Nationals time again. An event long anticipated, that begins with excitement, proceeds to expectation, promotes tension, degenerates to dread and then dismay, and ends in disgust. Why do we do this to ourselves, my friend Liz and I ask each other. Why, when all this is so much easier to take long distance, do we spend our hard-earned time and money seeing it in person, when we know we’ll end up emotional messes? If we had an answer to that, we wouldn’t have already signed up for Detroit next year........

This time I broke my own record and attended every men’s practice session. Oh, I missed parts of three of them: one because of cab problems, the others for little things like seeing some of the Freedance. But I should warn you up front: I did skip Ladies OP, Pairs Final, and the Dance Compulsories and OD in favor of practices. I hope someone else will write about these and fill in the blanks. (Note on unclear references: If I don’t give the competitor type, it’s Men, and if I don’t give a level, it’s Championship. Okay?) One final caveat--I’m no good at figuring out what a jump was, so be warned!

Sunday, January 17 We have barely arrived when it’s off to a place we know only as "Tower Plaza," which turns out to be a discount shopping mall. We hadn’t had time to check into shuttle buses yet (which turned out to be well-scheduled, inexpensive, and for the most part, reliable) so we took a cab--after a long wait. We arrived midway through the first group’s practice, having missed both Todd Eldredge’s and Craig Heath’s OP. But we did see them, along with Shep Clark, and we were officially at Nationals. Craig’s smile was as wonderful as ever, and Todd looked strangely younger, smiling and laughing rather more than usual and with a short haircut. Also in Group A were Eddy Zeidler, who trains with Todd, and appears very graceful and expressive; and three who hadn’t arrived yet: Mel Chapman, Ryan Hunka, and Brian Schmidt. Mel we hadn’t seen yet; he turned out to be very attractive, with some interesting moves, but had a particularly bad week technically. Brian Schmidt I had seen in juniors and remembered as having very original, story-like programs. He still did, but seemed out of his depth and skated rather badly in competition. Of Ryan I’ll speak later.

Group B on Sunday consisted solely of Paul Dulebohn. Young, fair-haired and very slight, he has beautiful line and great expression, but major problems technically. Sound like any other Paul we used to know? Also in this group were Michael Chack, Rudy Galindo, Daniel Hollander, Mark Mitchell, and Steven Smith. I remembered Daniel Hollander from juniors as being quite small but a dynamo, with interesting programs and a lot of energy. Steven Smith turned out to be a black skater (two in one event--is that a record?) with a lot of potential that wasn’t always realized in competition. But watch for him in future.

Group C was anchored by the Broadmoor guys, Damon Allen and Scott Davis (both former junior champs). Later arrivals included Troy Goldstein (when he had time left over from figures, pairs and dance!), Larry Holliday, Colin Vander Veen and Aren Nielsen. Quite a few surprises here, eventually. Larry didn’t show up until Thursday and then proceeded to charm the audience while alienating the judges by doing a lot of contemporary dance moves not backed up by much technique. We heard that Larry’s having major money problems, so maybe his training was lagging. A shame, since he’d seemed so promising as a junior. Troy is continuing his metamorphosis into an entertainer, but again his crowd-pleasing antics didn’t necessarily win over the judges (or the other skaters). Aren, for a change, was generally rock solid; but Colin turned out to be an even bigger surprise--again, more later. From that first day (afternoon at Tower Plaza and the free skate practice in the evening at the America West Arena), I particularly remember Shep, looking very strong with incredibly high jumps and his usual artistic flair. I’ve always thought that if he could put together two clean programs, no one (including Brian Boitano--but maybe Kurt at his best...) could beat him. He’s got the artistry, the height (always impressive, and rare), the athletic ability--he’s got it all. He looked nearly unbeatable--in practice. Scott also looked good. His two Broadway programs--Fiddler on the Roof and West Side Story--were both technically difficult and well choreographed, and the popular music only helped further the cause. I had not been impressed in 1991, and I still saw him more as a "nearly there" than as a really top-notch skater, but he was a definite threat.

Monday, January 18 A late morning! Unheard of, but nice following a late practice the evening before. We checked out the registration area in the skaters’ hotel and bought some souvenirs (got our bus passes the evening before), looked around at what restaurants and other services were available in the area, and headed over to the Arena for a Men’s technical practice. Mark had joined group B, and Paul seemed glad of the company (although I had enjoyed watching him without "distractions"). Mark proceeded to make our week by taking most of his practices in a black or white turtleneck and black tights. He looked great, and he was skating well, too. Troy and Aren joined the Broadmoor guys in group C. First surprise: Craig was practicing the same old OP (the one we call "Leprechaun," although most of the music is Scottish) from the last two years. Granted, it’s an absolutely gorgeous program that showcases both his skills and his style, but if we were tired of it, what must the judges think? Second surprise: Todd’s OP wasn’t martial in theme, but was from "The King and I." While the program was, as usual, lacking in originality (can we take up a collection to get the boy a choreographer?), the music selection was nice and it was well skated. Mark’s Strauss OP was lovely and fluid (in other words, more like his freeskate than my favorite OP of his: "When a Man Loves a Woman.") Aren’s first OP practice started off with a whimper when, after waiting what seemed like an eternity for his music to start, he suddenly realized (aloud): "You don’t have my music, do you?" No, they didn’t, and Carol Heiss Jenkins (Aren and Ryan’s coach) had to run to get it.

So, another Men’s Freeskate, and finally a chance to see Todd’s new "Les Mis" program. Glad it wasn’t just like the first one. I wish he’d junk the "Master of the House" section entirely, but at least the comic element was toned down--I think you have to be Scott Hamilton to carry that off well. I don’t remember much else (we were suffering from "brain freeze"), but we did notice someone working with Richard Callaghan who we later found out was "Igor," a former ice dancer, who was also working with Punsalan and Swallow. Shpilband, maybe?

Tuesday, January 19 While Liz and Sandy took in the Compulsories, I ran around dropping off film to be developed and headed over to the only arena we hadn’t seen, Veteran’s Memorial Coliseum, to take in the technical program practices for Men and Pairs. This turned out to be my favorite arena, as it was spacious and well lit, with seats that went down very close to the ice, and not a lot of people in attendance, translating to good seats on the judges’ side for me and my camera. I really enjoyed that evening, especially as I sat with a bunch of judges and got to listen to their comments. Fascinating! I must say I got some insight into what they see when they look at a program. (At one point, a judge pointed out to Carol that a certain sequence in Aren’s program could be construed as illegal or not meeting the qualifications--something to do with the spread eagle and/or footwork leading up to a required jump, I think. Although Carol said this hadn’t been questioned before, she immediately made a change anyway.) I was also pleased to help some judges with the names of skaters they didn’t know. Aren’s OP looked fantastic and he was very confident--what a change! Even his triple axels were straight, had good height, and were cleanly landed. Craig’s skating, on the other hand, seemed to deteriorate all week, and that beautiful smile, almost always in evidence, took occasional time off when a program went particularly badly. He was sorely tested by having his music stop-twice-during his run-through, and each time they restarted from the beginning! The first time, Aren offered to hum it for him, eliciting that famous grin. By the end of the third playing, he was pretty well done-in. Shep’s OP was incredible, opening so fast and furious that it seemed like he’d get in all the required elements in about a minute!

Todd gave the OP performance that I remembered all week, and really lit up the program from within. All of a sudden what had seemed an unremarkable program was stunning. Ryan Hunka’s "La Bamba" music turned out to go with a good program that he skated with both style and athleticism, quite living up to expectations.

I rejoined Liz and Sandy at the Arena after it for the late-night Men’s freeskate practice. We sat right behind the coaches, and enjoyed watching Dick Button work--he made his way to the coaches of the major competitors during each practice and discussed the programs. It was nice to see Aren included for what may be the first time! Also nice to see Aren talking with such self-assurance. One puzzle: what caused Group A (Craig, Shep, Ryan, Eddy, Mel and Todd) to come out on the ice holding hands, like medalists, and proceed to center ice to take bows? Who knows! But it was fun, and explained why they had all been waiting for Todd before coming out. (Speaking of ABC, Peggy Fleming was also very much in evidence at practice, doing her homework). That evening we saw more of Shep’s freeskate, and noticed that he’d kept several of our favorite elements from previous years, including the "solo death spiral" and the multiple butterflys. Todd seemed quite comfortable and confident, and "Les Mis" looked wonderful. After being at practices from 9:00 am until almost 2:00 am, this time we had "brain death" rather "brain freeze," and fell into our beds in exhaustion, glad that we were staying downtown!

Wednesday, January 20 I should have been prepared to come crashing back to earth after the great time I’d had Tuesday, but I wasn’t. . Next was men’s technical, first group A. By mid-week, we were not watching the warm-ups as closely as on previous days, mostly just glancing at the various skaters, seeing how quickly they got into their jumps, what their mood was, as we settled in for a long stay with cameras and snacks at the ready. (Also photos--I’d gotten the first of mine back and the Ice Palace rink was the best place to get them signed, as the skaters had to walk past the bleachers to get to the changing area.) So we didn’t see what jump Todd was doing when he went down, except that it was a very high triple. He was still carrying all his momentum when he slid with a deafening thud into the boards. Practically right in front of us, and very near where his family was seated. When you first begin attending these events, all falls look serious. After a while, you try to judge the severity of the crash not just by the skater, but by the reactions of the other skaters and, most particularly, the skater’s coach. The speed and sound of Todd’s impact was alarming, but it got worse when all the skaters immediately surrounded him, and both Richard Callaghan (Todd’s coach) and Glyn Watts (Winterhurst) jumped out of the penalty boxes the coaches were using to rush to Todd. We couldn’t really see him from our angle, as he was right up against the boards. It appeared that he’d slid into the boards hip and back first. When the crowd stayed around him and he didn’t get up, the tension increased. One really bad fall and what had been worked towards for the majority of a young life could slip away forever. You could particularly see this on the faces of the skating parents in the crowd. It could easily be their child.... Todd eventually got up, and stood by Richard for some time. Then he just skated around and around the rink for several minutes. It became obvious that he wasn’t going to shake it off that easily, and he went to the dressing area, where they iced down the injury (eventually his family couldn’t stand the waiting, and they joined him). When he left the arena, his look said it all. It was serious. We later learned that he was taken to a doctor, and although Richard passed it off to the press as a minor back injury that didn’t really affect his skating in the actual competition, I can’t believe that.It affected him severely, to what extent physically and how much psychologically I don’t know, but there was an obvious change. I’ve seen Todd screw up in competitions before. I saw a lapse in concentration that probably cost him a medal in Halifax. I saw him barely squeak by Chris Bowman in Minneapolis, and I saw a Todd at the top of his form in practice show little sign of that talent in World competition in Oakland. But this was different. The rest of the day and week was pretty much a washout for me. And here I thought when Chris left amateur competition that my emotional involvement with skaters would return to a manageable level! Guess I’ll just never learn.

Anyway, the other guys did practice, and Colin Vander Veen finally appeared, looking much the same as we remembered him--good, but not out of the ordinary. Rudy and Shep continued strong; Aren, Scott and Michael were all pretty consistent; and Craig continued to skate worse than we’d ever seen him. Mark’s practices were all smooth and lovely, but many of his performances appeared to be done on auto-pilot. The occasional lapses that brought on a smile were welcome, as a sign of the person that Mark seemed to be more and more hiding behind the persona. Why is it that so many skaters have to give up much of what initially attracted you to them in order to become successful?

Thursday, January 21 The relatively early night (around midnight) and downtown arena (no bus this morning!) should have made the 9:00 am practice easier, but it’s amazing how much depression and anxiety can exhaust you. Another men’s technical, with Todd back in evidence. Although his jumps were cleanly landed, they were almost entirely doubles and not very high. It seemed to be his take-off leg, or hip, that was the problem. He determinedly kept going at it, often going to the coaches’ area, but by the end of practice he appeared so depressed that I wanted to remove him bodily from the ice. As he was leaving, I asked him if he’d be able to skate in the competition the next. His reply: "I really don’t know." I watched a few of the Junior Ladies (especially Todd’s team-mate, Lefki Terzakis, who reminds me of Todd a few years ago), then headed over to the Vet, anxious to see what would develop. The two practices were quite close together in time, but what a difference. Once again, the better facilities and small crowd at the Vet seemed to entice the skaters to relax more, as (for Aren) did the arrival of his girlfriend. In fact, Aren relaxed a bit too much. After his freeskate run through, which went very well indeed, he fell on his butt during his closing. His comment to Carol: "Damn, that was great!" Shep started the practice coach-less and mimed loneliness, then later landed a huge triple axel which was applauded loudly by two ladies in the audience, at whom he smiled and ostentatiously bowed.

Todd, in particular, seemed like a different person, relaxed and smiling, and his run-through of "Les Mis" brought tears to my eyes it was so beautiful (his state of mind, of course, adding a bit to my joy). If the jumps weren’t as high as they had been on Tuesday, it didn’t really detract from the program. I was ecstatic, and after practice raced back to my hotel room to relate the evening’s events to Liz and Sandy, who in turn updated me on the pairs final. Again we were in bed by 12, but this time it was elation rather than depression that kept me awake.Friday, January 22 Friday was the start of the real competition for me, and by then the tension was almost unbearable. Liz and I took the 8:00 am bus to the mall to be sure that we didn’t miss a single minute of the last technical practice. Mark was flawless, and capped his practice by miming Kristi’s exhibition number (off-ice) when "Pretty Woman" was played on the practice tape. Michael looked strong if tense, Scott seemed a bit shaky, Ryan was nervous. And Todd was having problems again. Double after double. He must have tried his opening triple-triple combination twenty times, and had only tripled the axel once, and that time not cleanly. By the end of the practice, he was trying out a triple toe-triple toe, since it seemed obvious that the axel wasn’t working. Determination, but no confidence. Although he kept working like a demon, he didn’t seem to think he could do it. Over and over he went at it, to the point where we wanted to yell "Stop it!" He was trying so hard it seemed unfair that the jump just wouldn’t come.

We watched one group of ladies as a cool down, then it was over to the Arena for the competition. Show-down time. Although Mark was Liz’s favorite skater and he’d been practicing well, she was nervous, knowing his history. And my favorite, Todd... Funny how two years previously we’d have concentrated on how well Aren was doing, but now he seemed so strong that we took him for granted, and worried about the two medal favorites! Since Scott Davis was the major competition for Todd, Mark and Aren, we hoped that by drawing first position his marks would be lower by a couple of tenths than they would otherwise be. That’s usually the case. But for whatever reason--criticism over past years, high expectations for Scott, or just a good skate, he got almost all 5.7's with one 5.6 in artistic. I thought he looked a bit mechanical in the beginning, but the "Fiddler" program got stronger throughout and he exuded an aura of self-assurance that the judges, as well as the audience, picked up on.

The next "contender" skated third, Ryan Hunka. "La Bamba" features a very fast opening, which he executed well, but he seemed to lose confidence after he fell on the first jump of his combination, and never really came back. His marks ranged from 3.3 to 3.7 in technical, and 4.8 to 5.4 in artistic. Certainly not what had been expected of him . Daniel Hollander piqued the crowd’s interest with his rockabilly number, skated in a black t-shirt and black lycra legs, and was 9th after the technical. Larry Holliday’s "House" music number featured a lot of crowd-pleasing dance moves, but very little technically difficult skating. Next came Mark, seemingly inheriting Paul Wylie’s crown as audience favorite. As I had feared, his Strauss OP looked over-rehearsed to my eyes (at least in the opening section). His first triple was huge, a bit tilted, but landed cleanly to loud applause. He seemed to relax a little after his second jump, gained momentum in his footwork section, and was performing very strongly near the end. He was obviously pleased with the way he’d skated, and his marks were good enough to put him ahead of Scott.

Todd skated in the same group as Mark. He looked a little hesitant from the beginning, but tried to appear confident. Much to our surprise, the triple axel combination was back in the program, and he landed both triples, but the extra turn between them cost him points. After he landed his third triple cleanly, he looked happier, "The King and I" music seemed to carry him along, and the smile at the close of his program seemed genuine. Not a lot of triples, but well skated overall, and he was in third. And none of the lapses in concentration that had plagued him in past years.

In the third group, Aren was almost an unknown quantity, to us as well as the rest of the audience. He’d been skating well, but his placement at NHK made us wonder if he was still choking in competition. His technical program, however, was dramatic and exciting, skated to contemporary, electronic-sounding music (in last year’s OP costume). His opening triple was clean, his triple axel/double toe combo wobbly but landed, and his footwork instead of looking obvious as some did, was integral to the program and helped interpret the music. If I had any objection, it was that too much emphasis was placed on the jumps in some sections of the program, but overall I was pleased, as were Aren and Carol. Rudy’s "Kitri’s Wedding" program was lovely and balletic, as are all his programs, although the whole intro was just a long lead into his combo, of which he fell out of the opening triple axel and left out the second jump entirely. But that was his only major error, and his beautiful spins helped him place a strong 7th. Craig continued his pattern of the week--not disastrous, but certainly nowhere near what he can do. He traveled badly on some spins, touched a hand down twice on jumps (including his triple/double combination) and ended in 11th place. Michael Chack was dressed as a matador in black trimmed with gold braid (a style that suits him well), and we loved his latin program, with its attention to detail. The beginning, however, was disastrous: the first jump, a combination, featured him touching the ice on the triple axel and stepping out of the double toe. After touching down on one more triple, the rest went well. Particularly impressive were the double axel with his hands on his hips and an interesting, if indescribable, combination spin.

The last group--would Todd and Aren’s placements hold? Here’s where it turned out that we were worrying about some of the wrong guys: Colin, dressed in a simple black-with-purple-trim vaguely martial costume and skating to Souza, put together a very convincing performance that landed him in 5th. His opening triple was clean, his combination was a triple/triple (but not an axel). The program was more strong than subtle, but clean and nice. Shep was a different sort of surprise: after his usual fast and furious opening, he fell on his very high opening triple axel, seemed to forget a lot of his choreography in his concern to stay on his feet, landed a huge double axel but fell on his footwork section, yet seemed to take the whole thing very well. Troy, skating to Brahms’ "Hungarian Dance", proved himself to be the new Chris Bowman, finding and playing to all the cameras and most of the audience. Although he double-footed his opening jump, his triple-double combo was clean, his footwork was fast if not very difficult, and he redeemed himself for a fall on a triple by mugging for the crowd. Every competition needs a little comic relief. The final skater was Damon Allen, with another military program. It was skated very precisely, but he fell on the opening jump of what was meant to be his combination, dropping him to 8th. Whew! How do you follow that?

If you’re Liz and Sandy, you take a rest-and-meal break and go back for the Ladies’ Technical followed by the Freedance. I, however, went back to the Ice Palace for some freedance practice followed by Men’s freeskate. The guys seemed pretty loose, tired from the earlier practice and competition (Carol, Ryan and Aren took the evening off), and there was a lot of congratulating of skaters and coaches going on. Shep in particular was jovial, seemingly relieved that the pressure was off him. All was calm in the first group, and the second was going well when Todd fell for the first time since Wednesday’s disaster. Hard, in a different corner. No one ran out this time, but he got up very slowly, and did little else that evening. It occurred to me that some of the doubled jumps could be attributed as much to fear of falling as to injury. Whatever, he was shaken. I lost what little remained of my concentration, and skipped the last group of guys to go to the Freedance competition.

Saturday, January 23 The last day of competition, and the earliest morning yet. When we got to the Ice Palace before 8:00 am, one ray of sunlight was highlighting the center of the ice, simultaneously blinding skaters and making me scramble to try to get that "perfect" shot with the sun falling on them. At least it gave me something different to think about! Moods were good, on the whole, with Shep skating figures and grinning away. Craig’s smile still in evidence despite his problems, and Todd jumping again (but almost all doubles). Colin still looked strong, but for some reason his program, which had looked so magnificent to me when skated without music (does Toller choreograph for him? Looks like it) lessened in impact with the music. Strange. This was it.

Back to the Arena for the Men’s Freeskate. I’ll skip the first group except to note that Eddy seemed to be wearing Todd’s usual costumes, but in reverse order: his OP costume was identical except in color to Todd’s old "Les Mis" costume; his freeskate costume was militaristic! Ryan opened the second group. Looking even more nervous than previously, two of his first four triples were perfect, but the other two were popped and stepped out of. Full marks, however, for the combo when after he doubled the first jump, he somehow managed to triple the second to make up for it! He regained a little composure in the slow section, after which both his interpretation and technical skating improved. Paul Dulebohn followed a similar pattern, messing up early, regrouping on the slow section, and finishing strongly. Steven Smith’s program featured a lovely mazurka, some nice footwork, and several unfortunate small errors. Craig’s beautiful "Fiddler on the Roof" costume (black tunic and pants with rose brocade trim) and program were marred by a fall and a couple of trips, but his gorgeous spread eagle footwork (forward, back, forward, back the length of the ice), long very arched Ina Bauer into a skid spiral, fantastic Russian split jumps and perfect presentation helped him out, although he appeared tired at the end. Ryan, Paul, Steven and Craig finished 13th, 15th, 11th and 12th, respectively.

Rudy was first in the third group, and his many fans waited with anticipation to see if maybe this time he’d do it. He did. His first triple was beautiful, he got more and more pumped as one jump after another went perfectly, yet he never forgot his choreography (his very expressive hands reflecting his ballet training). One popped jump was about the extent of his mistakes, and his excitement near the end was almost overwhelming. Often skaters following a program like that suffer from lack of audience energy. It seemed to happen in the final group. But not here. Michael Chack’s program, to music from "The Right Stuff," was commanding. His opening triple axel was huge but landed awkwardly, as were several other jumps, but he projected a real aura of mastery. He fell once near the end of his slow section, but it made basically no difference to this placement. Michael’s no longer promising, folks, he’s there. Damon, following him, seemed more confident than he had in the technical, and his opening triple lutz was impressive. He had a really nice spiral with position changes, and finished with two triples in the last minute or so (despite popping a second triple lutz just before). His Gipsy Kings music was not too fussy, nor was his costume of black pants, white shirt and glittery cummerbund, and his skating suited the overall effect. Daniel Hollander followed with his "Prince of Thieves" program and costume, which opened with him miming taking an arrow from his quiver, pulling the bow and releasing the arrow. He fell on his triple lutz but managed most of his other jumps. More impressively, no matter how the program was going, he was never out of character nor did he dump choreography in favor of more jump preparation. His swordfight/footwork section was beautiful, and by the end, when he let another arrow fly, we were all with him. Last in the group was Shep, in a non-Shep-like, rust-colored costume with paler sleeves and midriff. His opening triple/double combination was fine, but he fell on the following triple axel, for no good reason that I could fathom (possibly under-rotated). He continued to "present" the program well, which I thought showed real improvement from two years ago. His landings weren’t the cleanest, but he completed most of the rest of the program. Of this group, Michael finished 3rd overall, Rudy 5th, Damon 7th, Shep 9th and Daniel 10th.

Colin skated first in the final group, and his performance seemed disastrous at the time, although it doesn’t look so bad on tape. Funny how "impression" can color what the audience (and sometimes the judges) sees. Lots of poses in the opening, very Tollerish, but his delivery isn’t as forceful as Toller’s and wasn’t strong enough to overcome the many popped jumps and two falls. Aren followed and, like Colin, I thought his program didn’t really showcase his strengths. Full of grand, sweeping moves, very spare, it needed to be skated perfectly to be impressive, and it wasn’t. His first triple was huge and clean, but two subsequent axels were popped to singles. The program featured some beautiful edges, his incredible spread eagles, and a closing double axel, but the overall effect just wasn’t convincing enough, and it kept him from moving up despite the enthusiastic audience response.

Todd was next, and if his tension in the warm-up hadn’t been a signal, his failure to smile at the audience response to his entrance was a sure sign of things to come. Skating in a new costume to a revamped "Les Mis," his beautiful, graceful opening had me holding my breath, but like the previous day, he did somehow manage to land his triple axel/triple toe combination. However, the rest of the jumps looked very tentative, he didn’t gain any confidence from sections that went well, and looked more and more disgusted with himself as the count of popped jumps added up. His final axel was a single, and he finished looking very dejected, although he did pull out a smile as he accepted the applause.

All this could only have made Scott’s job easier, and he didn’t hesitate to take advantage. "West Side Story" is commanding music, and his opening triple axel and triple/triple combination showed that he would indeed take charge. If I found his skating less acceptable in the slow (One Hand, One Heart) section, I couldn’t deny that he really went for it. The only real error was one singled axel, and if his jumps looked forced near the end, they were still landed.

Mark, skating last, knew what he had to do. A program of the calibre he’d delivered in Oakland would win him the title. But his triple axel was tilted from the very take-off, the fall inevitable. The lovely edges and spins surrounded a couple of popped jumps, and his fantastic, long spiral and closing double axel were too late. He shrugged as he finished as if to say "What could I do?", but it had been there for him, as it had been for Scott. The difference was Scott took it. (Final placements, in order: Scott 1, Mark 2, Aren 4, Todd 6 and Colin 8.)

It took quite an effort to drag ourselves back for Ladies after that. We briefly went back to the hotel, and passed Todd as we returned to the arena. I wanted to say some words of comfort, but couldn’t.So, that about sums it up. A week of excitement, tension, grief and anxiety, as much for the audience as the skaters. I was drained. And I’m going again next year. What can I say