Buongiorno di Courmayeur!

We’re having an amazing time in beautiful Italy so far.  We got the day started early with breakfast and headed straight to the rink for our first unofficial practice of the day.  We had a solid skate at the competition arena with many friends and family cheering us on proudly. 

Past and present DREAM Skaters Lindsay, Ashley, Audrey, Noelle, Jenna, and Tessa with
Leslie Graham, Manager of Synchronized Skating at USFS

After having a delicious lunch at the rink in an athlete village setting with many classic Italian options, we boarded the bus to practice in Aosta.  The second practice of the day went very well.  We focused on just a few elements and applied some last minute corrections from Saga. 

Lindsay channeling her inner Edmond Dontes, the main character from our long program music:
"The Count of Monte Cristo"!

Ashley and her parents outside the practice rink in Aosta

We had a few minutes to visit with our parents and then we loaded the bus with our fellow American teammates, the Crystallettes, and headed back to the  stunning mountains of Courmayeur.

            -Ashley

To conclude our day we headed back to the official rink for the draw and opening ceremonies. Audrey and myself represented the Haydenettes, lacing up our skates and taking the ice with representatives from each of the 23 teams competing. 

           

The quaint shopping streets of Courmayeur

When it came our turn, Audrey and I were lead around the ice by a very sweet Italian girl from a local synchro team. We were taken to a table covered in giant chocolate eggs. I was handed a beautiful red egg, about a foot tall, and we were then lead to the draw bag.  Audrey pulled number 18! 

Then began the opening ceremony. There were many extremely talented Italian skating stars, but one number I'm particular stole the show. All the male skaters in the show took the ice in synchronized swimming apparel. By the end of the number these skaters in nothing more than tight spandex shorts with the words "Why not Synchro" written out on their bare backs!

           

Representatives from each team on the ice for the draw ceremony

We are very excited to be skating first in the last group of teams! In bocca lupo (good luck) to all the teams competing and GO USA!

-Lindsay

Haydenettes Travel to Worlds

The Haydenettes have made it to Italy! It was quite the trip getting to Courmayeur, but well worth the journey.  The city is absolutely beautiful, tucked in-between monstrous mountains with snow-covered peaks. 

The Alps from the plane (Photo Credit: Abby Goslin)

We began in Boston, leaving around 5pm Eastern time.  Just about 12 hours later we arrived at our beautiful destination tucked in the Alps.

            

Not long after arriving, we headed to the official rink to practice. After getting a bit confused, one could say lost, we found a nice young man working the competition who was able to help us find our way.

 Walking through Courmayeur on our way to practice (photo credit: Jenna Longo)

            

It was a solid practice. We ran through each element in both programs, focusing on feeling the ice we will be competing on later this week.

View from the balcony of our hotel (photo credit: Audrey McQuade)

We could not be more excited for the week to come!

Ciao!

-Lindsay and Ashley