Nationals, Day 1

I love the demographic of this event: old ladies.

Well, that’s not entirely true, but as I looked around on the shuttles I rode this afternoon and evening here in Spokane, I’d say about 60% were older Caucasian women. Sure, there were men and young families as well, but the overwhelming majority was of this demographic. Not that there’s anything wrong with that!

I’m enjoying it, since I like old ladies and seem to be able to get into conversations with them easily. I suppose I’m like a client I had who claimed, when she was an adolescent, that she got along better with older people. I wonder what that says about how figure skating is marketed in this country. Perhaps it’d be better if it were telecast on Lifetime or Oxygen, instead of on ESPN.

Anyway, here’s what I did today:

7:30am: Left Moscow, Idaho with my mother-in-law.

9am: Arrived in Spokane. We made good time, but I spent a half-hour driving around, trying to find our hotel. Spokane, Washington is full of one-way streets, and that’s exceedingly frustrating for this directionally-challenged chick.

10:15am: Left to drive to Deer Park, to go hear my friend Mark Shea speak. (Left my mother-in-law at the hotel, where she stayed to watch her football.) Got lost again, so I didn’t get there until noon. Fortunately, however, this being a church thing, it started late, so I got there right as Mark was beginning his talk.

Mark is an excellent writer, and he speaks just as well. Man, he hit it out of the park. As I expected, he didn’t remember who I was until I told him that my husband Jon said hello. I wasn’t surprised or insulted, since he’s only met me once, and that was several years ago. He’s actually better acquainted with my husband, through a Catholic/Evangelical e-mail list that Mark (or Jon) isn’t even in anymore. (I lurk.)

But Mark sat next to me during the potluck portion of the meeting. And I was so proud that my question about his up-coming book about Mary precipitated at least a thirty-minute discussion during the Q&A portion. So I’m glad that I went, even though I got more frustrated with driving, and even though I missed some figure skating.

2:45pm: Got back to Spokane relatively easily; went to the Spokane Convention Center to catch the last part of the Novice Pairs short program. The Convention Center is open seating, and crowded and uncomfortable—but close to the ice, which is fun. Although the Spokane Arena is more comfortable, our seats are in the upper section.

3:40pm: Watched the Novice Ladies short program. It was the first time I had seen any novice skaters, and I was impressed. Two things jumped out at me. I think that Carolyn-Ann Alba is the person to watch for in the future. She made an impressive 45.01 in her short program; that number rivals many seniors’ performance.

Victoria Hecht from L.A. was the audience favorite, but the judges weren’t all that impressed with her. Her scores were low, and she only came in eighth. The audience actually booed after they were announced. I did a short exit poll afterwards, and in the words of one older woman, Victoria “was robbed.” However, although Victoria’s a beautiful skater, I think that she missed a lot of her elements. She only did two jumps, and her spins and spirals weren’t as complicated as many of the other skaters. Her program score was high, though, so the judges agreed with another older woman I talked to, who said Victoria was “pretty.” So she was.

6pm: Took the shuttle over to the Spokane Arena. Grabbed a hotdog, called home to check-in, and found my seat to watch the juniors ladies short program. Again, first time to watch the juniors. I decided, after talking to the older woman sitting next to me, that at least during the first part of the week, I’m going to try and fill one of the empty seats below. I’m pretty sure it’s okay to do that, but I’m sure I’ll find out.

Caroline Zhang has become a star in the last season. She won every Junior Grand Prix event she was in this year, including the final. (The amazing thing is that she only came in eighth at the Nationals last year.) She would be in first place after her short program if it weren’t for her bizarre fall. It came after a triple, but she fell after she had completed it.

Caroline’s spins were much better than Mirai Nagusu, who won the short program—again, only due to Caroline’s fall. Mirai, who reminds me a lot of Michelle Kwan, is very cute and personable and relates well to the audience. I’m looking forward to seeing Caroline and Mirai battle it out tomorrow night.

9:30pm: Back to the hotel, without getting lost. More tomorrow—I plan on going to all the Novice finals and some of the practices. So far, I’m having a blast!