Mozart Cup 2012

As a very exciting weekend draws to a close, team U.S.A. stands proud of many accomplishments made over the past few days in Saluzburg, Austria. ICE'Kateers senior team placed 6th with two strong skates against many world level teams. Miami University junior team; also with two very solid programs, placed 7th. The weekend, in conclusion, was a great success for team U.S.A..

Saturday morning the ICE'Kateers woke up early and headed down to the rink for official practice for short program. We focused a great deal on making sure the technical panel could see all of our elements clearly and correctly during the session. We had two solid run-throughs; leaving rink feeling very confident for that evening. Back at the hotel we rested for a short time, but began our hair and make-up preparations early enough so we would be able to get back to the rink in order to watch Miami junior team. The junior team performed wonderfully, and we were so glad we got the chance to watch and cheer them on. Following the junior division, we went to warm up, and then took the ice.
We were pleased with our short program that night; overall it was a fairly strong skate. Although we did have some small mishaps in the routine, the ending product was something we were very much proud of. We left the rink that night looking forward to coming back and competing in the free skate. I think it's also important to mention the support of our fans here in Austria, as well as from the ones back in the U.S.. Their enthusiasm was truly spectacular; we really could not ask for better friends and family to be there for us.

Today the schedule was pretty similar; we woke up, had breakfast, went to official practice, rested, cheered on Miami, and then competed. The free skate was another solid performance for us; we did have a collision on one of our intersections, but we recovered well and completed the program without letting it affect us. Following the senior devision, every junior and senior team entered the ice for the awards ceremonies. This was a really great experience for all of the teams. I believe that is one of the best parts about international competitions; the chance to meet and interact with skaters from different countries. We were able to talk to a lot of the girls from team Austrailia, among other teams, we took pictures with them and got to meet their mascot "Kevin the Kangaroo"; which was a lot of fun.

Tomorrow we're looking forward to a free day of touring and shopping around Salzburg! We had a really wonderful time here so far, and are definitely sad to leave such a beautiful place, but are excited to get back home and start working hard for nationals!

GO U.S.A.!

Linnea