Summer with the Haydenettes

The Haydenettes have had a very busy summer! We started preparing for the 2012-2013 season way back in May.  We had a few practices with just the team, then our Elite Camp over Memorial Day weekend.  Elite Camp is very special because all the Haydenettes participate and get to skate next to members of other teams.  The focuses of this camp are basic skating and teamwork.  It is a great way for new members of the Haydenettes to get to know the skating style, and we all bond over our sore bodies!

In June we slowed down, having lots of free time at the beginning of the month.  Those of us who live outside of Boston got to go home and see our families! It was a good break.  At the end of June we had practices where we still worked on basic skating and coming together as a team. During the last week of June all the Haydenettes worked as counselors at the Hayden Synchro Summer Experience.  We all have an awesome time working at this camp.  It is exhausting but very fulfilling for us to get to skate with younger children and hopefully inspire them to keep skating until they are as old as us.  I was Team Leader for Team Italy.  I had a lot of fun trying to teach the little skaters how to count off in Italian, and how to wink.  We had a game going all week to see who could wink at Saga and the other Haydenettes the most.  I definitely enjoyed being silly with them! After that, Haydenettes got the entire month of July off. I went home and stayed with my family and babysat during the day.  Most of my teammates went home to visit with their families or got summer jobs. 

Now, in August, we are back to a regular practice schedule.  The first weekend of the month we all spent together in Waterville Valley, NH working on choreography in our new programs!  We worked hard on the ice together and with Saga to figure out the rule changes and how to best showcase our skills in the new programs.  Outside of the rink we did fun activities such as canoeing on the lake, swimming in the pools, going in the hot tubs, and watching the Olympics!  We also had an awesome surprise Bridal Shower for Saga where we played fun games such as “Make a Wedding Dress out of Toilet Paper!”  It was a great weekend; we all had a lot of fun.

Finally, the Haydenettes participated in our first exhibition of the season at the Tribute to Life ice show in Newington, Connecticut.  We performed an exhibition program to “Canned Heat” which all twenty of us skated in.  It was a great first performance for the team! 

 We are all looking forward to the start of the regular season and school year! - Audrey