CHAMPS CAMP NUGGETS
ART INSPIRES ART Casey Hocknell, 8, of the Revolutions Skating Club in Aspen,
Colo., was excited to learn her favorite ice dancers, Meryl Davis and Charlie White, would be in Colorado Springs for Champs Camp. Since Champs Camp is not open to the public, Casey sent them two colorful pictures she drew of the 2011 World champions and a handwritten letter. Dear Meryl Davis and Charlie White, I am your world’s biggest fan. I draw pictures of you every 5 minutes. You’re probably wondering who I am. I met you at Skating With the Stars or something like that. I’m the one who said Meryl looked like Belle from Beauty and the Beast. Of course Charlie is not the Beast. I really wanted to see you at Champs Camp but learned it’s top secret. I would love if you could write back!
Casey After admiring the artwork, and commenting on the attention to
detail, Davis and White gladly granted Casey’s request. Dear Casey, Thank you so much for the wonderful art. You did a great job showing our costumes and some of our moves. We’re sorry you weren’t able to attend Champs Camp, but we hope to see you at another event soon! Best wishes with your skating!
TEAM USA SHOWCASES OTHER TALENTS What better way to celebrate the spirit of the freshly contended
London Games than by asking Team USA to compete in a summer Olympic sport? Enter rhythmic gymnastics. Every year, the Athlete High Performance department arranges a team-building activity that requires communication, teamwork and creativity. Athletes were divided into four groups without any knowledge
of their task. After being assigned an area of the gym and selecting a piece of music, the athletes discovered they would be creating 90-second routines using one of four implements — balls, jump ropes, hula hoops or ribbons — used in rhythmic gymnastics. Team Jump Rope, led by Andrew Speroff, was awarded iTunes
gift cards after a “Chariots of Fire” routine that included Adam Rippon hiding under a blanket and making a grand entrance midway through the performance, Ashley Wagner and Gracie Gold showing off their cartwheel skills, and other leaping, spinning and brilliant acting by the likes of Maia Shibutani, Caydee Denney, Zach Donohue, Madison Chock and Tiffany Vise. All four routines are available for viewing at
www.youtube.com/usfsvideo. — Renee Felton Team Jump Rope basks in the glory after winning the rhythmic gymnastics team-building event. THE GRADUATE
Meryl Davis and Charlie White — Barb Reichert
Lynn Kriengkrairut has a bright future, both on and off the ice. The Bismarck, N.D., native not only won the ice dancing pewter medal at the 2012 U.S. Championships with partner Logan Giulietti-Schmitt, but will graduate from the University of Michigan this year with a degree in pre-medicine. “I’m so excited,” Kriengkrairut said.
“After six years, I’ll finally get my degree with a concentration in biopsychology, cognition and neuroscience. I get to have the whole cap and gown experience in December for the winter ceremony.” Kriengkrairut and Giulietti-Schmitt will make their second
appearance at Skate America this season after placing sixth at the Grand Prix event in 2010.
— Mimi Whetstone
CLASS ACTS As the longest-tenured U.S. ice dancing team, four-time U.S.
champions Meryl Davis and Charlie White have experienced several life-defining moments together. After sharing 15 years on the ice, this fall, Davis and White will share a new learning experience in the classroom at the University of Michigan. “We’re actually taking the same class this semester, an Egyptology
class,” Davis said. “I’ve taken one before and it was a really fun and fascinating subject, so I’m excited to introduce Charlie to that world.” Both Davis and White are known for their school spirit, though
THE SKATER, THE SWORD AND THE STONE U.S. pairs champions Caydee Denney and John Coughlin took a
trip this summer to Denney’s home state of Florida and enjoyed a day at Disney World. While there, the duo attended the Sword in the Stone ceremony in Fantasyland, where Merlin the Magician hosts a show several times a day. As in the famous story, during each show, a member of the crowd
is selected to come on stage to try to pull the magic sword “Excalibur” from a large stone. Only one person is chosen to try, and on that day, Coughlin had the honors. “I actually pulled the sword from the Excalibur stone,” Coughlin
said. “Apparently, it doesn’t always work for everyone, so I think it was a good sign. We took it as good luck.”
— Mimi Whetstone
14 OCTOBER 2012
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