End of the Season Sorrows

Hi everyone! We both simply cannot believe that another season has come and gone. For Jenna, it feels as if she is beginning her first season as a Haydenette, not starting her sixth! Where has the time gone?

The Haydenettes busy schedule becomes rather scarce in April and May. Upon returnig from Worlds we get a small break before the end of the season preparation begins. That small break has never stopped us from seeing each other! Whether it be on a freestyle session at Hayden, hanging around in Boston, or even just grabbing a quick meal, we simply can not get enough of each other.

The Hayden Synchronized Skating Teams held their annual banquet on May 1st this year. This is always such a special event where all the Hayden Synchronized Skating Teams gather together to have a meal and celebrate the season. We get to be with the entire HSST club, including coaches, skaters, parents, and beloved honorary members. At the banquet we were able to watch our skates from Worlds, which we hadn't seen yet. It was great to watch the skates with our other teams; it was a bit of deja vu. Each team presented gifts to their coaches and managers, and the senior plaques were awarded as well as the coaches awards. It was finally time to separate into our own team huddles and give out superlatives! This is a small tradition that has been with the Haydenettes for quite some time. The superlatives always bring back bittersweet memories from the season. As the banquet was wrapping up, there were plenty of hugs and tears to go around, but with a great season behind us we still had one more
opportunity to skate our seasons programs.

Hayden Recreation Center holds an annual end of the year ice show called Ice Time. All the Hayden teams participate, and practices begin two weeks before the show. The Haydenettes are always reluctant heading into these practices as they are bittersweet, and we always fear our lack of stamina from our small break after worlds. There is no way to stay in shape for synchro besides skating together with your team! It is always fun to get back on the ice with no pressure, and skate the programs again. With the two Wednesday practices behind us, it was
already show time! We had plenty of fun skating our programs for the last time, and it felt good to be back on the ice with such a great group of young ladies.
Erika Hoffman reminded our team before the seasons end one of our team quotes:

"Love the sport for the pure joy of accomplishment. Love the sport for everything it can teach you about yourself. Love the sport for the feeling of belonging to a group endeavoring to do its best. Love the sport for being involved in a team whose members can't wait to see you do your best. Love the sport for the challenge of working harder than you ever have at something and then harder than that. Love the sport because it takes all team members to give it life. Love the sport because at its best, its tradition will include your contributions. Love the sport because you belong to a long line of fine athletes who have loved it. It is now your legacy. Love the sport so much that you will pass on your love to other athletes who have seen your dedication, your work, your challenges, your triumphs... and then those athletes will, because of you, love the sport. "

To the past and future synchronized skaters, keep this quote alive and always remember the person skating has made you into.

On behalf of the Haydenettes, we would like to thank each and every person who has had faith in us and who has helped us accomplish our goals. We honestly could not have reached our highest potential without the support from our families, friends, fans, and especially U.S. Figure Skating. Thank you all very much for a great and unforgettable season!!


With love,
Jenna and Noelle

Road to Helsinki!

Hey Everyone,

Just thought I'd give you readers an update on how the Haydenettes are preparing for the World Synchronized Skating Championships in Finland in a week!

After the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships in California we came home with much work ahead of us before going to Finland. For the past few weeks we've been training hard as usual, fixing details and video reviewing our programs. We've also had several spirit practices including St. Patricks Day, Hope for Japan day, Neon Day. (see pictures throughout). We are also very excited for this weekend's spirit practices as well :-)

Another exciting event on the Haydenettes March calendar included a visit from one our local news stations, Channel 7. They did a segment on our team and our training for the World Synchronized Skating Championships in April. It was a very cool experience having a news crew at our practice and on the ice with us. Here is the link to the news story: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/sports/12003861830136/meet-the-haydenettes-of-lexinton/

The Haydenettes also paid a visit to the State House in Boson on March 30th. We had a great time meeting our local representatives and were also honored with several certificate citations from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' House members. One our teammates works at the State House and we were lucky to see her office and meet her boss. The Speaker of the House also announced our accomplishments this season to the current House members, as she spoke of how our hard work had paid off this season we received a standing ovation! It was a very exciting day for all of us.

We have only a few practices left before the World Synchronized Skating Championships, and we are all excited to compete in our coach's home country of Finland!

We will keep you updated while were in Finland! Keep your fingers crossed and GO USA!!!

Jenna and Noelle

photo credit: Erika Hoffman

Free Skate from Austria

Hi All!

Drawing last for the free skate, the Haydenettes got to sleep in for the first time all week! We had a wake up call to head to the rink and watch the Lexettes official practice. The Haydenettes were so proud of them! Their official practice was so strong and impressive and we knew they were determined and ready to compete! Upon return to the hotel the Haydenettes completed our hair and make-up for our official practice. Official practice went very well, and we returned to the hotel anxious to watch the video to see what we could improve on for the night's competition.After our competitions preparations, we got to the rink and heard the Lexettes had improved to a third place finished, we were thrilled for them! We had a nice warm-up and we were so excited to put on our fishnet tights! With our new favorite quote from free skate, "It's a life, it's a style, it's a need, it's Burlesque." we were ready to debut ourfree skate to an international crowd! Our skate was extremely expressive, we have improved in our second marks and are thrilled to improve with the expression. We had two falls in the no point intersection but our skaters got up and back in so fast, the team saw no effect the rest of the program. We ended the competition with a second place finish behind Finland's Marigold Ice Unity. They Haydenettes are so proud to be able to compete for the United States and we thought our USA team at this competition was so strong!

After award ceremony we were able to go back to the hotel and have some dinner and hang out at the hotel with the Lexettes and some parents! The Haydenettes and Lexettes left for Munich Airport early the next morning en route to Boston!

Salzburg was beautiful! The Alps were visible from the windows at the Eisarena in Salzburg. Being able to compete in such a beautiful country was incredible!

Keep Posted for our blogs from Easterns!

-Jenna and Noelle (photo credit: Erika Hoffman)

Short Program Day in Austria!

Today the Haydenettes and Lexettes woke up to sunny morning in Salzburg. We ate breakfast and immediately started our hair and make-up for official practice. Once getting to the rink we were able to cheer on the Lexettes at official before we headed to warm-up. Our official practice did not start off so nice, however, we recovered and ended on a strong note!

We headed back to the hotel to watch video, and then were directed to grab lunch at the local supermarket, and rest-up!! Afterwards we started our hair and make-up and our normal traditions and we were off to compete. Taking the ice first in the senior event, we had a very energetic and strong skate, and we all came off the ice very pleased. Our goal is always to improve on our previous skate, and we felt we have done just that!


The Haydenettes then joined the Lexettes and Miami University junior to watch our fellow Team USA members the Starlights. Their short program was also beaming with energy and very crisp!

We drew to skate last in tomorrow night's free skate competition. We are very excited to debut our free skate internationally!!


Goodnight from Austria,
-Jenna and Noelle

Mozart Cup 2011 Haydenettes

Hey its Jenna and Noelle!

We arrived in Munich on Thursday morning and then drove two hours to Salzburg. All of the Haydenettes were excited to be in Austria for the first Mozart Cup! We had our first practice Thursday afternoon at the official arena, where we worked on both the short and long programs. From the ice surface you can see the beautiful mountains topped with fresh snow. It's a gorgeous sight.
After practice we went back to the hotel for dinner. Everyone on the team was amazed at how pretty the sights of the city and countryside of Austria were. We then had a Team USA meeting with the Starlights, Lexettes and several of the USA officials. Off to bed.

Friday
We woke up early for our drive to the unofficial arena an hour and a half away. We watched Nexxice junior for a couple minutes before watching our own Lexettes practice. Then the Haydenettes took the ice for an hour. We had a great practice full of energy for the competition. After our practices we took the bus to the Chapel from the Sound of Music where
the Von Trapp's got married in the movie! The town where the Chapel is located is very cute. All the buildings are different colors and the architecture is stunning. After, we went into downtown Salzburg for some shopping. Throughout the city, there was a large carnival going on where tons of marching bands from all over Europe came to play. They were wearing jester costumes and tons of face paint! We also saw the Croatian and Finnish teams while shopping in some of the popular destinations such as Zara and H&M. After a couple hours shopping we headed back to the hotel for rest and dinner.

Tomorrow is the short program! We are all excited for the competition to start! Good luck to all the teams :-)

Jenna and Noelle

Bryant Park Christmas Tree Lighting and Dr. Porter

Hi, everyone! It's Jenna and Noelle here.

Our strenuous weekend started out in New York City on Thursday for the annual Bryant Park Christmas Tree Lighting. Driving down New York's famous 5th Avenue, the Haydenettes got in the holiday spirit while window shopping from the bus as we rushed through traffic. We opened the Christmas Show skating to "Let it Snow" and "White Christmas." We shivered along the boards in our dazzling new dresses, waiting in anticipation for the band to set up. We then warmed ourselves up with some hot cocoa and tea. We got to chat with Michael Weiss and the Reed siblings, a dance team from Japan, while waiting to perform our short program. Closing the show with our short program, we then helped count down to the lighting of the tree. We got one more enchanting look at the city decked in lights before heading to the bus en route to Boston.

Arriving back in Lexington late Thursday night, we headed to a few skaters' houses for various slumber parties. We were woken up early with a delicious breakfast before heading to the airport. We weren't the only sports team boarding the plane to Detroit. The Harvard men's basketball team just cleared the plane's ceiling (literally) right next to us! After arriving in Detroit, we were able to settle into our rooms, have a quick rest and prepare for our unofficial practice ice. We had a strong practice, but we were all eager to hop in bed!

Saturday morning we woke up to muffins and bagels in the hair and make-up room. We got a chance to eat and get ready for official practice at the Ice Cube. Our official practice was extremely strong. The Haydenettes returned to the hotel feeling confident for the night's performance.

For lunch, we headed to downtown Ann Arbor. This year's team is keen on playing "contact," a guessing game we learned from technical specialist and former Haydenette Caite Renzi. Two of our teammates were able to stump us for a whole 24 hours! On the bus ride back, we practiced our countoff numbers in Finnish, French, Spanish and Japanese.

After arriving back at the hotel, we had a little break before starting our competition preparations. After some Haydenette traditions, we arrived at the rink more than prepared to compete! All in all, our short program was thrilling and exciting for us to compete for the first time. Although we struggled to hear our scores, we saw our parents' excitment and soon realized how well we had done.

Sunday morning came faster than expected, and we were up and at 'em quite early. Long program official practice went well. After some reassuring words from Saga and our teammates, we felt ready to take on our next performance. We quickly packed, got ready and headed back to the rink to compete our long program.

Skating to Cirque du Soleil's "Kooza Dance," a burlesque piece, we took the ice first in the second group. We were pleased with our skate and all that we had accomlished this weekend. Placing second overall gave us confidence for this season. With the feedback from the judges and protocols, we are ready to head back to work!


The Haydenettes had a great weekend in New York City and Ann Arbor. We were excited to see all our competitors, realizing that the competitive season has begun! We wish everyone a happy and safe holiday!

We can't wait to see our East Coast teams next weeked at the Cape Cod Classic.

Love,

Jenna and Noelle

Introducing Noelle Pearson

Hey there! My name is Noelle Pearson, and I'm from Eden Prairie, Minn. This is my first season with the Haydenettes. I am a sophmore at Framingham State University. Framingham State is a small, liberal arts university located 30 minutes west of Boston. At Framingham, I am pursuing a degree in economics and a minor in French. I decided to major in economics because I've always like business and math courses. Growing up, I attended Normandale French Immersion Elementary, where all classes were taught in French, and all students are fluent in French at age 10. I knew all along I wanted I wanted to continue my French education throughout college.

I started figure skating in Braemar's city classes at age 3. I began synchronized skating when I was 6 on Team Braemar's juvenile line. I skated with Team Braemar for 10 years (two on juvenile, two on Novice, seven on junior). I've always loved synchronized skating because each skater on the team is just as important as the skater next to him or her, and everyone has to work together to achieve thier goals. This will be my fifth season as a member of Team USA.

One of my favorite skating memories was the 2009 World Junior Team Selection Competition in Fond du Lac, Wisc., where Team Braemar placed second and won its first berth to the World Challenge Cup for Juniors. It had always been a team goal to compete at junior worlds and to actually achieve it and represent the United States was unreal. Here's a link to our kiss and cry at the 2009 World Junior Team Selection Competition: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p1eVwYlyf_c.

My favorite Team USA memory is at our first international competition, in 2007 at the Zagreb Snowflakes Trophy. It was an experience like none other; we were exposed to some of the best senior teams in the world! The best part was hearing the national anthem play as the American flag rose after we won the junior divison. I felt so honored and proud to be an American skater! It was an unforgettable experience.

When I'm not on the ice, you can find me at school, work, baking or with my friends! I also love to scrapbook; I have scrapbooks full of skating photos, results and competition tags from every year I've skated for Team USA. With my friends, you can find us at the movie theater, baking cookies, shopping or quoting funny movies!

Some of my favorites...

Favorite sports figure: Sasha Cohen
Favorite sports team: Minnesota Twins
Favorite city: Paris, France
Favorite TV show: Gossip Girl
Favorite movies: 27 Dresses, The Devil Wears Prada
Favorite book: The Catcher in the Rye, Harry Potter
Favorite place I've traveled for skating: Gothenborg, Sweden
Favorite Team USA program I've skated to: Quest for Camelot (Team Braemar 2008-09 junior free skate) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHuyU7QrMy0