2011 Governing Council - Washington Figure Skating Club

THE WASHINGTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB! JUNE 2011
Notes from the President
by Peter Tsai
The WFSC Annual meeting took
place on June 4th at Bluemont
Shelter in Virginia.
The weather was perfect,
although attendance was low with a little more than 50
people. There was a mix of adults and young skaters.
Treasurer Konrad Huppi gave the report reviewing this
yearʼs financial results. WFSC ended the year with a
small surplus. For the upcoming season, membership
fees will be increasing because USFS has increased
membership fees, both at the member level and at the
club level. In addition, test fees will be increasing
beginning in August due to increases in the cost of
renting ice.
WFSC was recognized by USFS for having the
greatest number of introductory members and for its
effective use of social networking through Facebook.
WFSC will end the 2010-2011 season with 905
members. This marks the highest membership count
in Club history!
The Wheaton Ice Skating Academy coaches were
nominated by the PSA for their accomplishments in
advancing skaters in ice dancing.
WFSC is run by volunteers. With over 900 members,
the skating testing committees need help to be able to
service all the testing needs of the membership. A
plea was made to the members to volunteer to help at
test sessions.
Haley Dunne and Sarah Eisen were presented
with their Gold Medals for passing their Senior
Freeskate tests. Charlotte Robbins, Kyle
McMillian, Davi Pham and Vu Pham did not
attend the meeting but were also honored for
passing the Senior Freeskate (Charlotte) and
the Gold Dance tests. They will have their Gold
Medals delivered to them.
The ballots were counted and the new or
returning WFSC Board of Governor members
are:
Chuck Abbott, Diana Cheng, Ellyn Kestnbaum,
Chris Laxson, and Peter Tsai.
The meeting was adjourned. The picnic
resumed along with much socializing.
Congratulations to Gold
Medalists...
... Sabrina Begley, Victoria Le,
Megan McDevitt, Lorraine
McNamara for passing the Senior
Moves-in-the-Field test.
...Haley Dunne, and Sarah Eisen for
passing the Senior Freeskating test.
...Davi Pham and Vu Pham for passing
their Gold Dance tests.
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THE WASHINGTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB! JUNE 2011
WFSC Adult Skaters compete at the 2011 U.S. Figure Skating Adult
Championships!
by Dennis Palaganas & Diana Cheng!
!
WFSC’s adult skaters had a strong contingent at the U.S. Figure Skating Adult
Championships, affectionately known as “Adult Nationals”, hosted in 2011 by the
Salt Lake Figure Skating Club in Utah. Eighteen WFSC skaters competed in 22
events (accounting for 28 starts) at Adult Nationals and earned a total of 18
medals.!
!
In the championship events, for which competitors must have placed in the top 4 in their events at the 2011
Adult Eastern Sectionals, WFSC was represented by skaters in four events. In the free skate events, Scott
Powell placed 9th in Championship Masters Junior-Senior Men, Suzanne Himmerich placed 6th in
Championship Masters Intermediate-Novice, and Daniel Paepke placed 11th in Championship Adult Gold.
Stephen Trzaska (with partner Tara Cioppa of the Ice House of New Jersey FSC) and Diana Cheng (with
partner Martin Romanik of the Ice Club of Baltimore) placed 3rd and 6th respectively in Championship Adult
Pairs.!
!
The majority of the events at Adult Nationals are “open” events, that is, skaters who have passed the requisite
U.S. Figure Skating tests are eligible to enter without having had to compete at a prior qualifying competition. !
In the partnered compulsory dance events, Duane Clayton (with partner Sue Sharon representing
Charlottesville FSC) placed 2nd at the Pre-Silver level, completing the Ten-Fox, European Waltz,
Fourteenstep, and Tango. Jessica Gillmore & John Hillenbrand won the Bronze dance event, which
includes the Swing Dance, Fiesta Tango, Willow Waltz, and Fourteenstep dances. Pamela Bozzi & Richard
Van Camp placed 9th in Centennial Dance, an event for skaters over the age of 50; their dances were the
Foxtrot, Tango, European Waltz, and Paso Doble. !
!
In pairs, Diana Cheng (with partner Martin Romanik) placed 3rd in Masters Pairs, and Stephen Trzaska (with
partner Tara Cioppa) placed 2nd in Gold Pairs.!!In the solo dance events, Mary Jean Huebner won the Silver
medal in the Bronze event, with Jessica Gillmore finishing 13th. John Hillenbrand placed 18th in the Silver
event.!
!
In the free skate events, Janet Long won the Ladies Silver 5 event and Caroline Thorington placed second.
Mark Adams won the Silver Men 4 event. Elizabeth Jackson placed 2nd in Ladies Masters Intermediate
4/5, Stephen Trzaska and Dennis Palaganas placed 2nd and 3rd respectively in Gold Men 2, Mary Jean
Huebner placed 7th in Gold Ladies 2, and Julie Nguyen and Delsie McCoy placed 9th and 11th respectively
in Silver Ladies 2. !
!
The interpretive events are always the crowd-pleasers. WFSC had several of its skaters enter in the
interpretive events: Mark Adams, who placed 1st in Men’s Artistic/Dramatic 4 and 2nd in Men’s Light
Entertainment/Comedy 4, Duane Clayton who placed 2nd in Men’s Light Entertainment/Comedy 4, Elizabeth
Jackson who placed 1st in Masters Ladies’ Artistic/Dramatic 5, Caroline Thorington who placed 3rd in
Ladies’ Artistic/Dramatic 5, and Janet Long who placed 4th in Ladies’ Artistic/Dramatic 5.
Congratulations to all WFSC Adult Nationals competitors!
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THE WASHINGTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB! JUNE 2011
2011 Governing Council
Washington Figure Skating Club had one of the largest contingents of delegates at this year’s U.S. Figure Skating
Governing Council, held from April 27-30, 2011 in Lombard, Illinois (outside Chicago). WFSC earned eleven
delegates with one of the largest memberships among all U.S. Figure Skating Clubs – over 900! The 2011
delegates were: Najja Bracey, Deveny Deck, Jennifer DeSimone, Dina Gold, Leslie Gianelli, Phyllis Howard,
Jennifer Lyon, Heather Nemier, Judy Reiner, Marcia Sowles, and Lyn Witt.
WFSC was also specially recognized for having enrolled more than 10 introductory members during the
2010-2011 membership year with a “Plus 10 Award.” In fact, WFSC had more introductory members than any
other Club - 67!
Three WFSC members received special recognition at Governing Council. Leslie Gianelli was applauded for her
four years of service as the Chair of the Memorial Fund. Heather Nemier was recognized for 25 years of service
as a U.S. Figure Skating judge. Dorothy Dodson was recognized for 60 years of service as a U.S. Figure Skating
judge. Congratulations to Leslie, Heather, and Dorothy. Thank you for all you do for your Club, U.S. Figure
Skating, and this sport!
WFSC was also informally recognized for its Facebook page, www.facebook.com/washingtonfsc. Our page was
used as a positive example for other Clubs!
The biggest change made at Governing Council this year was to the format of Junior Nationals. Beginning in the
2013 competition year, there will no longer be a stand-alone Junior National Championship competition. Instead,
Junior Nationals will be held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships. In addition, Regional
medalists will proceed to Sectionals before Junior Nationals. The top four Juvenile Girls, Juvenile Boys,
Intermediate Men, and Intermediate Women from each Region will compete at Sectionals, along with Juvenile
Dance and Pairs. The top four from each Sectionals will then proceed to Junior Nationals. Because Junior
Nationals will be held in conjunction with the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, it will no longer take place in
mid-December.
Another change was raising the age cut-off to compete at qualifying competitions at the Intermediate level by one
year. As a result, skaters may participate at the qualifying Regionals competition in the Juvenile event so long as
they have not turned 14 by September 1 of the applicable year.
Changes made to program elements at Governing Council are available at the U.S. Figure Skating website at
http://usfsa.org/New_Judging.asp?id=355. Technical updates are made available every Thursday on the main
page, www.usfsa.org.
Another change announced at Governing Council was an increase to membership dues. Most Clubs, including
WFSC, have reflected this dues increase in the 2011-2012 membership dues.
Finally, Heather Nemier was re-elected as Chair of the Rules Committee. Congratulations, Heather!
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THE WASHINGTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB! JUNE 2011
This year’s Club Competition took place at
Rockville Ice Arena on April 2, 2011. There were a
total of 43 starts this year in freestyle, short
program, and artistic events. The IJS judging
system was used for juvenile and higher events,
which those skaters greatly appreciated.
IJS medal winners were as follows: Novice Ladies
Free Skate and Short Program: Anastassia
Medvedeva, 1 st ; Jacquelin Zimmerman, 2 nd ;
Intermediate Ladies Free Skate: Zoe Humeau, 1 st ;
Jordan Rubino, 2 nd ; Intermediate Ladies Short
Program : Zoe Humeau, 1 st ; Madelyn Crawford,
2 nd ; Megan McDevitt, 3 rd ; Juvenile Girls: Ashley
Young, 1 st ; Ritta Volovich, 2 nd ; Madelyn Crawford,
3 rd .
6.0 medal winners were as follows: Adult
Interpretive: Mark Adams, 1 st , Carey Thorington,
2 nd ; Adult Open Free Skate: Suzanne Himmerich,
1 st ; Laurie Brooks, 2 nd ; Beth Jackson, 3 rd ; All Star
Girls: Cherri Chen, 1 st ; Haley King, 2 nd ; Jennifer
Varghese, 3 rd ; Artistic Free Skate: Anna Teutsch, 1 st ;
Charlotte O’Reagan, 2 nd ; Pre-Juvenile Free Skate:
Selene Guilfoyle, 1 st ; Irene Kim, 2 nd ; Megan
Guilfoyle, 3 rd ; Preliminary Girls: Maeve Hoffman,
1 st ; Achi Beebe, 2 nd ; Katarina Kitarovic, 3 rd .
The medal winners for the All Star, Preliminary,
and Pre-Juvenile events will be invited to
participate in the 2012 South Atlantic Regional
Send-Off by presenting team certificates to the
members of the WFSC 2012 South Atlantic Team.
The Send-Off will take place October 9, 2011 from
2 to 6 p.m. at Rockville Ice Arena.
2011 Club Competition
Medal winners from the 2011 Club Competition
are: Cherri Chen, All Star/Norval Baptie Trophy;
Maeve Hoffman, Preliminary/Mary Francis Allen
Trophy; Selene Guilfoyle, Pre-Juvenile/Patsy Jones
Picken Trophy; Ashley Young, Juvenile/Margaret
H. Parker Trophy; Zoe Humeau, Intermediate/
WFSC Trophy; Anastassia Medvedeva, Novice/
WFSC Board of Governors Trophy; Anna Teutsch,
Artistic FS/WFSC President's Cup; and Suzanne
Himmerich, Virginia Mills Woods Trophy (highest
Adult Ladies FS event). These winners’ names
have been added to these trophies, which are on
display at Cabin John Ice Rink.
The 2011 Club Competition was run, as are all
WFSC events, by great volunteers. They include:
Cynthia Alpin; Al Bainger; Sook Chang; Diana
Cheng; Stephanie Colen; Glen Crawford; Loren
Crawford; Meghan Donaldson; Haley Dunne;
Christine Furman; Dina Gold; Louie Gold; Betsy
Hauck; Katie Horan; Barbara Kapinus; Jennifer
Lyon; Doug Mankovich; Audrey Marek; Heather
Nemier; Judy Reiner; Erika Schildknecht; Lexi
Schildknecht; Sarah Smith; Cathy Strong; Carey
Thorington; Olga Ullman; Debbie Weidman; Jim
Wilson.
Save the date! Next year’s Club Competition will
take place on March 31 at Ashburn Ice House in
Ashburn, Virginia. Once again, the IJS judging
system will be used for juvenile and higher events.
Have questions or suggestions? Email
ClubCompetition@gmail.com.
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THE WASHINGTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB! JUNE 2011
July 10: MIF/FS test, Cabin John Ice Rink
July 16: Dance test, Wheaton Ice Arena
August 3-6: National Showcase, Mentor, OH
August 6: MIF/FS test, Kettler Capitals IcePlex
August 19-21: Potomac Open, Ashburn Ice House
September 18: MIF/FS test, Prince William Ice
Center
October 9: 2012 South Atlantic Regional Figure
Skating Championships Send-Off, Rockville Ice
Arena
October 15-17: 2012 South Atlantic non-qualifying
Regional Figure Skating Championships, Aston, PA
October 21-25: 2012 South Atlantic Regional Figure
Skating Championships, Aston, PA
November 15-19: 2012 Eastern Sectional Figure
Skating Championships, Jamestown, NY
November 26: MIF/FS test, Cabin John Ice Rink
WFSC/U.S. Figure Skating upcoming events
WFSC Pro AM: June 11-12, SkateQuest Reston
Chesapeake Open: June 23-26 at the Gardens, Laurel, MD
Liberty: July 12-16 at Iceworks, Aston, PA
WFSC Potomac Open: August 19-21, Ashburn Ice House
Challenge Cup: September 8-11, PSCHS
Upcoming area competitions:
Mid-Atlantics: September 15-18, Skating Club of New York
Falling Leaves: September 30-October 2, Richmond FSC
2012 South Atlantic non-qualifying Regionals: October 15-17, Aston, PA
2012 South Atlantic Regionals: October 21-25, 2011, Aston, PA
December 9-13: 2012 U.S. Junior Figure Skating
Championships, East Lansing, MI
January 16, 2012: MIF/FS test, Rockville Ice Arena
January 22-29: U.S. Figure Skating Championships,
San Jose, CA
January 26-28: 2012 Eastern Synchronized Skating
Sectional Championships, Harrisburg, PA
February 20: MIF/FS test, Rockville Ice Arena
March 7-10: 2012 U.S. Synchronized Skating
Championships, Boston, MA
March 17: MIF/FS test, Ashburn Ice House
March 31: Club Competition, Ashburn Ice House
April 14: MIF/FS test, Ashburn Ice House
May 6: MIF/FS test, Kettler Capitals IcePlex
June 3: MIF/FS test, Kettler Capitals IcePlex
August 17-19: Potomac Open, Kettler Capitals
IcePlex
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THE WASHINGTON FIGURE SKATING CLUB! JUNE 2011
How are you getting your WFSC and skating news?
Washington Figure Skating Clubʼs volunteers do their best to provide
its membership with current news and information. We do this in a
variety of ways:
• Website: www.wfsc.net. The Club website lets the membership
know about upcoming competitions and tests, as well as the
recent accomplishments of our skaters and other members.
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/WashingtonFSC. In addition to
the information found on the Club website, the WFSC Facebook
page provides news from the figure skating world, updates from
U.S. Figure Skating, and information about area competitions
and seminars. This page is interactive – feel free to comment
on a posting or post a comment or question yourself.
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/WashingtonFSC. WFSCʼs Twitter
page provides the same information as its Facebook page, but
in a streaming, news-oriented format.
• E-mail: www.yahoo.com. WFSC has a “Group” on Yahoo! that
is used to send e-mails out through a ListServ. This is the way
that WFSC reaches out and sends information to its members,
as opposed to the members going on-line and accessing one or
more of the above sites. Test and competition schedules are
generally available first through the ListServ. If you need help
joining the ListServ, send your e-mail address to WFSC
President Peter Tsai at PeterTsai@verizon.net and he will send
you an invitation to the Group.
You donʼt have to join Facebook or Twitter to access the information
provided there. Simply go to the webpages listed above, and you can
access all of the information provided there. On the Facebook page,
be sure to click on the links to the left in addition to scrolling through
our news feed. More information is available at the Events and Notes
tabs.
The Blade
is published by the Washington
Figure Skating Club
www.wfsc.net
www.facebook.com/washingtonfsc
www.twitter.com/washhingtonfsc
Editor
Robin Maizlish 301-983-3323
robinmaizlish@gmail.com
Contributors
DIANA CHENG
DINA GOLD
DENNIS PALAGANAS
PETER TSAI
Contributions are
welcomed! Please email
news to the above address.
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