Fun with Emily: Skate Nashville 2026

Thursday, April 16, 2026

This year all of Skate Nashville for Emily happened in one day. Usually, the competitions split the short and long programs onto different days, but this time not so much. Emily's short program was at 10:15am. There were 9 in her group. Once again she was going to try to go for her 2A in hopes of finally getting credit. She had an amazing program. But, when it was over she still didn't get credit for the 2A and she got no credit for her first spin, again! Last competition in Louisville we thought it was because of a change of center after her illusion, but this time that did not happen so we were very confused. Finally, Heidi looked up the rule and it turned out that she was supposed to have a change foot combination spin. Oops. Because of this error, she lost 3+ points and finished 6th. Had she done the correct spin, she would have been third. Oh well. She was pretty pleased to have scored as high as she did under the circumstances. Here are some of my fave pics from the short.

Then, we had a little time to kill between the short and long programs so we had lunch at PF Chang's and then hit a thrift shop that Heidi, Lily and Emily found on last year's trip. There, Emily met the cutest little lady who seemed convinced (by the gold medalist jacket no doubt) that Emily was a star. She got a little book from her purse and requested her autograph, which Emily happily provided. It was a cute moment.

Then it was time to get back to the rink to stretch and get ready for the long program. This was the one that Emily was hoping to win. But there were 10 in her group so she was going to have to skate clean... and likely better than in Louisville.

Her program was nearly flawless. She had beautiful jumps and elegant spins and a gorgeous program overall. She was in the last group of skaters so we didn't have long to wait to see that she would be the Excel Novice Ladies Free Skate gold medalist...and by several points too!

Here are some of my favorite pics from the long program. I can't believe we are down to one competition left in her childhood skating career. I wouldn't have traded this journey for anything in all the world. I've loved every single minute.