Fun with Emily: January 2024

USFS Skating Spectacular

Sunday, January 28, 2024

After a fun weekend of incredible skating it was time for the Skating Spectacular! We had been looking forward to this all week. This is just an exhibition and it is fun to see more of the top skaters' personalities in their skating. I didn't really get any pictures of the skating because I just wanted to watch and take it all in. The programs were so fun and it was neat to see everyone just having a good time.

Little did we know that once the show was over, the best part was still to come. We stuck around a little while after the show ended just to watch the skaters a little longer. You could tell they were just enjoying themselves and blowing off steam after a tough competition. At one point, some of them just started skating around the rink kind of high-fiving people and sometimes getting pictures. Then some of the skaters had t-shirts and they were throwing them out to fans. Amazingly, Emily caught one! And it was signed by Jason Brown and several other skaters too! Here we are with the skater who gave Emily the shirt!

We just kept standing and watching and soon enough lots of skaters started making their way around the rink (by this point the stands had mostly cleared out). So we got to meet and do selfies with lots of them - including Gracie Gold, Jason Brown, Josephine Lee, Goku Endo and Sarah Everhart. It was amazing and a night I know we will not forget. This was a truly unforgettable weekend of skating!

USFS Nationals - Men's Free Skate

Sunday, January 28, 2024

Today was a big day of skating! We started off our morning by sleeping in a bit and then we headed to meet Tierra and Kinsley for lunch at Bucca Di Beppo (Italian) for lunch. It was right next door to the arena so that made it very convenient. It was pretty good, even though family style serving is not generally my first choice.

Then we headed into the arena to watch the men. We were hoping for some quads from Ilia and some of the other men and I really live to see Jason Brown skate. There were some other really great men in the short that I had not really heard much about but they had impressive short programs. I was also hoping to see Camden Pulkinen medal because he has been working for so long. Ilia did not really have a very good skate, unfortunately, but Jason Brown was great (of course) and so was Camden Pulkinen!

In the final standings, Ilia Malinin took gold, Jason Brown got silver, Camden Pulkinen took bronze and Maxim Naumov was fourth and got pewter. He was really impressive and definitely a name to watch!

And look! We made it onto the jumbo-tron again! Probably because the ladies behind us had a "we love Jason Brown" sign, but I'll take it. Apparently we were also on tv several times because our seats were so close to the ice. Daniel and Heidi both texted us that they saw us on tv. HA HA!

We headed back to the hotel briefly between the Men's and the Skating Spectacular to pack up some things and then we made our way back for the big finale!

USFS Nationals - Pairs Free Skate

Saturday, January 27, 2024

Today we slept in again and then went shopping out at Polaris. On our way, we stopped at PF Chang's for lunch (at Emily's request). It was yummy. Then we shopped and shopped and both got a few more things. Then for dinner we found a California Pizza Kitchen! We haven't eaten there in forever and it was just enough after having the big lunch. Then we got back to the arena in time to see the pairs free skate.

I had never seen pairs in competition in person before (only on TV) and I have to say, it is super impressive. While some of the teams did have some problems, it was all very cool to see live.

Emily actually got to meet this pair team later in the competition! See? And she is wearing the jacket we got her at the USFS store, too!

And look! We made it onto the jumbo-tron! I had to take a picture of course. I mean, how many times will this happen in my life, right?

We were so tired at the end of the competition that we did not even stay for awards, but that did not mean we were not blown away with everything we saw. Another great night of skating!

USFS National's - Men's Short & Women's Free Skate

Friday, January 26, 2024

Today was super fun. We started our day by sleeping in a bit. Then we ate a quick breakfast in the room and headed out to go shopping at Easton. We were both able to find a few things we liked...including this cute train!

Then we met Tierra and Kinsley for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. After lunch, they headed back to the rink but we shopped a little more and still made it back in time to drop off our packages and get to the rink in time for the Men's Short programs. We were very excited to see Ilia Mallinin, Jason Brown, Camden Pulkinen, Jimmy Ma and more. There were definitely some great skaters in the short and when all was said and done, Ilia came out on top with Jason Brown in second.

We had a bit of a break after the Men's short before the Women's free skate began so we grabbed a quick dinner at the arena and took a walk around. It gave us a chance to see the USFS store and get Emily a jacket! Then she also got to do a jump challenge and actually made the list of top jumpers. We also saw Ilia signing autographs for a little group of kids. Can you tell I had to really crop the picture??

Then it was time to see the women shine. After she kind of got cheated in the short, I was really rooting for Amber Glenn. She had a triple axel planned in her program and it would be exciting to see that in person. There was also a newer senior skater, Mia Kalin, that had a quad planned in her program so I was hoping to see that too. It ended up being really exciting because we got to see both! Amber landed her triple axel and Mia landed a quad toe! We also saw an amazing up and coming skater - Josephine Lee. She was amazing and it was so incredible to see her skate such a great program. She was in tears and it was a really sweet moment. Unfortunately Isabeau Levito did not have a good free skate. She fell a couple of times and just did not have a great skate. So, I got my wish. Amber Glenn ended up in first with Josephine Lee in second! Isabeau had to settle for third and Sarah Everhart was 4th. Lindsay Thorngren didn't make it onto the podium this year, but what a great night of skating!

OH! And, while we were there, I got a message that 2 of my friends from my college days teaching Fred J. Miller summer camps were there too! So, I got to catch up with Heater Zimmer and Brooke Katinsky! We had not seen each other in years and it was so fun to catch up - even if only briefly.

USFS Nationals - Women's Short

Thursday, January 25, 2024

As soon as we found out that nationals was going to be in Columbus this year, we bought tickets (great tickets)! It will be a while before it is ever this close to home again so we were NOT going to miss it. We arrived in Columbus just in time to get to Nationwide Arena for the Women's Short program. We stayed at the Hyatt Regency right next to the arena so it was a quick walk.

We were excited to see some of the hottest names in US women's figure skating including Isabeau Levito, Amber Glenn, Lindsay Thorngren and Starr Andrews and some new faces too! I only took pictures really during the warm up because I really wanted to watch the performances and I am so glad I did. Even though I don't have a ton of pics, I have more than enough and I really loved watching the skaters live. In many ways it is way better than on tv. There were a surprising number of falls and bobbles, but after the short, Isabeau Levito was on top with Amber Glenn close behind. A lot of us thought Amber should have been on top, but the long was still to come. Definitely off to a great start to our Nationals Weekend!

Emily even got to meet one of the skaters after her performance. We did not know her, but it was still a cool experience! Afterall, she is a national level skater! And, who knows, maybe we'll see her on the podium someday!