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In my 13 years of attending the U.S. Nationals, I don't remember a competition on Sunday. (Of course, I may have forgotten one.) It just doesn't feel quite right to realize on Sunday morning that one of the disciplines still has to compete. Plus, I felt bad for the senior men, because the competitors' party was last night. The men's free skate was wild. I need to ask George Rossano what the odds are on getting a tie like we had between Johnny & Evan. I don't agree with the final outcome, and from the sounds coming from the audience, I'm not the only one. But we're not the ones sitting behind the touch screens, so it really doesn't matter what we think, does it? Anyway, instead of rehashing what was an incredible afternoon of exciting skating, I've created a men's medal ceremony photo gallery of what happened after the results were announced. I hadn't planned on shooting the men's event, so I didn't have the best location or the proper camera equipment, so I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos.
Katrina & Kimmie
I wish I had blogged last week about my prediction that Katrina Hacker would be a surprise contender in the ladies event. Becoming :thisclose: to making the world team? Good for her on a great debut as a senior at Nationals. I had the privilege of photographing Katrina a few years ago for a catalog for Tania Bass. Katrina rocks. She's smart and funny and a joy to work with. She also has the most perfectly centered spins of anyone I've ever seen.
The split ladies competition was interesting. Usually I miss the first two groups because I'm wrapping up whatever I've been working on for the event before them. This year I tried to watch it online while getting ready, but was only able to get audio. I heard a decent-sized crowd attended. That's great, because I was worried that those two groups would have to skate in an empty arena.
Going from dance right into ladies without any break was kind of jarring. Daphne went down to the press conference for the dance, but found out there wasn't going to be one. I don't think it hit us that ladies was starting immediately. As in "Meryl & Charlie get off the ice so group 3 can have their six-minute warm-up."
Probably what I'll remember most about this year's ladies competition is Kimmie's skate. Actually, that's not completely accurate. I'll remember how the crowd reacted. No one's program has brought me to tears this year. Until last night. After opening with three hard falls, the crowd became one giant swell of support. The cheers got louder and louder, and you could feel everyone reaching out and trying to help. No longer was Kimmie just some skater having a bad day. She was this wonderful athlete who has used her name for tons of charity work, never gotten arrested for a DUI or caught in some drunken stupor by paparazzi's video. She was in trouble and we could only offer our voices and our applause to try to lift her up and know we wanted to make it better. Whether or not you are a fan of Kimmie's skating, seeing anyone in trouble like that tears at your heart. Sometimes world champion jocks remind us that they are just teenagers living their worst nightmare in front of millions of viewers on live television. When Kimmie sat in the kiss and cry, tears in her eyes, and mouthed "thank you (for the support)" to the crowd, it was completely heartbreaking.
I need to get ready to go to the Xcel for one final day. Not sure when I'll post again, but I promise to do a wrap-up blog at some point.
"If you want something done..."
"If you want something done, give it to a busy person."
Although this quote annoys me when I am the aforementioned "busy person," I do find it pretty accurate. You just get in the zone, all adrenaline rushing and brain circuits firing.
Yesterday, as you probably already know, had no dance competition. It was also the day I got the least amount done. I was parked in the last row of the media section for 14 hours, and I don't think I got up even once. Granted, it was great to be able to watch the competitions like a regular spectator rather than through a camera lens. I did a bunch of proof reading and started deleting photos and pulling bloopers for the IDC photo gallery. I do not want to run out of hard drive space at an inopportune time. I didn't get very far, but I'm up to 24 GB free, so I should be OK.
Pairs just wrapped up. The 1-10 ladies have their warm ups now (no music, just time to skate around a bit). Katie and Daphne ran off to the cat show that's also in this complex, and I'm guarding the stuff until they return. Then it's time to try to snag a photo position for the free dance. People are starting to trickle in, so I guess they're finished clearing and cleaning. They've been letting people stay inside, unlike past years where they've had to go stand out in the cold. Today is a head wave: 25 degrees when we passed an outdoor thermometer. A 40-degree jump from one week ago. Wild.
One of the best parts about long skating competitions is having the opportunity to sit and chat with people you don't normally see. During practice last week, I had a long conversation with Shannon Wingle about injuries and how they affect you more than just physically. I've never really spoken with Shannon, so to have a deep discussion was very cool. It's difficult for people who've never had an injury that has totally turned your life upside down to understand how hard it is when the work you identify as part of who you are as a person is taken from you to some degree. You lose part of who you are. It's scary and depressing and incredibly frustrating.
When I wasn't part of the impromptu kiss & cry during that practice session, I was trying out the equipment Canon loaned me to try. The one lens is the 28-300/3.5-5.6. The weirdest part for me is that it is a push-pull lens, and not one that rotates to zoom. It's also very heavy. Because it's a slow lens, it is not a great choice for shooting skating. As different people came over to our section, some of them wanted to try the lens out. One of my favorite parts about photography is sharing knowledge and equipment and getting to try new things.
Later, when we got back to Karen's apartment, I downloaded the photos and realized I had no idea who shot what! I knew a few that I did not take, since I never went down into the seats. Other than that, they were a mystery. So if you were wondering why there are no photo credits in the practice photos--that would be why. It was a team effort.
Speaking of team efforts, our little media nook has been really great. Jayar from Goldenskate and Kelly Behning from "Blades on Ice" have been sitting by Daphne and me. Since we all need quotes from different things, we've had each other's back, sharing tapes from press conferences and notes from mixed zones, plus confirming that we just saw what we think we saw. That kind of stuff. I love teamwork like that, because I think everyone benefits from it.
Final flight of ladies just took the ice for their warmup. Kimmie is wearing a new (?) dress that is silver shimmer. I love how it looks on her. Katrina Hacker is in black warm-ups, and Rachel Flatt is in black pants and a baby pink top. I'm not sure if Ashley and Mirai are wearing practice or competition dresses. Ashley's in black and Mirai in baby blue and white.
After the junior free dance the other day, I had the chance to sit down with Keiffer Hubbell and meet his newest children. He had a bunch of digital photos of his snakes and other reptiles and things that kind of squick me out. He's so passionate about them! I did learn that one of the snakes who is kind of a pale orangey-white will eventually become green over the course of all his skin sheddings. I don't remember the name of the snake, though, so I guess I'm not a very good student. I'm just hoping that I never need to put this knowledge to use, actually. I would be happy if I never came face-to-face with a snake, even if it is non-poisonous.
Yesterday, Daphne had a mini-lesson for Katie on Dreamweaver software during one of the longer breaks in competition. Class size doubled when Jennifer Wester stopped by and wanted to learn, too. She then stayed to watch the men's event. It's always interesting to hear a skater's opinions of competitions. She and Katie spoke Russian with each other. It was all kind of oddly surreal at times. Oh, and Jennifer is more beautiful than anyone should be allowed to be. You know how some people look pretty on TV or from a distance, but up close is not impressive? Not Mrs. Barantsev.
Ladies are almost finished, so I'm going to upload this and get psyched for the senior free dance. More later.
Early Morning Practices & Rainbows
Today was our earliest day yet. First time we had to scrape Karen's car, because the sun hadn't melted the frost yet. It was also colder than it's been the last few days, back into negative double-digits. Tomorrow is supposed to go up into the 30s. Very weird to have a forty-degree jump in temps like that. I can only imagine the fog we may face.
The early hour also meant we had to deal with rush hour traffic. We were going very slowly at one part and looked up at the sky. A rainbow was arched overhead! We could see the bottom of both sides, but the top section was obscured because the blinding sun was right in our way (hence the rainbow, I guess). We took it as a sign that it is going to be a spectacular day.
The fact that Karen nearly amputated two fingers on my right hand? I don't know if that means the whole rainbow goodness hadn't quite kicked in yet. Too bad it's a late night tonight. No Chocolate Chip Guilt Cookies. I mean, it's not like I need my fingers to take photos or anything. I don't type during the day at all.
(OK, just kidding. The fingers aren't that bad. Just a little bruise. They probably won't fall off from gangrene or anything like that.)
Senior men's group B practice is going on right now. I haven't been completely watching, since I'm typing this. Lots of trouble with Jeremy Abbott's music. Freaky fall by Eliot Halverson going into a camel spin. Stephen Carriere is going sleeveless. Guess he's trying to bring sexy back to the men's practice.
Speaking of "SexyBack," I think I had Daphne going for a minute when I said Caroline Zhang is planning to skate to that at the exhibition gala.
Group C now taking the ice. Rohene is in this group so I see some local photographers and reporters buzzing around. Evan is also in this group. Guess what color he's wearing?
It seems so weird to have a new kiss and cry set up. I'm so used to looking over and seeing the ABC or ESPN backdrops. This new one is cool. Very Lalique/Bompard-y-ish. Without the balloons.
Evan just started skating his short program. Opened with a big quad toe-triple toe into a triple Axel. Follows that up with a perfect triple Lutz. Very impressive. Straightline footwork has excellent speed. Some spin I missed because I was typing. Now he's into his circular footwork, I think. It didn't look anything like a circle (I'm sitting in row 23) but more like a capital D. Speed was way down compared to the straight-line. Few of the guys run their programs all the way through and include all the elements. It really was a spectacular showing, especially this early in the day.
Maybe it's not early for Evan. Still pretty awesome to me.
Rohene's up now, running through is long program to "Dragon." He opened with a big quad toe (quick hand) double toe combo. He skated through his next two jumps (intentionally) and went into a fast spin. Now is the circular footwork that is so different from everyone else's. He uses the ice on so many levels in this very Bourne & Kraatz hydroblade-style. Katie just asked me a question, so I missed a bunch of elements. Now it's time for straight-line footwork. It's not as spazzy as Evan's, but I'm not sure if it's a level 4, either.
Time to move over into my photo nook. More later!
I never really caught that second wind.
I never really caught that second wind. I'm having a pretty bad vertigo day, and the spiral ramp out of the RiverCentre parking lot kind of put me over the edge. (Not literally, obviously, or I wouldn't be able to type this.) We get back to Karen's and find that her cat, Mango, has barfed in my bed. Cats are fun that way, aren't they? But I couldn't be mad because I wanted to give him credit for the sympathetic queasiness.
It was early enough to catch "Project Runway" while uploading today's early edition blogs. The room has stopped spinning for now, so I'm going to try to get some sleep in a few minutes. Lots of dance tomorrow, and it's going to be very exciting. I really love this year's original dance theme. I hope they bring it back into the rotation soon. From all the people I have talked to, nearly everyone loves it. Many of us were quite skeptical when the theme was originally announced, but the skaters seem to really be embracing the spirit. I could do without all the "Kalinkas" and "Dark Eyes," but some of my favorite teams are using that music, so I'm trying to pretend I don't dislike it. This stems greatly on whether or not they are wearing white while skating to it.
During the early part of the senior pairs short program, Adam Lieb, who coaches Chloe Katz & Joseph Lynch, sat down by us. I have found myself on flights with them multiple times, since they are New Yorkers who seem fond of Newark Airport. If I were a competitive skater, I think Adam Lieb would be an awesome coach to have. I just love his attitude. And he looks like Billy Joel and I like Billy Joel. Hmn... Come to think of it, I don't think they've played any Billy Joel in the arena. If they are secretly tapping into my music mixes, they would have found a lot of him.
Guess I'll have to listen tomorrow and see what they play.
Today was an easy day for me...
I've come to grips with the fact that I will never be caught up. I now feel I can move forward, much like a straight-line step sequence under the International Judging System. You know, take a few steps, regress a bit, a few more steps, get a little off the path you had planned, stumble, recover, continue until you finally hit the wall.
Today was an easy day for me. The dance events started late, so Daphne, Karen, and I met up with Katie for breakfast at Baker's Square and then actually made it to the arena early. Yes, me. Early.
First on the schedule: senior compulsory dance, so that meant it was Yankee Polka time!
Meh.
Yes, it is perky and the costumes have the potential for some excellent material (no pun intended (OK, maybe a little)) for level 4 snarkage. I'm just happy when an outfit is not white. That's my standard this season. Stop wearing white in competition. Please.
Anyway, the compulsories were about as exciting as one would expect. (Ambiguity there.) It's not my favorite CD to photograph. In fact, it is my least favorite non-waltz. I shot backside, so that was even more limiting. However, I wanted to challenge myself to not shoot behind the judges for a change, so backside it was.
My favorite dance by far was Meryl and Charlie's, and I was disappointed when they didn't place first. They were so light and bouncy and polka-y, yet had gorgeous edges and never once made me feel like they were going to fall. Bonus points for neither wearing white.
Once the CDs were finished, I was off photo duty for the rest of the day. Sat at the media tables in the corner of the arena, pulled pictures, and Photoshopped them for Daphne to upload. I was able to keep an eye on the junior men and senior pairs. The junior men's event is so deep with young talent. Adam Rippon rocked, and it was great to see his score hold up as skater after skater took the ice. I wish he left his hair curly, though. I really don't understand people with gorgeous curly hair who straighten it. I would kill to have hair like Adam's (well, except mine would be down to my waist and copper red).
As I'm typing this right now, Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig just rocked the house in the pairs short program. When the announcer introduced Mark as being from Minnesota, the crowd went nuts. They skated very well, making it into the final flight for the free program. I'm very happy for them. You'd be hard pressed to find two people more friendly and just genuinely nice to be around. In fact, they sat in the stands to watch the earlier flights and cheered on their competitors. Class act.
The last team just skated, so it's time to pack up and head back to Karen's. I'm hoping to get a second wind, so I can post more later.
Happy birthday Monica!
Jan. 22
Happy birthday Monica! y- - y - -
Today is my sister's birthday, so I called her after the dance practice wrapped up. Monica helped me cover Eastern Sectionals and got to meet some of the dancers. She took the photo of Chloe Wolf & Rhys Ainsworth and Una Donegan & Andrew Korda to capture "Team Maine." I told her that they won gold and bronze, respectively, and she was very happy for them. She asked about Pilar, (who was the first international-level skater she ever met in person), and I told her that they were in third after the compulsory dance.
Junior ladies are on their warm-up right now. It's fairly quiet except for the music the arena is playing. Quite the odd mix, primarily 80s tunes. I may be the only one thoroughly enjoying it. In fact, Daphne asked if this was a mix CD I had made. It could be, but its not.
Ooh! Culture Club! Daphne is sitting next to me, editing my photos from this morning's practice. Once again, she asks if this is my music. Really, wish I could take credit for it. Well, not some of the country stuff mixed in.
Like most events, it seems like the entire time I'm behind where I want to be regarding things published, organized, or deleted. This is not unlike college. I remember the day after graduating, it was difficult to comprehend that I would have no more papers due, no more stories to edit.
Well, that didn't last part didn't last too long, but that's OK.
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It's seven hours later. Have I finally been able to blog? Um, that would be a num ...
OK, I have no idea what I tried to say there. Looks like I'm on the verge of Sleepblogging once again.
Tomorrow I should be able to take pics of senior CD and then work on my blogging.
Please send good thoughts my way.
It is balmy today...
Karen's cats are running around chasing something that I can't see. Daphne's in the shower. Karen had to run into work to find something for her boss. I am sitting at my laptop trying to remember everything I wanted to blog about since this journey began.
It is balmy today, with the current temperature a sweltering 4 F. A very light snow is falling, but no significant accumulation is expected.
I was ordered to bring my coat to Minnesota. I am not really a coat person, though. I think the last time I wore one was in Moscow during 2005 Worlds to traipse around Russia in -25 degree weather. I wore it for a little bit on Saturday, but since then it's been in Karen's car. I love cold weather. My hands are really dry, but that's really the only part of me that isn't thrilled with the temperature. For those of you coming here who haven't left home yet, bring hand cream. Lots of it.
My flight from Newark to Minneapolis was relatively unremarkable. This is a very good thing, given what could have occurred. The pilot was telling me during the flight (he was waiting for the bathroom and standing next to my seat and chatting) that we were given a two-hour delay on the runway before takeoff. However, the pilot said that he called whomever gets these kinds of calls, and asked if we could try to take off from the short runway.
Try.
Short runway.
All I can think of when I hear this? Lexington, Kentucky.
I wondered why the flight attendant was called into the cockpit and then came out and asked a couple of people to move to the back of the plane.
Seriously, three non-obese people whose combined weight couldn't have topped 400 pounds (probably less) make the different between being an on-time departure and becoming intimately acquainted with the marshy, polluted port waters of Newark? Wow.
It's now 12:55 p.m. and we need to leave to get to the arena on time. So the rest of my blog?
I'll catch up. I think. I hope.
Fixed the photo problem...
It is amazing how much clearer the mind can be after a few hours of sleep. I figured out I was trying to upload the full-size photos, rather than the resized ones for Coppermine. Easy fix (i.e., select the proper folder) and now novice CD photos are up.
Sorry about the delay.
What the "L" is going on?
On a non-technology related issue, we at IDC have an ongoing spelling debate raging across two countries. It's about that six-patterned dance that starts with a "K" and ends with an "N" and has vowels in the middle. Well, those aren't the letters that are the problem. It's the L. Actually, it may be multiple L's, but that there is the problem.
How many L's are in Ki_ian?
I've Googled and found arguments for both spellings. I've asked Melanie Hoyt, who's up in Vancouver wrapping up her coverage of the Canadian Nationals, to see if she can speak to an expert to weigh in. I'm still waiting for the full report.
Given that Sunday was novice compulsory dance day, I knew Daphne had to write about the K dance.
My suggested compromise was to spell it with three L's. We went with one for her article, but are not 100% secure in this decision.
If anyone has opinions, facts, and or proof one way or the other, please let us know. You can leave a comment below or email IDCstaff08StPaul@ice-dance.com.
Technology is not very cooperative today...
It has been a long day on so many fronts, and I wanted to finally catch up on everything. Unfortunately, technology is not very cooperative today. Or tonight. Well, this morning, I guess, since it is just after 2:00 a.m.
I still can't get the novice compulsory photos uploaded, so I apologize for those of you who were waiting to see them. Even though a lot of content hasn't been uploaded today, that doesn't mean IDC hasn't been working very hard to bring you the best coverage of ice dancing. We are working, but when other forces are working against you, plans don't always go smoothly.
Tomorrow (or later, I guess) things have to be better. Right?
For the last 48 hours or so...
 For the last 48 hours or so, I keep thinking, oh, I have to remember to blog about that."
However, for the last 48 hours or so I've also been packing, flying, driving, working Canadian Nationals, napping, photo editing, and blog editing. All of this is not conducive to sitting down and actually putting my thoughts to paper. Or laptop, as the case may be.
This year's U.S. Championships is extremely different for me compared to the last four. Tons of changes have been made since Spokane.
With the event coverage moving from U.S. Figure Skating's web microsite to IceNetwork.com, I was no longer working for Laura Fawcett et al. bringing behind-the-scenes photos and blogs. This year I'm working with Daphne for ice-dance.com coverage. Theoretically, it's less work because now it is only 1/4 of the competition.
Theoretically.
I'm also working with Melanie Hoyt on the Canadian Nationals coverage. She's the only ice-dance.com person credentialed for the event. She's on Pacific time. Right now I'm in Central time, and my real home is in Eastern. I feel a little scrambled. But she's doing an awesome job, and her blogs make me laugh. Plus she text messages with tidbits. I don't always hear the message right away, but eventually I get caught up.
Daphne and I are staying at our friend Karen's apartment in Minneapolis. Karen rocks, and I'm not just saying that so she doesn't make me sleep outside. She made goodie bags for us, filled with things crucial to surviving in Minnesota this week. I now have gloves and thick socks and lip balm and the amazingly crucial hand cream, among other things. Yay!
Yesterday my flight got in around 11 a.m. Karen dropped me off at her apartment and went back to work. I got a ton of stuff done on catching up the Canadians coverage, but am still a little behind. It'll get put up as soon as I can. I promise.
And with that, I'm signing off for tonight. My annual photo of Huckleberry is at the top of this blog. He looked especially sad when I left. No, no guilt at all.
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