SKATERS SHARE EXPERIENCES WITH BELARUSIAN YOUTH Amid the excitement, training and travel
of competing at the ISU World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Minsk, Belarus, three U.S. pairs teams found time to act as ambas- sadors for their sport and country. and Matthew Blackmer were invited to the U.S. Embassy on March 2 as featured speakers of an event for Belarusian youth, who make up much of the nation’s growing fan base. After the competition, which Grafton said
had “huge crowds,” the six members of Team USA visited the U.S. Embassy in the capital city of Minsk to speak to students and teachers from an international school. Many of the students
CAIN AND REAGAN PART WAYS Pairs skaters Ashley Cain and Joshua
Reagan ended their three-year partnership at the end of February. The duo, who trained in Euless, Texas, un-
placed sixth at the 2012 Prudential U.S. Fig- ure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif. They are the only team to win novice and ju-
“Thank you to all of our fans for your
support,” Reagan said. “I have enjoyed skating with Ashley and wish her the best as she contin- ues her career. I am going to keep skating and In addition to pairs, Cain is also a suc- cessful singles skater, winning the 2012 U.S. junior silver medal and the 2010 U.S. novice silver medal. She, like Reagan, intends to con- tinue her pairs career. “I want to thank everyone who has sup-
ported us as a team for the past three years,” Cain said. “I will be focusing on my singles ca- reer, and will also continue to actively pursue a career in pairs skating.”
are learning to speak English. Simpson said most in attendance
were familiar with the United States, so their questions were directed more toward the athletes. “Some of the questions were, ‘What does it take to balance school, homework and skating? How many times do you fall before you can consistently land a jump?’” she able to answer the school question: You stay or- ganized, plan ahead and do your best work at both skating and school.” Team USA members spoke for about 90
Team USA’s junior pairs skaters share their stories with students at the U.S. Embassy in Belarus.
minutes and then shook hands, posed for pic- tures and gave out U.S. Figure Skating pins.
-
ence, but also for our skaters to be ambassadors said. “They were exceptional representatives.”
PSA ANNOUNCES BEST PERFORMANCE AWARDS FOR 2012 U.S. CHAMPIONSHIPS
Performance at the 2012 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in San Jose, Calif. and Olympic coach Edi Scholdan, who died in the 1961 U.S. World Team plane crash. Scholdan was Awards.
One winner was chosen from each category
— men’s, ladies, pairs and ice dance — to honor and recognize the outstanding efforts of these skat- ers. The award is based on the total performance, with an eye to costuming, presentation, music selec- tion, choreography, style and technique. Winners are determined by a committee present at the U.S. Championships that review all long and short pro- grams at the junior and senior levels. Best performance award winners are: Men’s: Jeremy Abbott — senior free skate Ladies: Agnes Zawadzki — senior short pro-
gram
Pairs: — senior free skate Ice dance:
senior free dance A formal presentation of these awards will
take place during U.S. Figure Skating’s Champs Camp in late August. from the 2012 U.S. Synchronized Skating Cham- pionships in Worcester, Mass., is Miami University’s senior varsity team and its “Blue Suede Shoes” short program. A formal presentation of this award took place at the awards ceremony in Worcester.
6 APRIL 2012 Jeremy Abbott
COURTESY PHOTO
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