Television Thanksgiving Special Will Celebrate Cancer Survivorship Through Figure Skating and Music
"Kaleidoscope," a FOX television special that will air on Thanksgiving Day, will be celebrating skating, song and survivorship.
Olympic figure skating champions and cancer survivors Scott Hamilton and Dorothy Hamill will be performing. This will be the first television performance for Hamilton since he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and Hamill will make a return to skating following her battle with breast cancer. Olympic Champion Kristi Yamaguchi, Olympic Medalist Nancy Kerrigan, and Olympic figure skating hopefuls Johnny Weir and Rachael Flatt will also appear.
The show will be taped on Monday, November 16, 2009 in Washington, D.C. at the Verizon Center. Cancer survivors may obtain complimentary tickets. Tickets are available through all Ticketmaster outlets.
John A.W. Nicks Is Coaching Olympic Figure Skating Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen Once Again
Yesterday, I heard that 2006 Olympic Figure Skating Silver Medalist, Sasha Cohen, is back training under her longtime coach, John A.W. Nicks. He is her primary advisor, but Rafael Arutunian, who has taught her during her comeback to the world of competitive figure skating, is still in the picture. Cohen's switch has been reported to be "the buzz of the ice skating world."
Nicks is also coaching 2008 and 2009 U.S. Pair Skating Skating Champions Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker. The upcoming 2010 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships that will lead up to the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver should be a very busy and interesting "Nationals" for Mr. Nicks!
Will Meryl Davis and Charlie White Win the Olympic Ice Dancing Figure Skating Title?
I just watched the 2009 U.S. ice dance champions, Meryl Davis and Charlie White's winning performance from the NHK Trophy that was held in Nagano, Japan. Their free dance brought tears to my eyes. Their dance spin, straight line-rotational lift with many changes of position, and a dance lift with White skating backwards on one foot while Davis balanced on his leg were incredible to watch. Their twizzles and footwork were also breathtaking.
They easily qualified for the 2009 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The crowd gave them a standing ovation. Some ice dancing fans say that they will win the ice dancing title at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.
What are your thoughts? In the ever changing world of ice dancing, switching partners is the norm, but Meryl Davis and Charlie White's long-term ice dancing partnership seems to have paid off. Something wonderful may happen for them in Vancouver!
Loud Cheering, Clapping, and Figure Skating
A certain figure skating coach does everything "team style." It's common to see her skating students cheering and banging the boards when someone lands a difficult jump or completes a difficult spin. When her skaters do complete run-throughs of their short or long programs, the arena gets really loud. Sometimes there is very loud clapping. When her group goes to competition, there is a cheering section that includes that coach's skaters and families. It's fun for everyone who is in her group.
Other coaches have copied that coach. As Sectionals is getting close, there really is a lot of clapping and cheering and banging of the boards going on.
I think that is GREAT! Cheering seems to make kids skate better!
Unfortunately, not everyone is part of the groups that are doing the cheering. Some kids are not getting equal attention. I've even heard that someone complained to a rink's management that certain kids are getting too much attention.
In my opinion, hearing cheering at the rink while practicing is a good idea, since most likely, at a competition, there will be some cheering going on from the stands. Skaters need to learn how to be able to deal with cheering and clapping before the "real performance" since a lot of noise may be distracting.
What are your thoughts? How should we go about cheering for figure skaters?
Photo of the Week: Nobunari Oda - Japanese Figure Skating Champion
Japanese Figure Skating Nobunari Oda - Photo by Getty Images
Elvis Stojko - Canadian Figure Skating Legend
Elvis Stojko won the Canadian figure skating title seven times. He also is a three-time world figure skating champion and a two-time Olympic figure skating silver medalist. He has been caled "The Terminator," "The King," "King of the Quad," and "Quad God"...read more
EntryEeze.com Makes Figure Skating Competitions "A Breeze"
"We Make Competitions a Breeze" is EntryEeze's motto. There are a few glitches, but that motto sums up what EntryEeze.com has done for figure skating...read more
I'm Not Related to Joshua Farris the 2009 U.S. National Novice Men's Champion
Joshua Farris is a very talented up and coming figure skater. Since my last name has "Farris" in it, sometimes, ice skating fans think we are related. I wish I was, since Joshua is so fun to watch. He also is a delightful young man and has a very nice family!
The similarities of our last names cause all sorts of unexpected problems. Once, Harlick Skate Company sent my son's (very expensive) figure skating blades to Josh's family by mistake. Most recently, I'm having trouble paying for practice ice and obtaining credentials for the 2010 Midwestern Figure Skating Championships for my children Rebekah and Joel Schneider-Farris since we've been mixed up with Joshua Farris.
Anyway, Joshua Farris is a great skater and ice skating fans should watch him. I wish we were related!
About Ryan Jahnke's MySkatingMall.com - An Online Mall for Figure Skaters
Ryan Jahnke, 2003 U.S. National Men's Figure Skating Bronze Medalist and World Figure Skating Team Member, has created MySkatingMall.com. Jahnke's vision is to create a way for figure skating families to buy and sell gently used figure skating clothes and equipment. He hopes the site will help the entire figure skating community. Ice skating families and figure skating clubs will earn money that will help pay for figure skating expenses.
Photo of the Week: U.S. Figure Skater Ashley Wagner
U.S. Figure Skater Ashley Wagner - Photo by Harry How/Getty Images