Lifeskate: All about figure skating

2008 U.S. Adult Nationals: Preview of things to come

Thank you everyone for the great feedback on the stories currently posted! I've gotten some inquiries on what other stories I am working on from the Adult Nationals event. They include:

• Championship Ice Dance

• Interpretive Free Skate

• Championship Gold men

• Championship Gold ladies

• Volunteers (from ice monitors to ice sweepers) who made the event a success

• Judges

• Coaches

• At the end, big video and photo montage

Thanks to all for your patience...

2008 U.S. Adult Nationals: Championship Pairs

 

The Championship Pairs event at the 2008 U.S. Adult Nationals in Lake Placid, NY capped the end of the four-day competition, and what a way to end it! I left the 1980 Rink - Herb Brooks Arena with one word on my mind: TRUST. Such trust that the women place in their partners! This is only the second year of this event at Adult Nationals and some new faces took the podium after the competition.   

Eight pairs teams took to the ice and in the end, 30-year-old Craig Joeright from the Onyx-Suburban Skating Academy and 40-year-old Judy Sargent of  the Troy Academy of Figure Skating, won the gold with effortless lifts and a great unison to their skating. Craig is new to Adult Nationals, but not to competitive skating - he skated with wife Larisa Spielberg in pairs, including competing at U.S. Nationals five times. Both "retired" from competition in 2004 to focus on other interests. (Larisa is pursuing a career as a physician's assistant while Craig remains involved with skating programs.) Craig couldn't resist the lure of competing, especially when partnered with the very capable Judy, a skating coach, so they will be a force to be reckoned with in future Adult Nationals. Craig and Judy placed second at the 2008 Adult Midwestern Sectionals held in Ann Arbor, Michigan, after only a six month partnership! Their goals for next year include a throw double Salchow, possibly a double twist, and side-by-side double jumps.

As a reminder, U.S. Figure Skating holds the Eastern, Midwestern and Pacific Coast Sectionals. Skaters wishing to compete in Championship events at Adult Nationals must place high in sectionals. The Championship events also do not have age categories so you may see skaters in their twenties competing with forty-somethings and beyond, which certainly makes it more interesting and exciting!

Coming in second were 40-year-old Choeleen Loudagin and 41-year-old William Abel from the Santa Rosa FSC, who won this event last year. Choeleen, a skating coach, also had three of her students compete at Adult Nationals: Stephanie Ewing (who won gold in Championships Masters Ladies), Ninotchka Aschow (who won gold in the Championship Adult Gold Ladies), and Melinda Speer (who won silver in the Championship Adult Gold Ladies). William, a full-time student of landscape architecture, described the Adult Nationals experience as "relaxed" and "fun." Choeleen and William, who've been skating as a team for two years, won the 2008 Adult Pacific Coast Sectionals held in Portland, Oregon.

43-year-old Jenny Needham-Wall, a special education teacher and 50-year-old Ray Belmonte, an anesthesiologist, both of the Wagon Wheel FSC, took home the bronze. Ray was Jenny's singles skating coach for 10 years, so it must have been a great moment for them to put a terrific program together as teacher and student. The chemistry was evident as they received a rousing standing ovation from the audience after their skate to East of Eden. Jenny and Ray won the 2008 Adult Midwestern Sectionals held in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ray said that their forte is their skating ability and a "naturalness" about their skating. Like Craig and Judy, their partnership is relatively new -- eight months.

A special congratulations to the fourth place team of Jason Spicer of Rye FSC (who also came in fourth in Championship Masters Men) and his partner Joy Dubost of Hickory Hill FSC. I remember years ago Jason taking lessons at Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers in NYC where I skate, and it's amazing to me how far he's come. (photo at bottom, from left to right: Choeleen & William, Judy & Craig, Jenny & Ray, and Joy & Jason)

And if I had to give out the best musical selection for the pairs event, it would go to the fifth place team of Kimberly Sailer and David Garber of the Wheeling FSC. They skated to a spy theme and performed to selections from 007 James Bond, The Pink Panther and Mission: Impossible. Kimberly, a vending company business owner, and David, a physician's assistant in cardiac surgery, told me after their skate that their main goal is to entertain, and they did not disappoint. They came in second in this event last year and their goals for 2009 include incorporating some double jumps. During their performance, Kimberly and David did some outstanding overhead lifts and I asked Kimberly if she felt scared being up that high. Her response? "Actually, no, it's like riding a roller coaster. The first couple of times you do them, you're very fearful and you're like 'ooh ooh ooh' but afterwards you come down, and you're safe on the other side and you say 'Whoa! That was fun! Let's do it again!""

On a sad note, the Championship Pairs event did start off with a scary fall. At the practice rink, while the skaters were warming up, Andrea Cooper of Ice Works SC and Lee Jones of Chesapeake FSC were practicing an overhead lift, something happened, and Andrea fell onto the ice. Eventually, the ambulance arrived and Andrea was taken to the hospital. Recently, I contacted her to find out how she is doing. Andrea wrote back that, "I sustained a compression fracture to my L1 vertebrae and a fracture to my sacrum. I will be in an upper body brace for the next six weeks followed by six weeks of physical therapy, but am expected to make a full recovery." Andrea also wrote that she and Lee felt the cause of the accident was a combination of an overcrowded session (that nine pair teams were scheduled for the 20 minute official warm up ice) and that the ice had not been cut. Andrea also advised that Lee was not hurt, but badly shaken. Andrea and Lee were sorely missed at the actual competition and I hope to see them back on the ice very soon.

Note: U.S. Figure Skating does not allow the media to film the actual competition; however, if you are an icenetwork subscriber, you can watch many of the performances on video.

Complete results for Championship Pairs are as follows:

Pl.	Name	Total segment score	Total element score	Program component score
1	Judy Sargent / Craig Joeright Troy Academy of Figure Skating / Onyx-Suburban Skating Academy	57.74	29.78	27.96
2	Choeleen Loudagin / William Abel Santa Rosa FSC	54.47	27.08	27.39
3	Jenny Needham-Wall / Ray Belmonte Wagon Wheel FSC	46.21	16.58	29.63
4	Joy Dubost / Jason Spicer Hickory Hill FSC / Rye FSC	45.04	25.24	19.80
5	Kimberly Sailer / David Garber Wheeling FSC	41.62	18.43	23.19
6	Tara Cioppa / Stephen Trzaska American Academy FSC / Washington FSC	38.84	21.33	18.51
7	Diana Cheng / James Barry MIT FSC	32.75	16.52	16.23
8	Heather McDonald / Matthew Leissring Vaca Valley FSC	29.55	14.43	15.12

2008 U.S. Adult Nationals: Photo gallery of Championship Pairs

2008 U.S. Adult Nationals: Championship Masters Ladies

At the 2008 U.S. Adult Nationals in Lake Placid, I watched the Championship Masters Ladies take to the ice and was completely floored by the speed and skill of these competitors. In a field of 12 skaters, there was a flurry of double jumps, high level spins, as well as intricate footwork. In the end, Stephanie Ewing from the Santa Rosa FSC came out on top and she won the gold with a beautiful skate to the soundtrack from Sabrina. Heather Piepenburg from the Chesapeake FSC, who skated to a piano piece by William Joseph, won the silver. Amy Entwistle from the Central Carolina Skating Club, took the bronze, with an African-themed program. Alexandra Dunne-Bryant from the Detroit Skating Club placed fourth. (see photo below, from left to right:  Heather, Stephanie, Amy, and Alexandra)

Interviewing the three ladies is inspirational to say the least. This is Stephanie Ewing's third appearance at U.S. Adult Nationals. In 2007, she came in sixth and in 2006, she came in tenth. I guess the third time is the charm for this 25-year-old skating coach from Santa Rosa, California. Stephanie placed fourth at the Adult Pacific Coast Sectionals held in Portland, Oregon. She told me that she had a severe sinus infection at the time, but thankfully, took a week off after sectionals to recover. Watching Stephanie, I was struck my how polished her skating was.

As a reminder, U.S. Figure Skating holds the Eastern, Midwestern and Pacific Coast Sectionals. Skaters wishing to compete in Championship events at Adult Nationals must place high in sectionals. The Championship events also do not have age categories so you may see skaters in their twenties competing with forty-somethings and beyond, which certainly makes it more interesting and exciting!

Silver medalist, 27-year-old Heather Piepenburg, is a skating coach in Abingdon, Maryland. Heather is also the skating director at her club and told me that on a good week, she can get 50 minutes of skating in five days a week. I liked the ease in which Heather entered her jumps and spins. She won the Adult Eastern Sectionals, this year held in Wayne, New Jersey. Heather was at Adult Nationals in 2006 and placed fifth in this event, so she was thrilled to be on the podium this year. Her goal for next year - to put the double axel back in.

Perhaps no one was happier to be at Adult Nationals than 33-year-old North Carolinean Amy Entwistle, a management consultant in the pharmaceutical industry. Amy said that in addition to the airline bumping her flight due to weather considerations, she could not find her name on icenetwork.com while she was surfing the internet while waiting for her flight to be rebooked! She felt "erased from the world" with no seat and no name, but both oversights were quickly corrected. Amy skated a very innovative program that was inspired by African dance classes she took with her coach. She placed second at the Adult Eastern Sectionals, behind Heather. Amy was also entered in the Master Ladies, Artistic/Dramatic, Class II, Interpretive Free Skate where she also placed second. Amy's costume was also striking - a black one-piece unitard adorned with African-inspired colors. Last year, Amy placed second in this event with an Eastern European-themed program and she said that she likes playing with themes when she puts her programs together.

Note: U.S. Figure Skating does not allow the media to film the actual competition; however, if you are an icenetwork subscriber, you can watch many of the performances on video.

Complete results for the Championship Masters Ladies are as follows:

Pl.	Name	Total segment score	Total element score	Program component score
1	Stephanie Ewing Santa Rosa FSC	44.51	22.38	22.13
2	Heather Piepenburg Chesapeake FSC	43.94	21.37	22.57
3	Amy Entwistle Central Carolina SC	42.94	21.50	23.44
4	Alexandra Dunne-Bryant Detroit SC	41.20	20.97	21.23
5	Amber Rostkowski Wyandotte FSC	39.38	20.33	20.05
6	Tiffany Wright Music City FSC	37.99	15.63	22.36
7	Jacqueline Pusztay SC of North Carolina	37.98	19.42	20.56
8	Elizabeth McGlauflin Peninsula SC	37.68	18.04	19.64
9	Natalie Shaby All Year FSC	35.40	17.17	21.23
10	Alexis Mante Bozeman FSC	34.82	13.52	21.30
11	Colleen McCarter-Bloom Roseville FSC	33.68	15.78	18.90
12	Beckey Watson Central Florida FSC	33.67	16.22	19.45