U.S. bronze medalist Agnes Za- wadzki spent a day in Omaha recently promoting the 2013 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. She appeared on local radio and TV stations, as well as at an area ice rink. The event, being held for the first time in Nebraska, is scheduled for Jan. 20–27 at the CenturyLink Center.
Belbin sings praises of U.S. Figure Skating at AAC dinner
Olympic ice dancer Tanith Belbin talked about her experiences as a longtime athlete and as budding coach and choreographer dur- ing the seventh annual Athlete Alumni Dinner. More than 100 people attended the
event at Governing Council, which is a fun- draiser for the Athletes Advisory Committee (AAC) and its scholarship program. “I experienced the support, motivation
and guidance offered by U.S. Figure Skating,” Belbin said in her keynote speech. “It’s an or- ganization that places as much emphasis on future champions as it does on supporting the current leaders. “I feel the true measure of the organiza-
tion’s success is not based on results in a record book, but in the number of dreamers inspired over the years.”
Belbin and partner Ben Agosto com-
peted at two Olympic Winter Games: in 2006, when they won the silver medal, and in 2010, when they finished fourth. They also won four World medals and five U.S. crowns. An elite cast of former and current Team
USA members attended the dinner, including Sarah Hughes, Emily Hughes, Timothy Goebel, Amanda Evora, Mark Ladwig, Taylor Toth, Colin McManus, Douglas Razzano and Becky Bereswill. Lindsey Weber, chair of the AAC, opened
the evening by introducing the annual win- ners of the Athlete Ambassador Award (3A). The 3A award is a scholarship program that identifies skaters who have achieved a level of excellence in their discipline while also re- maining active in their community through volunteer contributions. Skaters who applied must have competed at the novice or junior level at the 2012 Prudential U.S. Figure Skat-
ing Championships or 2012 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships. More than $15,000 has been awarded to
athletes since the scholarship’s inception sev- en years ago. Winners of this year’s 3A awards are Ashley Cain (ladies), Jay Yostanto (men’s), Britney Simpson (pairs), Hannah Rosinski (ice dancing), Courtney Cameron (synchronized) and Vincent Zhou (overall). Jason Wong, Felicia Beck and Pilar Bo- sley planned the evening, which sported the theme “Sunset, Glitter and Gold.” More coverage from the Governing
Council meeting appears on pages 12 and 13. — Renee Felton
Readers’ Choice Award voting under way SKATING readers, it’s the time of the year to let the rest of
the world know which skater(s) you think had the best year on the ice during the 2011–12 competitive season. Voting for the 2012 Readers’ Choice Skater of the Year
Award (Michelle Kwan Trophy) will be conducted via U.S. Figure Skating online. The voting deadline is July 15. Eligible skaters include: The top five senior skaters in each discipline at the
2012 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships, medalists at the 2012 World Championships, medal- ists at the 2012 World Junior Championships, the top five senior teams at the 2012 U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships, medalists at the 2012 Synchronized Skating Junior World Challenge Cup and medalists at the 2012 World Synchronized Skating Championships. The winner will be announced in the August/September issue of SKATING, on the U.S. Figure Skating website and on
icenetwork.com. The trophy will be presented to the winner(s) next season. Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the award in 2011.
Some of U.S. Figure Skating’s past, present and future stars participated in the Ice Stars for Wounded War- riors benefit ice show in April. The event raised more than $12,000 for the Wounded Warriors Project, which is a nonprofit national organization that provides aid to injured servicemen and servicewomen and works to raise awareness within the community about those who are returning home from duty. The event took place at Mullins Center on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. Members of the all-star cast included (l-r) Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Simon Shnapir, Kerry Togneri (organizer), Marissa Castelli and Kimmie Meissner. They were joined by members of The Skating Club of Boston and The Skating Club of Amherst.
6 JUNE/JULY 2012
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60