2013 U.S. SYNCHRONIZED SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD
SILVER Esprit de Corps, 67.23 Crystallettes, 66.01
ADULT
BRONZE DC EDGE, 63.16
PEWTER Western Michigan Alumni, 58.33
Esprit de Corps skaters fi nd journey to gold medal a bouncy ride by RENEE FELTON Upon reaching the adult level of the syn-
chronized skating qualifying structure, athletes have achieved a lot both on and off the ice. Many are wives, mothers, college graduates and, of course, have been members of other teams throughout their skating careers. Take, for example, Christine Costa, a mem-
ber of the gold-medal-winning Esprit de Corps. She grew up on Cape Cod, skated collegiately for Miami University and now skates for a team out of the Hayden Recreation Centre. Wait. You went from the Miami program to
the Hayden program? “A lot of people bounce around throughout
their careers, especially if they go to college and move away and skate on a junior or senior or col- legiate team,” she explained with a laugh. “Once you get to this point, you’re used to changing programs.”
While she still loves to cheer for her alma
mater, she’s clear, “When it comes to my team, I’m all Hayden all the way.” And watching one’s former teams can be just
as stressful for the adult skaters as it is actually performing their own programs. Elise Larsson also won gold with Esprit de Corps, which totaled 67.23 points for its perfor- mance to music from the TV show “Smash.” She was a member of the Haydenettes before joining the adult team three years ago. “It’s amazing to watch the Haydenettes; they
are incredible,” she said. “But I think I get more nervous now than I did when I skated for them.”
SKATING 21 T e history in the sport and the general
excitement of the U.S. Synchronized Skating Championships brings about a sense of camara- derie not only between teams and their clubs but across the discipline as a whole. Libby Rhoads, who skates for bronze-med- al-winning DC EDGE (63.16), explained, “T is arena has such tight seating to the ice that it was nice to be able to connect with the audience and the judges a lot and to sell the program. It’s in- spiring to be at nationals and see everyone skat-
ing at such a high caliber. We are honored to be part of that group and to be skating here.” For the Crystallettes (66.01), winners of the
silver medal, their appreciation for the exciting atmosphere created at this event was on their mind as they built their free skate to music from A League of the Own. “We wanted something fun; we wanted to
make people smile,” Denise Dobert said. “We wanted to fi nish and have the crowd say, ‘T at was so fun.’ It felt fun.”
Esprit de Corps
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
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