2013 U.S. ADULT FIGURE SKATING CHAMPIONSHIPS
be interested to see the video.” Te 43-year-old communications professor and skating coach has attended 11 U.S. Adult Championships. While it’s laudable that Grind- staff has won this event twice, it’s more impres- sive that he’s earned a spot on the podium at each of his appearances: two gold, seven silver, one bronze and one pewter. Te bronze medal went to crowd favorite and 2011 champion Grant Huang (Kansas City FSC), whose mother flew in from China for the event. His score of 53.65 was reflective of his soaring jumps, and his technical score of 28.57 was the second-highest of the night. “Te crowd keeps me going,” said Huang, who won the 2012 bronze medal. “I thought I did the best I could. Some jumps were a little shaky.” Originally from Taiwan, the 27-year-old
(l-r) Davin Grindstaff, Joshua Murphy, Joseph Radomile, Grant Chien-Hao Huang
passes coming after the halfway mark, including two in combination. Additionally, his smooth skating earned Grindstaff an event-best program component score of 28.20. Te results on the spins, however, were dis- appointing, he said. “Tat’s how it goes sometimes,” Grindstaff said. “I felt I held stuff long enough. I’m going to
Joshua Murphy
didn’t start skating until he moved to the United States.
“I started when I was 12,” he said. “I started
really late, so I never competed at regionals or anything. Te Adult Championships were the first event in which I competed.” Huang’s program included a double flip-double loop combination and a double Sal- chow-half loop-double Salchow combination. Joseph Radomile (Liberty FSC of Philadel-
phia), a supply chain business analyst at a phar- maceutical company, captured the pewter medal.
He chose “Grand Canyon Suite” for his music in honor of the Arizona location. He even planned a trip to the landmark itself. One more event highlight occurred in the
program of Larry Holliday (Chicago FSC), who finished fifth. He landed a triple Salchow. In 2002 he was the first adult skater to land a triple jump at the U.S. Adult Championships.
CHAMPIONSHIP MASTERS INTERMEDIATE-NOVICE LADIES
By Allison Manley Skaters from California dominated the po-
dium, with Melinda Speer (Santa Rosa FSC) tak- ing home the gold with a score of 41.31. Wearing a bright orange dress to offset her
warm-weather tan, she skated to music by Sarah McLachlan. Speer, a skating coach, competed at the gold level two years ago but moved up to in- termediate-novice in 2012. “Last year I placed eighth,” she said. “I’ve learned so much in the past couple of years. It’s been a neat experience.” Te lyrics in her music helped Speer sell the
performance. “I like using lyrics, especially this song
called ‘Silence.’ Te words are pretty powerful to me: ‘In the silence I am free.’ I feel that way when I’m on the ice,” Speer said. While her program component score was
only fourth-best, Speer’s technical score of 21.79 topped all marks. She skated a mostly clean pro- gram, which featured a nice double loop and Axel-loop-toe loop combination. Speer’s spins received a Level 2, 3 and 4. Speer didn’t expect to win, which added to
her excitement.
“I was so happy that I skated a clean pro- gram and felt good,” Speer said. “I haven’t felt like that in a long time. It feels so surreal.” Jamie Tanker (Los Angeles FSC) garnered
the silver medal with a score of 41.00. Skating to Final Fantasy, Tanker earned the highest program component score at 21.36 points. Program high- lights included a double loop, a double loop-sin- gle toe combination and a Level 3 spin. Tanker, a 30-year-old controller for a na-
tional restaurant enterprise, was most pleased with her spins.
“I did my open event yesterday and I missed
the points on one of my spins, but I got all the points I wanted today,” she said. While most skaters don’t like to watch their
competitors, Tanker enjoys it. And due to her late start in the skating order, she watched many of her competitors.
“I just like to clap for everybody, so I don’t
mind skating later,” she said. Defending champion Beth Delano (Phila- delphia SC & HS) won the bronze medal with a
18 JUNE/JULY 2013
JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING
CYNTHIA SLAWTER PHOTOGRAPHY
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