Right brain spinner or left brain spinner?

• Great recap of the PSA conference in Chicago. [icenetwork]

• Expats in China take matters into their own hands. [WSJOnline]

• To add to the Christmas list. [chron.com]

• It's only the middle of the year, but Canadian champion Patrick Chan wins 2008 Asian of the Year award. [SkateCanada]

• Recently engaged U.S. pairs skater Rena Inoue is Immigrant of the Day. [ImmigrationProfBlog]

• Finally, the award for Best Improved Penmanship goes to...just kidding.

• Peggy Fleming's advice for weight loss: eat less and exercise. [PRNewswire]

• Two-time U.S. bronze medalist Angela Nikodinov enjoying life coaching and performing. [icenetwork]

• Vote for your favorite skater to win the Michelle Kwan Trophy (see right). [USFSA.org]

• Ice skating in Hawaii? Oh yes! [Alohateam.com]

• Legendary and versatile ABC sportscaster Jim McKay, who covered gymnastics, soccer, figure skating, skiing, and many more, dead at age 86. [EOnline]

• I've stared for hours. I don't see the counter-clockwise spin. [perthnow.com]

2008 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships: Judges

At the 2008 U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships in Lake Placid, New York, I spoke with many great skaters, including their family, friends and supporters. While I was running around shooting video and interviewing folks, it occurred to me that this four-day competition, with 600+ skaters from over 180 skating clubs, participating in over 120 events, was running pretty darn smoothly! The start times were adhered to for the most part, music played on time, results were posted as quickly as possible, announcers got the names right, and the judging was fair and I didn't hear too many complaints about the marks.

I chatted briefly with two of the judges and an Assistant Referee for the event. Wendy Melland has been a judge for 25 years (and recently got her 25th year pin!) and Cynthia Drayton has been a judge for 11 years and also competed twice at Adult Nationals in previous years. Both ladies also attended the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in St. Paul, Minnesota in January -- Wendy as a "nonworking official," and Cynthia as a judge. From speaking with them, it was clear that being a judge at any event is a big responsibility that both take very seriously. Kathleen Krieger, an Assistant Referee at these Adult Nationals, also felt the same way towards her role in this event, which she described as "making sure that all the skaters are getting the same, fair opportunity to compete." Kathleen's many functions included timing the events, making sure that the ice was ready for the next skater and ensuring that the judges had enough time to input their marks before moving onto the next skater.

There were many many folks, from officials, to the technical panel, to the judges, to the Skating Club of Lake Placid, to the Olympic Regional Development Authority, who made the 2008 Adult Nationals very special. Below are the people from the organizing committees who made it all work:

OFFICIALS:

• Chief Referee: Lynn Goldman, Austin, TX
• Asst. Referees: Kathleen Krieger, Arlington Heights, IL; Wayne Hundley, Riverside, CA
• Dance Referee: Ted Clarke, North Weymouth, MA
• Chief Accountant: Anita Conrad, Lynnwood, WA
• Asst. Accountants: Jim Achtenberg, Manchester, MI; Cecelia Erisman, Reading, PA
• System Specialist: Jack Vest, Sand Springs, OK
• Asst. System Specialist: Candee Gonzalez, Yorktown, VA
• Chief Announcer: Charles Robel, Newark, DE
• Announcers: Robin Heagan, New York, NY; Chip Ludlow, Venice, FL; Carol Nugent, Port Ludlow, WA
• Music Coordinator: Bill Donachie, Mechanicsburg, PA
• Asst. Music: Bill Bikle, Hummelstown, PA; Jim Chen, Fair Lawn, NJ; Jerry Wright, Waukesha, WI

TECHNICAL PANEL:

• Ann Barr, Livonia, MI
• Lucy Brennan, New York, NY
• Jacki Crugnola, Franklin, MA
• Wayne Hundley, Riverside, CA
• Tiffany Hyden-Dombeck, Colorado Springs, CO
• Nancy Iida, Irving, TX
• Shawn Rettstatt, New York, NY
• Stephanie Segien, Colleyville, TX
• Ken Shelley, New York, NY

JUDGES:

• Alison Arnold, Duxbury, MA
• Tony Bardin, Los Angeles, CA
• Norman Barker, Medford, OR
• Lynn Bell, Taylor, TX
• Todd Bromley, Carrollton, TX
• Harland Burge, Laguna Hills, CA
• Joan Burns, Millbrae, CA
• Les Cramer, Colorado Springs, CO
• Dorothy Dodson, Alexandria, VA
• Cynthia Drayton, Valley Forge, PA
• Ann Fauver, Kennebunk, ME
• Leslie Gianelli, Baltimore, MD
• Carla Golubski, Chatsworth, CA
• Ann Greenthal, New York, NY
• Kim Heim, Troy, OH
• Mary Hiser, Worthington, OH
• Susan Karl, Hillsborough, CA
• Joyce Komperda, Menomonee Falls, WI
• Shirley Kreppel, Williamsville, NY
• Nancy Meiss, Cincinnati, OH
• Wendy Melland, Kansas City, MO
• Marie Pearce, Alpharetta, GA
• Judith Reiner, Arlington, VA
• Karen Snoddy, Willoughby, OH
• Mary Ann Wilcox, Rock Springs, WY
• Diana Wisner, Wilmington, DE

THE SKATING CLUB OF LAKE PLACID:

• Iris Gladd, President
• Pat Jorgensen, Vice President
• Rosemary Gole, Secretary
• Karen Knox, Treasurer
• Maggie Atkins, Board Member
• Debbie Marshall, Board Member
• Nicole Broderick, Board Member
• Laura McDonald, Board Member
• Liz DeFazio, Board Member
• Stan Urban, Board Member
• Mary Anne Hawley, Board Member
• Virginia Yamrick, Board Member
• Linda Sausa, Volunteer Chair

OLYMPIC REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY:

Olympic Center

• R. Dennis Allen, General Manager
• Rich Cotton, Assistant Manager
• John Kilburn, Operations Supervisor
• Dan Wood, Ice Rink Supervisor
• Mary-Elizabeth Wightman, Program Manager
• Laura McDonald, Group Sales

Events

• Katie Million, Asst. Director of Events
• Marilyn Lamiman, Events Manager
• Jennifer Morris, Events Marketing Manager
• Jon Durney, Events Production Coordinator
• Aaron Hobson, Creative Director

Alexei Yagudin keeps gold medal in his Porche?

It was reported yesterday that 2002 Olympic gold medalist and four-time (1998, 1999, 2000 & 2002) World champion Russian skater Alexei Yagudin was the victim of car theft and much more. In addition to thieves stealing his Porsche, Alexei had left one of his World champion gold medals in the car. When the story came out, my first question was this: Where did Alexei keep the gold medal? Was it in the glove compartment?  Thrown casually in the backseat? Displayed proudly like a "My child is an honor student" sticker? Where!?! I really wanted to know, but alas, the news stories only focused on his speculating that he'll probably need to start looking for a new car. Alexei also estimated his loss at over $1,500,000 --yikes, I sure hope he had the medal insured with Lloyd's of London. Having learned his lesson, Alexei further advised that his next car will be a Hyundai and he will keep his 1997 bronze medal from Skate America in the trunk. (I made the last part up.)

Clip of the week - Orcutt & Hines, pairs champions in roller skating

Previously, Roberto Riva, men's singles competitor in roller skating, was featured on Clip of the week. I was absolutely amazed by his skating ability and boy, what a figure skater he would be! Which got me to thinking that there had to be other disciplines in competitive roller skating, and of course, I found a wonderful video on YouTube of the U.S. pairs team of Aubrey Orcutt and Robert Hines. I don't believe roller skating has a separate pairs and dance discipline like figure skating -- it appears to combine elements of both. Check out their spin which starts at 1:40 -- very innovative and beautiful to watch.

CORRECTION: After I posted this, I received the below comment from the Inline Skating Guide at About.com, explaining the different disciplines in roller skating. Here is the clarification:

Roller skating does have separate events for pairs and dance skating with very similar requirements. The video shown is from the "Gold Skate Classic" which is a show and exhibition styled competition that does not use all of the roller figure skating requirements. Orcutt and Hines have represented the United States at many World Championships, and for those events they skate a short and long program much the same as an ice pair. There are other teams like Kyle Turley and Heather Menard who compete in the dance discipline with compulsory dances, original dance and a freedance program.

Stéphane Lambiel drops long-time coach for Viktor Petrenko

Two-time (2005 & 2006) World champion, 2006 Olympic silver medalist, and eight-time (2001-2008) Swiss national champion Stéphane Lambiel (see right) announced on his official website today that he has split with his coach of 13 years, Peter Grütter. Stéphane expressed disappointment in his fifth place finish at the 2008 World Championships and after careful consideration, decided that "certain changes were necessary." He will relocate to Wayne, New Jersey, to train under 1992 Olympic gold medalist Viktor Petrenko and Galina Zmievskaya. Galina is Viktor's former coach and also coached Oksana Baiul to a gold medal in the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer.

Viktor and Galina currently coach the United States' Johnny Weir. For those unfamiliar, in the summer of 2007, Johnny left his long-time coach (and the only coach he ever had in his career), Priscilla Hill, to work with Galina and her team. Johnny has met with a lot of success under Galina's tutelage, winning silver at the U.S. Nationals, bronze at Worlds, and others. Best of luck to Stéphane on his "fresh start" which is how he describes his move.