CHAMPS CAMP PHOTO BY TED GOTWALS
‘This is it’ U.S. ice dance bronze medal-
ists Maia Shibutani and Alex Shib- utani have opted out of a more traditional free dance in favor of a fun and unexpected program set to a medley of music by Michael Jackson. “His music has such world-
wide appeal,” Maia said. “We’ve been having so much fun with it.” As they enter the Olympic
season, the Shibutanis stress their desire to perform to music that makes them happy and their goal of presenting a program that any- one in the world can understand and enjoy. In order to do the King of Pop
justice, the siblings headed to California to master the iconic movements for a week of what they said can be described as “Michael Jackson boot camp.” “We decided that if we were going to skate to this music to the best of our ability,
then we needed to learn from the very best,” Alex said. “Through our agent we got in touch with Stacy Walker and Travis Payne, who were choreographers and dance mas- ters on the “This Is It” tour before Michael’s death. In April we went to Los Angeles and we spent a week working in a studio for hours and hours a day. It wasn’t specifi c cho- reography for the program, but we really got a feel for the style, watched a lot of music videos and rehearsal footage and studied what we were going to be doing.” — Mimi Whetstone
Duct tape designers Traditionally Champs Camp concludes with a fun team-building activity for the ath-
letes. Last year, imaginative rhythmic gymnastics routines stole the social media spotlight. This year, skaters were divided into fi ve groups and asked to make a costume for a
pair or dance team using only Champs Camp T-shirts and various colors of duct tape. Each team drew two pieces of paper from a stack that indicated the theme for their creations, including “Fierce Roaring 20s” and “Chic Swan Lake.” Once the creations were complete, two athletes strutted their team’s creations to the
music of their choice down a runway set up in the Olympic Training Center gym. The cos- tumes were then judged by a panel of guest Olympic athletes including two wrestlers, three triathletes and representatives from both skeleton and shooting. In the end, team “Sophisticated Rock and Roll” — which consisted of Marissa Castelli,
Madison Chock, Haven Denney, Zach Donohue, Christina Gao, Chris Knierim, Ross Miner, Alex Shibutani and Charlie White — took home the coveted iTunes gift cards. Models Cas- telli and Shibutani walked the runway to Lenny Kravitz’s rendition of “American Woman.” “Amazing Champs Camp team event,” Gao tweeted after the festivities. “Too funny.” — Mimi Whetstone
Stan and Fran Kimer mingle with 2012 U.S. pairs champions Caydee Denney and John Coughlin at Champs Camp.
Champions for a day U.S. Figure Skating and global auction
site
Charitybuzz.com are hosting a series of auctions to benefi t U.S. Figure Skating’s Destination Sochi programs. One of the items auctioned off over the summer was the opportunity to experience Olympic preparation fi rst hand, and as a result, U.S. Figure Skating welcomed auction winner Stan Kimer and his mother, Fran, to Champs Camp. “I wanted to go to the Olympics this
year, but I thought that coming to this event would be the next best thing,” Stan said. The auction ran for two weeks and in-
cluded airfare to Colorado Springs, Colo., a one-night stay at the Olympic Training Cen- ter and a two-night stay at The Broadmoor hotel, a spa package at The Broadmoor, a private tour of the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame, the opportunity to watch members of Team USA debut their programs and the chance to participate in a U.S. Figure Skating media day, including taking photos and giving interviews in the backstage mixed zone. “I got to meet several of my favorite
skaters as soon as we got in,” Stan said. “I even had one- or two-minute conversa- tions with each of them. When we went to the museum, I actually got to hold Tara Lip- inski’s Olympic gold medal, which was so special. Then we got to come to the World Arena and watch all of the skating, which is amazing. It’s like being treated to a private concert.” Be sure to watch
Charitybuzz.com for
future opportunities from U.S. Figure Skat- ing.
— Mimi Whetstone SKATING 13
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