 Archway Anecdotes #1 - The Calm Before the StormU.S. Figure Skating Correspondent For U.S. Figure Skating correspondent Michelle Wojdyla, the State Farm U.S. Championships began well before the first event.
Notes from Thursday, Jan 05 (1/5/06) - I can’t believe how fast this season has gone, and if it feels that way to me, I can’t imagine what it has been like for the competitors. It seems like only yesterday I was writing my Boardwalk Blog from Atlantic City for Smart Ones Skate America. I had a blast doing that then and am looking forward to bringing you behind the scenes at the State Farm U.S. Championships in St. Louis.
My flight to Missouri leaves Saturday morning. While flying doesn’t freak me out, it’s not my favorite thing to do. When I was 9, my family went to Arizona to visit friends and do things like stagecoach rides and photo ops in Tombstone. On our flight back, we had serious trouble and actually had to be in crash position upon landing. Statistically, I’m probably OK for the rest of my air travel, but certain things leave an impact (no pun intended), even when you are in third grade. Larger planes don’t scare me as much. However, I’m on something the size of a Fisher Price toy from Newark to St. Louis. New Jersey to Missouri seems too far for a tiny plane, and I confess I’m really not looking forward to it. It is quite possible that my next blog entry may involve stories of a tranquilizer gun used en route.
While I don’t have to worry about whether my final combination spin rates a level four, I do spend this week before the U.S. Championships figuring how to get all my stuff into a suitcase that can’t weigh more than 50 pounds. (You get 70 pounds for international flights.) I know my days are going to be long once the competitions start (in addition to this blog, I have 11 articles to write plus take some photos) so there won’t be time to shop for things I forgot to pack. Got to cross it all off the list now. Setting the VCR to record everything is tricky, too, and it doesn’t help that so many shows have new episodes. (A new Lost finally!) Plus the new show Ice Diaries is on TLC. This is the program that is featuring Bebe Liang (remember, they were following her at Skate America), Jenny Kirk (they followed her around the Marshalls U.S. Figure Skating Challenge in Boston), and Alissa Czisny (they were leaving from Boston to the Grand Prix Final in Tokyo). Danielle Kahle and Sandy Rucker are also in it. Actually, in Boston, I went over to talk to Jenny during a break at practice and we ended up doing a 15 minute interview that they taped. It was weird to conduct an interview with a cameraman crawling around, pressing the camera against me in order to get the best angle for Jenny’s close-ups. While my conversation with her was unscripted and unrehearsed, we were asked to re-do a couple question/answers to make it better technically (the microphone closer, for example). It will be interesting for me to see what, if any, of that will make the broadcast.
In addition to the personal stuff I have to take care of, I also need to prepare for writing about the event. Keeping up on news is key. I also like to look back at previous championships. For Christmas, my mother got me the Skating Through Time DVD collection, which features great performances from past U.S. Championships. Some of the skates I was there for, like Jenni Meno & Todd Sands’ stunning free skate in Providence in ’95, Michelle Kwan’s “Lyra Angelica” perfection in Philadelphia in ’98, and of course Tanith Belbin & Ben Agosto’s record-breaking gypsy free dance last year.
 And speaking of Tanith and Ben, I must give a shout out of congratulations to our newest U.S. citizen. My first championships as a photographer was 2000 in Cleveland, where Tanith & Ben won the junior title. I have had the pleasure of getting to know them over the years and you could not ask for a classier person to represent the United States than Tanith. Last year after the exhibitions in Portland, I had the opportunity to do a photo shoot with her and Ben that left an indelible mark with me. Much to my surprise, the hotel room we were supposed to use for the shoot was fairly trashed when we got in there. Tanith and Ben didn’t flinch, pitching in to remove empty bottles and rearranging furniture. It was as far from glamorous at it gets, and there were no diva fits, no scowls. Just making the best of the situation and trying to create something beautiful.
2005 certainly ended on a high note with regard to citizenship, with Max Zavozin and Sergey Magerovskiy being sworn in as well. Congratulations to them, too! I’m looking forward to covering the senior dance events with U.S. Figure Skating’s newest correspondent, ice-dance.com’s Daphne Backman. This will be Daphne’s first U.S. Championships, and she is probably the most prepared person I have ever met. On top of her research, she’s also multitasking with personal preparation, including creating a laminated instruction card—complete with photos—for the vet taking care of her newly-diabetic cat, Aladdin.
| Above: One of my first photos of Tanith and Ben; Above right: My cat Huckleberry tries to help me program the VCR. |
USFigureSkating.org has some new features for this championship that everyone hopes will help bring you all the best coverage of nationals. I was very proud to be part of the extensive coverage we put together in Atlantic City and can’t wait to bring you backstage in St. Louis.
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