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

From Miami: A Post-Nationals, Pre-Worlds Update

Hello Followers!

An apology on the delay, as life’s marathon has been rather challenging to keep up with.

First, let’s have a quick recap on the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships from our perspective.

The event was amazing! There was so much energy the whole week that we couldn’t help but to feed off of it when we competed. After placing second in the short program we were completely ecstatic at the chance to come back again the next night and claim our spot on the world team!

Leading up to the free skate we were all so fired up to skate. We couldn’t wait to get out there and show everyone our passion for this sport. We will never forget that moment in the locker room when we found out we were in second place - we don’t think we’ve ever cried such tears of joy in our lives!

For Taylor, it was a really awesome experience to have received this honor in her home state. She loved being supported by both current Miami teammates and old ICE‘Kateer teammates throughout the week.

At awards it was a great privilege to be given our medals by former Miami skater, and DREAM program founder, Becky Search! Afterwards we went to the World Team meeting where we were given our sweet new USA jackets! We heard from a few officials what they had to say about the competition and a few words on Worlds. We finished up the night with a celebration dinner with our parents and headed off with high spirits into Spring Break.

As second semester of school is speeding up, with four weeks left in the semester, so has our training on and off the ice. We’ve made great progress since U.S. Championships and are moving forward in the right direction everyday. Monday, Dan Krueger came to our practice to give us constructive feedback to focus on with our few practices left before the World Championships. For fifteen of the twenty skaters, it will be our first time as World Competitors. We are humbled and overjoyed to be apart of such a special honor and look forward to representing the United States in Helsinki next week. We’re excited to see the atmosphere of the World scene, as we’ve heard it will be like nothing we have seen before. We ordered some new apparel, just for the event and of course can’t wait to put on our World Team jackets.

Best of luck to our Team USA counterparts, the Haydenettes, as they prepare their final week before Worlds as well! We look forward to being in Finland with them and will be sure to report to everyone how the week is going.

Love and honor,

Taylor and Sarah

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

Spring Cup: Miami Day 1

Hi Everyone,

Greetings from Milan! We are excited to be here for the Spring Cup and are looking forward to competing tomorrow and Sunday.

Our journey to Italy began on Wednesday afternoon. After an early morning practice, time in the dance studio and a few morning classes, we boarded the bus in Oxford around noon and were on our way. We flew from Ohio to the JFK airport and then took a direct flight to Milan. When we got to Milan it was about 9:30 am and we were off to tour the city for the day.

Fortunately for us one of our skaters on Miami's collegiate team is from Milan. Her mom met us in the city and provided us with some yummy European snacks and helped to guide us on our way. We toured through a castle, met up with our parents for lunch and some shopping, saw La Scala (the most famous Opera house in THE WORLD, where, we learned, our dance coach once performed a ballet number!) and saw the ‘Last Supper’ painting. After a full day of touring directly off a 6-hour flight, we were exhausted and fell asleep immediately after getting on the bus.

We checked into the hotel, had dinner and then went straight to bed.This morning we went to breakfast in the hotel feeling well rested and ready to go. Also enjoying the delicious pasties, fresh fruit and nutella were some of our fellow U.S. teams, the Skyliners and Evolution. This afternoon we have our first practice. We’re excited to see the rink and step foot on the ice.

Look for more updates from Milan as the weekend progresses.

Ciao!

Taylor & Sarah

Dr. Porter: Lauren, Sarah and Taylor

The entire week leading up to Dr. Porter, our teams were all atwitter with pre-competition jitters. We had great difficulty containing our excitement to perform at our first competition of the season. With nearly 12 weeks of training under our belt, and new Adidas warm-ups, we were off to conquer our first competition of the season. Skaters and coaches alike can attest to our enthusiasm for and anticipation leading to finally competing and entering a crowded arena filled with skaters, parents and fans. 

After a fairly short drive from Oxford, Ohio, to Ann Arbor, Mich., the senior team was fortunate to have a teammate from the area open her home for a team dinner. Our parents graciously made an Italian-style dinner and holiday desserts. It was warming just to know that we have such a supportive group of parents on our team. As we finished our meals and headed out the door, they patted us on the backs with encouraging words for the weekend.

The most memorable event of the competition for Taylor and Sarah was skating the senior short program. The entire team was alive with energy. We were very fortunate to have worked earlier this season with Paul Guerrero, who gave us some exercises to connect with each other before we skate. As we left the locker room and headed toward the arena to compete, glistening in various shades of blue, we noticed there wasn’t a single volunteer or skater hanging around "backstage." Every single person was sitting in the stands, watching the competition, which only added to the anticipation and excitement to skate. As we took the ice and stood in our warm-up block, we heard the screaming and cheering from just about every section of the arena. On the left were Miami’s collegiate and junior teams cheering with pride. To the right we could see and hear our parents waving red and white flags, excited to see the progress we’d made since they last saw us perform at our parent’s weekend exhibition in early November. Dispersed throughout the arena were other members from U.S. Figure Skating’s DREAM program, signifying the connection of all teams in one place. During the program we would reach one side of the ice, and the teams seated there would smile and cheer as we skated by, showing support for their friends and former teammates. We couldn’t have been happier with our performance and felt our program portrayed our joy and passion for the sport.

Lauren and the Miami collegiate team travelled to Ann Arbor the next morning, arriving just in time to eat lunch with the junior and senior teams. After lunch, the team was excited to watch the junior short event and cheer on the junior team in their first competition! The team had a quick unofficial practice prior to the senior short competition and was able to skate a few sections. The team skated with assurance and excitement as the first competition was finally here. 

Sunday morning the team got to sleep in a little bit before preparing for competition. With hair sewn and make-up on, they departed for the rink ready to perform their Brazilian Carnival program. Dressed in bright orange and blue, the team skated a solid first performance, enjoying every moment of the program. It is always an incredible and warming feeling to look across the ice and catch a teammate’s eye and pass along and receive such positive energy.

The three of us can attest to the pride the Miami skating family shares as we travel as a group of 53 skaters, plus the entourage and coaches. Taylor remembers walking up the stands after the junior team performed, and a man tapped her on the shoulder and told her, “Hey, great job out there!” While Taylor doesn’t compete on the junior team, it shows how easy it is for our skaters to be mistaken for competing on either the junior, collegiate or senior team. We are all one unit, so similar in age, which is something we all love about being a part of Miami skating--skating for love, and skating for honor.

Lauren, Sarah and Taylor

Introducing Taylor Walker

Hey everyone! My name is Taylor Walker, I’m from California, and I skate for Miami University’s senior varsity synchronized skating team. I am a sophomore at Miami, majoring in anthropology. I initially came to college with an undecided major. I had taken an introductory anthropology class in my first semester of freshmen year, and at first thought nothing of it. Toward the end of last year I randomly researched anthropology as a major and thought to myself, “You know what, Taylor, I think this sounds like you!” And on a whim I decided that was the direction my academic life would take!

I began skating when I was 5 years old. As the story goes, I was sitting on the floor watching TV, and it just so happened that a skating show was on. Kristi Yamaguchi was performing, and I instantly fell in love. I called my mom into the room and asked timidly, “Can I do that?” Surprised, she responded with a “Sure” and walked away. About two seconds later, I called her back in and asked, “Can I have a dress just like that?” So it was the sparkle and shimmer that initially drew me in to the sport that now consumes my life...but either way I’m glad it did.

I started synchro about a year after I started skating. For years I balanced both singles and synchro until my junior year of high school, when I decided to turn my focus mainly to the team. In total, I’ve been on four teams; however, the one I attribute most of my life lessons to is the ICE'Kateers, with whom I skated for nine years. Skating with the ICE'Kateers, I developed lifelong friendships and memories that will never fade. The time I spent on this team will forever be referred to as “the good old days.”

Being a part of Team USA provided some pretty great memories, though none of them were really specific moments in time that I can label as “the best.” I would have to say my first experience skating for Team USA was probably the most memorable. We went to Miskolc, Hungary, and it was my first time ever traveling abroad, so everything was new and exciting for me. We took pictures with every sign we saw that wasn’t in English. And we harassed our translators every five minutes to help us say something else in Hungarian. The entire experience--from the food to the people to stepping onto the ice knowing I was skating for my country--was one that I will never forget.

My life outside skating is also a great deal of fun. I spend a lot of time with the friends I've made here at Miami. I was fortunate enough to find a group of friends that loves the outdoors as much as I do. My friend and I created Mighty Adventure Monday. Every Monday we take a “study break” to adventure somewhere we’ve never been before! I am also involved with the campus organization known as Cru, or Campus Crusade for Christ. Last year I was very blessed to have been placed in a room with two girls who were pursuing a relationship with God. They told me what it was all about, and I decided to go with them one Thursday night to a Cru meeting. Since then, my life has changed for the better. I’ve made the decision to give every aspect of my life to God, including skating.

And now the part you’ve been waiting for, my favorites!

Top five most played songs on my iPod right now: I don’t trust this feature on my iPod...I think its lying to me.
Favorite musicians/bands: The Beatles, Mumford & Sons, The Killers, Ingrid Michaelson, Florence + The Machine and many many more!
Favorite movies: Parent Trap, Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Favorite books: Harry Potter
Favorite TV shows: SpongeBob, Gilmore Girls
Favorite vacation spot: I imagine it would be somewhere with lots of open space and no buildings, cars or noises that show proof of human existence
Favorite food: I LOVE Mexican food!
Favorite quote: “I sound my barbaric yawp over the rooftops of the world” --Walt Whitman