April 6, 2005

Hello everyone and welcome to my new website! I am very excited about it, and about working with my new webmaster too. I like to keep a personal journal, but I have not done one on a website before, so this will be a new endeavor for me.

I thought I would start by telling you about some of my experiences from this past season…one of my longer ones.

After 2004 Nationals in Atlanta, my coaches and I decided to keep the same music for my long and short programs; I really liked these programs and I didn’t feel that I had enough time training them the way that I wanted to compete them. So I didn’t have to search for new music; it would be Swan Lake for the freeskate and The Mission for my short program.

After nationals, my first performances were shows. Last March, my sister and I each had shows in Wisconsin. Hers was in Madison the same weekend that I had one in Fon du Lac, Wisconsin. (We seem to be competing or performing in different cities or countries on the same weekends.) We have many relatives in Wisconsin, so it was fun for us to go there and skate for our families too, since many of them don’t get to see us skate very often.

Because I wanted to get an early start competing my programs, I started my season in June. My first competition was in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I received first place. This was under the old judging system, and little did I know at the time, just how many times my programs would change over the course of one season.

By Skate Detroit, in July, I felt that my training was going well, and I was excited to compete at my home rink and club. I knew that I was being monitored there for international assignments, so I really wanted to skate my programs well. This competition was also judged using to old system. I won that competition, and later was assigned Nebelhorn Trophy competition in Obersdorf, Germany, in September.

Before I would go to Germany though, I had a few competitions left. My sister Amber and I decided that we wanted to compete at the USFSA Collegiate Nationals in August. It was being held in Troy, Ohio, and it was only about two hours from our home. When we were very young, we had competed in our very first USFSA competition at that very same rink. Being there brought back many memories of our summer competitions there, but the arena appeared to be much smaller than we had remembered it to be. (Or maybe we have grown a lot since then!) I really enjoyed doing that competition, and met many skaters there trying to pursue a degree while still competing in figure skating. I don’t know if I will be able to compete at collegiates this summer; it is being held in Hawaii, and that is a little far for me to travel and still train for my upcoming competition season. Oh, I placed first, Shelly Rosinski, one of my friends that I train with in Detroit, got second, and my sister was third in the final round. (Another competition using the old system, but now I had to start thinking about using the new system for my next competition in Germany.)

I was to finish my summer competitions with DuPage, in Chicago, but since it was close to the Nebelhorn competition, I decided to withdraw, and just watch my sister compete.

I love competing in Europe, and when everyone told me how beautiful Obersdorf was, I was excited to go. (The only hard thing was that my second week of college was starting; I would soon be learning how to juggle classes, homework, and being away at competition.) I was told about the cows that went right through town every morning on their way to the mountainside, and every evening on their way back to their barns in town. Our hotel was right by their route, so we got to see them pass by on their daily venture, huge cow bells ringing as they went by our windows. After I was finished competing, I took the gondola to the top of the mountain, and did get to see where they all congregated; all those cow bells were extremely loud. The sights from the mountains were beautiful, especially for someone like me who lives in the flatlands of northwest Ohio. I ended up fourth at this competition, and left there still trying to figure out the new system of judging.

I was soon back home, back to classes, and back to the old judging system before the Eastern Great Lakes Regionals in the Cleveland area. The last few competition seasons my mom has challenged me. She tries to run a marathon distance before I can do a clean short and long program at a competition. Well, Regionals was the one this year. My season was really just starting, and she was only up to a half marathon distance. I was very pleased with my programs there, and during my long program I realized that this might be the competition that I would beat her in our challenge. That thought kept me going! It worked! I won Regionals, but before I had even skated the long program, my coaches received a phone call from USFSA to let me know that I might be competing at Skate America in Pittsburgh the very next week. I really had to keep focused on the long program competition before I moved my thoughts to that possibility. Late Sunday night I found out that I would be going, and had to repack my suitcase. At least it was a close distance; we decided to drive there. Again, I went from the old judging system to the new. I was very excited to go to this competition, but very saddened because my sister and favorite competitor had to withdraw from Regionals due to the stress fractures in her feet that were not healing.

Skate America was my first Grand Prix event, and my first international competition that wasn’t in Europe. It was fun to have people that I knew watch me skate. Some of them were friends and skaters from Michigan and Ohio. I was pleased with my short program, and was tied for third going into the long program. I ended up fourth overall.

I wasn’t sure where I would be competing next. I was told that I might have another Grand Prix assignment, or that I might be going to Midwest Sectionals, in Fargo, ND. That made training hard for me since I didn’t know what week I should try to peak for competition. I was the alternate for the Grand Prix in Russia, but ended up going to North Dakota. I placed first in the short program, but was second after the freeskate. Another phone call came when I was there too. I was asked to be a part of the 9/11 benefit skate show in New York City. So when I went back to Ohio, I started to work on my exhibition program. That week I was to leave for New York; I received another call from USFSA on that Tuesday asking me to compete at Marshall’s World Challenge Cup in the Detroit, Michigan area. I was to be there on Thursday to compete on Friday. I guess this was my season for short notice; but this time I had been training the wrong program. I managed to have a day to practice my long program before competition, and again, I was happy that this was close to home and friends and family. My goal was not to get last there, and I ended up fifth.

Before nationals our club had an exhibition, and I decided to do my short program for it. It was a good warm-up to help me get ready to go to Portland. I skated last and had a clean short program. I felt that I was finally prepared to go. My mom was there with me for the short program in Portland, and my sister and dad would come to watch me compete the long. Nationals was during the first week of the spring semester at BGSU. Amber had classes and couldn’t come any sooner. (I guess I had an excuse to be gone!) Many of the classes at Bowling Green State University has a two day absence policy, and with all of my competing, I managed to stay within that limit…..I’m still not sure how.

I had great practices at nationals, and felt confident there. What I couldn’t control was the fact that I was getting the flu. Of all times to get sick, this was not the time. I had tried to get the flu shot many times and at various places, but due to the vaccine shortage, I was not able to. I didn’t feel too badly for the short program, but I was up all night before the long program and spending a lot of time in the bathroom. I did my warm-up that morning quickly and left the ice after ten minutes. I was trying to conserve as much energy as I could for that afternoon’s program. I managed to keep down honeydew melon and some sports drink, not my favorite pre-competition meal. I made it through my program, but removed some of the choreography and spin positions to save energy for the jumps. My goal this year for nationals was the top six. I almost reached that, placing seventh and learning that I could make it through in the worst of health. I attribute some of that to the double long programs I was training the few weeks before nationals.

I was to do an outdoor exhibition in downtown Detroit the week after nationals, but still sick with the flu, my coach decided to cancel me out and sent me home and to bed.

My last competition of the season was approaching soon, and it would be Junior Worlds in Canada. I really wanted to do Four Continents, so I wouldn’t have to change my programs again, but my coaches said that I needed to do this competition instead. It was hard to reduce the time on my programs and still try to keep some of the levels up using the new system. There just wasn’t enough time to do everything that we wanted to with the program. I was very happy to have competed there, and was glad that I went after all. We had a great team, and we all placed well enough so that next year’s team will be able to have three skaters or teams in each of the four disciplines. I really enjoyed my last night there; most of the team stayed up all night together, and we all went skating at a little outdoor rink near our hotel. Even our team leaders were there with us on that freezing cold night! Oh, and I did get to bring home a small medal for placing second in the short program. In the long, I missed my triple salchow and fell on my double axel, so I ended up sixth overall.

This month I have a couple of ice shows to do in Ohio. I am trying to finish my first year at Bowling Green State University, and I am looking for new music for next season. In my free time I have talked my sister into doing some wall (rock) climbing at the university with me. (Another sport to try to climb to the top, but in a little different way than in figure skating.)

Well, thank you for stopping by my website. I hope to have a new journal entry this summer, so it doesn’t have to be so long.

Alissa