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The last few months have been full of excitement for Tiffany and me. I am sorry I have not taken the time to write an entry, but it seems that every time I think about writing, something else comes up. I decided I’d better write now as this coming Sunday I begin the final semester of my MBA program. And what fun, as it is the same week as Nationals. Hopefully it will be a great start for both skating and school. Well, looking back… The international season began with a less then desirable showing at Obersdorf. We were invited at the VERY last minute to compete, three days before, to be exact three days before. Honestly, we were not nearly as trained as we would have liked to be. Still, the competition was a great experience and showed us where our strengths and weaknesses lie. We went home disappointed but not defeated, so Tiffany and I sat down to make a CHANGE. The Grand Prix series was set to begin in less than a month and we had much to accomplish. We began an intense training schedule to prepare for our favorite event, Skate Canada. The accommodations, venue, crowds, and city were top notch! The event proved to be a great showing for us as we beat our personal best in both the short and long programs with a clean skate in both. This was also a personal victory for me as I had struggled with my triple toe loop ever since my back injury last season and completed the element in both programs (though slightly flawed). We decided it was best to delay the quad until our event in France and instead go for a clean skate, which we accomplished! The next event was Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris, France. The trip to get there was a nightmare. As we all know, air travel can be a joy. We were delayed in Phoenix and missed our connecting flight to France. The Northern Skating Club of Kentucky was great and helped us out with ice time on our day-long layover. We arrived in Paris a day late, and were greeted with a bomb scare at the airport followed by a transportation strike. We had just three hours until our practice and somehow managed to find our feet. Jet lag! The rest of the event was incredible. The hotel was right next door to the venue. The whole thing was an incredible experience. We were competing with the top teams in the world, literally: first, second and fourth place from last year’s World Championships. It was intimidating to say the least, but also exciting. We were thrilled to be in contention for a medal after the short program! Two great skates and the first quad throw in history. WHAT AN AMAZING FEELING! I am so proud of Tiffany and the work we have done together! The following week, we went to Prague and had a wonderful experience touring the city. It was nice to go with a third place finish in the long, the first quad, and no skates on our feet. Our school semesters ended the first week of December, thank goodness, and we then visited our families in Colorado over Christmas. Tiffany and I skated with our old Coach, Irina Vorobieva in Colorado Springs, took a few days off over New Years, and have been working our butts off ever since! And here we are, one week out from Nationals. We are both excited to go and show our stuff. We have worked very hard this year and have really been training the connections and full program components. We are confident that the experience we have gained these past two seasons and our great support network will help us continue to improve every time we step on the ice, as we have done all season. And we’re hoping to continue on to more and more excitement after Nationals. See you there! Derek
I would like to personally thank the Northern Kentucky Figure Skating Club for their help on our way to Paris, France. We were stranded in Cincinnati for 24 hours and the NKSC and its Director and owner provided us with ice time and transportation to and from the rink! The time on the ice gave us the opportunity to keep our legs moving and to be ready for the practice in France as soon as we arrived. A special thank you to Denise Simoni and Stephanie Miller for their help! WE REALLY APPRECIATE WHAT YOU DID FOR US and you helped us make history!!!! THANK YOU. We'll write more about Paris later.
Hi Everyone! I want to apologize for not writing sooner. Wow, it is August! I can't believe the summer has come and gone so quickly. I guess when you go from one thing to the next and then do it all over again the next day, the months go by fast. Derek and I have been training hard and getting ready for Indy next week. We are excited to put out our new short program "Harem" and our newly improved long program "Les Miserables". I want to thank everyone for their wonderful music ideas that were sent to our emails. Our new short program was choreographed by Derek and me. It is pretty much Derek's choreography where then we worked together into creating a program. All I can say is, with the IJS, the footwork was the most challenging element we have had to work on. We have decided to keep the long program music from last year but have tweaked the choreography to help with the flow of the program. We have now put the throw quad salchow as the second element. We have decided to have Randall Designs do our outfits again this year. They made our short program outfits from last year and loved it so much that we are having them do both the short and long program outfits. The outfits are in their final stages of being ready for next week. I'm excited to see the final product. On another note, Irina Vorobieva who coached us in Colorado recently came out to Arizona to be a guest coach at our rink. It was great to work with Irina again and enjoyed working with her. My mom also came out here to visit me last week. Luckily for her, the weather barely reached 100 degrees. We are in the monsoon season right now so when it rains out here, the storms are intense and beautiful. The monsoon season is one of my favorite times of the year here in Arizona. The only thing I don't like about this time of year is the humidity, my curly hair doesn't do so well. We were skating on the ice for practice last week in the humidity and it got very foggy. We couldn't even see half of the rink. It was very interesting to go into a lift and not see where you are going to end up. Hope all is well, Tiffany
Seven Things We Learned at Nationals: 1. Spokane is a great skating town! 2. We are incredibly lucky to have such fantastic and supportive families. 3. When taking off for a throw triple loop, make sure to keep your heel out of the ice. 4. If you're going to land a throw quad salchow, make sure you do it when the cameras are watching. 5. Cowbells help to take the edge off a high-stakes warmup. 6. When in doubt, go for it! 7. Don't take ESPN too seriously. We have awesome fans. Thank you for your support! Derek and Tiffany
Hi! The last two months have been interesting to say the least. November: Tiffany and I won the Midwestern Sectional Championships in Birmingham, Alabama, with a clean short program and a nearly clean long program. It was exhausting and difficult to travel and compete for the third time in less than a month. On top of our busy schedule, I injured my back on a hard fall in October. Following the three competitions, the pain became extremely bad. Tiffany and I flew home from Sectionals and took the following week to recuperate. December: We started back training slowly and by mid-December my back became an even bigger problem. I had an MRI just before leaving for Christmas and learned that I have bulging discs in my lower back. We began planning how we could make it through January and beyond successfully. I have had two sets of epidural back injections which, along with medication, has helped me immensely. Happier things: Tiffany and I spent the entire Christmas holiday in Colorado Springs with our former coach Irina Vorobieva. It was nice to spend the holiday with our families. My ninety-year old grandfather flew in from Tennessee to be with the family. We have really been working hard on connections, footwork, artistry, and polish of the programs. We are both very excited to get to Nationals next week. We are looking forward to an amazing competition. Tiffany has been landing more and more quads in practice. We are looking forward to being the first team to land it at a US National Championships. WOW, that would be amazing. As excited as we are about the new element, we are working hard to improve the other twelve elements in the long program as well. We plan to show the world that American pairs are ready to compete with the best! I am excited to see everyone in Spokane, Washington! My mom, dad, sisters, and friends will all be there. They have assured us that they plan to be supportive and LOUD in the stands. They have also threatened to make signs. It shouldn’t be too hard to spot them up in the rafters! Thank you everyone for your support and warm wishes. We are off to fulfill our dreams of a World Team berth. Derek
Hi everyone. Nationals is finally here! Yay! Sorry it has taken us a while to write a new journal. Since Midwesterns, both Derek and I have been working hard inside and out of the rink. We have been working on our throw quad sal and have figured out a technique that is making it more consistent. Back at our Grand Prix's, the throw was still very new to us and we didn’t know exactly what I could do to land it because I was worrying about the rotation. Now, the rotation is easily rotated and I have figured out how to stay on top of my feet, which is always a good thing. We have been working hard on our interpretation of the music with both the short and long programs and also our connection to one another. Besides being up to skating the last couple of months, both Derek and I went back to school this past week. Yes, I’m going to miss a bunch of classes next week for Nationals but at least the teachers are all understanding and wish us luck. Last weekend, I ran the P.F. CHANG'S ROCK 'N' ROLL ARIZONA ½ Marathon. I ran it in 2 hours and 20 minutes. Many people were wondering why in the word would I run 13.1 miles a week before leaving for Nationals. Then again they responded with, "Well, you are the same girl who decided to get thrown in the air and rotate four times around." What can I say? I'm a gutsy girl. Derek was there cheering for the few of us skating people who ran the race. He took lots of pictures and they are posted in our gallery. We both look forward to next week and are ready to kick some butt. We are looking forward to seeing all of you there and hope you all have a wonderful experience. Thanks, Tiffany
Sorry we have not had time to make any entries into our journal. Tiffany and I spent the Holidays in Colorado and are busy training hard for Nationals. More to follow... Derek
Derek and I both had a wonderful experience at Skate America and Skate Canada. We received a personal best score at Skate Canada in the both the short and the long program. We were very pleased. There is always room for improvement with the new system, so up to Nationals we will be training hard to meet our goal of top 2. We were very excited to have the 3rd highest technical score in the long program at Skate Canada. Most skaters after competing back to back competitions normally take a few days off from skating to adjust back to their normal schedule and let themselves recuperate. Well Derek and I got back on the ice Tuesday right after Skate Canada to train for sectionals which we left for on November 15. Skate Canada was a great competition. The crowd was really behind and it was nice to hear them clapping in our long program footwork at the end of the program. Derek and I definitely attacked both programs at Skate Canada. We went out there knowing we belonged. We both feel we performed both programs artistically better than we have ever performed. As for the throw quad, I did fully rotate it at Skate Canada in competition. To land it in competition, it just takes time and repetition and more experience. My goal for Nationals is to have this throw quad consistent just like my throw triples. I want to thank everyone for their nice emails that Derek and I have received. We enjoy reading them. Thanks for your support, Tiffany
Our First Grand Prix! "Wow" was the first thing that came to my mind when we got on the ice in Hartford. At first, I was a little intimidated, but after the first few minutes, we realized that we belonged out there. How exciting...our first Grand Prix! We have worked so hard and waited so long to finally be on the ice with the "Big Dogs". The short program went pretty well, minus my fall on the triple toe. The program has improved a ton, and it felt great to skate well and enjoy it! For those of you familiar with the new system, we lost some levels on two elements, which cost us points, and we ended up seventh. The new judging system in the international arena is definitely a learning experience, and we have a couple of corrections to make before next week. Overall, the program was well received, and next week at Skate Canada it will be a CLEAN program! The long program was an exciting night. We completed a triple twist and attempted the throw quad salchow. We ended up pulling up a spot to make sixth place overall. It was not exactly where we wanted to be, but a decent start to the season. The venue was great with the rink and hotel connected. There was not much to do in downtown Hartford. We saw the Mark Twain House, Old State House, skated, and waited to skate. Next week will be Skate Canada, so Tiffany and I fly home to Phoenix for 24 hours and then off to Victoria, B.C. Thank you to all the fans that were so awesome at Skate America. The crowd was great at all the practices and the long program! Derek
Hi everyone. I can not believe it is finally here, our first Grand Prix! We leave Tuesday morning for Hartford and are both very excited to be competing. We have been training hard and are looking forward to getting out there. Derek
Wow! The last couple of weeks have been a little hectic. My brother and my sister were in town to visit me. It was nice to finally have some alone time with my two siblings. In the two weeks they were here, I did more Arizona sightseeing than what I have done this past year living in the AZ. I started school three weeks ago! It is hard to realize my summer is over--now it’s back to writing papers for English 102. The nice part about my English class is that I’m taking it with a friend. When I miss class this semester for my competitions, she will be able to share her notes with me. I'm working at my restaurant about 25 hours a week. I love working there because they are very supportive of my skating. They work with my schedule even when I have to have time off for a competition--even if it is for two weeks straight. I get to start coaching learn-to-skate lessons next week. I'm excited! I want to thank everyone for their support for Derek and me--we appreciate it! The more support we have, the easier it becomes to perform for our fans. Tiffany
Hey everyone! Thanks for your continued support! We just got home from the Golden West Championships! It was our first time competing in California and it was the shortest and most productive trip ever, 35 hours in L.A. With a lack of practice ice Tiffany and I flew into LAX Friday morning. We competed the same evening and the long program the following day. The competition was at the Culver City Ice Arena, an old rink with a atmosphere reminiscent of my first rink in Knoxville, TN (chaleticerinks.com). Our warm-up consisted of lifts in the rink parking lot, as there is barely room to walk around the ice surface inside the building. The ice was good and the audience, full of fellow Arizonians, was awesome! We were really pleased with our CLEAN short program, and got the highest technical marks. Tiffany got more compliments on her dress and she looked awesome, check out the pictures in the gallery. However, we were placed just behind Naomi and Themi, as a result of our component scores. It was actually a good experience, since we know we need to spice it up some more! And finally the heat is subsiding in Arizona!!!
In the real world...Tiffany starts classes at Scottsdale Community College in three weeks. Brittany, Tiff's sister, is coming to visit Arizona for two weeks and it will be fun to see her again. I begin my fall semester on August 21st taking Finance in my living room, Starbucks, the lobby of the rink, or the airport. (Love wireless!) And I am still trying to convince myself that training for a triathalon is not a completely and utterly insane idea! We are reaching out to anyone who may be interested in sponsoring any of our training expenses this season. If you would like to sponsor Tiffany and me, please contact Heather M. Ross at heathermross@yahoo.com for more information. On another note, Tiffany and I are going to be competing at the Golden West Championships in Culver City (LA), California over Labor Day weekend. Derek
We just returned to Phoenix from a great trip to Philadelphia where we skated at the Liberty Summer Competition. We debuted our new long program and outfits to music from Les Miserables. It was nice to skate for such an appreciative audience, since we aren't really that well known on the East Coast. Also, it's always great to catch up with old friends. We're glad to be home now, and have lots of work to do to get ready for Skate America and Skate Canada in the Fall. We are working to add additional triples to the programs. We are incredibly excited to be representing the United States in the Grand Prix. Tiffany and Derek
We just returned from the Broadmoor Open in Colorado Springs. It was great to be at "home" again, enjoying Mom’s cooking. We skated our short program only, which we reworked and spiced up a bit. We were also so excited to debut our new costumes, from renowned ballroom dance designer Randall Design in our adopted hometown of Phoenix. We think they did an amazing job. Our next stop is Philadelphia for the Liberty Summer Competition in July. We are looking forward to skating our new Les Miserables long program. We are working with a new (for us) costume designer, Jacqueline Benard, who does amazing work at Arizona State University. We are so excited to have her on our team for the long program. Tiffany and Derek
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