The hard work came to an end Thursday when the contestants in Skate America finished their practice rounds under the watchful eyes of coaches and a few die hard skating fans who had passes to the session.
I watched the practice sessions with several people who were part of the figure skating scene, a couple of coaches, a couple of bloggers and even the hosts of a YouTube site called The Skating Lesson.
The way the practices work is that half of a particular field (men’s ladies, pairs and dance) take the ice and warm up. The each of the skaters gets to run either the short program or the long one.
The most interesting thing is that during the program practice the other skaters don’t leave the ice. They continue to work on their stuff until it’s time for them to practice an entire program.
While the skaters work, they often stop and talk briefly with their coaches who line the rink like proud parents watching their kids take their first steps.
One of the most intriguing pairings was Gracie Gold and her top-hatted coach, Frank Carroll.
Gold is the best American lady skater and the current U. S. champion. She placed fourth at the last Olympics and fourth at the last World Championships.
Carroll, who is 75, has coached three world champions: Linda Fratianne, Michelle Kwan and Evan Lysacek. He watched his athlete like a hawk, never changing his expression of dead-on concentration. When Gold skated to him, he’d put his hands on her waist or shoulders and talk earnestly as she clearly carefully listened.
The experts around me, including Dave Lease, one of the hosts of The Skating Lesson YouTube show. He shot Gold’s performance with a handheld video camera and returned to the experts after he watched the long program.
"She didn’t look great," he said. "She has all the skills. She should be out here looking to kill someone. But looking into her eyes, it looked like she was going to get killed. It’s all about attitude and confidence."
Skate America is the first international skating event ever held in Milwaukee. It is the first of five world wide events in the Grand Prix series, leading up to the final in Barcelona.
Friday will feature short programs for all four disciplines, while the long programs and awards ceremonies will be Saturday. Sunday is an exhibition sponsored by Smucker’s.
There will be a free tailgate party between the afternoon and evening sessions outside the UWM Panther Arena Friday night.
With a history in Milwaukee stretching back decades, Dave tries to bring a unique perspective to his writing, whether it's sports, politics, theater or any other issue.
He's seen Milwaukee grow, suffer pangs of growth, strive for success and has been involved in many efforts to both shape and re-shape the city. He's a happy man, now that he's quit playing golf, and enjoys music, his children and grandchildren and the myriad of sports in this state. He loves great food and hates bullies and people who think they are smarter than everyone else.
This whole Internet thing continues to baffle him, but he's willing to play the game as long as OnMilwaukee.com keeps lending him a helping hand. He is constantly amazed that just a few dedicated people can provide so much news and information to a hungry public.
Despite some opinions to the contrary, Dave likes most stuff. But he is a skeptic who constantly wonders about the world around him. So many questions, so few answers.
