Friday, December 21, 2012

Catching up with the Haydenettes


This fall the Haydenettes have been very busy with school, practices, exhibitions, and the first competitions of the season. 

Our first event this Fall was An Evening with Champions at Harvard University in September.  The Haydenettes have been performing in this show for many years.  The event supports Cancer research by donating all of its proceeds to the Jimmy Fund. We skated our short program.  Although it was very early in the season, our skate was clean and we got great feedback from members of the audience afterward.  One of the most fun parts of this event was getting to warm up with many amazing skaters including Kimmie Meissner, Emily Hughes, Jeremy Abbott, and Ryan Bradley!


October was filled with lots and lots of practicing and team bonding.  The Haydenettes and Lexettes participated in the Strides Against Breast Cancer walk in Boston.  Although it was a rainy day, the walk was successful.  Afterward, both teams went out to brunch together.  It was a fun way for us to spend time with the Lexettes.  Later in the month we had been scheduled to perform at the opening of Citi Pond and Bryant Park but were unable to do so because of the effects of Hurricane Sandy.  We were all upset by the devastation the storm caused. 

In November we had our annual Haydenettes Thanksgiving at our teammates’ house.  There was an amazing spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and all the other regular Thanksgiving foods, followed by divine desserts.  We celebrated like a true family.  After we finished eating, we watched Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights as a team because it is the theme of our long program this season.  The next weekend we competed in our first competition of the season, the Boston Synchro Classic.  This was a great event for us because we received a lot of feedback from the Judges and Technical Panel on our programs.  With help from them, Saga decided it would be best for us to make a change to our short program music.  Finally, at the end of the month we were able to perform at the Bryant Park Christmas Tree Lighting.  There is something very special about skating in the heart of all the tall buildings and bright lights, just a few blocks away from Broadway.  It is especially fun for the Haydenettes that have never been to New York City before. 

December has been jam-packed with skating and studying for finals! We competed at the Cape Cod Classic earlier this month.  This was the debut of our new short program themed “Addicted to the Thrill.”  It is still very new to us, but we had a good skate.  It was very fun to perform.  We are all excited about this new music! During the long program competition we had a bobble in one of the group lifts, but other than that it was a great skate.  Many of the Haydenettes who grew up on the east coast have been competing at this competition since they were very young, so we all enjoy going and seeing the little skaters that we used to be.  It is humbling and reminds us how far we have come.  We kicked off our break from skating with the Hayden Holiday Show at our home rink. 

 Now, finals are finally over and we are enjoying our Holiday break.  While we are all home relaxing with family and friends, Saga is in Finland, getting married!!! This is a very special time in her life, and we are lucky to be able to experience it with her.  Saga has witnessed most of us experience great changes in our lives including graduating from high school, moving away from home, attending college, or starting to work.  Now, we get to watch a huge milestone in her life.  We can not wait to get back on the ice with her next week to practice, and most importantly, hear about the wedding!!!!


Happy Holidays!!!


Tessa and Audrey