So I've started college a few weeks ago (that's the reason why I haven't been posting lately), I honestly don't have time to search for the news and results and keep this blog always updated. I'll keep posting but it'll take me a while... I'll try to catch up during winter break.
Sorry for everything!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Dancers Overcome Injuries in Successful Season
Canadian ice dancers Karen Routhier, 18, and Eric Saucke-Lacelle, 19, made great strides during the 2008-09 season, even though they battled through injuries. Routhier endured year-long pain in her left leg which limited her training time. The young team won the junior ice dance title in Canada after taking the silver medal in 2008. It was Saucke-Lacelle's third Canadian title as he won pre-novice dance in 2005 and novice dance in 2006 with Christina Gignac, his previous partner.
This past February, Routhier and Saucke-Lacelle improved their placement at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships, moving up from tenth in 2008 to seventh.
"The level of difficulty was much higher this year than last in the top ten at Junior Worlds," Saucke-Lacelle underlined. "There were some tough teams we hadn't competed against before. We were hoping we'd end up between sixth and eighth and we did."
The dancers also won bronze medals at both of their ISU Junior Grand Prix events at Czech Skate and the John Curry Memorial.
"Next year, we'll compete as seniors at Canadians but stay in juniors internationally," Routhier revealed. "We hope to make the Junior Grand Prix Final and go back to Junior Worlds again." "We're going to try to do some senior summer competitions to get ready," Saucke-Lacelle added. "Maybe Minto Skate so our parents can come and see us."
Saucke-Lacelle is the more experienced of the pair, having started skating at three and ice dancing at eight. Although her mother was a skating coach, Routhier only began skating when she was six and didn't start dancing until she was 14.
The dancers, who have been together since the summer of 2006, have trained at the Mariposa School of Skating in Barrie, Ontario since January 2008 under a team headed by David Islam. "It's very different training here than in Montreal," Saucke-Lacelle explained. "David organizes and schedules everything for us. Our off ice training, ballet and gym work is all taken care of and it's mandatory that we do it. In Quebec, it was kind of an option."
Pang and Tong look to fulfill Olympic dream
Chinese pair skaters Qing Pang and Jian Tong have had a very successful career thus far. They were the 2006 World Champions, they are the current and four-time Four Continents Champions, and have medaled at 20 out of 29 Grand Prix events (including the Finals) since 1999. This year at Worlds, however, they didn't skate their to their potential as Tong was recovering from a cold with fever. They came in fourth - one place higher than last year. "Like last year, a jump was downgraded and we had a single Axel," said Tong with a sigh, "but I think considering the circumstances, we did quite well."
Now the team is looking forward to the upcoming, Olympic year, which probably will be, according to their plans right now, their last competitive season.
For the 2008-09 season, the couple used The Midnight Blues by Gary Moore for the short program and Tango by Gotan Project, Concierto de Aranjuez, and Tango de Roxanne from the Moulin Rouge soundtrack for their expressive free program.
The short program was choreographed by Nikolai Morozov, while the long was done by Sarah Kawahara. "Nikolai (Morozov) suggested the music for the short program, but to use tango for the long program was my idea," revealed Tong. "Sarah (Kawahara) then chose the suitable music. We've skated to Tango in 2000 before, but never again after that. Our goal for this year was to show two different styles - one slower and one more powerful program."
Working with Western choreographers was not a new experience for this team, but still a good one. "They are very different," observed Tong. "Nikolai puts more emphasis on the elements, while Sarah has an idea, first looks for the music, and then constructs the program. We've worked with Nikolai for three seasons, therefore we know his style. We did a program with Sarah once about three years ago."
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Lysacek to attend "Skating with the Stars"
Evan Lysacek, the first American man to win a world figure skating title since 1996, will be skating with guests at Figure Skating in Harlem's annual Skating with the Stars benefit gala on Monday, April 6, 2009 in New York City. This star-studded event features skating champions and celebrities on the ice with guests at Wollman. A two-time national champion, Lysacek brought down the house in his hometown of Los Angeles as he captured his first world title last week. By winning the world crown, Lysacek became the first U.S. man in 13 years to reach the top of the skating world. Todd Eldredge last won a world title in 1996 in Edmonton, Alberta. Mr. Eldredge will also be a guest at the Skating with the Stars event.
Olympic ice dance skaters Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto placed second in their category at the World Figure Skating championships. They will also attend Figure Skating in Harlem's gala again this year.
The 2009 Skating With the Stars gala honors skating legend Tai Babilionia and New York State's First Lady, Michelle Paige Paterson. It promises to be another fun and delightful evening that raises critically-needed funds for Figure Skating in Harlem's pioneering youth development program.
Joyce and David Dinkins, Terry and Tina Lundgren and Donald and Melania Trump, Star Jones, Tamara Tunie, Christopher Meloni, Richie Rich, Harry Smith, Natalie Morales, Melissa Rivers, and Lee Daniels are just some of the notable guests scheduled to attend the gala.
At this event, guests are offered the extraordinary opportunity to skate side by side with Tai Babilonia and a spectacular roster of Olympic and World Medalists including Dorothy Hamill, Johnny Weir, Sarah Hughes, Viktor Petrenko, Alissa Czisny, Kimmie Meissner, Timothy Goebel, Rachael Flatt. 2009 U.S. national champion Jeremy Abbott will also be part of this year's event. Tickets start at $300 and are available by calling (212) 675-9474. Visit www.charitybuzz.com to find great auction items for bidding online from March 25th-April 21st, 2009.
Figure Skating in Harlem has served hundreds of New York City girls since 1997 with an innovative education and ice-skating program that transforms young lives and helps Harlem girls grow in confidence, leadership and academic achievement. Proceeds from this benefit event will help FSH continue to grow and become an even stronger resource for children in the community. FSH also hopes to develop a base of support that will help them secure a home rink of their own with access to skating and educational facilities year-round in Upper Manhattan.
icenetwork.com
Belbin, Agosto aren't stopping anytime soon
Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, fresh off a silver-medal winning performance at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships last week in Los Angeles, are not about to sit on their laurels. The 2006 Olympic silver medalists and 2010 medal hopefuls are in the midst of a busy schedule during which they will perform in five shows with the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour, appeared at the taping of the TV blockbuster show, Dancing with the Stars, and help benefit a great cause at the Figure Skating in Harlem Gala in New York.Belbin and Agosto will begin performing with the Smucker's Stars on Ice tour April 3 in Hershey, Pa., and then will skate April 4 in Bridgeport, Conn., April 5 in Boston, April 10 in Manchester, N.H., and close with a show April 11 in Portland, Maine.
Headlined by 2006 Olympic Silver medalist Sasha Cohen, the Smucker's Stars on Ice cast will feature all of the fireworks and theatrics of the Stars on Ice tours in the past, with creative ensemble numbers and individual routines featuring Olympic, world and national champions. Evan Lysacek, the newly crowned 2009 world champion, also announced he will be on tour for five shows as well.
The Figure Skating in Harlem event, which is honoring Tai Babilonia and New York's First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson, will be held at the Wollman Rink in Central Park April 6 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. In addition to Belbin and Agosto, Lysacek will also be at the star-studded event, as will six-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge, Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, Olympic bronze medalist Timothy Goebel, 2006 world champion Kimmie Meissner, Olympic champion Viktor Petrenko and reigning American champion Alissa Czisny.
Belbin and Agosto, the most decorated American ice dancers in history, had quite a roller coaster of a season. After missing the world podium for the first time in four years last season when they placed fourth, the couple announced it would leave its longtime coaches in Detroit and train instead with 1980 Olympic champions Natalia Linichuk and Gennadi Karponosov in Aston, Pa. Then Belbin and Agosto were forced to withdraw from the 2009 U.S. Championships as Agosto recuperated from a back injury.
But their up-and-down season ended on a very high note, with Belbin and Agosto showing they are still one of the best teams in the world. With the Olympics in Vancouver less than a year away, there is no doubt Belbin and Agosto are medal contenders.
icenetwork.com
USA, Canada, Japan, Russia, France and China qualify for ISU World Team Trophy
With the conclusion of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2009, the qualified teams for the first ISU World Team Trophy have been determined.
The top ranked six teams are the USA, Canada, Japan, Russia, France and China. They qualified according to the results of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating, ISU Junior Grand Prix of Figure Skating, ISU European, ISU Four Continents, ISU World Junior and ISU World Figure Skating Championships.
The USA top the team standings with 7659 points followed by Canada with 6755 points and Japan with 6660 points. Russia accumulated 6370 points and came in fourth while France is ranked fifth at 4938 points. China qualified with 4150 points.
The ISU World Team Trophy is a competition between six national figure skating teams and will be held for the first time in 2009. Each team consists of two Men, two Ladies, one pair and one ice dance couple. The competition will be held in Tokyo, Japan from April 16th to 19th in Yoyogi National Stadium.
isu.org
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