Colorado Springs Skaters Prepare for National Championships

This is part of my final assignment for class - it is a broadcast version of another story I wrote.

(Shot of skaters practicing in rink) Reporter VO:

Nine teams of skaters from Colorado Springs will be heading for Cleveland this January for the 2009 US Figure Skating Championships. And, it’s one person’s job to prepare them for the competition.

 (Shot of Dalilah coaching) All eighteen skaters train at the World Arena Ice Hall where they are under the watchful eye of coach Dalilah Sappenfield.

 

Interview with Sappenfield in front of rink:

“My job is to push my skaters so that their programs just become routine.  By the time we get to Nationals my kids know what they are doing.  If they don’t then I’m not doing my job.”

 

(Video clip of McLaughlin and Brubaker from 2008 Nationals) Reporter VO:

Evidence suggests that Sappenfield knows exactly how to do her job.  At last year’s US Figure Skating Championships she had the winner in the novice, junior and senior pairs divisions.  Senior pairs champions Keauna (Key aw na) McLaughlin (Mc Law flin) and Rockne (Rock knee) Brubaker (Brew bake er) are among the teams headed to Cleveland with Sappenfield in January.

 

Reporter VO:

Practice shot of skaters as mentioned:

Novice Champions Brynn Carman and Chris Knierim (k neer rim), and Junior Champion Jessica Rose Paetsch (Pay she) and her new partner Drew Meekins are also returning to the championships after winning medals last year. Both teams are now competing at the next level.

Brittany Chase and Andrew Speroff, who placed second at the novice level, have also moved up this year.  Chase says having so many teammate around at nationals takes some of the pressure off.

 

Interview in lobby with Brittany Chase:

“We’re there for each other. We can watch each other and cheer for each other just like practice.”

 

Live shot of reporter in front of World Arena

And keeping things just like practice is exactly what Sappenfield wants to accomplish.  She says she wants her kids to think of nationals as just another day at the rink.

Nine Teams prepare for the US Figure Skating Championships

This post is part of my final project for class - it is a web version of a hard news story I wrote.

Being prepared and having a routine are the keys to success for a Colorado Springs coach and her students.

Nine teams of skaters from Colorado Springs are preparing for the 2009 US Figure Skating Championships to be held January 18^th – 25^th in Cleveland. It’s the job of Dalilah Sappenfield, the 2008 Professional Skater’s Association Coach of the Year, to prepare the pairs for the competition.

Make it Routine

The preparation begins long before many of the teams even qualify for the ational championships. The skaters spend months practicing their programs at the World Arena Ice Hall in Colorado Springs.  Sappenfield said that her job is to push them during practice until their programs are so natural the movements are routine.

“By the time we get to Nationals my kids know what they are doing,” said Sappenfield.  “If they don’t know then I haven’t done my job right.”

A Sign of Success

Based on past results, Sappenfield is doing her job right. Two of the nine teams going to Cleveland are current national champions. Keauna McLaughlin and Rockne Brubaker will try to defend their championship pairs title.  Brynn Carman and Chris Knierim captured the novice level pairs title last year. They will try to do the same as juniors this year.  Last year’s junior pairs champion Jessica Rose Paetsch will compete at the senior level with her new partner, Drew Meekins.

Britney Chase and Andrew Speroff placed second at novice last year. Chase, 15, said that she is excited to be returning to the national championships.  Last year Chase and her partner had only been skating together for five months.

“We took four pairs tests in two weeks in order to qualify for sectionals just before the deadline last year,” said Chase. “Then a few months later we were at Nationals and we came in second. It all happened so fast.”

Looking To the Future

After such early success, expectations are high for Chase and Speroff who will compete at the junior level in Cleveland. Chase said she knows she that there is a lot of pressure, but she doesn’t have to be nervous if she’s prepared and sticks to the routine. Then, Nationals is just another competition.