Julee Basal's Blog from American Cup I
September 30, 2006
World Cup Team
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Day two of American Cup I.
Races got underway around 9:30 a.m. this morning. In the men’s 1000-meter quarterfinals, USOEC skater Kyle Carr took an incredibly hard fall coming out of a corner. He broke his ankle at the beginning of last season and underwent a series of surgeries to correct it last winter. As soon as he hit the wall, he grabbed his ankle and couldn’t put weight on it, so I knew he had hurt it again. I had a chance to talk to him during an ice resurfacing following the spill. His ankle was bothering him, but he was determined to continue in the competition. During another resurfacing, I had a chance to talk to Sadie Grace, who had to withdraw from the competition yesterday after she suffered a couple of hard falls. She told me her back is bruised, but hopefully she’ll be back skating again soon.
Three USOEC girls made it out of the 1000m semifinals, but it was a tough race for the boys. Anthonly Lobello was disqualified for cross tracking, and Jeff Simon and Joey Lindsey didn’t make the cut. That left Shani Davis to be the sole USOEC representative in the final, which he won. In the women’s final, Kimberly Derrick was first, Katherine Reutter was second and Mary Grace was fourth. Kyle was able to come back and skate in the C final. He took it easy, but came in second. USOEC teammate Barry Winslow was in his heat and hit the wall hard right in front of me. He shook the wall so much that my friend Kate Aho’s cup from the cappuccino she just finished fell off of the wall, as it was sitting on the outside of the glass.
The final race of the competition was a long one—3000m. That’s 27 laps. There’s a lot of strategy that goes into a long race like that. Skaters who are good at long distances like to be in the front to set a fast pace and wear out the other skaters. The athletes who are better at the short distances hang in the back to draft other skaters and save their energy to sprint at the end. There were eight skaters in each 3000m A final. Kimberly took second, Katherine third, Mary Grace fourth, Kristin Bedford sixth and Cherise Wilkins eighth. On the men’s side, Shani was first, Anthony fifth, Jeff sixth and Joey eighth.
Once the final races were complete, the points were tallied and the World Cup Team was selected. Kimberly, Katherine, Cherise and Mary earned positions on the women’s team. Mary didn’t meet the age requirement, however, and had to give up her spot to another skater. Former USOEC skater Tina Koenig also grabbed an open spot and told me to tell everyone in Marquette she says, “Hi.” Shani, Anthony and Jeff made the boy’s team. Congratulations to everyone!
Women’s Overall Standings:
Kimberly Derrick 3200 points—1st
Katherine Reutter 1445 points—3rd
Cherise Wilkins 1420 points—4th
Mary Grace 981 points—5th
Kristin Bedford 385 points—8th
Sophia Milan 300 points—9th
Sadie Grace 31 points—16th
Men’s Overall Standings:
Shani Davis 3250 points—1st
Jeff Simon 1565 points—2nd
Anthony Lobello 1466 points—4th
Joey Lindsey 395 points—8th
Kyle Carr 250 points—11th
Simon Cho 167 points—13th
Barry Winslow 160 points—14th
Levi Kirkpatrick 149 points—15th
Al Johnson 128 points—17th
Kyle Uyehara 100 points—20th
Well, that’s all folks. World Cup Team members will leave Oct. 13 for China, the location of the first World Cup. Be sure to check out the USOEC web site for updates on the team.
-Julee
Friday, September 29, 2006
Day one of American Cup I.
My best friend Kate Aho and I headed down to the Pettit Center where the competition is taking place around 8:45 a.m. It’s an Olympic Training Facility that houses an Olympic oval for long track with two short track rinks within it. We checked in and made a pit stop in the locker room to talk to head USOEC coach Jimmy Jang, assistant USOEC coach Tricia Stennes and some of the skaters before the races started at 10 a.m. Tricia was running around trying to sharpen Joey Lindsey’s blades. He broke his hand in a fall at practice a couple of weeks ago, so he has a hard time sharpening them himself. Jimmy looked surprisingly calm. He was lounging on one of the benches, but I knew he’d be fired up soon and I was right. As soon as the races started, he was in the coaches’ box barking commands in his sharp Korean accent. It felt just like practices back at the Berry Events Center, only he didn’t have to yell the laps—they have a lap counter at the competition.
Tricia told me to expect a lot of falls because the ice was bad. It’s dirty and brittle, so it breaks away under the skaters’ feet. She was right. The falls were frequent, too frequent. Two-time Olympian and former USOEC skater J.P. Kepka went down early in his heat. He was one of six skaters to go down in the first seven heats. USOEC skater Sadie Grace took a really hard fall and didn’t get up for quite a while. I could tell she hurt her back, but she skated in the next heat.
Seven boys made it to the 1500-meter semifinal and four girls qualified for the final. They took the top three boys and top two girls in each heat. I went and visited the skaters during an ice resurfacing. It was good to see people I haven’t seen in a while. The mood was pretty light. There was a lot of joking around; they’re always playing around. It probably helps keep the stress of the competition from creeping in. USOEC skater Cherise Wilkins, who was one of the girls to make the 1500m cut, kidded that since making it to the finals was her goal for the day, she was ready to go home. She ended up finishing sixth in the finals.
Shani Davis, Anthony Lobello and Jeff Simon all made it through to the 1500m finals. Jeff’s heat was really exciting. He surprised a lot of the other skaters with his speed and stamina, finishing first in his heat. In the finals, Shani crossed the line first with Anthony right behind. Former USOEC skater Ryan Bedford and former facility user Travis Jayner went down with only a few laps to go. I can’t believe no one got hurt after watching the way they fell so close together with their skates in the air. They checked each other for cuts once they cautiously got up (sometimes their adrenaline gets going and they can’t tell if they’re hurt). On the girls’ side, Kimberly Derrick placed first and Katherine Reutter took second. In the women’s C final, Sadie fell again after a skater from another club, Lezleigh Jaworski, fell in front of her. Lezleigh hurt her left ankle and had to be taken to the emergency room. There’s no word on her condition. Sadie was also hurt and withdrew from the competition.
There was a break in the action in early afternoon. Kate and I grabbed a quick lunch from the concession stand under the rink because the officials shortened lunch from 50 minutes to 20—the competition was running behind. It was fun to see all of the athletes with their families and I had a great time finally getting to meet them. I love sitting in the stands and watching the parents interact with one another. They all share a common bond: they all know what it’s like to let their child leave home and pursue their dream, and you can’t find bigger cheerleaders than them. The loudest cheering section had to be for Shani. He has quite the crew here to support him with his mother at the helm.
Once the competition resumed, it was time for my favorite race: the 500m. It’s only 4.5 laps, so it’s a pure sprint from start to finish. Starting position is important because of the short timeframe you have to make up ground. Lucky skaters draw lane one—the closest to the inside. There are also a lot of false starts because everyone is anticipating the shot and wanting to be the first off of the line. Six boys made it to the quarterfinals and four girls made it to the semifinals. Katherine took a really hard fall right in front of me during her heat. I’m not quite sure what happened. No other skaters were near her as she came out of the corner. Perhaps, she caught a rut because she was skating an outside track. Cherise and Kimberly advanced to the finals, while Shani, Anthony and Jeff qualified on the men’s side.
The finals were incredible. The USOEC boys swept the top three spots. Jeff placed first, Anthony took second and Shani finished third. The girls were awesome, too. Cherise was first and Kimberly was second.
To recap:
Men’s 1500m
Shani—first
Anthony—second
Women’s 1500m
Kimberly—first
Katherine—second
Men’s 500m
Jeff—first
Anthony—second
Shani—third
Women’s 500m
Cherise—first
Kimberly—second
As the old saying goes, it was a great day at the races! The scheduled 1000m preliminary heats will be pushed off until tomorrow, because of the delays in the schedule today. It should be a great race. Shani calls it his favorite distance. He won gold in Torino in long track in that distance. It’s also the distance Kimberly skated at the Olympics in short track. I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen and who is going to make the World Cup Team. I’ll write tomorrow to let you know what happens.
-Julee
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Pre-competition activities.
I talked with my friend and USOEC assistant speedskating coach Tricia Stennes last night. She told me it was really cold in the ice arena where the competition is going to be held. Competition organizing committees always like the ice very cold, thin and hard, because speedskaters can make better times. When they drop the temperature of the ice, however, it makes the rest of the arena cold. My suitcase is huge and I’m only going to be gone for three days because of all of the layers I’m packing. Once you’re sitting in the rink for hours, though, it doesn’t seem to matter how many layers you have on—you’re cold!
Tricia told me that all of the other competitors are starting to arrive, so all of the athletes are having fun reuniting with old friends they haven’t seen since last season. She mentioned that former USOEC skaters Tina Koenig and Ryan Bedford are there. Ryan’s sister Kristin is currently in our training program. Former facility user Travis Jayner is also there; he’s a really nice guy. I’m looking forward to seeing all of them again, as well as some of the staff from U.S. Speedskating I haven't seen since Olympic Trials in December or World Championships in March.
The athletes’ parents are also starting to arrive, so they’re excited to have a sense of home at the rink. I can’t imagine leaving family and friends as a teenager to live on my own hundreds, or even thousands, of miles away from everything I know. These athletes are special individuals to sacrifice so much. They miss holidays, they don’t have the comfort of their parents when they’re sick or injured, they miss out on going to their high school proms and homecoming dances. The USOEC has done an incredible job creating a support system for the athletes, so they are always under someone’s watchful eye while they’re training, going to school and living in Marquette, but I’m sure they still get homesick.
I can’t wait to get down to Milwaukee and see everyone. I’m leaving after my night class at 10 p.m., so it should be a tough, five-hour drive; I’m planning to have a good caffeine buzz going the whole way down.
I’ll give you a full report on what happens at the races tomorrow, so be sure to check out my blog. Skater Shani Davis always tells me to keep my fingers crossed for him, so cross your fingers for him and the rest of the USOEC team.
-Julee
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Reflections on my time with the short track speedskating team.
I took over full responsibilities of the media relations coordinator position at the United States Olympic Education Center in May 2005, following my graduation from Northern Michigan University. I had come in a couple of hours a week February through April that year to get an idea of how things were done around the office, but needless to say, it was still pretty overwhelming when I showed up to really get down to business. The first team I encountered in my new position was the short track speedskating team. There were so many faces and names I didn’t think I’d ever get everyone on the team straight, let alone all of the athletes on the four other resident teams.
As I got to know the other athletes, I realized each team has its distinct personality. The speedskaters are playful and good-natured, but slightly obsessive when it comes to getting their technique right—I guess that’s what makes them so good. The thing that amazed me most about them was how much energy they had. I’d run into them in sports medicine following their third or fourth practice of the day, and they’d still be bundles of energy, talking about the craziest things. I don’t know if it’s just the type of people the sport draws, or if it’s because they are the youngest team at the USOEC; this year, seven of the 16 team members are still in high school. Sometimes, they make me tired just watching them. However, I get a kick out of listening to the conversations they have and trying to remember if I was like that when I was their age—probably.
I’ve enjoyed getting to know them during the last year and a half. It’s completely changed the way I see sports and athletes in general. They are no longer just athletes to me. They are individuals with their own personal struggles and triumphs. There’s a person behind what simply appears to be a finely-tuned machine. When they do well, I share their excitement. Okay, I admit to shedding a few tears when Kimberly Derrick and Anthony Lobello made the Olympic Team last December, and when Shani Davis won gold and silver at the Winter Games in Torino. But, when they fall short of reaching their goals or get injured, I empathize with their disappointment and pain. I’ve been known to shed a few tears over that, too. What can I say? No matter how hard I’ve tried to stay impartial, I’ve gotten attached. I guess when you see people everyday, it tends to happen.
I’m grateful for the way they’ve welcomed me into their lives. To them, I’m also more than what I do. I’m their friend. We go to sporting events, movies and dinner. Just last week, I went with Joey Lindsey and Jeff Simon to get their senior photos taken. I like the variety of conversations I get when hanging out with the entire group. I’ll talk about silly things, like what the best flavor of ice cream is with the younger kids, and more serious topics, such as family, school, finances and health, with the athletes who are my age. Who would have thought I, a musician, would have developed bonds with athletes? I guess a world does exist where band geeks can be friends with jocks.
I’ll be joining the team in Milwaukee, Wis., Friday for American Cup I. It will determine who will be on the World Cup Team that competes in Korea and China next month. I’m excited to see all of the athletes’ summer of training showcased. If you’ve never been to a speedskating competition, you need to go sometime in your life. You cannot comprehend how fast, dangerous and thrilling the sport is until you’re sitting at ice level where they come out of a corner. Skater Anthony Lobello described the sport to a reporter from USA Today as NASCAR on ice. I couldn’t put it better myself.
The team will face the rest of the country’s top skaters and I’m anticipating the competition getting heated. I’ll be writing a daily recap of events, so stay tuned. Feel free to ask me questions: jbasal@nmu.edu.
-Julee
