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!