I always forget to pack one key item
After a long drive last night, I finally arrived in St. Paul for my first U.S. Championships. Over the years I have done lots of traveling, and I've come to realize one thing: I always forget to pack one key item. Usually, I forget toothpaste. Or a comb. Maybe socks. But this time I forgot pants. Yes, pants! Luckily, I did have the dress pants I was wearing yesterday. But I packed all of my clothes as if I had been wearing my favorite pair of jeans. I end up with this mixture of an outfit: tennis shoes, sweatshirt, and dress pants. Oh well, it could have been worse. I could have left my tickets at home.
I met up with the rest of the ice-dance.com staff this morning for breakfast at the same restaurant they have been eating at all week. The food was really good. I want to go back tomorrow. I was very excited to see Daphne and Michelle again. The last time I saw them was in Lake Placid last August when I did my first ice-dance.com coverage. Nationals is a lot different than Lake Placid, but I'm finding things in St. Paul to be just as exciting.
After breakfast, we went over to the Xcel Center for the Senior Compulsory Dance. With Michelle shooting, I was able to start pulling and editing photos to put up online. We enjoyed trying to pick which teams would place where, and I like to think that we were almost spot-on in our predictions. Meryl Davis & Charlie White skated a really great Yankee Polka, and it was no surprise to us that they were so close to the leaders, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto. Before the CD started, they showed a montage that is familiar to those who have been to Nationals before, but is new to me. It is set to the music "I Like the Way You Move" and it shows all dancers doing their best "hair flip." I would give Tanith Belbin a +2 GOE on the hair flip, but Albena Denkova wins out with a +3 GOE.
I think my favorite part of the compulsory dance (besides the actual skating) was trying to figure out which costumes had been recycled and used in other programs. For example, Ben Agosto's CD costume was his first OD costume this year. Mimi Whetstone was wearing a new costume, but earlier this season she had been wearing Tanith Belbin's costume from 2006.
The Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place right before the pairs short program. The USFS president, Ron Hershberger, opened the event, saying that Minnesota has a very rich history of skating and is therefore the perfect host for these championships. The Mayor of St. Paul called the city "Figure Skating town USA." My impression was that everyone involved with promoting and hosting the event here in St. Paul is extremely excited about showing off their city. Even the Snow King and Queen of the Winter Carnival stopped by to kick off the event. I'll have to make sure I check out the king and queen when I make a stop at the Winter Carnival on Friday.
And that just reminded me how cold it is outside. A really do love the cold, but sometimes that feeling of your lungs freezing with one breath is just too much. That will be my lungs freezing while taking photos of ice sculptures on Friday. So, when you look at the "Postcards from 'Paul" pictures and see the ice sculptures, think of me and my frozen hands.
Next up was the pairs short program. During a Zamboni break, John Coughlin's parents were interviewed on the jumbotron. When asked why John got into skating, his mom said that his sister skated and so it was more of a "babysitting technique" that got him into figure skating than anything else. Speaking of John Coughlin, I was really looking forward to his Nationals debut with new partner Caitlin Yankowskas. I saw them skate in their first competition as a pair back in November at Midwestern Sectionals. Needless to say, they took my breath away. I don't say that very often but with them it was just magic. Their performance here in St. Paul wasn't as strong as at Mids (they are currently in sixth), but I still think they are a pair to watch and might just pull out some of that special quality in the long program on Saturday.
It has been a long day, but tomorrow will be even longer with two big dance events scheduled. My first trip to Nationals has been fun and exciting so far and I hope tomorrow is just as great (and maybe even better!).
I met up with the rest of the ice-dance.com staff this morning for breakfast at the same restaurant they have been eating at all week. The food was really good. I want to go back tomorrow. I was very excited to see Daphne and Michelle again. The last time I saw them was in Lake Placid last August when I did my first ice-dance.com coverage. Nationals is a lot different than Lake Placid, but I'm finding things in St. Paul to be just as exciting.
After breakfast, we went over to the Xcel Center for the Senior Compulsory Dance. With Michelle shooting, I was able to start pulling and editing photos to put up online. We enjoyed trying to pick which teams would place where, and I like to think that we were almost spot-on in our predictions. Meryl Davis & Charlie White skated a really great Yankee Polka, and it was no surprise to us that they were so close to the leaders, Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto. Before the CD started, they showed a montage that is familiar to those who have been to Nationals before, but is new to me. It is set to the music "I Like the Way You Move" and it shows all dancers doing their best "hair flip." I would give Tanith Belbin a +2 GOE on the hair flip, but Albena Denkova wins out with a +3 GOE.
I think my favorite part of the compulsory dance (besides the actual skating) was trying to figure out which costumes had been recycled and used in other programs. For example, Ben Agosto's CD costume was his first OD costume this year. Mimi Whetstone was wearing a new costume, but earlier this season she had been wearing Tanith Belbin's costume from 2006.
The Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place right before the pairs short program. The USFS president, Ron Hershberger, opened the event, saying that Minnesota has a very rich history of skating and is therefore the perfect host for these championships. The Mayor of St. Paul called the city "Figure Skating town USA." My impression was that everyone involved with promoting and hosting the event here in St. Paul is extremely excited about showing off their city. Even the Snow King and Queen of the Winter Carnival stopped by to kick off the event. I'll have to make sure I check out the king and queen when I make a stop at the Winter Carnival on Friday.
And that just reminded me how cold it is outside. A really do love the cold, but sometimes that feeling of your lungs freezing with one breath is just too much. That will be my lungs freezing while taking photos of ice sculptures on Friday. So, when you look at the "Postcards from 'Paul" pictures and see the ice sculptures, think of me and my frozen hands.
Next up was the pairs short program. During a Zamboni break, John Coughlin's parents were interviewed on the jumbotron. When asked why John got into skating, his mom said that his sister skated and so it was more of a "babysitting technique" that got him into figure skating than anything else. Speaking of John Coughlin, I was really looking forward to his Nationals debut with new partner Caitlin Yankowskas. I saw them skate in their first competition as a pair back in November at Midwestern Sectionals. Needless to say, they took my breath away. I don't say that very often but with them it was just magic. Their performance here in St. Paul wasn't as strong as at Mids (they are currently in sixth), but I still think they are a pair to watch and might just pull out some of that special quality in the long program on Saturday.
It has been a long day, but tomorrow will be even longer with two big dance events scheduled. My first trip to Nationals has been fun and exciting so far and I hope tomorrow is just as great (and maybe even better!).
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