World Junior Team Selection Recap from Skyliners!

January has arrived and our competitive season is now in full swing! This weekend marked our first event of 2013, the World Junior Team Selection competition in Fraser, Michigan. We flew in Wednesday evening and I must say it was quite warm for all the times I have visited Michigan in the winter: a surprising high of 50 degrees! It was hard to believe it was January. On Thursday our team was able to relax a little in the morning before our practice at the University of Michigan. At the rink we got our feet back under us after traveling Wednesday and had a great practice. I definitely felt confident and excited to compete after we skated. Afterward we headed to Olive Garden for a team dinner to celebrate our teammate’s Sweet 16. We all enjoyed the unlimited salad and breadsticks and back at the hotel we had birthday cookies. To finish the day, we did a little team bonding by watching some funny youtube videos with our coaches and team moms. Everyone got in a lot of good laughs before heading to bed.

Friday night we competed our short. Before skating, we loosened up by singing our ritual songs, “Defying Gravity” and “The Call”, dancing to “Sexy and I Know It”, and my personal favorite, singing “God Bless the USA” to get in the spirit. Our short program performance felt amazing. I always feel so elegant in our lavender dresses and our inspiring music reminds me why I love to skate. We skated clean and earned our highest score. The kiss and cry was exhilarating as we jumped, hugged and screamed after hearing the scores. We were incredibly proud of our performance and pumped for the free skate.

Saturday we got up very early for a quick unofficial practice. Because the rink was so cold we decided to wear pants under our dresses. For official practice that morning, we decided we liked the new look and made a fashion statement by wearing the pants with dresses. Official practice went well and we got to relax at the hotel before competing. That night we were excited and ready to compete; we enjoyed singing songs and doing the YMCA before stepping on the ice. Although we did not have our ideal long program skate and had a few technical mistakes, it is always fun to perform our West Side Story program. After anxiously awaiting results in the locker room, we were overjoyed when we were told to put our skates on to greet our fellow Junior World Team members on the ice. Congratulations to the Lexettes on their great performances! After posing for pictures, we were given our worlds jackets, which was an awesome surprise. We are honored to be representing the USA in Finland with the Lexettes in March. As of now we are working hard and getting excited for the French Cup which is just 2 weeks away!

Well that’s all to report for now, until next time!

Dana 

Miami University Dr. Porter 2011

Hey Everyone,

After many weeks of practice and anxiously awaiting our first opportunity to show off our programs, the competition season has officially begun. Early Friday morning, all three of the Miami teams gathered at the rink for a competition simulation. This gave us the opportunity to see the latest versions of our programs and give each other the final boost before the weekend’s event.

We arrived in Ann Arbor on Friday afternoon and headed to the Cube for a quick unofficial practice. Walking into the rink for the first time on Friday was almost a surreal feeling, as we had been anticipating this moment for a long time. Seeing all of our parents gathered in the small, cold varsity rink bleachers, decked out in red and white to cheer us on for just a short unofficial practice, made us feel so lucky to have our own little “fan club”. Their support means the world to us.

The next morning we had an early wake-up call for official practice. As we entered the Cube this time, it was crowded with teams and fans, giving us the competitive feeling we had been looking forward to. We were excited to put our programs out there on competition ice for the first time. The practice left us feeling very confident and excited going into the competition that night. It was a lot of fun to see familiar faces around the rink, including former coaches and teammates, friends, and family.

The short program competition was definitely one of the highlights of the weekend and a memory that will stick with us all season. The stands were completely packed and full of excitement, and it was so amazing to perform our high-energy short program for such an enthusiastic crowd. We greatly appreciated the overwhelming response that we received from the crowd as we exited the ice. It was a special night for us because it was our first opportunity to come together as a team and show everyone what we have been working so hard to accomplish. I think we can speak for the whole team in saying that the feeling we had after finishing our short program was exactly the one that we had been hoping for. It was even more special to learn that we had won the event that night, something that our coach alerted us that Miami hadn’t achieved since 2006.

Before heading back to the hotel, we went to the stands to surprise our collegiate team and cheer them on for their official practice. As they took the ice, we went crazy cheering them on as if it were the competition itself. It is such an awesome thing to have all three teams be so supportive of each other. We really are a close-knit family, and this is just one example that demonstrates Miami’s motto of love and honor. We went to sleep that night feeling like we had set a great tone for the season and fired up to compete our unique long program the next day.

We took the adrenaline and confidence from the first day of competition and channeled it towards our long program from the moment that we took the ice. We completely transformed ourselves into our Gypsy character and competed a strong, dynamic long program that we were very proud of. We were very pleased with our overall score for the weekend of 174.25 and ecstatic when we learned that we had won the senior division and were presented the Dr. Porter Cup.

It was definitely a “Golden” weekend for all of Miami Skating and a wonderful way to start out our season. We are so excited to get back to practicing and preparing for the next event. We can’t wait to see what this year will bring; it is sure to be a special one! Best of luck to all teams this year! The 2011-2012 synchro season is officially in full swing!

Over and Out from the Ice³,

A² (Ashleigh & Ashley)

Miami Worlds Update 3

Well, we can certainly say skating our first World Championship performance lived up to our expectations.

As we walked toward the entrance to the ice for the short program both of us couldn’t help but shed a few tears. It was overwhelming and a true honor to be standing rink side realizing as we looked out into the stands with a packed audience that we are participating in something that is so few and far between. We were truly honored and humbled as we stepped foot on the ice and they announced “Team USA 2.”

We kept hearing from our teammates that had been to worlds before that the experience was one that couldn’t be described, and until now we didn’t know what that meant. After competing short we truly understand now that words really don’t do it justice, it’s just something you need to be a part of.

We saw lots of Finnish flags swarming the arena, along with large sections of proud U.S. parents and fans. The music began and instantly the entire audience began clapping in time to the music. It was really incredible to have the whole arena cheering us on, rather than just the USA section. Everyone obviously has their favorites, but for the most part, they’re all here because they share a common love for skating. That was something that really made the experience unique. For 15 of us, this was our first World Championship skate. We put out a solid performance and were happy with the way we delivered.

After we skated, we got to sit in the stands and cheer on the Haydenettes. They, along with the rest of the last group, did an awesome job. It was an incredible evening of skating and we’re looking forward to what the free skate has to offer.

Back in the hotel today after our free skate official practice, we were stopped in the lobby for a pep talk from Scott Hamilton. He had great words of advice, as always, but one of the best parts of our conversation with him was talking about the similar experiences we shared working with choreographer, Sarah Kawaraha. We talked about how in painting the picture of our free skate, at first it seems like a confused mess full of choreography that we have no idea how to do. Then all of a sudden we look back on the season and realize we finally got the steps down and the heads and arms all work together the way they’re supposed to! It was an amazing moment to cherish, and something we certainly won’t forget. With just a little bit left the competition, we’re really soaking it all in, enjoying every moment.

Love and honor,

Taylor and Sarah

Worlds Update: Miami Day 2

Hello again,

Wednesday’s practices were off to a great start. It was nice to get our feet under us and see the arena. We had practice at 4:30 and 9:00 pm. In between we sat in the arena and watched the Japanese, Russian, and Swedish teams practice. By the time we got back to the hotel it was 10:00 pm. We had a late dinner with fantastic food and lots of variety. After dinner we went straight to bed.

Thursday mornings’ practice went well too. We practiced the short program full run-through and sections on the main ice. . It was nice to cheer on the Haydenettes as they took the ice immediately after our practice. After our first practice we came back to the hotel for video review and lunch. Our second practice was later in the afternoon, and we focused on the free skate. We’ve been really pleased with our progress at each practice and feel good about going into the competition. After a short break at the hotel, we headed back to the arena for the draw. It was an awesome ceremony with more than one hundred Finish skaters taking part in the event. From pre-juvenile through senior, the skaters were on the ice together performing a program with neon tank tops, black tights and glow lights. To top it off, the skaters were accompanied by a live singer performing at the side of the arena. As for the draw, the skaters formed a human number of the skate order for each team. Miami drew 15th and Haydenettes 16th. What are the odds we’d be skating back to back?

Dinner was a bit chaotic tonight, as all the teams were filing into the hotel at the same time after the draw. It’s interesting to have so many teams from multiple countries all packed into one area, all speaking different languages, coming from different backgrounds, but all here for the same reason. Hearing a mixture of Italian, Swedish, Finnish, and more being spoken around us is such a great experience because we’re thrown into something bigger than we’ve ever been a part of. It truly reminds us of how honored and excited we are to be here to represent our country! We’re looking forward to getting the competition started tomorrow evening with the short program!

Stay tuned,

Sarah & Taylor

Miami Worlds Update: Day 1

Mao from Finland!

After traveling from Ohio to Detroit, followed by Amsterdam and then Finland, we finally arrived in Helsinki. We weren’t sure if we were going to make our flight from Amsterdam, as we had barely any time to catch the next flight. Some of us were sprinting through the airport while passerby cheered us on!

Although we were a bit jet lagged when we arrived, we had the afternoon to walk around, grab lunch and do some shopping. It was great walking around the downtown area, immersing ourselves in the culture. After touring the city in our groups we came back together for dinner at the hotel, a quick team meeting and then off to bed.

This morning we got to sleep in a little, we had breakfast, offering a large assortment to choose from. We had a team meeting with Haydenettes and did some stretching and off-ice later in the morning. It felt good to get our bodies moving since we don’t skate until later tonight. This evening we have our first practice at the practice arena, and then a second practice in the main arena. We’re looking forward to seeing what the rinks look like and getting on the ice for the first time in Finland!

That’s all for now. More updates to come.

Love and honor,

Taylor and Sarah

JWCC - An Amazing End to an Even More Amazing Season

Hey Everyone,

First I just want to start out by apologizing for the extreme delay in my posting this blog. These past few weeks since the Junior World Challenge Cup have been spent hard at work, trying to finish piles of makeup school work I have from missing 2 weeks in a row between the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships and the JWCC. That being said, the week spent in Switzerland for the 2011 JWCC is one that I know I will never forget.

The morning of the free skate, we were ready to go and knew that the points between 2^nd place and 8^th place were extremely close, so there was definitely room for movement. We skated an official practice that we were all very proud of, and were just hoping for a repeat performance with a little more expression that night. Before we knew it, our last day in Neuchâtel had flown by and it was time to start our final hair and makeup of the year. Soon we were on the bus and heading to the rink, following tradition by singing the songs that we always sing. We had a fun and energy filled warm-up outside of the rink before heading into the locker room. Our expression was brought out during that warm-up and we knew we were ready to “get the job done!” To end our time outside, we gathered in a tight circle and belted “Proud to be an American” at the top of our lungs. This was just what we needed to remind us of the honor that we have been given to be able to represent our country in such a high level competition. In the locker room the energy continued as we sang and were read good luck wishes from skaters and families of the younger Skyliner lines. This meant so much to us and got us completely ready to take the ice.

Taking the ice was unbelievable. You could just feel the whole crowd behind us, hoping that we skated our best. For me, this performance was so important and special because it was my last skate with this team, which really became like sisters to me. After doing the signal and hitting my opening pose, I just had to slip in an “I love you girls!” before the music began. The program felt very strong and the performance factor seemed higher than ever before. I was literally skating my heart out and trying to leave it all out on the ice. Getting off the ice after another performance of a life time, I could not have been more proud of my teammates. Personally, I am not someone who ever cries, no matter how happy I am, but that night, after that program, with those teammates by my side, I cried. It was such a special performance and an amazing way for me to end 4 amazing years with the Skyliners junior team. We were all so proud of each other and all that we accomplished this season. It truly was the best season ever, and at that point it really didn’t matter to us where we ended up overall that night.

We quickly headed up to the stands to watch the final group of teams compete. As Braemar took the ice, we went wild and displayed our USA pride for our teammates. They skated their “Alice in Wonderland” program beautifully and it was absolutely the best performance of their season. We were so proud of them, and when their score came up, it was almost certain that they would receive a World medal. We could not have been happier for them. As the competition came to an end and Team Braemar took the ice to get their bronze medals, we all stood at the railing and cheered at the top of our lungs once again. This was amazing for both Team Braemar and the U.S. Congrats again Team Braemar! Way to make our country proud!

Looking back on my final season on Skyliners, I could not have asked for anything more. A National Championship and 5^th place in the world… Wow! This was an unbelievable season filled with memories and friendships that I know will never fade away.

From Junior World Challenge Cup to the World Synchronized Skating Championships, from Switzerland to Finland, I want to wish the Team USA World Team, Haydenettes and Miami University, safe travels next week as they head overseas. Good Luck and I know that you girls will be beautiful and represent us well! I wish I could be there, but will be watching and cheering from home!

Love Always,

Ashley Mulhern

California Here We Come!

The Miami University Collegiate team arrived in Ontario, Calif. Thursday afternoon, just in time to come cheer on our junior team at the junior Short event. Before the event started, the DREAMmates had a very special opportunity to present the awards for the juvenile and intermediate medalists. It was very exciting to share such great moments with the younger skaters and honor all the teams.



After the awards, the competition returned right away with the junior short programs. The Miami junior team was full of energy and excitement druing their skate and we were so glad we could be there to support them. The team had a great night's rest and definitely enjoyed sleeping in on Friday morning. We headed to one of the unofficial practice arenas that afternoon, where we had a great first practice getting back on our feet after traveling. That night, we went to watch the senior team perform their short program, as well as the junior free skate event.

Up bright and early Saturday morning, it was finally time for the Collegiate team to take the official ice. Our practice ran very smoothly, which helped fuel our motivation to perfrom later that night.


We headed back to the competition rink that evening ready to take the ice. Everyone loved being able to warm up outside in the California sun in just a T-shirt instead of layers of jackets. After walking through the program off ice, we entered the locker with great anticipation to perform our "Brazilian Carnival" program. We stepped onto the ice, and before we knew we were already hitting the ending pose! The team had a clean skate, full of emotion, fun, and interaction within the team and with the audience in the arena. We waited for the last two teams to skate and then we found out the most incredible news- we had won the 2011 U.S. Synchronized Skating collegiate title! This marked the 7th consecutive win for Miami University in the collegiate event, which is the highest consecutive record for any team in the United States. Excitement and thrill ran through the team and we couldn't wait for the awards ceremony and to see all of our supporters that had come to cheer us on. This competition was extra special for me, being from San Diego, CA, because many family members and friends were able to see me skate and to share this joy with me!

Spring break was the week after the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships for us, so I was super excited to stay home in California and to bring some teammates with me! We had a fun filled week up and down the coast of Southern California, touring various places including La Jolla Shores, Julian, downtown San Diego, and DISNEYLAND!!

This has been such an unforgettable season. CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL TEAMS! Now we wish the Miami University senior team and the Haydenettes the best of luck at the 2011 World Championships next month in Helsinki, Finland. GO USA!

California Dreaming

Hi Followers!

So sorry it has taken so long to get out our U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship blog, but it has been a busy few weeks!! Plus, now that all of the synchro chat has died down it will give everyone something to read and reminisce on!

The Haydenettes left for California EARLY on Wednesday morning; we had to meet at the Hayden Ice Rink at 4 am. The local skaters from the Ice Mates, Lexettes, and Haydenettes boarded the bus and headed towards Logan Airport. We met the rest of our teams at the airport, and checked in. We had an extremely long flight to LAX. We landed and were all anxious to get out in the California weather! We boarded buses and headed out on the hour drive to Ontario, our final destination for the weekend! The Lexettes and Haydenettes had Panera for lunch before heading to the competition rink to cheer on our juvenile team (Mini Mates) at official practice. We were able to rest up before heading to our own practices. We had practice late at a rink about a half hour away. Both the Lexettes and Haydenettes had strong practices and we were more than ready to get in bed!

Thursday the Haydenettes had a long day! We woke up and ate a nice breakfast and headed to the rink. We watched Ice Mates and Lexettes official practices. Both were very strong and we were excited to see the 2011 U.S. Syncrhonized Skating Championships had really begun. We then enjoyed a bit of fresh air and lunch before heading back to watching the Mini Mates compete. We were so proud of them! This was their first U.S. Synchronized Skating Championship since 2008 and following their second place finish at the Eastern Sectional Championships, they had a beautiful skate. We returned to the hotel to prepare for our practice. We did hair and make-up and packed our suits for the nights junior competition. We heard the Mini Mates placed 3rd which was incredible and well-deserved. We had a solid 45 minute practice and felt anxious to compete the next day! Noelle and I headed to the rink to participate in the award ceremony for the intermediate division. It was such an honor to distribute medals to the other competitors and be a part of such a great experience. Personally we both felt distributing medals to competitors was an honor because it made us appreciate and realize how far we have developed. We both can remember our first U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships! After the ceremony we changed into our suits and headed to dinner to meet the rest of the Haydenettes. We finished the night with watching the junior Short flight. The Lexettes sat in third place, with a fabulous skate!

Friday morning begun early! We headed straight to the rink for official practice! We got to warm up in the sunshine and slowly began to wake-up and focus ourselves on the task at hand. We skated an extremely strong official practice that felt dynamic. It was great to stretch out our skating on the official surface. We were on fire and ready to compete! We returned to the hotel to eat some breakfast and relax. We were able to watch Lexettes free skate official and eat lunch before having to start our competition preparations. We added some more beads to our normal make-up and had to leave extra time to ensure we were able to apply everyone's beads correctly. Short program day at U.S. Championship is always very exciting for the Haydenettes. We get to wear the "CB" jackets. These jackets were donated to the Haydenettes in the 80's and we have been wearing them since then! It is incredible to see all the names on the insides of the jackets, it makes you feel a part of long tradition. While wearing the jackets you feel proud to represent all the past and future Haydenettes! On top of all that its so fun to sport such a retro jacket! Upon following our normal traditions, we headed to to competition rink, where we got to congratulate the Ice Mates, the new U.S. novice champions, before opening to senior competition, skating first out of nine. We were very pleased with our skate and were thrilled to hear our scores! We took some great pictures in our CB jackets, ate dinner, and headed back to the rink to cheer for the Lexettes free skate and watch the junior event. The Lexettes skated what we thought was a flawless skate, having the entire Hayden crowd mesmerized, we are very proud of them and their fourth consecutive 3rd place finish at the U.S. Championships.

Saturday we had a later wake-up call, which was nice. It allowed us to catch up on some much need sleep since the week was wrapping up! We had some breakfast and headed to the competition rink for our official practice. We were scheduled to skate last in the senior event. We had a great official practice and left the rink in high spirits! Saga always likes to make sure that we get fresh air before we compete, instead of staying confined in our hotel rooms, and since we were in California it was perfect! As a team we headed to the Victoria Garden's, an outdoor shopping mall about 15 minutes from our hotel. This allowed the team to get the fresh air we needed, keep active, and clear our minds for the competition later that night. Some of our team members even took a horse and buggy ride around! We really enjoyed ourselves in the California atmosphere. We were sporting our new Burlesque t-shirts with our new names! We were really in the spirit and more than excited to compete.

Heading back to the hotel, we had a quick dinner and some rest time to really settle in the competition mode. We prepared as we normally do with our traditions and our hair and make-up. We were dazzled up in our competition make-up with our new Burlesque hats to get into the mood. It was our time to compete and everything felt just right, we were ready as a team. Skating last, the ice was a bit rough, but we were fired up and had been anticipating this night the entire week. With just a few small and minor mistakes, we were extremely pleased with our skate. It was one of those skates that is just so much fun to skate and enjoy. We heard the scores, and were ecstatic. We found out we were the 2011 U.S. champions, and which added up to make the Haydenettes 19 time U.S. champions. Our team had such an amazing experience from that point on. The award ceremony was special, following with a new World Team photo, a cover shot, and lastly the World Team reception!


More is to come from Noelle on our preparations for the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland!!

Jenna

2011 JWCC Neuchatel, Switzerland Update 2

Hey Everyone!

Thursday was an awesome day. We celebrated three birthdays here in Neuchâtel; our team doctor, Dr. White, Skyliners’ Brooke Abbott, and Team Braemar’s Lily Schroeder. Braemar woke up early for practice, but Skyliners got to sleep in and have a nice relaxing breakfast. Then we headed back into town for more shopping. We explored chocolate shops and clothing stores and enjoyed the scenery of the town. At lunch, we sang and had an amazing chocolate cake for Brooke’s birthday. After lunch we went back to the hotel to prepare for practice.

Our practice was about a half hour bus ride away, in the mountains. The drive was beautiful. When we got to the rink, there was a small debacle over the ice. A Swiss citizen was under the impression that there was a public session, even though we were on the rink’s schedule. He did not take the news well when our teammate Paige explained to him in French that he had to leave the ice and, no, we could not share it. Other than that practice went extremely well and we were confident going into the start of the competition.

The event officially started Thursday night with the draw. We all enjoyed the performance by a local Swiss marching band. To chose skate order, the captains grabbed chocolate bars that were numbered. Originally,

This morning we woke up nice and early for official practice. Our practice went very well and we were so excited to compete. Walking back from the rink, we took the scenic route by the lake and got a lot of great pictures. We spent the rest of the afternoon resting and preparing for competition.

Going to the rink we felt our normal competition emotions; excitement, nervousness, but most of all, pride. We love hearing “Representing the United States of America. . .” and were anxious to be introduced that way. In the locker room we relished putting on our short program competition dresses for the last time. We have grown to love the bright orange and pink costumes, so getting dressed was a little bitter sweet. On the ice, we performed very well, but technically it was not our best. Team Braemar is currently in fifth place and Skyliners are in sixth. Tomorrow, Skyliners skate thirteenth and Braemar seventeenth. We are looking forward to getting to cheer on Braemar after we skate!

Now, it is bedtime in Neuchâtel.

GO USA!!!

Audrey and Ashley

2011 JWCC Neuchatel, Switzerland Update1

Bonjour from Neuchâtel,

We arrived in Switzerland at around 7:30am on Tuesday morning. Both Skyliners and Team Braemar were excited to get off the plane after a surprisingly short flight from Newark to Geneva. We went through customs, added another stamp to our passports, and then hopped on a bus for the 2 hour ride to our hotel. Once at the hotel we got settled in just in time to take a trip to the local super market and get some much needed cases of water for the week to come. Soon it was time for lunch and a walk to the rink just to get a lay of the land.

Everything here is beautiful, especially the view from our hotel which is right on the water. Before we knew it, we had changed into our practice clothes and were headed back to the rink, but this time for our first practice of the competion. As we were all exhausted from the travel and being awake for so long, the practice went well. Before we were finally able to let our heads hit the pillow, we filled ourselves with a pizza dinner. Once back at the hotel we were more than ready to go to bed and get some much needed sleep.

Waking up Wednesday morning, we were all very excited to try the breakfast at the hotel, and it was clear that none of us were left disappointed. After breakfast, we walked over for the rink and warmed up for our first practice of the day in the official arena. This practice went well and we were happy with our progress from the night before. We then enjoyed a short 1 hour break before we took a walk down the street for lunch. Before going back to the rink for our second practice, we were able to spend a little bit of time shopping downtown. The area was so cute and there was a lot of fun shopping. Our time there ended way too quickly and we are all hoping to go back and explore the rest of the town tomorrow. We then returned to the rink and hopped onto the ice. Our run-throughs started off a little bit shaky, but by the end we were feeling great and expressing to those watching in the stands.

Back at the hotel we had some time before dinner where about half of us went to check out the art museum across the street from our hotel. Later, we met team Braemar in the lobby of the hotel for an all Team USA dinner at the hotel restaurant. We had a lot of fun mixing up the teams and laughing and telling each other stories the whole time. By 8 o’clock we were all tired once again and headed up to our rooms to relax and get ready for bed.

Excited for another fun day in Switzerland

Goodnight,

Ashley and Audrey

2011 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships

Hey Everyone,

From the moment that we got off the plane in California, it was clear that this competition was going to be a special one for the Skyliners. We were confident and ready to compete. We started off the week with a few unofficial practices at both the arena and at a local rink. They all went very well and helped us to feel very comfortable going into the competition.

As Thursday rolled around, so did our short program official practice, the juvenile and intermediate competitions, and the junior short program competition. We were very happy with our official practice and knew that we just needed to turn up the expression for the competition that night. Later in the day we headed back to the rink to watch the juvenile division. It was great to see the competitors just having a ball out on the ice without a care in the world. This was a wonderful reminder of where we all started so many years ago, and how far we have come since then. The Skyliners juvenile team put out their best skate all year, full of enthusiasm and expression, earning them the gold medal.
This was extremely exciting for all of us, as it was the first National gold for the Skyliners organization.

As we waited for the intermediate competition to begin, we got the chance to walk around the rink and visit with friends from all over the country. Returning to our seats we heard the familiar tune of the flash mob, which we then preformed alongside several teams in the stands. The intermediate competition was very strong and the Skyliners intermediate team was able to finish with a silver medal in their first season ever as a team. As the rest of the team went back to the hotel to begin hair and makeup for the short program, Audrey and I stayed at the rink and were honored to have the opportunity to hand out the trophies for the juvenile and intermediate champions. This was a very cool experience that we were able to share with our Dreammates. Finally it was time for the junior short program and we were so excited to be skating last in the event. Getting off the ice, we were all happy with our performance, but most pleased with the amount of expression we were able to bring to it. As the scores came up, we could not believe that we had just earned a 63, our highest score all year, and were sitting in 1st place.

Friday morning we skated a strong official practice and knew that we would need to keep up the same energy all day in order to achieve our goal of improving upon our 2nd place finish from last year. In the middle of the day, we went back over to the rink to watch our novice team compete. We cheered loudly as they entered the ice and hoped for a great skate. They put out an extremely strong program, which made us very proud and landed them in 4th place. At this point we could not have been more thrilled with the Skyliners organization as a whole for medaling in every level so far, and now it was our turn. Waiting in the locker room before walking rink side, the spirit and enthusiasm were unlike anything I has seen before. I knew that this was our time and we were ready to go out and skate the program of our lives. From the minute that we stepped out onto the ice, the crowd roared, and it was clear that they were behind us 100%. The program flew by and before I knew it we were hitting the ending pose in shock of how we had just skated. Although there were still 3 more teams to skate after us, when our score of 127 came up, we all went wild in the kiss and cry. It was unreal to us. Waiting in our locker rooms for the final teams to skate, we opened to curtains in between them, joining together to perform the flash mob dance once again, this time in our skates and with Chicago Jazz and Team Braemar. Soon Josh came in and relayed the amazing news that we had done it, and we were now U.S. champions. It was unbelievable to us all. Standing on the podium, so many things were running through my head, but two of the most important were how extremely proud I was of my team and what we had just accomplished, and the second was the fact that dreams really do come true with hard work, determination, and passion. We then had a blast taking our Junior World Team picture with Team Braemar, and heading up to a reception where we received our World Team jackets. It was an incredible experience and certainly one that none of us will ever forget.

As I sit here on the plane to Switzerland with all 39 of my fellow Team USA teammates, it is still so surreal what happened last week, but none of us are stopping there. We are all ready to go again and show the world what we’ve got, feeling even more confident than before. I am extremely honored to be representing our country in the coming week, and hope to make everyone at home proud.
More from Neuchatel and the 2011 JWCC,

Ashley Mulhern

2011 Spring Cup Final Update

Hey Everyone,

Back in the States and a week later, and I can still feel the energy and excitement that all 4 US teams brought to the 2011 Spring Cup.

Saturday morning, we woke up in Milan to skate our short program official practice. The practice went well, but we knew that we could perform better that night for the competition. The rest of the day we waited, until finally hair and makeup rolled around and the excitement started to flow through us all. On our walk to the rink we blasted our Bose box and belted out our traditional pump-up songs. Before we knew it we were lined up rink side. Then we took the ice, enthusiastically expressing our way through the short program. We were very happy with our score of a 55. We quickly took off our skates and headed for the stands where American flags were handed out. As Evolution and Hockettes took the ice, we cheered loudly and waved our flags proudly for their great skates. Once all 3 junior teams were together, we were ready to cheer on Miami University, who had a wonderful senior short program skate. Soon it was time to sleep and prepare ourselves for the long.

Sunday morning it rained as we walked to the rink for our official practice, but as our performance the night before showed, “nothing could rain on our parade!” So we all trudged to the rink with 20 umbrellas over our heads. Later, as it continued to rain, we went back to the rink, once again blasting our music, ready to compete. As we took the ice, I looked up into the stands and spotted Evolution and Hockettes cheering us on. Their cheers meant so much to us and pushed us even further in our performance. Once again we were very happy with our score of 102, but even more than that, we were thrilled that the Hockettes had moved up after the short program and all 3 U.S. junior teams had just swept the podium. Back up in the stands we cheered on Miami as they skated through their free skate, earning the bronze medal.

We took the ice for the awards ceremony with huge smiles on our faces. Standing on the podium we were handed a beautiful blown glass trophy that was much heavier than we expected. Turning and putting our hands over our hearts, we watched 3 American flags rise in synchronicity as we proudly sang our nation anthem. I was overcome with pride in our country and honored to be a part of Team USA. We took picture after picture with our own teams, our friends from other teams, and then as a full Team USA team.

The competition and trip as a whole were amazing and all of the US teams did a phenomenal job. I had such a great time traveling with, catching up with, and making new friends on Evolution, Hockettes, and Miami. Looking forward to seeing everyone in California for the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in less than 2 weeks!

Ashley

Spring Cup: Miami Day 4

As we walked into the arena on Saturday evening we were very excited to compete our long program and perform for a large audience once again. We were thrilled to hear our Junior teams took first, second and third on the podium, giving us confidence going into the free skate.

During our performance we started off really strong, and had one unexpected fall during one of our lifts. The girls reacted really quickly and got right back into the program with more energy than ever and skated the rest of the program strongly. It was a great learning experience and gave the team a chance to know how to deal with the unexpected and recover quickly.

We placed third and were very proud to be standing on the podium at the award ceremony. It was great to be on the ice with our other US teams and take pictures with everyone, especially our other DREAM-mates, Ashley and Audrey. We also had a great time interacting with the teams from other countries every time they asked to get a group picture with us!

Afterwards, we headed back to the hotel for a buffet dinner with our parents and in the morning headed home with Evolution on our plane.

We had a great time in Milan and were proud to represent our college and country oversees. We look forward to seeing all the teams at the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in just two and half weeks!

Love and honor,

Taylor and Sarah

Spring Cup: Miami Day 3

Hello again,

Yesterday morning we woke for breakfast and had left the hotel for a strong official practice. We came back to the hotel to have lunch, pasta with marinara – our favorite! Afterward, we had some down time for relaxing and homework, and then later got ready for the short program competition. We had dinner, also our favorite meal, and then left the rink to compete at 7:45 pm.

The competition was pretty late; we didn’t take the ice till 9 p.m. We had a strong skate and saw improvement in our performance and are in second place after the skate! The other Team USA members and our parents were very loud and showed their spirit and enthusiasm as we skated. They were so excited for us we couldn’t hear the count off in the warm-up block!

A highlight to the skate was looking up into the stands during our moves-in-the-field section and seeing skaters from Hockettes, Skyliners and Evolution cheering loudly to support their country. One thing we appreciate about international competitions is being welcomed and wished good luck by the other countries with goodie bags of candy and chocolate. Skyliners were nice enough to offer us their extra pizza when we came back to the hotel. I think everyone can say it was one of the highlights in terms of food for the weekend.

After a good official practice this morning, we’re excited to perform our free skate today and see how the competition plays out.

Love and honor,

Taylor & Sarah 

Spring Cup: Miami Day 2

Hello again!

Yesterday we had our first practice and had the opportunity to warm up outside with the sun beaming down on our faces. Our practice went well but didn’t go exactly as we had hoped. We had minor injuries during our practice and two of our alternates had to jump in. They did a great job and were on their toes ready for anything. With 15 minutes to spare, our injured skaters put the pain aside and joined us back on the ice to finish practice.

After our time at the rink, we went back to the hotel had lunch, did homework and relaxed. In the evening, our captain went to the draw for the short program, where she drew first. Afterward, we had a big Team USA dinner with Hockettes, Skyliners and Evolution. We took a team picture around the staircase banister in our Spring Cup T-shirts designed by Skyliners and DREAM member Ashley Mulhern. We finished our evening with a stretching session with our dance instructor.

We look forward to competing first in the short program tonight.

Stay tuned for results!

Taylor & Sarah