
1. castile/okolski — 116.68
2. evora/ladwig — 112.23
3. denney/barret — 105.77
4. lawrence/sweigers — 101.68
5. katz/lynch
6. moores-towers/moscovitch
7. yankowskas/coughlin
8. paetsch/meekins
9. hole/johnson
10. best/young
11. lepzinski/burgess
12. brunn/elefante
13. paulin/shores
14. smith/bartholomay
15. aaron/cohen
16. jones/sandor
17. vise/baldwin
18. moore/gaumond
19. moyle/pottenger

Indy Challenge 2009: Friday’s results are up & link to photos!

Results are up for Friday’s events of Indy Challenge 2009:
Senior Pairs Short Program and Junior Pairs Short Program

Access them at our club website at:
http://www.iwsafsc.org/indy_chal_2009.htm

Access some great photos from the Indianapolis Star newspaper in this gallery at:
http://photos.indystar.com/galleries/slides/7006?page=1

Indy challenge 2009: quick senior pairs short program thoughts….

Ok, a few notes from the Indy challenge senior pairs short program… Typing this in stalled traffic as I head off to coach so please excuse the typos and genericness.

Favorite three new programs: Castile & Okolski, Evora and Ladwig. Yankowskis and Coughlin. Honorable mention: Lawrence and Swiegers, Denney and Barret. Crowd really got into Brunn and Elefantes program too which I enjoyed as well.

Lawrence and Swiegers and Denney an Barret both landed two huge throw triple lutzes, if I recall correctly. Both teams skated without major errors, as well as Evora and Ladwig. Moyle and Pottenger had strong jumps and program technocally, including a lift that starts with him in a lunge and presses all the way up.

Left during Katz and Lynch who were final skaters.

Overall programs and elements are looking stronger than last year.

Impressed with Amanda Dobbs and Joe Jacobsen. Lawrence and Swiegers are quite fun and strong! Wish Paetsch and Meekins could secure thier jumps… Thier overhead lift is too cool. Vise and Baldwin I expect a much stronger freeskate from-she fell on both jumps.

Ok. Sorry for the randomness of this post… Traffic is finally moving so I better stop typing. Will have results with total, tech, and pcs scores by 10 pm Edt.

Ps, Simpson and Miller of the junior level are looking fiercely strong. Impressed over thier impovement from last year: hope it holds up in competition!

Indy Challenge 2009 – Official Results

Hello all,

I will be posting official results for the Indy Challenge 2009 pairs competition on our club website at
http://www.iwsafsc.org/indy_chal_2009.htm.

NOTE: Fridays events (Senior and Junior Pairs Short Programs) likely won’t be posted until 10 p.m. EDT. I have to leave the competition to go coach at another rink right near the end of the Senior Pairs Short Program, so please be patient.

Saturday & Sunday’s events:
I spoke with one of the accountants Jay, and he will try to e-mail me the official results as soon as they are posted at the rink. I’ll be upstairs in the competition rink chained to the music/announcing booth all weekend, so it may take me a few minutes to get them formatted for the web.

So all of you parents back at home, friends, family, and friends should get them quite quickly! (Unlike Skate Detroit… where are those results, BTW?).

LIST OF COMPETITIORS: http://www.iwsafsc.org/competitions.html

TENTATIVE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:

Friday, July 31st
2:00-5:45 pm Senior Short Program
6:15-8:04 pm Junior Short Program

Saturday, August 1st
9:00-9:53 am Juvenile Free Skate
10:08-2:26 pm Senior Free Skate
2:45-5:04 pm Junior Free Skate
5:25-7:18 pm Novice Short Program

Sunday, August 2nd
10:10-11:02 am Intermediate Pairs Free Skate
11:15-12:47 pm Novice Free Skate

Okay… off to bed. We just finished setting up the rink, and I have an earlllllllly day since I plan to set up the sound equipment before Senior Pairs begin their practice at 8:30 a.m. Everyone in general was looking GREAT from what bits of skating I could see as I helped set up the rink. Plus it’s always fun to have Dalilah Sappenfield, Jim Peterson, Jenni Meno, Ron Ludington, and other wander around the rink.

PS: If any fans are posting reports from the competition, please post some links for me. I’ll be watching but not writing up reports or anything since I’ll be busy doing music/announcing all weekend…

-Rochelle

Indy Challenge a key event leading up to 2010 Olympics (for pairs figure skating)

Indy Challenge a key event leading up to 2010 Olympics

http://www.indystar.com/article/20090722/LOCAL1806/907220398/1269/LOCAL18

Posted at the Indianapolis Star, provided by Patty Hagen

Some of America’s top Olympic hopefuls in figure skating will be in Indianapolis for the Indy Challenge Pairs Competition July 31-Aug. 2. Indiana/World Skating Academy Figure Skating Club is host of the 20th annual international event at Pan American Plaza, 201 S. Capitol Ave.

The marquee event of Indy Challenge is senior (Olympic-level) pairs. The short program is 2-5 p.m. July 31. The free skate is 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 1. Twenty-five senior teams have entered, including Caydee Denny and Jeremy Barrett, silver medalists at the U.S. national championships. Several Canadian teams have entered, and Russians Maria Mukhortova and Maxim Trankov, third at the European championships, plan to skate an exhibition July 31.

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Indy Challenge is one of the largest pairs skating competitions in the United States, with 66 couples in juvenile through senior levels. The competition is used by U.S. Figure Skating to choose competitors for international events. Three teams who train in Indianapolis with coach Serguei Zaitsev are entered, including Cathedral High School students Carly and David Powers (novice pairs). Also competing are Maggie Gibson and David Botero (intermediate pairs) and Christina Zaitsev and Ernie Stevens (juvenile pairs).

Tickets are $5 for a single event ($3 for children 12 and younger), $12 for a full day, and $24 for a three-day/all-event pass. The schedule can be viewed at www.iwsafsc.org.

Free for skating fans: There’s no charge to watch the pairs practice July 30 (3:15 to 8 p.m.), July 31 (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.), Aug. 1 (8 a.m. to 4 p.m.), and Aug. 2 (8 to 10 a.m.)

[Complete schedule, Senior and Junior pairs lines in my previous post an also at iwsafsc.org]

Indy Challenge 2009 Pairs competition: Schedule, Competitors, Details, and more!

Wow. Okay, so life has been beyond busy for me and I’ve failed to update at all since the second day of Adult Nationals. Opps!

I will be posting results/reports from the Indy Challenge 2009 pairs competition here as soon as the are posted at the competition, between my announcing duties all weekend. (Official results I will post on iwsafsc.org as soon as they are releasted).

In the mean time, here’s the general information:

2009 Indy Challenge

Pairs Competition
July 31-August 2, 2009

Indy Challenge Pairs Competition
Tentative Competition Schedule
All events take place in the American Rink.

Friday, July 31st
2:00-5:45 pm Senior Short Program***
6:15-8:04 pm Junior Short Program
***Followed by an EXHIBITION: RUSSIANS Maria MUKHORTOVA / Maxim TRANKOV, 5th place 2009 World Championships, 2009 & 2008 European Championship medalists

Saturday, August 1st
9:00-9:53 am Juvenile Free Skate
10:08-2:26 pm Senior Free Skate
2:45-5:04 pm Junior Free Skate
5:25-7:18 pm Novice Short Program

Sunday, August 2nd
10:10-11:02 am Intermediate Pairs Free Skate
11:15-12:47 pm Novice Free Skate
12:47-12:58 pm Adult Free Skate Exhibition

*********ADMISSION:*********
3-day all-event pass: $24
1-day all-event pass: $12
1 event: $5
1 event for children 12 & younger: $3
(Competitors, note the announcement for details about credentials for your coaches, self, and parent(s)).

*********HIGHLIGHTS OF COMPETITORS ENTERED:
(Note, if I made any mistakes of info. below, please let me know so I can edit it. I pulled together this info. quickly over the internet). LAST UPDATED: SUNDAY, July 26

SENIOR TEAMS:

Caydee Denny/Jeremy Barrett — 2009 Silver medalists at Senior National Champions, 9th 2009 World Championships, 6th 2009 4 Continents, 4th 2009 ISU World Team Trophy

Brooke Castile & Ben Okolski — 2007 U.S. Senior National Champions, 2008 National Bronze Medalists, 2009 National 5th place finish, Two time World Championship competitors (11th in 2008, 12th in 2007), international competitions including Grand Prix events, 4 Continents, etc.

Amanda Evora/Mark Ladwig — 2009 & 2007 Pewter Medalists at National Championships, international competitors in Grand Prix, 4 Continents and others

Paige Lawrence/Rudolph Swiegers — CANADIAN 4th at 2009 World Junior Championships, 4th Senior Canadian National Championships, International Competitors, 2008 Junior National Silver Medalists

Chloe Katz/Joe Lynch — 6th 2009 National Championships, 8th 2008 National Championships, International Competitors, 2006 Junior bronze medalists at Nationals

Brooke Paulin & Brian Shales — 6th at 2009 Senior CANADIAN National Championships

Caitlin Yankowskas/John Coughlin — 7th 2009 National Championships, 6th 2008 National Championships, Grand Prix and international competitors

Laura Lepzinski & Ethan Burgess – 9th 2009 National Championships

Tracy Tanovich/Michael Chau — 2009 Junior National Champions, 2008 Junior Silver National medalists, 2007 Novice National Champions, 2006 Novice National bronze medalists

Brooke Paulin & Brian Shales — 6th at 2009 Senior CANADIAN National Championships

Sara Jones / Jeremy Sandor — 2nd 2009 CANADIAN Junior National Championships, Junior Grand Prix International Competitors

Molly Aaron/Daniyel Cohen — 5th 2009 Junior National Championships, Junior International Grand Prix competitors

Amanda Velensoi/Mark Fernandez — 10th 2009 CANADIAN Senior National Championships, 2-time World Junior Championship Competitors, International Junior Grand Prix competitors

Jessica Rose Paetsch/Drew Meekins — 10th 2009 Senior National Championships. International competitors and junior national medalists with previous partners.

Lisa Moore / Justin Gaumond — 15th 2009 Senior National Championships

Andrea Best/Trevor Young — 16th 2009 National Championships, 2008 4th Junior National Championships, 2006 2nd Novice National Championships, International Competitors

Kenda Moyle/Steven Pottenger — 19th 2009 Senior National Championships

Erica Choi Smith/Nathan Bartholomay — 11th in Junior at 2009 National Championships

NEW SENIOR TEAMS:
Jennifer Brunn/Steven Elefante
Brittany Chase/Grant Marron
Amanda Dobbs/Joseph Jacobsen
Kaleigh Hole/Adam Johnson – Canadian
Kirsten Moore-Towers & Dylan Moscovitch – Canadian
Tiffany Vise/Don Baldwin

WITHDRAWN:
Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir
Angelyn Nguyen/Themi Leftheris
Katie Orscher/Ivan Dimitrov
Ameena Sheikh/Aaron VanCleave

JUNIOR TEAMS:

Brittany Jones & Kurtis Gaskell — 1st CANADIAN Junior National Champions

Britney Simpson & Nathan Miller — 4th 2009 Junior National Championships

Haven Denney & Daniel Raad — 2nd 2009 Novice National Championships

Olivia Gibbons & Tyler Harris — 3rd 2009 Novice National Championships, 2009 Novice Eastern Sectional Champions

Tori Vollmer & Zach Sidhu — 5th 2009 Novice National Championships, 2009 Pacific Coast Sectional Novice Champions

Andrty Deputat & Vladyslava Rybka — UKRAINE Federation

Alexandra Young & Matthew Young — CANADIAN 2009 Novice Pairs Sectional Champions

Margaret Purdy & Michael Marinaro — CANADIAN 2009 Sectional Champions in Novice Pairs, 2009 Novice National Bronze Medalists

Cali Fujimoto & Nicholas Barsi-Rhyne — 7th 2009 Novice National Championships, 2nd 2009 Pacific Coast Sectional Championships

Meredith Pipkin / Brett Dunie-Neustadt — 8th 2009 Novice National Champions, 4th 2009 Eastern Sectional Championships

Kylie Duarte & Colin Grafton — 9th Novice National Championships, 2008 Intermediate National Champions, 2007 Juvenile National Silver Medalists

New Junior teams:
Carolyn Ann Alba & Chris Knierim
Rebecca Du & Sergey Sidorov
Andrea Tou & Garnet Suidy — CANADIAN
Maria Simoni & Alex Darnell
Felicia Zhang & Taylor Toth

Withdrawn:
Cassie Andrews & Nicholas Anderson
Gretchen Donlan & Andrew Speroff
Maria Izzo & Jason Smith — CANADIAN

ALSO COMPETING:
Novice level: 16 pairs teams
Intermediate level: 8 pairs teams
Juvenile level: 8 pairs teams

Adult Nationals 2009: Tuesday

Well, first and foremost, I anticipated finding more time and energy to update my blog through out this competition. Afterall, both my hotel and the Patterson ice rink has free wi-fi available from anywhere.

But as is the norm for most competitors here, the social aspect takes over and takes up much of your time. When I originally had gaps in my schedule-of-events-I-must-see, those were quickly filled with new friends I had to cheer on, dresses to try out, stories to catch up on, etc.

It must go without saying, that the LOC (local organizing committee) rocked. They deserve a much needed vacation and rest after all of their hard work — many of the chairs pulling 12-18+ hour days this week *volunteering.*

TUESDAY:
Tuesday was a practice-only day for all competitors, and as more competitors arrived in Grand Rapids through out the day there were more and more reunions abound.

I LOVE the ice here: very hard, “fast”, “springy” ice — especially for a sand based rink. It’s very cold in the stands, but not as freezing as originally portrayed. Once a competitor, the rink it’s self is chilly, but it’s bearable to be ing a sleeveless dress by end of your warm-up. There’s also a great central lobby here at the Patterson Arena that overlooks both rinks, and is kept very warm.

My practices went well. I enjoyed a silver solo dance practice where I was sharing the ice with some very sweet and very strong Group B skaters. I really enjoyed this since I competed in the other group of Silver Solo Dance. They did play 6-7 versions of both our 14-step and Silver Tango, so it was a great opportunity to get used to the music. For the freeskate practice, they did limit it to 15 skaters which seems to be the appropriate amount. Music was played on a first come first serve basis, and this seemed to work fine for the 30-minute sessions as no one seemed to have any issues getting their music played.

More to come once I have time to finish typing!

Overview: 2009 U.S. Adult Figure Skating National Championships

Well here we are… the 2009 U.S. Adult Figure Skating National Championships, hosted by Greater Grand Rapids FSC, held in Grand Rapids, MI will take place this week April 22-April 25. The competitions hundreds of adult skaters, those competitive skaters age 21 year and older, enter each year.

You can find out additional information about this competition at ggrfsc.org/an09.

Coverage of the competition will be at icenetwork.com. For up-to-date details, check out the event page at http://web.icenetwork.com/events/detail.jsp?id=58288.

The USFS Adult skating committee chair will also be blogging about the competition. Check out Lexi’s blog here, or at http://www.icenetworkincrowd.com/2009-US-Adult-Champs-Blog-Preview/blog/59/72859.html

For those of you unfamilar with the event, any USFS member who is over the age of 21 and meets test requirements can compete. There are events in Men & Ladies Freeskates, Pairs, Couples Dance, Solo Dance, Artistic/Dramatic Interpretive (showcase for adults), and Light/Comedy Interpretive.

With the exception of pairs, couples dance, and solo dance: skaters are divided into five age categories. I = 21-30, II = 31-40, III = 41-50, IV = 51-60, V = 60 through death. There is a Championship round for the Gold level, and the Master level, where the top 4 skaters from each section — regardless of their age class — advance to a final championship round.

If you happen to be a an adult skater reading this and you haven’t competed at Adult Nationals, ENTER NEXT YEAR! Bronze level only allows single jumps, but no axel or flying spin. So if you’re a budding freestyle skater, this would be a competition to enter or work toward entering. If freestyle programs aren’t your thing, you can also enter in solo dance or in interpretive. Skaters are allowed to enter up to 4 events total.

Monday: update on practice and preparation for 2009 U.S. Adult Figure Skating National Championships

For me, it’s been an interesting preparation for this year’s Adult Nationals. I was able to sqweak out just enough endurance to make it through my programs and ice dances in March for the Midwestern Adult Sectionals. Afterwards, I found my programs and dances easier to get through as each week passed.

But, I came down with a sinus infection 3 weeks ago… a sinus infection that’s still lingering on. (I’m on a second round of antibiotics, after relapsing when the first antibiotic finished).

Last Wednesday was the 1-week-to-go-till-my-events mark, and was the first day back on the ice for me. The two weeks previous, I only managed to skate two days due to being so sick. I really probably shouldn’t have skated at all on Wednesday-Friday since I was still having some dizzy spells and I spent more time coughing/hacking/blowing my nose than actually skating. But I took it easy starting with just dances and Senior MIF, building up to jumps on Thursday, partial program runthroughs on Friday, and spins on Saturday & Sunday.

This morning, I’m feeling pretty good. My body physically still is in good shape and I’ll be able to make it through my programs just fine—assuming my airways aren’t clogged from the sinus infection, and that I can breath all tight. All of my elements, even the spins are pretty much where they’ve always been so my training must have stuck it out for me.

I’m finding it’s tough to find enough skating time with my 8:30-5 office job, and part-time coaching… so I’ve been resorting to skating 6:30-7:50 a.m. sessions before work. The nice thing is, that at most there is usually one other skater. Often times I’m alone. It’s GREAT for program run throughs, but I’d rather skate with all the high level freestyle skaters at my rink since it really pushes me to train harder/smarter.

Anyway, at this year’s 2009 Nationals I’ll be competing:
Wednesday: Silver ladies 1 freeskate
Thursday: Silver Solo Dance Group A
Friday: Ladies 1 Aristic/Dramatic Interpretive.

As much as I’m focused on my own programs, I *CAN NOT WAIT* to get to the rink to catch all of my fellow competitive adult skating friends, and meet several new ones. The US Adult Nationals Figure Skating Championships is such a fun and inspiring event for skaters of all ages and levels. If you haven’t checked out the youtube video of Yvonne’s skate from 2007 Adult Nationals, a competitor in her 80s(!!!), definitely scroll down a couple of posts to check it out.

I think it’s great that this event started with an expected 100 competitors, but well over 400 entries just over 10 years ago. It has consistently drawn several hundred competitors each year, many who keep coming back year after year as life/finances/jobs/vacation/injuries permit. I think it’s unfortunate that only 4 competitors from Indianapolis will be going this year, when I know over two dozen who are capable of going based on their current skating levels. But, I’m working on encouraging them to take part!

Never too old to skate: Video of 81 year old adult nationals competitor, Yvonne Dowlen

I keep ranting and raving about how inspiring the USFS Adult National Figure Skating Championships are. Especially about how there are GREAT skaters, at all levels, all ages, and it’s never too old to start skating.

Here’s a news peice on YouTube, about Yvonne Dowlen of Colorado, who at the age of 81 was still skating strong and competed at the 2007 Adult Nationals where she placed 5th in the Master Junior ladies IV & V event with an IJS score of 23.68.

This video is available on you tube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REynXnZAITk, and was published and created by the Daily Herald’s Paul W. Michna.