What are your feelings as the 2012 U.S. Nationals Figure Skating Championships approaches?:
We are feeling great! We've had a wonderful season so far. We've been working on both improving technical elements and also on our presentation. We also have been working on connecting with one another and with the audience. We are doing little things like looking at one another longer throughout the program. We want the audience to be drawn in when we do our free dance.How do you communicate what you want to do to your coaches?
Both of our coaches, Marina Zoueva and Igor Shpilband, do a great job of explaining to us what must be done and what we must do to drill our moves so that we are able to fully understand what is expected of us. Igor is tremendously talented and is an incredible skater. Sometimes he demonstrates what he expects. He will mimic what he wants us to do.Repetition makes things come easier and natural. What we do is not easy, but our coach's job is to make what we do look easy.
What does it feel like to go into the U.S. Figure Skating Championships as unquestionably the "leading attraction" of the competition?:
Three ice dance teams from our rink were on the podium at the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships. We've all had so much attention since then and, yes, it is a different feeling knowing we get a bit more attention. We think it is great that ice dance is noticed more in the United States now.Yes, being recognized is great and is a blast! That feeling can also make it a "blast" for the audience and we think that is great and wonderful! We have opportunity to make people smile! We enjoy that.
Do you agree that the new judging system has helped ice dancing, but made the other figure skating disciplines worse? Is the current figure skating judging system killing the sport?:
We really appreciate the new judging system and everything it brings. We didn't have it when we competed in Juvenile, Intermediate, or in Novice Dance. The current judging system plays on our strengths. Ice dance is more legitimate sport because of the new judging system.Regarding the other disciplines: The current figure skating judging system is not killing figure skating. Now you can tell everyone why someone is a champion.
How do your coaches split their focus and their time? They teach both you, and Olympic Ice Dance Champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir. How do you all get equal attention?:
Our coaches do a great job at making a schedule and sticking to it on a daily basis. We know what that schedule is going to be every day. We know when we are going to have our hour with Igor and when we will have our hour with Marina. The same goes for Tessa and Scott. Each coach gives us undivided attention when it is our time with them. They know us. We know ourselves. They both know what we like on and off the ice.Right after the 2011 Grand Prix Final free dance, Scott Moir said they should have won. Did that disturb you at all?:
We made "light" of Scott's comment. It was not a big deal. We know one another and that is the reason it was not a big deal. Scott does wish he had not made that statement by the way...Now that you are world champions, is there more pressure and does it feel different?:
No, it does not feel all that different; it's just that other people may perceive us as different. We haven't changed, but the way we are perceived by others has changed a bit.We set our own goals each season and we have new tasks to accomplish each season. The season feels the way it always feels.
What are your current goals?:
To be proud of what we are putting on the ice. We want to be proud of every element and every expression and take pride in the fact that we want to continue to evolve and grow as athletes and performers.How have your lives changed? Are you recognized more?:
Occasionally we are recognized on campus, but our lives have not changed that much. We are not using figure skating to get more fame or get more publicity; we like school. We dont' want things to be different and not that much is different.After you won Worlds, did it sink in you were now world figure skating champions?:
No. We went right back to skating and training and focused on the season coming up. There was no singular moment where the fact that we were now world champions sunk in.Way back in 2000 you were competing in novice dance at Nationals. Did you have any idea what you were getting into then?:
Charlie was 11 then, and Meryl was 12. We were very young and had no idea of what we were getting ourselves into.It's almost better to not know. We were talented little skaters then, but we couldn't do emotions when we ice danced. We were both still doing freestyle, and dance was not a huge priority then. We didn't think ice dance was a big deal then, but we happend to excel at ice dancing and realized there was some potential in it. We were having a good time then. It was the days of the old 6.0 judging system. We didn't always do what the judges wanted.
One thing we do remmeber is that we started having fun with each other on the ice beginning in 2000. That was the first year we started to have a friendship that has continued until this day.
Regarding the 2011 Grand Prix Final, how did you find out the scores had changed and what are your thoughts now?:
We haven't talked about it or thought about it. It is not a big deal; we did not want to make a lot out of it.You have won everything this season so far. What are the most satisfying results so far?:
Our free dance at Skate America was the most satisfying experience because it was well received by the audience. The score itself didn't make a big difference. We think about the performance, not the score.When we were at the Grand Prix Final in Canada we were more happy being about being able to go to the final and skate our best. We were proud of how we went out there and represented ourselves.
