Started off this morning by braving the -6 wind chill to visit my favorite historic skating rink. The senior pairs were on the ice for practice, and I was able to see most of the first two groups before I had to leave for the juvenile pairs free skate. There were a few no-shows at practice, but the first group featured three podium contenders - Marissa Castelli/Simon Shnapir, Caydee Denney/John Coughlin, and Tarah Kayne/Danny O'Shea. Marissa and Simon did a 75% run-through of their FS and looked very strong on the lifts and the SBS triple Sals. They took command of the ice. After the run-through, they practiced the throw quad Salchow, and were a hair away from landing it cleanly each time.
Tarah and Danny did a full run-through of their FS, and I continue to be so impressed with how much they keep growing as a team. Their speed has increased and I love their elegance. Everything they do has a beautiful flair to it. Caydee and John also had a good run-through of their FS. Their SBS jumps were on point as always. In the second group, Gretchen Donlan/Andrew Speroff did a beautiful run-through of their FS without the jumps.
Next I traveled over to the BCEC for the juvenile pairs free skate. Overall I thought it was a really good competition with a lot of teams skating their best. I spied some of the juvenile skaters' senior pairs buddies in the crowd cheering them on, which was great to see!
The final event of my day was the junior short dance. I think the future of US dance is in good hands with this group! My favorite up-and-coming team is Chloe Lewis and Logan Bye. I love the style and grace they have for being such a young age!
Here are all the photos from Tuesday's events!
