JAY ADEFF/U.S. FIGURE SKATING


PHOTO BY KELLY VOGTNER


PHOTO BY MIMI WHETSTONE


T


he 2014 senior international sea- son kicked off in Salt Lake City in September with the U.S. Interna- tional Figure Skating Classic, the


fi rst in a series of 11 competitions that make up the newly formed ISU Challenger Series. Now in its third year, the event featured


more than 50 athletes representing 16 coun- tries, including Australia, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Georgia, Ger- many, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Mexico, Phil- ippines and Spain.


The novice ladies enjoy a lesson on the technical aspects of the international judging system at the U.S. Novice and Junior Challenge Skate.


Sjoberg said. “This is one of my favorite com- petitions because of stuff like that.” Because of things like this, and multiple


other educational experiences that the novice and junior skaters get to attend, it’s a season highlight for many of the brightest up-and- coming U.S. competitors. “The seminars were all super helpful,”


junior silver medalist Evan Bender said. “It’s a good step in eventually becoming part of Team USA. It’s all really exciting.” “I really like the entire experience,” nov-


Kiss, cry and push-up The kiss and cry was more than just about


hearing scores for men’s champion Max Aar- on. Aaron’s coach Tom Zakrajsek told the 2013 U.S. champion that if he scored more than 160 points in the free skate, he’d do 20 pushups. Aaron’s score of 161.26 ensured that Zakrajsek had some work to do. “He needs to stay in shape so it was


good,” Aaron said with a laugh. “It was also pretty funny.”


A man of his word, Zakrajsek honored his


promise immediately after Aaron’s score was announced in the kiss and cry.


— Michael Terry


Challenge Skate athletes soak in international experience


The 2014 U.S. Novice and Junior Chal-


lenge Skate, which runs annually in conjunc- tion with the International Classic, was all about preparing novice and junior skaters for international competition both on and off the ice. In addition to receiving team jackets and attending prep seminars, the athletes were taken to the judges stand and told all about the technical aspects of the international judging system. “I’m really happy that they brought us up


to the judges table so that we could see be- hind the scenes,” novice men’s champion Eric


32 NOVEMBER 2014


ice ice dance silver medalist Caroline Green added. “Getting to compete in front of inter- national judges is very nice and then getting to be around some of the senior skaters is spe- cial, too. I really like this event.”


— Michael Terry


Clean sweep In an off season plagued with injuries,


breakups and retirements, the U.S. pairs proved they were a force to be reckoned with, sweeping the podium at the International Classic for the fi rst time. Although their skates weren’t perfect,


each U.S. team brought improvement to the ice.


Colorado-based Alexa Scimeca and Chris


Knierim, who competed for the fi rst time since becoming engaged last spring, took gold with 163.24 points over California-based Jessica Calalang and Zack Sidhu, who placed second with 156.18. Rounding out the podium with 138.52 points were Scimeca and Knierim’s training mates Madeline Aaron and Max Set- tlage, who made their senior international de- but.


“Honestly it feels the same as junior,”


Settlage said. “I feel like we’ve stepped up our game for that very reason. So it’s easy and fa- miliar for us.” “It feels like home, honestly,” Aaron add-


ed. “It’s comforting to be out there with people we know. This obviously isn’t their (Scimeca and Knierim’s) fi rst time on the senior interna- tional scene, so they can talk us through the experience and keep us calm.” — Mimi Whetstone


‘Moms’ lend knowledge to next generation


The names Davis and White hold a lot


of weight in the skating world, and not just for Meryl and Charlie. While the novice and junior competitors attended seminars, the Challenge Skate parents got to experience seminars of their own, taught by “The Moms” themselves, Cheryl Davis and Jacqui White. “We brought in Cheryl and Jacqui as


team leaders and role models for the parents,” U.S. Figure Skating Senior Director of Athlete Development Kelly Vogtner said. “The goal was to demonstrate our support of parents in the process of developing athletes, and to provide them with resources they need as par- ents as their children begin their journeys as


Jessica Calalang /Zack Sidhu, Alexa Scimeca/Chris Knierim, Madeline Aaron/Max Settlage


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