Sarah Granger's blog

Canadian Favorite Wins Skate Canada on Rocky Road to Vancouver

2009-11-22T16:33:30-06:00

I remember arriving late to a local competition one year and asking a friend afterward how her skate went. She replied, "I cleaned the ice." Perplexed for a moment, I didn't know what to say, but she explained that she fell so many times there was essentially no need for a Zamboni. Ouch. Maybe the rink was cursed for the ladies skating in Kitchener, Ontario because in the Free Skate, they cleaned the ice.

As a skater, that's the last thing you want to do in your program. You train hard all year, you aim to do your best and not think about how the others do. And although you have to pay attention to them to know how far to push yourself, there's a certain point where reality sets in and you know what you have in your program and all you can do is skate well. If you win when others have fallen, or if you don't skate your best, it's bittersweet. If you're a good competitor and you make friends with the other skaters, you're also rooting for the others to skate well. It hurts to watch them fall too.

Canadian Joannie Rochette is in a position of wonderful opportunity right now. She took the silver medal at the World Championships last year, behind Yu-Na Kim. She and American Rachel Flatt are the only skaters so far this season to approach or match Kim in Short Program or Free Skate scores. Although signs point to Kim being unbeatable, it's not over yet. Rochette will be back in her home country at the Vancouver Olympics. She's a powerful skater with a style much like Michelle Kwan's, and she's hungry to win. Coming into Skate Canada as reigning champion, all eyes were on her, but the event was not what any of the skaters wanted leading up to the Grand Prix Final.

At first, the ladies' Short Program provided some clean routines. American Mirai Nagas's style, jumping, spinning, artistry, speed and attention to detail makes a beautiful picture on the ice. She sparkled, vaulting into a light triple-double combination that heralded a flawless performance. For a former U.S. champion vying for one of only two spots on the U.S. Olympic team, she skated well. But she was followed by Alissa Czisny, also a U.S. Champion, whose Zorro SP dazzled, flawless, intricate, with breathtaking spins, beautiful choreography and a mature style. Czisny pulled into the lead at 63 points. At that point, I was thinking it would be a tough group for Rochette to beat. Not so fast.

Japan's Akiko Suzuki followed, winner of the Cup of China. She stepped out of her triple flip and skated an otherwise clean program, but she didn't command the ice like Czisny and fell in the standings after the SP. American Caroline Zhang, yet another strong American who burst onto the world scene as winner of the Junior Worlds a few years back and hasn't quite peaked yet as a senior skater, came out and performed a triple lutz-triple toe along with a polished, determined program. Unfortunately, as in the past, her jump wasn't fully rotated and was downgraded as a result. Her layback, however, is one of the very best. Laura Lepisto of Finland skated well, gaining a new season's best for her and pulling into fourth after the Short.

Finally, Rochette took the ice, cheered on by the Canadian crowd. She nailed her triple-double combination at the start and the audience began clapping with her music early on. All her jumps were high, her speed quick, and her footwork complex. She gained a new personal best Short Program score with 70 points, winning the Short and gaining a giant lead overall. If she remembers anything from Skate Canada, I hope it's that program. She deserved to feel great about that and it earned her the win.

In the Free Skate, Suzuki started off her "West Side Story" program with a series of solid jumps, but fell midway on one and stepped out of another. She's an edge jumper, not a toe jumper, and she was off her game. I don't see her on the podium in Vancouver, if she even makes it onto the Japanese team.

She was followed by Caroline Zhang, who fell on her first triple flip combination. A beautiful skater with a lovely "Nutrcracker" program, it looks like 2010 probably won't be her year to go to the Olympics - she's just not consistent. She finished in eighth. If she ever makes it onto an Olympic team, my bet is it will be 2014. The U.S. has two spots. Sorry to say this, but if I had to choose, she wouldn't be on it. (My dream team would be Czisny, Flatt and Wagner, except we can only have two this year. And don't forget Sasha Cohen is scheduled to try for a comeback at U.S. Nationals as well. Nagasu - she's young and has time to mature before Sochi.)

Canadian Amelie Lacoste skated next, stepping out of her first jump and falling on another. Phaneuf is atletic but he "Ave Maria" performance lacked the elegant polish Zhang of leaders in the event. Cynthia Phaneuf, Canada's next best hope for Vancouver, a high jumper with beautiful style, fell on 3 jumps. It was almost as if she wasn't mentally there. I could tell she's landed the jumps hundreds of times; she just didn't put herself fully in them. I really felt for her going into the Kiss-and-Cry area - they were playing Timbaland's "Apologize," with the lyrics "It's too late to apologize... it's too late" on the loud speakers in the arena after she skated. As if she needed to hear that.

Lepisto of Finland wore a rich red dress with beautiful stone work. I couldn't help but admire it, along with nearly all of the ladies' dresses in Canada. Unlike Cup of Russia where a few times, I couldn't help but ask WT?? Lepisto had a smooth program at the start, followed by little problems with a couple of her landings. Still, she had less mistakes than most and took second in the Free Skate, earning a bronze medal overall.

Nagasu, this year's "Carmen," seemed to be robotically going through her choreography during her Free Skate, minus any facial expression, but her technique was excellent for the first half. She has a beautiful layback, although she traveled a bit. She had one misstep in her footwork sequence that put her off balance going into her next two jumps in the middle of the program, so both landings wobbled. She didn't smile until the bows, and even that looked forced. She knows she can do better, and although she placed third in both the short and long programs, her points put her in fourth overall, just two points away from the bronze.

Alissa Czisny began her program with an elegance and concentration that I haven't seen in the past. She's been reportedly working on her confidence with Brian Boitano and his coach Linda Leaver and it shows. Her "Dr. Zhivago" program had a smoothness to it that many others did not. Unfortunately, she had a couple of odd take-offs on her triple lutz and triple loop late in the program that led to falls. Scott Hamilton in his commentary kept repeating that Czisny has "every great quality" that a winning skater needs. She's just not there yet. However, if she nears her peak at Nationals, she could still have a shot at the podium in Vancouver.

Rochette, as leader from the Short Program, took the ice last to a rousing welcome by the crowd. She opened with a triple lutz-double toe-double loop. Then she stepped out of her triple flip and put a hand down on the triple loop, like nearly every other skater in the event. Following that, she doubled two more jumps. This is to be expected early in the season, but it was a bit surprising that none of the ladies in Canada skated cleanly at a point where many are qualifying for their countries' Olympic teams. Maybe it was the Canadian ice taunting them. "What a strange event," remarked Hamilton. I agree.

To recap the other groups, the Mens' event welcomed Canada's Patrick Chan back to the ice after time off due to injuries, but he faltered, placing sixth overall. Japan's Daisuke Takahashi, a medal favorite for Vancouver, tore up the ice in the Free Skate winning that event, but American Jeremy Abbott was on fire in the Short Program and did just well enough in the Free Skate to beat Takahashi by 1.68 points overall. Incredibly close. Alban Preaubert, this year's rocker dude, skated a Rolling Stones and classic rock medley earning the bronze. Canadians Joey Russell finished 10th and Jeremy Ten took 12th. Americans Stephen Carrierre placed 8th; Armin Mahbanoozedeh finished 9th.

In the Pairs event, three Canadian teams competed - Dube & Davison, Langlois & Hay, and Moore-Towers & Moscovitch, placing 3rd, 4th and 6th respectively. Americans Denney & Barrett placed 5th and Yankowskas & Coughlin took 7th. German two-time World Champions Savchenko & Szolkowy came out with a daring new Free Skate and earned a new world record, above China's Shen & Zhao. Obviously, they won, sending a message to Shen & Zhao heading into the Olympics. Russians Mukhortova & Trankov took the silver after a wardrobe malfunction on his pants. Only in figure skating. (Or the Superbowl half-time show!)

Ice Dance final results were not in when I posted this, but Canadians Virtue & Moir stole the show with a phenomenal score. They will be tough for Belbin & Agosto to beat. Pechalat & Bourzat of France took the silver, but twenty points behind the leaders. Canadians Weaver & Poje placed third and Cong & Gfeller came in 8th. Americans Samuelson & Bates placed 5th and Hubbell & Hubbell - 6th.

Next up: Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, December 3rd-6th! I'll continue writing on my blog here at BlogHer about figure skating in-between events, and the big event coverage will be included in the main editorial feed. I'll be profiling the top skaters who qualified for the Final and analyzing what it takes for them to win leading up to the Olympics. Also note: U.S. Nationals will be January 14th-24th in Spokane, Washington.
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Sarah Granger can't wait for the Olympics!

Ten Reasons to Watch (& Love) Figure Skating

2009-11-18T10:41:15-06:00

Everybody needs a good top ten list. Here's mine... ten reasons to watch (and love) figure skating:

1. Athleticism. You try doing a triple axel. No really... go ahead!

2. Drama. No, not the Tanya Harding vs. Nancy Kerrigan kind. I'm talking about the emotional depth and dramatic performance by some of the world's best actors on ice.

3. Pizazz. Some of the best showmen and women on ice can dazzle with style, skating to jazz, rock, rap, disco, you name it (minus those who missed the memo on how "Carmen" and "Scheherazade" should be banned for life!)

4. Beauty. You really must be blind not to find Yu-Na Kim's skating beautiful, not to mention nearly all of the other competitors at the Olympic level.

5. Beast. As if... no burly, hairy hockey players allowed. But do watch out for venomous skating parents and Russian coaches.

6. Strength. Watch Shen & Zhao. He makes it look like she's light as a feather heaving her up into a throw triple twist.

7. Inspiration. Tell me Sarah Hughes's winning program in 2002 didn't inspire you and oh by the way, I'm Santa Claus.

8. Bling. 'Nuff said.

9. Unpredictability. Because the skater who's best one day may not be best the next. There's a surprise at every competition.

10. Delight. It truly takes your breath away when it's done well.

Satisfied? Skate Canada starts tomorrow! Be there, eh?

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Sarah Granger will recap Skate Canada on the blog. To view the event, check TV listings. In the U.S., it will be shown on NBC and Universal Sports. For live tweets, see @segsk8

A Few Surprises at Skate America

2009-11-15T17:29:32-06:00

Every Olympic season, skaters up the ante and the best of the best come out to play, 2010 being no exception. This weekend, some of the top competitors competed at the Cancer.Net Skate America event in Lake Placid, NY, the fifth in the Grand Prix series, a carefully planned collection of international events across the globe that lead to one final event where only the top skaters compete having qualified by medaling at each of the individual Grand Prix events. These early season competitions help skaters prepare for the Olympics, and it introduces some new skaters to the international scene.

The 1980 Olympic arena in Lake Placid, where I had the opportunity to compete in 2000 at the Adult Nationals, is a special rink, well maintained so it still looks pristine. For skaters vying for spots at the Games, I can only imagine it must be inspiring to compete there. In the ladies' Short Program, Emily Hughes was first to skate, a last minute replacement for Sasha Cohen, also attempting to return to the Olympics, who withdrew due to injury. New York being Emily's home state, she was welcomed warmly by the crowd. She popped her triple lutz combination into a single, but her other two jumps were solid. It was nice to see her do a long spiral sequence in her signature style. Unfortunately, the loss in points put her in eleventh place going into the Free Skate, so her long program wasn't on NBC earlier today, but it will most likely be on cable later today at 4pm Pacific/7pm Eastern when Universal Sports shows the event.

The newest American on the scene, Alexe Gilles, tripped out of her first jump and popped her second, finishing tenth in the SP. Elena Glebova landed a beautiful triple-triple combination, pulling into fifth, Fumie Suguri nailed her jumps with a smooth short program, putting her in fourth, with Julia Sebestyen, another veteran, in third leading up to the Free Skate. Rachel Flatt skated a fun program and went for her triple-triple, but fell on the second jump, earning 58.80, only .3 ahead of Sebestyen and 2.8 ahead of Suguri. Glebova, Gedevanishvili and Helgesson of Estonia, Georgia and Sweden were only four points back at 52, very close together, meaning any of those six had a shot at the podium. Then Yu-Na Kim came out and her triple lutz-triple toe combination was gigantic and skated a flawless and entertaining program to the James Bond theme, earning a standing ovation and beating her previous world record for a short program with 76.28 points total.

As they announced the final group for the ladies' Free Skate, they named each skater's home country. The group included skaters from Georgia, Estonia, Japan, Hungary, the U.S., and Korea. Just thinking about the relationships between those countries over the past century and what it means for representatives from each to be in competition together, the rules of the ice being the same regardless of where you're from. These athletes just want to make it to the Olympic Games so they can be a part of that, even knowing the chances of winning are so incredibly slim.

Suguri was first to skate in the Free Skate, her light and elegant style augmented with huge jumps, but she faltered later in the program, doubling a triple, then unfortunately singling another, then stepping out of two more jumps. It was enough to earn her the lead at that point, but with three skaters remaining, there wasn't much hope for a medal. Sebestyen took the ice and started off strong, but also doubled one of her jumps and made some small mistakes, singling her final axel. She barely squeaked ahead of Suguri, earning a podium spot. Scott Hamilton kept mentioning the altitude issue possibly affecting some of the skaters in Lake Placid; that won't be a factor in Vancouver.

Rachel Flatt received a loud welcome to the ice from the American crowd. She took her time on her tough intro triple flip-triple toe combination, landing both solidly, followed by a great triple lutz and later a triple loop and a triple lutz combination. She looked a bit tired on her footwork and spins toward the end, but she skated a clean, energetic program with a bright smile and brought the house to their feet, moving ahead of Sebestyen by a over a dozen points. Flatt, in my opinion, is the best chance at an American medal in ladies' figure skating in Vancouver. I hope she makes the Olympic Team.

Before Kim took the ice, Brian Orser was interviewed on TV asking whether Kim had any real competition and he said no, but he said she does have to rebuild in-between competitions. Kim was well positioned for the Free Skate, but she fell out of her triple flip in the warm-up, looking uneasy. It was almost as if you could see it coming - her fall on the warm-up and his admission that she's not always perfect. She took the ice after Flatt's incredible skate and re-laced her skates, having been off ice for approximately thirty minutes while the others skated their programs. Something was going on with her balance, confidence or otherwise and she stepped out of her first triple lutz combination, fell on her triple flip and slipped on her triple lutz later in the program. Very unusual.

Whether it was the crowd wowed by Flatt before her or something with her skates, who knows, but it wasn't the Kim we're accustomed to seeing. It showed a sign of weakness - a possible opening for someone to beat her in Vancouver. As we waited for the scores to come up, Kim had a 19 point lead coming into the Free Skate. She ended up not having the points to win the Free Skate (Flatt actually won that), but her lead from the Short Program held her up for the gold medal, finishing overall 13 points above Flatt, who took the silver. Other Americans: Emily Hughes came in 7th - not bad considering she's been out of competition for two years - and Alexe Gilles finished 10th.

In the Pairs event, Shen & Zhao embodied perfection in their Short Program, but they wobbled on a couple of things in the Free Skate. Still, they skated beautifully and came out 16 points ahead of Zhang & Zhang and Volosozhar & Morozov (of the Ukraine) the silver and bronze medalists respectively. Americans McLaughlin & Brubaker came in fourth, followed by Evora & Ladwig and Castile & Okolski in fifth and sixth, also American pairs. Although all the teams were good, no one takes my breath away like Shen & Zhao, well positioned now for the Grand Prix Final.

In the mens' Free Skate, Ryan Bradley hammed it up as a fluffy character skating to chamber music, landed two quads and earned both the bronze medal and a standing ovation, putting him in a strong position to make the U.S. Olympic team at Nationals. Canada's Shawn Sawyer skated a fluid, dramatic program with a lot of speed and expression, taking the silver. Then World Champion, American Evan Lysacek performed a powerful portrayal of Scheherazade in an unusual costume by Vera Wang, putting a lot of depth into the feeling and character of his program and landing two giant triple axels plus executing a whole host of other complex moves, making only one mistake. He won by 34 points - a huge margin.

Ice Dance teams never cease to amaze me in their innovative costumes and sometimes bizarre portrayals, but as we've seen with Dancing with the Stars, it's not as easy as it looks. Belbin & Agosto came in the American favorites, set to skate last. As silver medalists at the last Olympics, they are probably the best chance the U.S. has of winning gold at the Olympics. They held the lead through the end of the Original Dance, twelve points ahead and won the Free Dance, bringing their point total to 195.85, 24 points above the second place team. Americans Navarro & Bommentre skated an electric program to "One Love" and placed fifth, followed by Americans Chock & Zuerlein. Israeli brother and sister team Zeretski & Zaretski of Israel placed third, following Italians Cappellini & Lanotte, who took the silver, surprisingly overtaking the Russians Khokhlova & Novitski who fell into fourth.

In all four events, the winners trounced the rest of the pack, with significant point differences over the rest of the competitors, showing how strong Kim, Lysacek, Shen & Zhao and Belbin & Agosto are as favorites for medals in Vancouver. While some of the other top medal contenders were not at Skate America - Mao Asada, Evgeny Plushenko, Nobunari Oda, and Savchenko & Szolkowy, for example - they should be at the Grand Prix Final.

Next weekend, NBC and Universal Sports will show Skate Canada, the final Grand Prix event. Some of the best American and Canadian skaters will be there, in addition to others from around the world. I plan to be live-tweeting during some of the events, from @segsk8 and I'll do another write-up of the event here. Skate Canada is the last event in the series, so once that's over, we'll know who qualified for the Grand Prix Final, which will be the best indicator of who the top skaters will be at the Olympics.

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Sarah Granger enjoys doing flying camels, Ina Bauers and loop jumps, someday hoping to regain her double.

Get Ready for the Olympic Figure Skating Season

2009-11-10T18:00:16-06:00

As if I was a newbie blogger rather than a seven year veteran, I nearly concluded the title of this post with an exclamation point because I'm so excited about this Olympic figure skating season. This weekend, I resume covering figure skating here at BlogHer, starting with Skate America, culminating with the Olympic Games in February and the World Championships in March. We have some amazing skaters to watch, so I wanted to give everyone a preview.

First and foremost, if you haven't heard of Yu-Na Kim or Kim Yu-Na (you'll see it used both ways), read my posts from the World Championships (short and long programs) last year. She is the woman to beat, hands down. Chances are, if she doesn't get injured or have a major nervous collapese, she is the Olympic favorite. She's coached by Brian Orser, former World Champion and Olympic medalist, and she is amazing. Her jumps are gigantic and beautiful. There aren't enough flowery words for Dick Button to use in describing her, really.

Next in line: Mao Asada. Asada would have won the Olympics in '06 if she had been old enough to compete. She could land two triple axels in her freeskate at the time and she has an amazing sense of style. Since then, she's faced some challenges due to a huge growth spurt and injuries, common in the sport, so now the question becomes whether she can rise to the challenge by February. Meanwhile, she has an incredible team of Japanese skaters all vying for spots on the Japanese Olympic team, including former World Champion Miki Ando, rising star Akiko Suzuki, powerful Yukari Nakano and World Medalist Fumie Suguri.

Although the Grand Prix Final will be held in Tokyo and favors the Japanese, don't count out the Americans for the Olympics or Worlds yet - this year looks to be like the last Olympic season where we had a group of amazing women all competing at the U.S. Nationals for three spots. This year, we only have two, due to placements at Worlds last spring. Here's the impressive list of Americans to watch:

Sasha Cohen, Olympic silver medalist, former Olympic favorite and former U.S. champion, formerly scheduled to compete in the Grand Prix series, dropped out due to injury and speculation as to whether she has a shot at medaling at U.S. Nationals, but who always has exquisite style - still, she hasn't competed in a long time, so she's a wild card
Emily Hughes, former U.S. silver medalist and sister of Sarah Hughes, Olympic gold medalist, last minute entry into Skate America
Kimmie Meissner, 2006 World champion who hasn't ranked high since then but has the whole package when she skates well
Alissa Czisny, last year's national champion and the best spinner you'll see; she has beautiful style but shaky jumps
Mirai Nagasu, arguably the best U.S. lady we have right now - she's got the whole package
Rachel Flatt, who came in fifth at Worlds in her debut and is a solid all-around skater
Ashley Wagner who just took home a bronze medal in Japan at the Grand Prix and is reigning U.S. bronze medalist
Caroline Zhang, former Grand Prix Final Champion and former World Junior Champion
Alexe Gilles, former U.S. junior champion and the newest American rising star

Other contenders for the international events include Joannie Rochette, who will be the home country favorite in Vancouver. She has a similar skating style to Michelle Kwan. Carolina Kostner of Italy, if she can get her game back, will be one to watch. And Julia Sebestyen of Hungary, Alena Leonova of Russia and Kiira Korpi of Finland.

Now, a word about judging. The new judging system has been in effect for a while now, but only in the past few years have skaters and coaches really figured out what works. Some of the things don't always make sense at first - like odd looking positions in spins - but the reason everyone's doing them at that level is because they're more difficult and they get more points. Things to look for: unique positions in spins, aerobesques (spirals, anything where the leg is extended while gliding), jump combinations with two or more triples, quad jumps, complex combination spins, and extended footwork sequences. Pay special attention to changes in direction in footwork and general arm use and extention. Those can bring more performance points.

Also, artistry and speed matter a lot. The skater who performs a clean program with a couple of triples, a bunch of doubles, basic spins and slow speed will not rank against the competitor who can do many of the things listed above. There's nuance to it, so listen to the commentators and drop me a line on Twitter if you have questions. Usually the skater with the best overall program with the most difficulty who skates cleanly wins, but that's not always the case. In the Olympics, however, it's extremely rare that the winners don't have perfect programs - the stakes are just too high.

While my skating coverage will focus primarily on the ladies figure skating events, I will give updates on how the men, pairs and ice dancers do in their events and I may cover those in more detail during the Olympics. Below are top skaters to watch in the other categories.

Men: Russian reigning Olympic Champion Evgeny Plushenko (off the ice for three years, came back in Russia and blew everyone else away); Evan Lysacek, American reigning World Champion; Brian Joubert, French Champion and powerhouse jumper; former World Champion Nobunari Oda, who has an incredible Charlie Chaplin routine; Patrick Chan, Canadian home favorite; Johnny Weir, former U.S. Champion who has incredible style when he skates cleanly.

Pairs: Two-time Olympic Bronze Medalists and three-time World Champions, Shen & Zhao of China; reigning World Champions Savchenko & Szolkowy of Germany; former Olympic Silver Medalists, Zhang & Zhang, also of China; Kavaguti & Smirnov, Russian Champions; Pang & Tong of China; McLaughlin & Brubaker, two-time U.S. Champions; Volosozhar & Morozov, Ukrainians.

Ice Dancers: Belbin & Agosto, reigning Olympic silver medalists; reigning World Champions Domnina & Shabalin of Russia; 2008 World Champions Delobel & Schoenfelder of France; Canadian Champions Virtue & Moir; Davis & White, U.S. Champions and Grand Prix Medalists.

Here's what I'll be covering at BlogHer and the associated dates the events will be occuring (TV coverage may be slightly off):

Skate America, Nov. 12-15
Skate Canada, Nov. 19-22
Grand Prix Final, Dec. 3-6
U.S. Nationals, Jan. 14-24
Olympic Games, Feb. 14-27
World Championships, March 20-29

I'll be writing up most of the events after they're over so as to not spoil the results for people, but I'll be live tweeting as much as possible, and for the Olympics (and possibly Nationals) we can work out some live blogging action if there's interest.

TV schedule for Skate America includes both the Universal Sports network on cable and NBC where the main events and Olympics will be shown. Also note that icenetwork.com has a lot of the events online including the Grand Prix events that have already occurred. Please also watch my Twitter feed at @segsk8 - all about skating.

Every Olympics, there's a surprise - whether someone who should have made the team stays home, an unknown skater wins the gold, or a debacle occurs like when Nancy Kerrigan was kept out of U.S. Nationals due to that brutal attack or the back room judging deal ending in double gold medals in Salt Lake City after a disastrous fall by one of the teams earlier in the season. You just never know what could happen. It's going to be an exciting season! Thanks for watching with me.

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Sarah Granger is BlogHer's figure skating editor, a former competitive skater who has also dabbled in judging. She writes at a dozen other places that can be found here.

Kim Yu-Na's Record-Shattering Win Makes Her the 2010 Olympic Favorite

2009-03-29T02:13:16-05:00

The ladies' final event at the World Championships always comes with surprises. This year, it was Kim Yu-Na who swept us off our feet Saturday with the most incredible score of any woman yet, and Mao Asada who showed that amazing triple axel isn't enough in the new judging system.

After a tough Short Program, American champion, Alissa Czisny, who didn't skate her best in that event, did well enough to move up to eleventh place overall. Soon after, Fumie Suguri pulled up into eighth place, probably disappointing for someone who has three World medals, but she still did well.

Swiss champion Sarah Meier, who came off of a tough year, followed with a pretty program, but as with many of the others, there was an added layer of pressure on her to rank well in order to earn a spot at the Olympics. Hopefully her ninth place finish was enough. Russian Alena Leonova skated a powerful, energetic program, showing the skill that brought her a surprise title this year, giving notice that she'll be a contender for Vancouver. She came in seventh.

Rachel Flatt, who came into the freeskate in 7th place, her first time at Worlds, the best shot for the American latdies, was greeted with a warm welcome in Los Angeles. Flatt, sixteen, who would have qualified last year if she were old enough, is already a seasoned international competitor. Unfortunately, she had a slightly telegraphed take-off and a tough landing on her triple lutz and as a result, didn't complete her first difficult combination.

Flatt has a light quality to her skating and she knows how to skate smartly, going for the points and adding extra jumps if she misses them earlier in her programs, something that became necessary both for the short and the long. With a smile fit for Broadway, the audience loved her, standing at the Staples Center. She still did extremely well considering, and she earned fifth place at her first visit to Worlds.

Mao Asada skated first in the last warm-up group in one of the most gorgeous costumes I've seen in ages - a plum chiffon lace bodice and neck cuff. Just when I was beginning to appreciate her artistry, she did the most beautiful, giant triple axel combination I've ever seen. Falling on the second triple axel, the illusion was lost briefly, but only for a moment before she went into a gorgeous three jump combination, showing why she won the title last year. The rest of her program was solid, and she scored well ahead of Flatt and the others at that point, but the fall on her second triple axel essentially cost her a medal.

I saw Joannie Rochette yawn before going out on the warm-up, which didn't bode well, but she held onto her first jump after a brief hop. However, she doubled her next triple and stepped out of a later jump, looking to be just slightly off her game. A muscular skater who uses her arms as much as her legs while skating, she had a dramatic performance, pulling in just ahead of Asada. Rochette will be the hometown favorite in Vancouver, so this skate puts her in a great position for that. She has already taken a place next to Elizabeth Manley in skating history as the first Canadian woman since 1988 to win a silver medal at the World Championships.

Former champion, Miki Ando skated a powerful performance packed full of jumps and didn't miss a beat, the only person at that point to skate a perfect program. It was not enough to beat Rochette, but Ando pulled just ahead of Asada. She just had more points. Now if either Asada or Ando could add just a hint more artistry to their programs, they could possibly come closer to Yu-Na next season. She took home the bronze.

Kim Yu-Na, skating with grace, lightness and the delicacy of a world class ballerina opened with a huge triple-triple combination and then continued to dazzle the crowd, raking in the points with phenomenal jumps blended with emotional flair and innovative choreography. The title was hers to lose after a gigantic lead from the short program, and she didn't disappoint, even with the little popped jump toward the end (yes, even the best skaters can have a brief lapse in concentration).

Literally five seconds later, the audience was already clapping with her music, and her final footwork sequence brought a big smile to her face. It was one of those moments where everyone in the building knew she had done it - the first Korean skater to ever win a world figure skating title. And if that wasn't enough, her total points between both programs was over 207. No woman had made it over the 200 mark since the advent of the new judging system. So even with a small mistake, she cleared the field. Amazing.

Not over yet, two more skaters had a chance to medal, including Carolina Kostner of Italy, silver medalist from '08 who had a bit of a load off, knowing there was no way she could beat Yu-Na even at her best. Still, she put a hand down on her first jump and popped almost all of the rest of her jumps, something sad to see, particularly after the high in the room from Yu-Na. The last skater, Laura Lepisto of Finland, doubled her early triples but skated with nice speed and a smooth, consistent style. She breathed a sigh of relief when it was over, but she finished atop the rest of the European skaters, so she'll likely be someone to watch in Vancouver as well.

As one of those sports stats commentators like to recite, the reigning World Champion in ladies' figure skating always has a leg up on the rest of the pack and on many occasions has become the Olympic champion. So Kim Yu-Na is the woman to beat in Vancouver and these are the ladies who can do it. That said, there are still a couple of Americans who didn't make it to Los Angeles who on any other day at the U.S. Championships could have, so don't count out the Americans just yet, and Flatt and Czisny both have what it takes to be podium material if they play their cards right.

Mark your calendars for February 12-28 for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The competition just started.

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Sarah Granger, former competitive skater and now skating mom, still hopes to overcome injuries and get back to Adult Nationals soon. Best wishes to those competing April 22 in Grand Rapids!

Kim Yu-Na Tough to Beat Going into World Championships Final

2009-03-28T02:17:12-05:00

Friday's Ladies Short Program event at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships in Los Angeles left former champions Mao Asada and Miki Ando in third and fourth place respectively, coming into the final event, making room for a possible new winner, who will immediately become the Olympic favorite.

American Alissa Czisny opened with a strong triple lutz combination but fell on her other jumps, putting her at a distinct disadvantage, down as far as 14th place. Soon after, '07 champ, Ando, skated a solid program but with one error. Rachel Flatt, talented American 2008 Junior World Champion and first-timer at Worlds skated an endearing "Moon River" program, slipping out of her first jump but looking beautiful the rest of the program, moving into seventh.

I'll say it before and I'll say it again - Canadian champion Joannie Rochette skates in a style very similar to Michelle Kwan. She's athletic, solid and artistic and she just moves like Kwan. She's also a fast skater and her power put her in second place after the short, along with an entertaining and endearing style.

Mao Asada, the reigning champion, doubled a triple lutz, losing a significant amount of points, placing her third coming into the long program, but nine points behind Yu-Na, a wide gap. However, even if Asada ends up in tenth place, she's still a favorite for 2010 - she had a huge growth spurt this year along with injuries, so she's needed a bit of time for adjusting to that.

Carolina Kostner of Italy, the 2008 silver medalist, followed Asada but put a hand down on her first jump combination and skated well, but just not well enough. She's in fifth coming into the freeskate.

For Kim Yu-Na, after mistakes by the others, all she needed to do was skate a clean program. With two bronze medals under her belt from 2007 and 2008, Kim won the Grand Prix Final in '06 and '07 and has been formidable since she hit the senior scene. Her first jump was gigantic and she skated with an intensity like Brian Boitano's. She also looked to be really enjoying her program, smiling throughout.

Scott Hamilton kept raving about Yu-Na's great positions in his commentary, but it was her energy and flow that brought the house down. If Yu-Na wins, she will be the first Korean skater to win a world title, an achievement in itself. Not to mention her stellar Olympic prospects. She broke her own world record for short program score.

Both Yu-Na and Asada have a breathtaking style with incredible jumps and and artistry on the level of Sasha Cohen. They're incredible to watch. The new generation of skaters will make tomorrow's long program truly exciting going into the Vancouver Olympic season. And really, of the top skaters on the scene right now, any of them has a chance at winning next February.

So far, the American standings at Worlds don't bode well for the American ladies to earn three Olympic berths. (Czisny and Flatt need no more than 13 placements total between them.) American ladies have held three spots for as many Olympics as I can remember. However, Flatt is one of those skaters that can never be counted out. Although it's her first Worlds, she's got that Sarah Hughes sparkle, talent and drive. Remember her name. And don't count out Japan's Fumie Suguri, who has a knack for comebacks and could still end up on the podium as could Kostner.

And by the way, in case you missed it, American Evan Lysacek rocked the house in Los Angeles, winning the mens' title and securing 3 spots for U.S. men at the Olympics.
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Sarah Granger misses the days when she could perform an axel with only a two minute warm-up.

In a Talented Field, Alissa Czisny Wins 2009 U.S. Figure Skating Gold

2009-01-27T01:46:31-06:00

This past week in Cleveland, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships took place, featuring an incredibly talented array of women vying for four medals and two spots on the World team. Notably missing were former U.S. and World champion, Kimmie Meissner, and last year's silver medalist, Emily Hughes, both out due to injury. But if there's a year to miss, it's this year since next year's winners will determine the Olympic team.

After the Short Program, Alissa Czisny, the veteran of the group and one of the most talented skaters in the world, held the lead. An unusual placement for Czisny who has suffered nerves, inconsistency and other setbacks over the years, she came into the Free Skate with a strong lead. She was followed by Rachel Flatt, Caroline Zhang, and Brittey Rizo. Mirai Nagasu, last year's champion, was sin 6th after the Short Program and Ashley Wagner, who took the bronze last year, was far back in 12th place, a position from which a medal looked impossible.

The beautiful thing about "nationals" as skaters call it, is that new and lesser known skaters at the three top levels each year get a chance to dazzle audiences. It's a great place to witness up and coming talents. Last year, four young skaters entered the landscape: Zhang, Flatt, Nagasu and Wagner, all of whom can do triple-triple jump combinations and who have beautiful artistry. Wagner stepped out of her triple lutz, but as Scott Hamilton said, she as an "intensity" to her skating & all her other moves were solid.

Laney Diggs skated soon after, relatively new on the Senior competitive scene. Working with Michelle Kwan's old coach, Frank Carroll, Diggs skated a nice Les Miserables program although her triple jumps could use some work flowing out vs. just up. She will be one to watch over the next few years as well. Mirai Nagasu skated injured after growing four inches over the past year and battling how that changes one's center of gravity on the ice. Defending her title, she began her program in tears, clearly anticipating a challenging event. However, she skated beautifully and cleanly, ending with a huge smile.

Another new skater, Brittney Rizo, who placed third last year at the Junior level, skated the most innovative "Carmen" I've seen in a while. Then the final leaders came out. Rachel Flatt, one of few who did a solid triple-triple played points smartly with a solid triple-double after the half way mark. Her highly consistent manner and spins in both directions at the end of the program (very difficult) pulled her into the overall lead at that point. Caroline Zhang skated next to "Ave Maria" in a light lavender & pink dress my daughter adored. She started with a beautiful triple-triple followed by a triple lutz, double toe, and she ended with a gorgeous Bielman spin, finishing slightly behind Flatt.

Czisny, skating last as leader and the local favorite from Ohio, began her skate with the crowd on her side. After a strong start, she fell on her triple lutz and doubled the jump following, an error that she knew could cost her the gold. Her amazing spins, mature presentation and gorgeous extension, however, pulled her up on top, enough to secure the win. Flatt took silver, Zhang, bronze, and Wagner, who actually won the Free Skate event after finishing 12th in the Short Program, was able to take home a pewter medal.

There are those who say the judges propped up Czisny, but often these people are not figure skaters. It's a tough sport to judge and the new system still confuses many people, but after skating for thirty years, competing for nearly fifteen and doing some judging myself, I can say that the gold medal was solidly earned by Czisny. Czisny earned a berth to the World Championships in Los Angeles late March, along with Flatt. Zhang, Wagner and Nagasu are the three alternates. In previous years, the American ladies have held three spots, but due to Worlds placements last year, we only received two berths for the Ladies this year.

Why am I going into all of this minutiae? Because March 22nd in Los Angeles, Czisny and Flatt have an important challenge: to place well enough that the U.S. can send three skaters to the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Joining them on the World team will be gold medalist Jeremy Abbott, Evan Lysacek and Brandon Mroz of the men (sadly Johnny Weir did not skate well enough in Cleveland to be named to the team) of the men.

Pairs teams Caydee Denney & Jeremy Barrett, Keauna McLaughlin & Rockne Brubaker and Dance teams Meryl Davis & Charlie White and Emily Samuelson & Evan Bates, winners in their respective events, round out the team. Also earning a berth to Worlds, the team who won a silver medal at the 2006 Olympics and who withdrew from nationals due to injury. (In rare cases, the U.S. Figure Skating Association will grant berths to applicants with exceptional histories.) Since Belbin & Agosto are largely responsible for the World team having three Ice Dance berths, they deserve the spot.

It's tough to believe we're nearly to another Winter Olympics. One year from now, we'll know who's going. It could be two or three of the incredible skaters mentioned above. But for now, all eyes on the World Championships in Los Angeles and congratulations to all of the skaters at all levels who made it to nationals - an achievement in itself.

Sarah Granger is working through the difficult transition from figure skater to figure skating mom. She usually writes about politics, because it's a tamer sport.

Canadian Champion Joannie Rochette Wins Skate Canada

2008-11-02T11:33:17-06:00

Skate Canada, the second in the Grand Prix figure skating series, took place in Ottawa this week and ended today. With only a small batch of competitors in each division, it was easy to focus in on the ladies: three Canadians, three Americans, two Japanese and four European skaters. Beginning with the short program on Friday, long time Canadian champion, Joannie Rochette triumphed, skating to "Summertime" and receiving a standing ovation, coming out 7 points ahead of Fumie Suguri, former world medalist, and Caroline Zhang, rising American star and former world Junior champion. Jenna McCorkell of Great Britain came in fourth, followed by Bebe Liang and Alissa Czisny, 0.26 points apart.

The first skating group in the long program came with a lot of falls, including Canadian Cynthia Phaneuf, who took a couple of hard falls, placing eighth overall. Soon after, World silver medalist, Carolina Kostner of Italy, faltered in the short program, coming into the long in 7th place. And I know she has these famous Italian designers create her dresses, but they always end up with poofy skirts that are just a little bit too short on her, leaving a less than desirable effect. Unfortunately, she didn't have the height she needed on her jumps and was wobbly early in the program. She rallied later, showcasing her strength and artistry, making a significant comeback and coming in 4th overall.

Alissa Czisny skated first in the second warm-up group, wearing an unusual color combination of purple and lime green. Her exceptional spins and artistry always intrigue the audience, but her jumps were on - for the most part - as well, earning her a spot on the podium and a bronze medal. Then, McCorkell's long program dropped her out of medal contention and her costume didn't seem to reflect her music. Zhang had trouble with all of her toe jumps, putting her leg out much too far before taking off - high enough for a spiral - putting her in a place where there was really no way to have a stable lutz or flip jump.

Fumie Suguri wore a gorgeous purple dress and her artistry shined through, well matched to her dramatic music choice, as well as her technical skill, including a huge triple lutz - in stark comparison with Zhang, winning her the silver medal. Suguri and Rochette, the veterans of this group, know the Vancouver Olympics in 15 months is probably their last opportunity, particularly with the fierce competition for Suguri within Japan for spots on the team, so they have to stay on top of their game to make it there. It's also likely that the skaters who succeed this season with certain programs will keep that music through next year for consistency.

Rochette skated last, performing a strong, nearly flawless program full of energy, speed, and solid jumps, gaining another standing ovation and taking the gold at home. Her style skating style always reminds me of Michelle Kwan - she moves in a similar way, and she had a lightness to her skating that made it look nearly effortless. She he beat her former personal best scores in both the short and long program. Rochette looked really happy taking her winner's lap around the rink having struggled some in past seasons. You can bet she will be a crowd favorite in Vancouver.

As to the men's competition, Canada's Patrick Chan captured the gold even though he didn't win either the short or long programs. Due to the point system, his total points gave him the championship, just 3 points over American, Ryan Bradley, who took the silver. Lysacek came in third after a third place finish at Skate America. Yannick Ponsero of France, who won the short program, came in fourth, and Shawn Sawyer of Canada, who won the long program, finished fifth overall.

In the pairs' event, Kawaguchi & Smirnov of Russia took the gold, followed by Dube & Davison of Canada and Americans McLaughlin & Brubaker. In ice dance, the champions had not yet been determined at the time this was written.

In the States, Skate Canada wasn't available on TV this year, but it
was shown live at icenetwork.com and anyone who wants to see the events
can watch individual events there online. For the rest of the Grand Prix series, check icenetwork.com. Cup of China begins this Thursday in Beijing.

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Sarah Granger doubles as a political correspondent whenever she's not sneaking off for a breath of Zamboni processed cold air.

Skate America Kicks Off Figure Skating Season, Looking Toward Olympics

2008-10-28T21:25:15-05:00

Figure Skating fans can prepare for a wild ride between now and the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver, Canada. With fifteen months to go, the 2008-2009 figure skating season began this past week with Skate America in Washington, and not only were most of the major American contenders at the event, but so were some of the best in the world. Blowing away the rest of the pack of the ladies, Kim Yu-Na of South Korea, record holder for highest points ever in short and long programs, won handily in her first American competition.

Yu-Na, who's known for exquisite technical style as well as beautiful artistry, literally rose above the others in her group with huge, dynamic jumps culminating with the free skate on Sunday. Beating out 2007 World Champion, Miki Ando of Japan and her teammate, Yukari Nakano, who took the bronze and silver in Skate America, followed by Rachel Flatt, 2008 U.S. Silver Medalist and reigning Junior World Champion, who came in fourth.

Getting into the details of the event, it's time to take a memo: the days of triple-triple jumps required to place in the short program are officially here. All of the top contenders had them and they were incredible. Flatt's new "Moon River" program, technically challenging, took on a lightness with her triple-triple and a fantastic layback spin. Mirai Nagasu, rising American star, followed with a double axel so high she could've easily fit in another rotation, and her Charlie Chaplin theme allowed for some fun choreography and a strong combination spin. Nakano, who skated well in the short, lacked on her jump positions. Ando had an uncharacteristic fall, but her triple-triple was tight and flawless. Yu-Na's triple-triple was huge, and combined with her her complex, dramatic footwork, she held a 12 point lead after the short.

The story from the long program includes Flatt, who seemed a bit slow on her spins compared to some of the others, but who performed a nice triple lutz and several other solid jumps, Nagasu, whose delicate speed surprised me, along with her pretzel positions in her spins. Sadly she faltered with two-footed landings, putting her in 5th.

Nakano skated first of the final three with a dramatic portrayal of Giselle, a fine blend of speed, jumps and artistry, and fresh, innovative choreography. She skated a perfect program and the leg wrap on her jumps was barely noticeable - a big improvement - gaining her the silver. Ando, who has a more elegant look this season, executed more tight jumps and with only one wobble, took the bronze.

Kim Yu-Na, coming in with that giant lead, popped a triple loop turning it into a single, but otherwise skated cleanly in her new Sheherazade program with a dress I absolutely love - gorgeous red beading and really flattering on her. She had an incredible split spiral position, more gigantic jumps, and her use of ballet style finger positions and full arm extension put her well on top in terms of artistic expression. She also has a joy and a love of skating that shows through, similar to that of Michelle Kwan. She won with a total score of 193.45.

Kimmie Meissner, 2006 World Champion, deserves an honorable mention for being at Skate America, but she fell in both programs, struggling with getting enough height on her jumps and finishing eighth. She has a tough climb ahead if she wants to make the world team this year following a couple of disappointing seasons.

As to the rest of the groups, relative newcomer, Takahiko Kozuka, beat out American rivals Evan Lysacek and Johnny Weir. His program was not as emotionally moving as theirs, but his jumps were clean in terms of rotation, whereas Weir and Lysacek were docked points for not completing full turns. All three top men attempted quadruple jumps to help train them for Worlds and the Olympics, and all three failed. In ice dance, Americans Belbin & Agosto actually won the free dance, but took the silver medal behind French World Champion ice dancers, Delobel & Schoenfelder, who won by a hair. Kerr & Kerr of Great Britain took third and Americans Samuelson & Bates, fourth. In pairs, Savchenko & Solkowy of Germany took first with a significant lead over Americans McLaughlin & Brubaker who captured the silver. Up and coming Russian pair, Mukhortova & Trankov, took third, with Duhamel & Buntin pulling into fourth after placing third in the long program.

Skate America, first of the multi-event Grand Prix Series that takes place across the globe over 2 months, always attracts more Americans than the other events, and this year due to its location on the West Coast, it attracted a large group of competitors from Asian countries. Japanese ladies, soaring in figure skating for the past few years, skated strong even without World Champion Mao Asada, long time rival of Kiim Yu-Na. Also missing from Skate America was the reigning World silver medalist, Carolina Kostner of Italy. Of the top skaters in the world, there are at least ten incredible ladies with a real shot at gold in Vancouver, so they're all now debuting new programs and testing more difficult moves leading up to that event.

Skate Canada takes place this week in Ottawa, beginning Thursday. I'll be reporting about that competition after it concludes. Three Canadians - Cynthia Phaneuf, Joannie Rochette, and Myriane Samson - will be competing, as well as three Americans - Alissa Czisny, Beatrisa Liang, and Caroline Zhang - along with Carolina Kostner of Italy, Fumie Suguri and Nada Takeda of Japan. Check back next week.

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Guest contributing editor, Sarah Granger, is feeling old this week after realizing Kim Yu-Na was born the year before she graduated high school. Still hoping to get her double loop back someday, she watches these skaters for inspiration.

MOMocrats at the DNCC: We Came, We Saw, We're Exhausted

2008-08-30T02:01:16-05:00

The last two days of the Democratic National Convention contained a whirlwind of events culminating with the final speeches at Invesco field featuring Barack Obama, now the official Democratic nominee for president. Finally after a week of running around, we were all in the same place witnessing history. It took us a long time to get there, and many of us had to overcome various obstacles and struggles each day, but we did it and not only are we stronger for it, but so are the bonds between us and the MOMocrats blog has caught on - particularly with legislators who are moms. It's exciting.

Wednesday was spent hopping between final events and trying to get posts up after the first few days. Lawyer Mama had a busy day heckling anarchists and redefining community service, and we were all choking back tears during Beau Biden's introduction of his dad. Joan Garry wrote about her experience at the convention as Obama's LGBT Finance Committee Co-Chair, taking a moment to reflect about a naive
protesters' point-of-view.

That evening, as I sat in the media tent outside the Pepsi Center, Hillary Clinton called for a vote of affirmation for Barack Obama to become president, and I couldn't help but soak in the moment - watching a woman ask another woman to call for a vote to nominate the first black man as U.S. president. Julie Lythcott-Haims, the delegate in our group, got chills from being right in the middle of the action.

Thursday, we headed to The Big Tent DIGG stage for the Ms. Foundation panel on "What Women Want, What the Country Needs", followed by "Cracks in the Glass Ceiling," put on by WomenCount and including Erin Kotecki Vest and me. Downstairs, Cynematic won a golden ticket to Invesco from Daily Kos, while Julie Lythcott-Haims was already inside Invesco reporting about preparations for the evening's event.

The rest of us had to wait for our passes to be distributed after 2:00pm to begin our journey. After walking quite a distance and standing in line for about four hours to get into Invesco field, some MOMocrats live blogged (chatted) the event as others tweeted and took video from the stands. Even from the farthest seats in the stadium, we were floored by Senator Obama's riveting speech - his boldness, sincerity, and his sense of truly grasping the issues that are important to Americans at this "defining moment" in history. As long and hard as the week was for all of us, it was a moment worth the wait.

Finally Friday, MOMocrats assessed McCain's choice of VP nominee Governor Sarah Palin with guns blazing and stirred up a nice comment storm along with it. Join us for a Jobama Mama cocktail, ladies. It's been a long, thrilling week and we're going to keep going, as Hillary Clinton advised, until the last vote is cast. Yes we can.

Sarah Granger covered the 2008 Democratic National Convention as a special event for BlogHer, along with the MOMocrats, who were all credentialed media in Denver.

Hillary Clinton Calls for Vote by Affirmation - Barack Obama is the Democratic Nominee

2008-08-27T18:40:37-05:00

Hillary Clinton came out representing New York minutes ago and proclaimed that her state was giving all of their votes to Senator Obama, then she called for an affirmation to suspend the roll call and vote as one body to support Barack Obama as president. Nancy Pelosi asked for a second, there were hundreds, and she asked for a vote, the house roared, and she announced he is the official nominee of the Democratic party. We've made history. The first woman Speaker of the House announced it and the first viable woman candidate for president did her duty for the good of the party and the country. Goose bumps...

(Cross posted from MOMocrats.com, this post is part of Sarah Granger's special event coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.)

MOMocrats Rubbing Elbows at the Democratic National Convention

2008-08-27T16:22:28-05:00

The MOMocrats hit the ground running Tuesday after learning to navigate the convention landscape Sunday and Monday. Dashing between events, we were able to see and meet some amazing people up close and talk with them - particularly women, since it was a day to celebrate the 88th anniversary of women's suffrage, unity, and equality. As PunditMom noted from Washington, there's still healing to be done, but it's happening.

MOMocrats covered the speeches from inside the Pepsi Center on the night including Julie Pippert's interview with Governor Jeanne Shaheen and Julie Lythcott-Haims' coverage of Unity sign bickering. Jaelithe hit the nail on the head in noticing that although Hillary Clinton's speech was phenomenal, it wasn't the same as the night before or her own speech earlier in the day. Still, proximity matters and she and I weren't in the Pepsi Center Tuesday night like we were on Monday. Jaelithe also wrote a detailed explanation of what it's like to be a credentialed blogger in the official events.

Somehow I had four overlapping, double-simultaneous events yesterday but I unbelievably made it to all four. I made it to an Emerge America alumni luncheon, the WomenCount launch event with Hillary Clinton where we were right up next to her liveblogging, and then I caught most of the New Democrats Network panel on technology tools in the campaign, but it was bittersweet, because I missed the speakers I most wanted to see at the EMILY's List gala.

MOMocrats Managing Editor, Glennia Campbell and I took a chance and hopped on a bus to a private event for Bay Area convention-goers at a historical mansion where we met Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren and her husband (both of whom it's impossible not to adore), Congresswoman Anna Eshoo and members of her staff, who were all gracious hosts, I was happily reunited with new (yippee!) Congresswoman Jackie Speier, and friends of mine who had worked on her campaign. Several more members of congress were present, in addition to family members of Nancy Pelosi's, delegates, Emerge California board members, and Netroots Nation organizers. We couldn't have felt more at home. Governor David Patterson of New York made a cameo toward the end, and Senator Chris Dodd appeared just as we were leaving.

Bay Area Obama delegate, Julie Lythcott-Haims, encountered a variety of demonstrators and took one on with her own version of free speech - this after encountering a crowd of "anarchists", later to be in a confrontation with the Secret Service.

Surprised by all that's going on? It's exhausting - really - you can see it in the faces of everyone in The Big Tent, slung over couches toward the end of the night. What's really amazing is that I didn't even cover all of the posts written yesterday or all of the events everyone attended. The convention is just that big. What I will mention is that the MOMocrats have been really well received here in Denver - people love the name, they seem to like us, they feel our content is quality and to credit our fearless leader, Glennia, we're - gasp - "well organized." (Glennia credits working a lot of bake sales as a mom, but I think it's more than that. From what I've witnessed, each of the MOMocrats has unique strengths and all of the MOMocrats continue to impress me the longer I work with them. We ended the day with another pow-wow in PJ's and I couldn't be happier to be spending time with these incredibly capable women.

This morning, Julie Lythcott-Haims had a cathartic, emotional moment with a Clinton supporter who just wanted to be heard during the convention - although in a different way than she had thought. That's just the beginning.

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This post is part of a special event series covering the Democratic National Convention, by Sarah Granger.

From Twitter to Tear Gas: MOMocrats Take Denver & the DNCC

2008-08-26T12:46:32-05:00

Tens of thousands of people are here in Denver for the Democratic National Convention - I don't even know the actual total - but in all of those people, somehow the MOMocrats are everywhere. Press events, the convention floor, the blogger lounge, the Big Tent, meetings with tea, blogging with booze, parties with condoms, marches with Blues. I got a surprise offer for a Hall pass tonight to see Michelle Obama speak and as I approached the Pepsi Center, there were Cynematic and Sheila.

With wireless coverage not as easy to find as one might hope, Twitter from mobile phones has been essential for getting across what was actually happening - from being in the middle of demonstrators to the convention hall, we've been tweeting our fingers off. So first stop for MOMocrats coverage outside of BlogHer: http://www.twitter.com/momocrats and #momocrats. (See also: #dnc08.)

Sunday, MOMocrats rolled by Michelle Obama's hybrid (supposedly), along with picking up credentials, attending receptions, and getting settled in. Monday, MOMocrats continue to celebrate at women's events, defend free speech, and confess patriotism.

When the prime time events began in the Pepsi Center, MOMocrats were there too - on the perimeter, inside, in the blogger lounge, and seated in the rear to take it all in. It was a phenomenal night seeing Michelle Obama - and her adorable children, along with a quick video cameo by Barack Obama. More to come...

Sarah Granger is blogging the DNCC for BlogHer, covering the experience of the MOMocrats, along with representing WomenCount, The Political Voices of Women, and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog. What a week!

The White House Project & EMILY's List Founders Commend Clinton for Sticking It Out

2008-05-10T15:46:18-05:00

Bill Clinton didn't clinch the Democratic party's nomination until June 2 in the '92 race. Hillary Clinton still has a chance to win the nomination and it's only the beginning of May. Two pioneering leaders in preparing women to run for office this week wrote of their thoughts on Hillary Clinton and what she has achieved for women, and what it means that she has continued to forge on. The overwhelming message: don't push out the first viable woman presidential candidate when she has come so far.

Ellen Malcolm founded EMILY's List to help raise money for and train Democratic women candidates. Her piece in today's Washington Post, "Quitters Never Win", emphasizes how far we have come over Malcolm's life because of women like Hillary Clinton (and I might add because of people like Malcolm). "Over and over again the media and her opponents have claimed that she is defeated -- it's over, she can't win, she's a loser. And over and over again... female voters poured out of their homes to cast their ballots for her."

Marie Wilson, founder of The White House Project, emphasizes on their blog, "Change Everything," that "An Army of Women" is a "deeply rooted cultural fear", and that this fear is driving the media to push toward Clinton stepping aside.

In my post at MOMocrats yesterday, I wrote of The White House Project's mission and their accomplishments in training and encouraging women to "Vote, Run, Lead." I also noted that if it's true that Hillary Clinton still has a 4% chance of winning the nomination, that's a better chance than she had of getting admitted to Yale, but she was. For women to have come so far, can't we just let her say a little longer? Every day is another big step for the progress of women in our democracy.

Malcolm writes: "The first woman ever to win a presidential primary is supposed to stop competing, to curtsy and exit stage right... Why on earth should one candidate quit before the contest is finished?" "I believe Hillary also has a responsibility to play the game to its conclusion."

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Sarah Granger is a strong advocate for The White House Project and other organizations promoting women candidates, regardless of party affiliation.

World Figure Skating Championships Underway, U.S. Ladies Lagging

2008-03-22T12:29:40-05:00

The World Figure Skating Championships are well underway in Gothenburg, Sweden. The competitive events just concluded, but TV coverage lasts two more days. Viewing began in the U.S. Thursday night on ESPN and ABC with the Pairs Short program and the Original Dance. Last night was the Ladies Short and Free Dance, and tonight is the Pairs Ladies Free Skate, followed by the Mens Free Skate tomorrow night. Due to time zones and tape delay, I already know who won all events, but I won't give that away here. I'll just report what to expect in the Free Skate events, and then I'll come back to the comments over the next few days with additional notes about how the skaters performed for those who like the element of anticipation.

First off, in terms of the Americans, see my posts from the U.S. Nationals Ladies Short Program and Ladies Free Skate for how things stood coming into this event. The gold and silver medalists, Mirai Nagasu and Rachel Flatt, are not at Worlds because they're too young. They went to Junior Worlds instead. (I guess this is a relatively new rule because Tara Lipinski won Worlds at age 14 a decade ago. I don't know when or why it changed, but many people are speaking out about their opinions on the change now.)

As the results stand going into the Free Skate, Kimmie Meissner, the most known name in U.S. ladies figure skating the past few years since her world title in '06, is in 9th place after the Short Program. She's had a rocky year and she skated well in the Short, but she only did a triple-double combination. It's just that other skaters had higher difficulty and also skated near perfect. So much for the American ladies having a chance at the podium.

Bebe Liang and Ashley Wagner, the 5th place and 3rd place finishers from Nationals respectively are in 10th and 11th place after the Short Program. As of the Short Program, there's a small chance one of them could make the top 5, but medal likelihood is slim. Liang skated a strong program and looked happy about her skate. Wagner skated well too; she just didn't have the difficulty she needed to contend with the top group, turning her triple-triple into a triple-double and skating without the relaxed artistry of the top skaters.

The final skating group for today includes leader from the Short Program, European Champion, Italy's Carolina Kostner, Joannie Rochette of Canada, Kiira Korpi of Finland, Yu-Na Kim of Korea (coming off an injury), Mao Asada, currently in second, and Yukari Nakano, currently in third, both from Japan. All of these ladies are solid, fantastic skaters and incredible to watch, especially the young Japanese and Korean skaters. Expect Kim, Asada and Nakano to shine along with Kostner, but don't count out Korpi. Note last year's champion, Miki Ando, is not in that group. She had a new look in her short program - very long with a more artistic flow, but she had the same problem as Meissner.

What impressed me the most about this event was how few flaws were in the top contenders' programs. They were all excellent. Mao Asada's triple lutz, triple loop combination seemed effortless and its height was superb (my Dick Button word of the day). Kostner's triple-triple was equally impressive although technically less difficult. To be totally honest, I don't know why her points were higher than Asada's. I thought Asada was better. It must've been in the footwork difficulty, spin positions and little details. Kim took an unfortunate fall, but otherwise looked incredible given that she had been off the ice for a month.

Every few years, the costumes fail to appeal to me in international events and while I admired the choices by Asada and Kim, Wagner and Sebestyen could have done better. I liked Korpi's unique choice, but the fabric selection was a bit off. I want to hire whoever did her make-up for Kimmie Meissner; it was gorgeous, and Meissner could use a bit of color for the TV. You might say that commenting about the costume and make-up choice is moot in a sporting event, but as a skater, it affects your movement and how you feel about the music. As an audience member, it affects your perception of the artistry as in a theater and it needs to be seen from the back row. As a judge, it affects how you view the appropriateness of the theme and the theatricality.

In the Mens event, American Johnny Weir, who has been on fire this year, is holding steady in a close second place behind Canadian Jeffrey Buttle. Weir reportedly had a career best Short Program. U.S. champion, Evan Lysacek, withdrew on the 13th due to an injury and equipment issues, which is a bummer to say the least, but he's looking to stay healthy for the Olympics. He was in top shape and won Nationals by a hair over Weir, but these things happen.

The pairs competition has already ended - spectacular German pair Savchenko & Szolkowy took the gold with exquisite detail and choreography, Zhang & Zhang (winners of the Short) of China took the silver, and Canadians Dube & Davison the bronze. Americans Inoue and Baldwin finished 10th, the best from the U.S. with Castile and Okolski behind them in 11th. In Dance, Belbin & Agosto came out in fourth overall, a disappointing finish compared to recent years. French team, Delobel & Schoenfelder took the gold, just ahead of Canadians Virtue & Moir, and Russians Kokhlova & Novitski inched into the bronze 0.26 points ahead of Belbin & Agosto.

Finally, to entice readers to watch the Worlds today, I will give one spoiler: we have a new Ladies World Champion. Look for the that on ABC from 3-6pm EDT/PDT today and the Men from 5-7pm tomorrow on ESPN.

Sarah Granger, Guest Contributing Editor, can't wait to teach her two year-old daughter how to do a spin on skates. Find her at Sairy, SFBayStyle, and the Silicon Valley Moms Blog.