Passport To Gold 2010
SUNDAY, JAN. 24, 2010
Roundup: Flatt wins gold; Cohen collapses
Youth was served as the 2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships wrapped up at the Spokane Arena on Saturday night.They ascended the mountain that is United States ice dancing. Now Meryl Davis and Charlie White will take on the world.Columnist John Blanchette gives a roundup of…
SATURDAY, JAN. 23, 2010
Flatt wins ladies title
Rachael Flatt edged out Mirai Nagasu to win the senior ladies title, with Ashley Wagner earning third.Sasha Cohen's comeback hit a bump as the popular 2006 Olympic silver medalist stumbled in her free skate.Check the full results for the senior ladies free skate program and…
Senior Ladies free skate order
All eyes are on Sasha Cohen, with Mirai Nagasu sitting in first place by a tenths of a point and Rachael Flatt trailing by about the same.Read John Blanchette's column on Cohen, check the full standings, and click through for today's skating order.
Photos: Davis and White win ice dancing title
Meryl Davis and Charlie White upset Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto to take first place in the ice dancing comeptition. Full results are here. Press conference audio • Medalists on their performances • Meryl Davis on the depth of U.S. ice dancing • Tanith Belbin…
Championship Dance skating order
It's the final day of competition at the Arena. First up is the Championship free dance. Preview the competition, check results as they're posted, and click through for the full skating order.
U.S. nationals skaters on YouTube
A number of videos related to the U.S. Figure Skating Championship are cropping up on YouTube, some from the skaters themselves. Senior ladies skater Ashley Wagner has posted a couple of video blogs, or vlogs, for instance.Click "continue reading" to view a selection of them.
Roundup: Davis and White lead ice dancing
Barring major disaster, Michigan natives Meryl Davis and Charlie White will defend their national title and earn a trip to Vancouver.Daily snapshot: Rebecca Nappi chats with Japanese journalist Ryusuke Shiraishi. All eyes are on Sasha Cohen today, and whether she'll turn in an upright performance,…
FRIDAY, JAN. 22, 2010
Photos: Championship Dance original dance
Photos out of tonight's Championship Dance original dance program. Check back in a while for more. Meryl Davis and Charlie Davis finished in first place for the event, with Tanith Belbin and Benjamin Agosto and Emily Samuelson and Evan Bates in second and third, respectively.
Living at the Arena
Scott Hamilton, skating star turned skating commentator, is at the Arena in a visible way. During the slow times, he often walks through the stands, chatting with people.Friday afternoon, he signed an autograph for 7-year-old Craig Anderson who is pictured here with Hamilton, and Craig's…
Lookin' Good
Stylists-in-training and their instructors from Paul Mitchell: The School Spokane have volunteered their time to prepare faces and hair for skaters before their performances."It's such a great opportunity," said instructor Candy Javier, pictured here on the left. "Everyone has been so kind and nice," said…
Thanks for the tip
A server at Frank's Diner named Gage got a great tip today, according to Pam Scott of the Spokane Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau.Gage was waiting on a skater's parents but didn't know it. She asked them if they were going to see any of…
Roundup: Nagasu leads, Cohen wows
Update (9:15 p.m.): I've added some links to other coverage of the Senior Ladies short program at the end of this post. Click "Read more."Return to form. In some ways, the senior ladies short program Thursday night was the Sasha Cohen show. Yes, 16-year-old Mirai…
THURSDAY, JAN. 21, 2010
Senior Ladies' race begins tonight
The much-anticipated Senior Ladies competition kicks off tonight at 7:30. Among the programs stirring excitement is Sasha Cohen's. She is competing for the first time tonight since winning an Olympic silver medal and a bronze at the World Championships in 2006. But skating fans will…
Photos: Seniors compulsory dance
See the post below for standings after Thursday's compulsory dance event.
Davis/White edge out Belbin/Agosto to start dance competition
Ice skaters competing in Compulsory Dance this morning, performing the same selected dance – the Golden Waltz – to the same music. The skaters compete at 6 p.m. Friday in the Original Dance and 11:40 a.m. Saturday in the Free Dance. The top-standing skaters after…
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 20, 2010
Humble (and spotless) pie
People have been praising Arena workers for the spotless Arena. Workers come by and pick up litter at every turn. And supposedly, skating fans are a tidy bunch, compared to hockey and Shock football fans.I was hoping to interview two of the maintenance workers this…
Don't stop the presses
Scottie Bibb, public relations head honcho for U.S. Figure Skating, counted up for me today the number of media folks at the championships. She issued credentials for 230 print journalists and photographers. This includes newspapers, magazines and the skating publications.Another 30 broadcast media got credentials,…
Rumor patrol
Here are some rumors around the Arena. Don't know exactly how to check these out, so if any of you know, let us know.Supposedly these celebrities have been spotted at the championships: Ben Affleck, Ryan Seacrest and Meryl Streep.I'll do more digging tomorrow (if time)…
The rolling skate closets
All through the Arena, and even on the shuttle buses, you'll see folks lugging medium size suitcases, usually black, behind them. They are about the size of carry-on roller bags you see on airplanes.Turns out those are skaters and coaches dragging those bags behind them,…
Photos: Wednesday novice free dance
Juniors compete in the novice free dance Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010.
Photos: Wednesday Sasha Cohen
Sasha Cohen practices at the Spokane Arena Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2010, in preparation for the ladies short program. The ladies short program is set for Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
Photos Tuesday and Wednesday ice dance practice
The senior ice dance partners take to the ice for practice. The compulsary dance competition is Thursday, Jan, 21, 2010, at 10:30 a.m.
Roundup: Double the competition
Amanda Dobbs is a teenager from California, writes Dave Trimmer, but here in Spokane she's a senior. The 16-year-old is competing in not just one, but two Senior events. “At the senior level it is quite rare to be at the level Amanda is in…
2010 U.S. Figure Skating Championships