Blog > December 21, 2007

The one word that best describes my experience at Midwesterns in Detroit is: RELIEF. I am FOR SURE going to Nationals! YEAH! After competing all summer overseas, it was nice to compete on American soil once again...or I guess it was nice to only have a 2 hour flight to get to my final destination as compared to a 10 hour flight. Big difference.

On my first practice at the Onyx Arena in Auburn Hills, Michigan, I knew things had changed. I no longer had the same body type as the other guys on the ice. I was not the same age as my fellow Senior men. I was different and I knew it. Big, beefy body? Nah. Twenty four candles on my last birthday cake? Definitely not! The first couple minutes on the ice I felt quite intimidated. But as the session progressed (and a couple triple axels later I might add) I felt like I belonged with this new group of competitors.

In my short program I was nervous about the triple axel. I couldn't really believe I was trying such a difficult set of jumps! Top skaters on television were doing the program I was about to attempt. One of my big problems is that I think too much when I skate. This bad habit often ends in disaster. As soon as the "play" button was pressed for my tango-themed program I tried to shut off my head and let my body do the work. I should try that more often because I landed my triple axel! Well...sort of. I flipped out on the landing, but it still counts! I probably got too excited because on the landing of my following triple lutz, I was way too far forward and scratched pretty hard on my toe-picks. I tried to sell the rest of the program, staying in the dramatic yet playful mood. At the end of the event I was thrilled to see that I was in 3rd place! Not too shabby for the 17 year old, eh? Next up: The long program. Take a deep breathe ladies and gentlemen. Four and a half minutes is a LONG time!

I wasn't terribly nervous, but I certainly looked it. Watching the tape after I got home, I looked like I just saw a ghost. I really wanted to tell myself "RELAX ELIOT"! Luckily for me, after I landed my triple Axel with a slight turn out, I did relax. Well...sort of. Once again the triple lutz plagued me in this program. I flipped out of the first one and fell on the second. I did manage to land a triple flip, a triple loop-double toe-double loop combination, a double axel, a triple flip-double toe combination, and a triple salchow. Trying to look past the mistakes, I was still incredibly happy about the two triple axels I not only attempted but landed!

Before this competition I tried to put all the pressure to qualify for Nationals off my mind. I actually think I did a pretty good job too! Even though I never saw or heard the advertisements for the 2008 US Figure Skating Championships all around St. Paul, I was certainly told about them. "Evan Lysacek, Kimmie Meissner, Johnny Weir, Emily Hughes, and St. Paul's very own Eliot Halverson!" Wait a second, did I miss the memo that I'm competing at the Xcel in January without qualifying through Sectionals?

While waiting for the results in the Michigan arena, the pressure finally hit me. Big time. I tried sitting...I needed to stand. I tried drinking water...I felt like I was gonna throw up. For the first time in my life, I felt like I couldn't even breathe. Finally I saw a person carrying two sheets of paper over to the results board. I was too overwrought to even walk the 25 steps to see what those important sheets of paper had to say. My coach Ted did it for me and came back to tell me that I had finished in 4th place. IMMEDIATELY I started to cry the much anticipated tears of relief. In my mind, the hardest part was over.

Just two weeks ago, St. Paul had it's first winter snow fall. Inches and inches of glorious white snow plummeted from the sky landing on the rigid ground. The thought of hot cocoa and a warm fire gets me so excited for the month of December. Now I just have to buy some hot cocoa and build a fire place. I better get to it! I hope everyone is enjoying this Holiday season as much as I am and that you are all surrounded with friends and family who love you. As always, thank you for tuning in to The Saga of Eliot Halverson.

~Eliot