US Adult Nationals 2007

Congrats to ALL Competitors!

2009-04-29T16:51:00.000-05:00

Jordan and I had to stay home this year, but we wanted to send out a BIG congrats to ALL the skaters who went to Nationals this year.

We Missed You!

Jordan and I are no longer skating together, but we are still the best of friends. I ended moving across the state and life has taken a fork in the road. We miss each other and the ice badly, but there is not rink in my new town! Argh! We may one day skate again. In the meantime, we will keep cheering everyone else on!

Here's what I am doing now.
Portland & Bend Portrait Photographer Julia Radlick at www.jewel-images.com

The Last Hoorah!

2007-04-15T08:58:00.000-05:00

So, Silver dance ends with a Gold Medal for Portland. Bob Raemer and Marilu Cmapbell swept all four dances looking absolutely divine, and we are all so proud. Shnnon Conroy and Bill Cloran, another Portland team took the bronze and Lauren Zell and Mike Barsotti EASILY took gold in Cenntennial dance. They were marvelous! After it was all over, we headed to downtown Chicago and celebrated with authentic stuffed pizza! YUM! We pigged out and had a blast exploring this great town. Here's on of the group:

Jordan and Me!
Cityscape....along Millenium park and Michigan Ave.
Sears Tower. It really is that tall....
Um....excuse me? I wanna go that high! Um dear....you're a bit heavy for that! LOL
Ah....the Silver Dance gold medalists! Marilu....feels good doesn't it! LOL.

The Silver dancers checking out the final standings.
Me and my new buddy Lexi Rohner from US Figure Skating. What a cool gal!
The Centennial Dance podium. Lauren and Mike....we are so proud!

Championship Dance: Mike and Julie nabbed the title easily. Liz and Carl took the silver. Gorgeous teams. Fun Tangos. Next year, Folk/Country? ...should be spectacular!
The competitors party. Mike and Lauren cutting it up on the floor! Woohoo!
Kia with Lauren: Man that guy's got the moves!
Paul and Liz: Mr. Harvath and his uncanny ability to make every girl feel like a million bucks!
Our coach Anthony: Trust me. We had NO idea he danced like this! LOL. It is now permenantly engrained in digital imagery and videotape for future blackmail use! LOL. Just kidding.
The social ice dance session takes place this morning and then it's time to go home. Some of the Portland dancers don't leave til later today, so we hope to be able to head back to Chicago and hit one of the art museums.

This compeition was one of the best Adult Nationals. It was so organized, so smooth and a joy to be at. The Portland Ice dancers had a blast and we are tickled to all be going home with a medal. It truly was a week to remember.

Thank you, everyone for your support, your love and your thoughts. The people behind the scenes are the silent heros who make us who we are and enable us to do what we love. We appreciate you more than you'll ever know.

WOW....this is it! My last entry for US Nationals. Stay tuned to http://jjicedance.blogspot.com for more on Jordan and I as we start next season and look forward to another year of dancing on ice!

See you in Lake Placid, NY 2008!

Until Next Time,

---J

Who Said It's Friday The 13th?!

2007-04-14T09:02:00.000-05:00

Another rockin day at AN! Gold dance was a tight race and everyone performed great programs. The Harvaths....after years of vying for the gold medal....grabbed it and deserved it. Their tango was sexy, divine and seeing this sweet married couple dance such a dance is enough to make anyone believe in love. Gorgeous! Molly and Kia skated gorgeous too with tons of expression and grit even though Molly has been battling injuries all week. Way to go Molly! Jordan and I ended in with a SILVER medal! We are thrilled! With thte obstacles we have overcome and the hoops it took jumping through to get here and hte way this prorgam looked three weeks ago....we are so happy...we can't wipe the smiles off our faces! Molly and Kia ended with third and Walter and June skated a lovely OD and finished fourth.
KATU -TV called me in the middle of it all asking how we did and we made the 6:30 pm news in Portland! Here's the link!http://www.katu.com/news/7021152.html

Of course the celebration afterwards was the best part!:

The Annual Dancers Dinner:
Michelle Harvath and Jordan Johnson.

Terri Levine and Paul Harvath:

Michelle with a camera: What dya expect?

The podium Gold Dance:

The dancers dinner. Dave Gaultier and Paul Harvath got serenaded !! LOL
The Dancers Dinner: At Angelos Ristorante
Molly and Kia at the Dancers Dinner
Terri and Tim after winning their Silver medal in Pre-Gold Dance!

The Pre-Gold Dancers:
Pre-Gold Gold MEdalists Kyomi and Neil: So cute!
Jordan and me after the best performance of OD ever!
Marilu Campbell performing her Interpretive "Spider" number: She got 4th! Whoohooo Marilu! What a sit spin girl!
Pre-Gold dancers Deb and Dave Gaultier:

Kelley Ann and Bill: Pre-Gold OD

Terri and Tim: Pre-Gold OD.
Kyomi and Neil: Pre-Gold OD:
The Pre-Gold division was sooo competitive too! So many great OD's and such variety of music. It was so fun to see everyone's interpretation.

Final notes for this morning: I can't believe how much fun AN is. I am honored to be here and so blessed to be among such giving and caring people. Silver dance FR is this morning in about 20 minutes and Cenntennial final is right after. Tonight is Cahmpionship Dance FR and tomorrow is the Social Dance! Still so much more to go. Stay Tuned!

Until Next Time,

----J

PS Thanks so much for everyone's support and for your kind words and comments. I can't believe how generous people are with their thoughts and well wishes. It means the world to everyone here and you are appreciated....greatly!

Another Rockin Night In Dance!

2007-04-13T09:14:00.000-05:00

Check out these beaming faces! You're looking at the leaders of the IR in Silver dance, Marilu Campbell and Bob Raemer (Our coach Anothny Darnell is there too. Oh and that's Marilu's mom!)!

The results "wall" right after Silver dance:
Bob, not believing what he's seeing....you deserved it Bob! You skated great!
John and Kathi Gatti: In 2nd place Silver Dance. They were shocked as heck too! What's up with the surprises? You all looked fab!
Thursday night's Portland teams with coach Anthony Darnell:
Bob and Marilu after their winning Foxtrot!

Portland's own Shannon Conroy and Bill Cloran before their Tango. Bill looked divine in his red sash! They are currently tied for 3rd place in Silver Dance.
Marilu and Bob in the Tango!
Sherri Martinelli deciding that the stuffed toys were soley thrown to her and NOT her partner! You are so cute! (Mine! Mine! Mine!)
Cenntennial dance IR winners Lauren Zell and Mike Barsotti---they rocked the house last night! No one can Rocker Foxtrot quite like Lauren!

Bill and Shannon! Go Portland!

Shannon and her sister. Aren't they just the most adorable siblings? I think they are communicating telepathically at this moment.
More Silver Dance!
Margaret and Jim: So lovely. Margaret ALWAYS has a smile on her face no matter what!

Silver & Cenntennial Dance:

Six teams, all very nice. The dances: Foxtrot and Silver Tango. Marilu and Bob won both of them! The crowds in the stands loved this event and even though Silver Dance and Cenntennial Dance stretched beyond the 10 pm hour, the spectators stayed to see all the action. Cenntennial dance was spectacular. To watch Lauren and Mike sweep the IR of the event was so fun. They really did deserve it too. Portland is soooo proud of everyone!

Championship Dance:

Mike and Julie---need I say more!??!! They blew the competition out of the water as always and skated a HUGE Blues! Their end pattern came out a good 15 feet from the boards! No joke! I have no idea how she hangs on to that swing roll! Great edge, Jules!

Liz and Carl are in second place with a great blues and a fun Quickstep. Molly and Kia are in third place with what Kia call "the nicest compulsories we have done."

Everyone wanted to watch Championship Dance and the stands were packed. Her's some pics Michelle Harvath sent to me to post.

I just love that girl! She has got to be the coolest, funniest and hippest skater, photog, friend/person around. She also blows me out of the water when it comes to shooting pics! I wish I had your talent, girl! Thanks for the contribution. OMG! I have a real "Harvath" works on my blog!

Awwww...aren't they cute?
Me and Mish!
Me and Jordan watching Champ Dance! Jordan is so sick of me and a camera! Can you tell? LOL. Poor guy. Just one more day, my friend! One more day. And I won't take your picture for another year! I promise!
Tonight, we skate our OD. The race for Gold Dance is sooo TIGHT! The hope is to just have fun, and skate the best we can. We've overcome injuries and personal strife to get here and just getting through a clean prorgam will be a blessing. Think good thoughts for us please!

Any comments you want to leave...please do so. I LOVE reading them! It really does inspire me to post more and do more! Can you believe this blog has had over 1500 readers these past few days??? And they are from as far away as England and Russia! Wow!I was shocked! Thanks so much for your support everyone! Adult skating rocks!

Ok we are off to go watch the Pre-Gold Final Round. Good Luck to Tim and Terri!

T and T are dynamite!!!! We Love you!

Until Next Time,

---J

PS I'll post what I can about Pre-Gold as soon as I can!

Pictures!

2007-04-12T08:57:00.000-05:00

Jay and his cookies! Gotta love the cookies!

He has "boy" coookies and "girl" cookies. The "boy" cookies have nuts..... "girls" don't. {giggle}

The results "WALL":
Oregon's Marilu Campbell and Stephen Trzaka. He's doing pairs! She's doing Silver dance with Bob Raemer tonight. Good Luck!
We all know this awesome gal!!

True ambassador of adult skating and we love her! (I'm just kinda in the way, there. Sorry.)

Some baaad news. I have misplaced my little point-and-shoot camera. I am sick about it because I had some great fun shots on it, and I hope it's not lost forever. I hunted all morning for it, but to no avail. Maybe it will turn up in the lost and found. {hopeful!}

Disclaimer: These are all shot on with my Nikon, but I have NO experience with shooting fast-moving skaters and I'm almost embarrassed to even try to show the shots (Paul and Michelle: I am so not worthy!) , but I know you guys LOVE pictures, so here they are. These are straightout of the camera, as us photogs like to say SOOC and no Photoshop work has been done at all cause I have NO time! Argh! Also: please forgive any mis-spellings of names. I know. I know. I'm a journalist. I should get names right, but well, so be it.

Ok lots to show.

Mike and Nancy: currently in third place in Pre-Gold Dance.

Deb and Dave Gaultier: currently in fourth place after Pre-gold IR: Gotta love those free legs! Yummy! I can only wish !
Kyomi and Neil....In First place after IR Pre-Gold Dance.
Terri and Tim: Currently in Second place after Pre-Gold IR. Go Portland, OR!
Carl and Liz: Championship Dance contenders. IR's are tonight! Good luck! Nice Quickstep!
Ok...so I'll try to hunt down my point-and-shoot. We took so many fun, pre-competition pics with it! I'm so bummed. If I find it, I'll post more tonight. In the meantime, Silver, Centennial and Championship IR's are tonight. Jordan and I have an "off" day, so I'll cover as much as I can. Once again, let me kow what you think and if you have any requests!

Still working on the video thing and if my Point-and-shoot is truly a goner, then video will be rough. So sorry! Thanks for reading everyone. Your comments are awesome and they really are encouraging everyone! Many people here are reading the blog....we've had over 1000 hits in two days! Whoohoo! Some keep the comments and cheer-on section going! We LOVE it!

Until Next Time,

---J

What a Way to Start!

2007-04-12T00:04:00.000-05:00

Holy Sheep!

We're in FIRST place! I can't even believe it! It is sooooo close though. All four teams in Gold dance are awesome and it is a TIGHT race. With the new IJS in place first and second place are separated by only 0.07 points! It's ANYONE'S game Friday night.

Paul and Michelle are behind us, then Molly and Kia and then June and Walter.

The Quickstep was a bit shaky, nerves.... but we let it rip in the Argentine Tango. I nailed that twizzle and was so excited! So fun. No asthma, no nothing! It was a great night and we are riding high for the moment (key word...for the "moment").

Pre-Gold is COMPETITIVE too! But Terri and Tim are standing in Second place right now. whooo hooo! Go Portland, OR! They WON the Starlight Waltz. It was gorgeous and they deserved it whole-heartedly. Kyomi and Neil are in first place overall, and Nancy and Mike are in third. I think that's how it is. Not totally sure, but that's the most I can remember right now. It's super late and I am exhausted. I took a TON of pictures today, so I will post them all in the morning, when I am not so tired (speaking of which....please ignore any typos to which can be attributed to my sleepy state....Michelle H. !!!! LOL).

Oh, and Oregon Public Broadcasting called me today. I did a telephone interview with them and they broadcast a 2-3 minute piece on the Portland, OR dancers all across Oregon this afternoon. Neato! Here's the link: http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/opb/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1065812

Wow, what a night. Exhausting, exhilerating, adrenanline rushed...high...low....anxious, excited, apprehensive, and all smiles. I am beat.

Oh...one pic: Terri and I celebrating with DESSERT! Yeah boys, you WILL lift us Friday! We deserve chocolate after all the hard work today! (They were secretly across the table from us saying "please push the plate away....please push the plate away!" LOL)

Good Night!! I love this competition. It is the most fun you can have.

Until tomorrow,

---J

Moment of Truth...

2007-04-11T09:33:00.000-05:00

Ok...today is the day. Nerves? Not yet. They'll come. Dance doesn't actually begin til tonight. Although, I have to admit breakfast was a challenge to get down.
We'll get to the rink at 11am this morning, perhaps slightly earlier. I'm going to snap more photos and hunt for skate "news" before we actually take to out practice ice.

Feel free to leave comments at the bottom of each post. I love reading what everyone has to say about the blog. Or put in special requests for info. I'll do what I can to accomodate!

BTW, it snowed last night...about 1.5 inches and it's still coming down. I hope that's a good sign?

Until Next Time,

----J

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz...Busy Bees!

2007-04-10T22:24:00.000-05:00

Holy Canoli!
What a day. It's a been a busy one. The three other teams from Portland arrived today along with our coach and getting everyone settled in and organized has been a trip! The host hotel is about 6-7 miles away from the rink and it's been a car-pooling frenzy. We are all in different locations and it's a bit of a commuting nightmare, but we'll sort it all out.

Paul and Michelle Harvath arrived today as well. Love that pair! I worked professionally with Paul back when Portland hosted "real" Nationals in 2005. We sat in the media room in 2005, had lunch, and shot the breeze with a bunch of other photogs from all kinds of different news organizations from around the country. And, of course, they all know each other, so I got to be the brunt of all the jokes! Well, Paul has not changed one bit! What a hoot that man is! LOL. I can NEVER tell when he's serious and when he's just pulling my leg. I look quizzingly at Michelle, and all she does it shrug her shoulders roll her eyes and gasp, "Get used to it!" Those two are some of the best photogs in the biz. I envy & respect their photographic talent and am honored to be competing with them.

Practice for one hour on the east rink went well this morning. There were seven teams on the ice and there were a few near misses, but all is well. And everyone is cheerful, happy and as always without a doubt, very sportsman-like. You can almost garauntee that here.

The big story this year in the dance world is injuries and illness.
Tim and Terri....you are in our prayers tonight. Tim has come down with the flu and sick in his hotel room. Now, Terri is feeling it. They skated practice today, and looked fabulous. I think their Starlight Waltz is just stunning! Go Tim! Get better....think healthy thoughts. After all the hard work they have put in this year, (Tim passed all the way through Silver dances to be able to skate Pre-Gold with Terri this year. What is that? 13 dances?) , plus they are learning two Pre-Gold dances for competition and put together their OD! Phew! Tim is a skating machine! We will be rooting for you and sending you healthy energy!

Ok...so Jordan and I have been crazy running around all day today and I did not get a chance to take too many pics. Sorry, everyone. I know that's what you love. I'll do better tomorrow. Promise. I tried to take video with my phone today and I just can't get it to upload at the moment. Sorry!

What IS EXCITING????
Competition starts tomorrow!! Yeah! Most of the dance events are at night, so many of us are practicing mid-day or so and then our official warm-ups are about 1-2 hours before our event.
The costumes are ready, the music is in. Now all we have to do is skate those compulsories on-time and with great edge. Got Edge anyone? Oh and don't forget to COUNT. As my coach Anthony says, "The only thing I want you guys to do is COUNT!"

The starting orders were posted and I really only looked at our event (too much going on today). We skate the first dance 3rd and the second dance 1st. It was funny, though, when they posted the starting orders. People everywhere! Coaches, athletes, spouses, friends...they were crammed up against the wall three to four deep! LOL. Alas, that all too important starting order. It defines half your competition strategy!

Tomorrow's dancing includes Pre-Gold and Gold initial rounds, plus some Pre-Bronze and Bronze events. The higher level teams are skating the Argentine Tango & The Quickstep (Gold) and The Starlight Waltz & The Blues (Pre-Gold). I promise I will do my best to report on what happened behind the scenes as much as I can AND provide more pictures. Especially tomorrow. It's the first day of AN 2007!!!

Until Next Time,
---J

Pictures! Lots Of Pictures!

2007-04-09T21:14:00.000-05:00

This woman---along with all the other staff and volunteers at AN...rock! Thank you for all your hard work!

This is Co-Registrar, Lois Todd at the check-in desk. This wonderful lady made check-in a piece of cake! In the competitors packet we got a cool CD case with the Nationals 2007 logo on the front. Neat! Great place to keep all my compulsory dance music.
And speaking of all things SWEET...it's Jay, our cookie man! Every year, Jay brings dozens and dozens and dozens of home-baked cookies and just hands them out to all the competitors. His Chocolate chip? The BEST! Word is...he's brought 100 dozen cookies this year. He baked ALL day Saturday and drove up here yesterday! Do the math? That's 1200 cookies! We love Jay (that's me with him below). Although, I WILL end up 5 pounds heavier when I leave here! LOL

Tonight five of us dancers had dinner at a great little Italian joint. Tim & Terri (Pre-Gold Dance) and one of Portland's own teams arrived in town today. Here's a few from dinner: Pictured are: Jordan, Kia, Terri, Tim and myself.

Below: Aren't they cutest team EVER!!! Molly and Kia are a US Nationals staple. This competition would not be what it is if they were not part of it. The two of them are the most special, wonderful, sportsman-like people I have ever met, and Jordan and I absolutely adore them. They are true ambassadors of Adult Ice Dancing. Yes, we compete against them this year, but that does not matter. They are always our friends first. That's the great thing about AN. It's camaraderie first, competition second. That's what makes being an adult so fun.

Jordan...after practice. Head phones in---once again! LOL. I love to tease him. He can take it and oh boy, he can dish it too!

Kianoosh---after practice today. Poor guy took a spill at tonight's practice and bonked his head. Thank goodness he is ok! Although at dinner he sure was saying some odd things! LOL. Just kidding, Kia!
The West Rink: Nice ICE!!! It's fast, it's clean and the rink is actually not that cold. A Miracle!
So, according to the manual of my little Sony Cybershot Point-and-shoot camera....this thing will actually shoot video. So, tomorrow, my plan is to try and upload some videotape of dance practices through "You Tube." It'll be a trial run, but if it works...then I'll be doing ALL kinds of fun stuff on this blog this week! I think I can even run polls on here? I'll check into it more tomorrow. Maybe I'll hold a who looks the best contest?? Or who which flavor of Jay's famous cookies takes the gold medal!

Until Next Time,

----J

Speedy Gonzales!!

2007-04-09T13:46:00.000-05:00

Sooo...we just got off of our first practice ice.
It's quick! Nothing like clean, FAST, polished ice! Jordan is on adrenaline at the moment and his mind is currently traveling at about 100 mph. He gets like this at competition. I get asthmatic, and he gets a rush. What a combo. huh? LOL.

Things are quite organized this year at Nationals. Check-in was a breeze. The practice ice line is already a mile long, but what's new? Isn't it like that every year? So many people....so little ice. They do the best they can do. And things seem to be running a lot smoother this year.

The facility is awesome! It's not even that cold! Yeah!!! Last year we dealt with foggy air and high humidity. This year the rinks are great and there seems to be plenty of room to spread out. The locker rooms are nice and everyone is just in a cheery mood! So fun!
The rest of the Portland, OR dance teams arrive tomorrow and Wednesday. Our coach comes in tomorrow. Things are going to pick up.

I have taken lots of pics, but no time to post at the moment. I'll do that tonight.
Stay tuned.

Until Next Time,

----J

You Know That Feeling?

2007-04-09T10:44:00.000-05:00

When you are the last one standing at the luggage carousel and your skates still haven't come off the plane? You envision your glorious, perfectly sharp blades and their bleach-white boots heading off to some back country town in Alabama, North Dakota or Wyoming. And you start mumbling prayers under your breathe that the plane with your skates on it will somehow make it back to Chicago by the time you compete....
Well, thank goodness I didn't have to pray long! In my brief panic, just as I'm about to say, "Oh no," the bag comes sauntering around S-curve of the baggage wheel. Phew!

So...with all that said, we're here! The plane ride was uneventful. Jordan had head phones on the whole time. I sat in my seat finishing the last of the rhinestoning on my compulsory dance dress. And spent the last hour of the four hour ride reading trashy, entertainment magazines like US Weekly, Star and In Touch. I refuse to engage in this type of literary genre unless I am on the beach or in a jet streaking across the sky. LOL. It sure is fun when I have the excuse to do it though!

So we spent an hour or so exploring the area around the rinks last night. It's very charming! ...At least it was in the dark! Today we practice at noon and then we're off to go explore Chicago. I'll try to report on that later today. I'm having a few computer issues, so bear with me!

Until Next Time,
---J

All Dolled Up!

2007-04-06T22:58:00.000-05:00

Today was our last practice before leaving. It went fairly well. Lots of sarcasm.....a few happy accidents and Jordan managed to dump me on the ice. LOL! I now have a nice big bruise on my right knee. Man, those knee falls are the worst! They HUUUURT!
Jordan didn't really do it ALL on his own. I kinda caught a toe pick. Not really...just storta. After all, it's ALWAYS the mans fault, right ladies??? {giggle}

I finally finished rhinestoning my OD dress. (why do I always wait until the last minute?). I have about 10 gross (for those not in the know--- that little bit of 411 means about 1500 stones!) on the thing.

Before:

And After!!!:
Woohoo! Dont-cha just LOVE what Photoshop can do to a picture! Hee!
It's all about special effects! We'll be needing some of those on the west rink this Friday, please??? Anyone? Anyone?
I have to say though, even with some Photoshop help it really does look better in person.

Heck, even my skates are looking all dolled up. It's the ONLY time of year they look this good.

Anyway, I'm off to finish packing...or better yet, actually START packing. And then it's one more day of work (hey, gotta finance this, right?) and Sunday we'll fly this NW rain-pit for snowier and windier cities!!!

See ya in Chicago!

Almost There!

2007-04-05T19:21:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the "unofficial" blog of the US Adult National Championships!

As a journalist in Portland, OR I cover the gamut of stories. So, I thought why not cover Nationals in Chicago! Those who can't make it to the event are always wondering what's happening moment to moment. You get results from US Figure Skating and a few stories on the BIG events, but not much news on what's really going on behind the scenes. There's just not enough man power! So check in here all next week. I'll try to update as often as I can with news and tid-bits. Keep in mind, my partner and I are competing in Gold Dance too, so I'll be a busy girl and won't be able to cover everything.

We arrive Sunday night in Chicago. I doubt we'll get any ice time at that point because we have to pick up the rental car and check into our hotel. Thank goodness I made reservations WAAAAY in advance. We got into the closest hotel to the rink. Yeah! We'll practice Monday morning and then check out some of the sites of Chicago. As a professional photographer (on the side), I hope to bring you many, many pictures!

See you all in Chicago!!!
Until Next Time,
---J