College Bound!

This past spring, I was faced with a major question. “Which college should I go to?” Being the indecisive person I am, I struggled with this choice for a while. I made pro-con lists and looked at numerous websites explaining the ups and downs of each college I was accepted into. I eventually chose to attend University of California Berkeley. Each minute I spent researching the schools, I got more excited about Berkeley and studied less of the other schools. I went up to visit the campus and fell in love with the location and just the feel of a college campus with a lot of school pride.

With all the gains that came with going to Berkeley, there were also sacrifices I had to make. One being the fact that there is no synchro team for me to skate on. This is what made it an unbelievably hard choice to make. However, I prayed about it, thought about how I have had some amazing times with my teams, and I decided that my education came first in this situation. Luckily, Cal has a figure skating club that competes in intercollegiate competitions, so I still have the opportunity to skate!

I wish the best of luck to all teams this season and also to all high schoolers in your college choices!

Annaleigh

Cup of Berlin Update!

Hey, it's Annaleigh again!

On Saturday night, we stepped into our character the minute we began off-ice warm up at the hotel. You could feel the excitement rising in our team. After a short walk to the ice rink, we then practiced our intense facial expressions and ended our off-ice with a loud “USA!” Our long program felt spectacular when we were on the ice. There were, however, a few bobbles here and there and we ended in fourth place. We were disappointed about being so close to third, but the improvement in our component scores made us proud.

The funny thing about this trip was that Chicago Jazz junior and California Gold were so alike! First of all, we both drew third at the draw for short program. Then, we both placed third after short. When the draw for long program came around, both teams skated fifth. And finally, we both ended up in fourth place. I was so baffled by the coincidence of it all!

After six days in Berlin, we are headed back to California. International competitions are always such amazing experiences, and this one is not to be left out! From touring the famous sights to stepping onto the ice for long program, the emotions we felt ranged from feeling very jet lagged to becoming ecstatic after ending our programs.

Love, Annaleigh

Willkommen in Berlin

I am pleased to announce that California Gold and Chicago Jazz junior have made it safely to Berlin! We have already had a few hours on the ice at the practice rink that got us out of our travel daze and into competition mode. Our practice this morning was extremely productive and we had some great run-throughs.

After our practice this morning, we had the opportunity to go out and tour the brilliant city of Berlin. We bought day passes for the "Bahnhoff," Berlin's subway system, and visited major sights such as the Brandenberg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. After seeing the streets of Berlin, we just had to stop in a chocolate shop called Fassbender & Rausch and have ourselves a nice cup of hot chocolate.

Tonight, we had an amazing time skating our short program. The fun and swanky program is always a blast to get into with our ridiculous surprised and smiley faces! Going into free skate tomorrow, we are sitting in third place and are ready to push ourselves to skate a fast and clean program. GO TEAM USA!

Dr. Porter

Hey guys, it's Annaleigh!

Early Friday morning at 4 a.m., and California Gold met at LAX to catch the four-hour flight to Detroit. After a smooth and very sleepy flight, we quickly checked into our hotel and hurried to prepare our novice team for their official practice. We cheered them on as they skated their Wizard of Oz program beautifully and then headed to Noodles & Company, a delicious restaurant that we don't have many of on the West Coast. Our long day still wasn't over; we practiced late at night so we could get in our ice time before official practice the next morning. Despite the fact that we were all exhausted from the plane and rushing from place to place, we had a spectacular practice, with speed and enthusiasm the whole time.

The next morning, we ate breakfast in the hotel lobby, then went to do our hair and makeup for short official practice. Our official practice went extremely well, and we were more than ready to compete. We had some downtime before we had to redo our hair and makeup, so we hung out in our room and had a chance to just relax for a while. Then, as it was time to compete, we got pumped up by doing an off-ice warmup. After skating our short program to Michael Buble’s "I’ve Got the World on a String," we felt amazing! This team has a very unique spirit. I think it is from the passion and determination within each and every skater. In order to come down from this adrenaline high, we got together as a team and did a quick yoga session before bed to relax and put our minds at rest.

On Sunday morning, we were glad to be the last to skate in the long program; it meant we could sleep in a little! But we still got ready quite early to warm up and do hair and makeup for official practice. Our official was a little rough at first, but by the second run-through, we were able to pull it together and push through it. We didn't have as much down time as we did on Saturday, but our team rested, and when we came together for off-ice again, we were eager to compete. Before we stepped out onto the ice, we recited a line from Robin Hood: “Rise and rise again until lambs become lions.” In the movie, Robin Hood's friend asks him what it means, and he responds, “Never give up.” And that's exactly what we did in our long program. We had a couple bobbles and a fall, but we did not stop pushing ourselves until the very end, and we were proud of ourselves for accomplishing that. Now that we have the feedback from the technical specialists and judges, we are ready to work to perfect our program.

This weekend went by so quickly, but I was so happy to be able to meet and catch up with most of my “DREAMmates,” as we call each other. After getting through security at the airport, Audrey, Ashley and I snapped a quick photo before I went running to catch up with my team.

Dr. Porter is always such a quick competition, but there are so many good memories I will walk away with from this weekend. California Gold would like to give a shout out to Chicago Jazz Junior: we're so excited and looking forward to the Cup of Berlin!

Happy Holidays!

Annaleigh

Introducing Annaleigh Yahata

Hi! My name is Annaleigh Yahata, and I am a member of the California Gold senior team. I am a senior at Esperanza High School and plan to attend college next fall majoring in business administration or urban studies.

I first started skating when I was 9 years old. I started out in Saturday group lessons until I saw a synchronized skating team practicing. I was captivated by the girls my age, skating in circles, attached to one another and doing kick lines down the ice.

"That's what I want to do!" I told my mom.

The next thing you know, I was trying out for the synchro team in my rental skates and jeans! I skated on the ICE 'Kateers for six years before I started skating with California Gold. In addition to synchro, I continued to skate singles and competed at regionals at the intermediate level. However, synchro has always been my passion, and I love everything about it: teammates, traveling, running programs until you feel like you're going to pass out and the exhilaration of competing and performing.

My favorite Team USA memory happened in France this past year. We had limited time to see the city, so we raced from one place to the next. It was fascinating to see historic sites from the stained glass of Cathedrale Notre Dame to the panoramic view of Sacre Coeur. At the Musee d'Orsay, we found the most beautiful ballet room and struck a pose. Being in such a beautiful and historic city with the best friends a girl could have was definitely one of my best days.

When I'm not on the ice, I love dancing. I have been dancing since I was 3 years old and have never stopped loving it. My favorite genre of dance is contemporary since it is open for interpretation and allows the dancer to get lost in the movement. In my spare time, I like creating cupcakes. Many of the cupcake decorating ideas start from cupcake decorating books given to me as gifts from those calling me "the cupcake girl." I volunteer at my church working with children at summer school and service events. I also love taking pictures and scrapbooking. Right now, I have four scrapbooks and am guilty of having taken more than 5,000 photos in 2010 alone.

Here are some of my favorites:

Favorite sports team: Los Angeles LAKERS!! Woot woot!

Favorite cities: San Francisco and Santorini, Greece

Favorite musician/band: Florence + The Machine

Favorite movie: Miss Congeniality

Favorite books: Harry Potter

Favorite TV show: I can't decide! It's between Gilmore Girls and White Collar.

Favorite vacation spot: Greece

Favorite food: This is probably a question I will never be able to answer, but right now it's clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.

Favorite place I’ve traveled for skating: Rouen, France

Favorite quote: "All you need is love. But a little chocolate now and then doesn't hurt." - Charles M. Schulz