Keeping focus on positive

They force themselves not to dwell on the bleak future of their home rink.

They try to ignore the banner that hangs near the snack bar.

“We need a hero to save Planet Ice. Corporate or individual. For information call 509-893-0101,” the sign pleads.

Kalie Budvarson and Chris Anders, the 6-year-old Spokane Valley rink’s most celebrated skaters, prefer to concentrate on the task at hand: skating clean programs at the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships, an eight-day event that begins Sunday in St. Louis. The 2007 national championships will be held in Spokane.

“Our elements are stronger. … we’re skating well,” Budvarson said, switching subjects from the foreseeable closure of the rink to her and Anders’ skills as a figure skating team.

This will be the second year the pair from Coeur d’Alene will compete at the national level. In their first U.S. championships in Portland last year, they finished 11th out of 12 in the novice division.

Budvarson and Anders, 19 and 20 respectively, remain in the novice level after three years together. Novices are the middle level on the U.S. Figure Skating’s five-level scale and the lowest group competing at nationals. Their programs are shorter than senior and junior skaters. Some of the novices Budvarson and Anders skated against last year have moved up. Others have split up.

They are hoping the experience and name recognition with the judges will give them some added oomph.

Since they last went before such a prestigious panel, times have been tumultuous at the place where Budvarson and Anders practice as well as work. Planet Ice, which houses two indoor rinks, was sold to MoCo Engineering and Fabrication Inc. The local company has told rink employees they must be out by March 31 – thus the creation of a plea-for-help banner. At that time, the building, located on a desolate industrial park strip on North Eden Road, will be converted into a lumber-stacking equipment business.

The past several months also were not devoid of personal setbacks. Budvarson tore a ligament in her right foot and suffered a deep sprain that kept her off the ice four months. No sooner after she healed did Anders have his boots and blades, valued at more than $1,000, stolen out of his car. He didn’t have a backup pair and waited more than two weeks before his custom-made boots arrived.

“We would like to be in the top six,” Anders said, putting a realistic goal on their chances in St. Louis.

Since last year, the pair has added more difficult maneuvers to their lifts, particularly with the hand-to-hand Lasso lift. Budvarson will rotate on her way to the top and will be flipped down on the landing while both skaters face the same direction.

They also skate their programs with more speed and power, which Anders said has added to their confidence. Novice competition opens the championships Sunday and Monday at the Family Center, the event’s secondary venue in St. Charles, Mo. The pair’s short program is set to a “Cirque du Soleil” theme while the free skate is set to a bold, powerful “Gladiator” theme.

“Last year, the judges told us we were a little slow and timid,” Anders said. “Maybe the word they used wasn’t timid, but cautious.”

Karin Kunzle-Watson, the twosome’s only coach since forming their partnership, said her skaters also have become more creative in their transitions, all the more important under the new judging system. The system, which replaced the 6.0 system, awards points for the technical evaluation of the elements combined with points awarded for five additional components, such as skating skills, footwork transitions, performance and execution, composition and choreography and interpretation.

After Budvarson and Anders finish their competition, they plan on staying the week with their coach to watch the higher-level skaters. Some will represent the U.S. at the 2006 Winter Olympics.

As for their future and their future practice facility, “I don’t want them to stress about it,” Kunzle-Watson said.

However, the pair is certain about one goal: to compete in Spokane next year.