Mids. Beginning to End

Well, I was right. Sarah Hughes is deferring a year and going on tour with Stars on Ice this season. They usually sign a one-year contract, so that means she'll go straight through rehearsals (which start about now in Lake Placid), start in November, and the tour ends in April. Her sister Emily, won the gold at SkyRink. It was easy to see why, even in warm-up!



They look alike from a distance, and have almost the same body type. Layback spins are in the family DNA, Em's is just as gorgeous as Sarah's. Only difference is Emily skates counterclockwise, like most skaters do. She came out in a gorgeous powder blue Tania Bass dress to selections from Sleeping Beauty. It was definitely a first not to hear Swan Lake AT ALL THIS WEEKEND. Hallelujah!!!



I saw a mix of pairs, junior men, intermediate ladies, and a really strong senior ladies bunch. The Skating Club of New York really had it together this year. Turns out I didn't have to volunteer at all, everything was smooth with fewer volunteers than years past. So, I walked around, chatted, sat in the stands, and caught up with old friends.



A quick trip for coffee netted me a nice moment with Johnny Weir, this year's US gold champ. There I am pouring in half and half and boom! I told him I had something for him, and he smiled. I had two performances of his coach when she was amateur. (I was waiting on a third reel from Seattle to transfer to video, but the guy lost it.) I also explained I didn't know where to send it since he's been back and forth from Connecticut and Delaware, so could I hand it to him Sunday? He said yes, since he'd be handing out the memorial fund prizes. Cool, I thought. He'd never seen it.



Then it was off to the junior ladies. There's nothing more entertaining than little pixies zooming around the warm up like sequined waterbugs. Some solid double axels out there and really strong music choices. No Swan Lake, thank god. Britt Adams came out in a lovely mint green dress and knocked us all out. Saturday night, she placed first, and was in today's exhibition.



Scanning the crowd along with Judy and Robert on Saturday, we noticed more "glitter" than years past. It was a veritable who's who of skating: Viktor Petrenko (1992 Olympic Gold); Maia Usova (1993 World Gold Ice Dance); Johnny (2004 US Gold); Peter Burrows (coach of Elaine Zayak and husband of Katherine Healy); Robin Wagner (former coach of Sarah and presently Sasha Cohen); and Slavka Kahout (coach of Janet Lynn.) Things ran pretty smoothly, and I think Sid Morgan not being manager there anymore had a lot to do with it.



I caught Johnny's attention, and handed him the videotape during the men's warmup. He confessed how nervous he was since two of his students were up later Saturday night. Judy later commented that she had followed his coach's career since she had grown up in Boston. I found out that Judy no longer skates, due to a compression fracture in her lower back. I said it was a miracle she can still walk! Another one of Sid's screw-ups: one of his "students" did crossovers lengthwise and slammed into her. That would explain why she's not on the ice on Thursdays with me anymore. We enjoyed ourselves, particularly with the fact that a certain senior men's competitor practiced in shorts! That's the kind of irreverance I cherish. He later came out decked in black velvet and popped off a triple/triple much to the crowd's delight.



I decided to return today to see if the volunteer team needed me (turns out they didn't), but I did get to watch the champion's exhibitions. Prize money was awarded through the Will Sears Memorial Fund. The gold medal winners are as follows... (you might see these names at nationals verrry soon...)




Juvenile Girls: Sasha Lanser
Juvenile Boys: David Sorenson
Juvenile Pairs: Gabrielle Friedenberg & Brett Dunie-Newstadt
Intermediate Ladies: Jane Ruan
Intermediate Pairs: Kara Vick & Joseph Navarro
Intermediate Mens: Alex Zahradnicek
Intermediate Dance: Ilana Morse & Jackson Rainey
Novice Ladies: Katrina Hacker
Novice Mens: Schulyer Eldridge
Junior Ladies: Britt Adams
Junior Mens: Michael Solonoski
Senior Dance Exhibition: (and good friends of Will) Loren Galler-Rabinowitz & David Mitchell
Senior Ladies: Emily Hughes
Senior Men's Exhibition Only: Johnny Weir.



Here's the straight truth: if Emily Hughes gets her triple lutz and flip in order? You'll see her win as much as Sarah did. Mark my word. Johnny's short program is to Rondo Capriccioso. It's dazzling, but you can't expect anything less from him. He's simply magnificent. Now I can say I know, having met him.



Well, it's off to dinner, kiddies. A great weekend it was.