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Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Hi!
I can't believe that it has been over a year since I last updated! I promise to write more frequently, especially since I think I will have important news to announce soon. One of the major events of my last year was moving to Hackensack, New Jersey to work with Artur Dmitriev and his wife, Tatiana, who are both amazing coaches. Although my pair partner Jonathon and I decided to end our partnership, it was still a good move: we skated a clean short at both of our Grand Prix events (Skate America and Cup of Russia, where we placed third after the short and fourth overall) and even got a standing ovation! I’ve always considered the international travel opportunities to be one of skating’s greatest advantages, and Moscow was so fascinating that I stayed an extra day for a tour of the city with Oleg, my choreographer (and a real Moscow native!).

Nationals were as exciting as ever. I’d like to thank Damon for the wonderful makeup job—-it must’ve given me the confidence to (finally!) skate a clean long program. A persistent lower back stress fracture forced me to withdraw from my singles event. We ended up sixth in pairs. Although we found out after Nationals that Jonathon needed major hip surgery that would cause us to lose four to six months of training, I was still excited for the opportunity to spend an entire season under Artur’s guidance; however the partnership just wasn’t to be. I wish Jonathon the best of luck , and hope that his hip recovers well.

As of now, I am keeping very busy with skating, coaching, school, and the search for a new pair partner. Since Nationals, I have been training hard and focusing on my jumps. I’m also looking for music for next season—any suggestions? Anyways, The fan/friend support that I have gotten has been amazing, and means a lot to me (thanks Bonita!). I am looking at next season with a positive attitude and can't wait to see what I can accomplish.

Thanks for reading
love
Jen
Posted by: Jennifer Don (7:27 AM)