Florida Skaters Heat Up the Ice

There was a time when the rest of the country greeted competitive skaters (and skating , in general) from Florida with great skepticism. With recent top placements at national level competitions and the Future Championship Series, that has changed! The skating world is seeing that skating in Florida is hot and some of our skaters are heating things up the the big competitions.

Future Champions Series
It all began this past spring and summer in competitions that were part of the Future Champions Series. Little by little, several Florida skaters made themselves known by skating and placing in the top spots at several competitions. These finishs and total points earned results in top placements overall in the series.

After taking second overall in Eastern Juvenile Girls last season, Tampa Bay Skating Club member Masha Leonov challenged herself by competing at the Intermediate Ladies level. While her double axel wasn't always consistent, it was improved over last year. Strong choreography by her coach, Andrei, who teaches at the Ice Factory in Kissimmee, coupled with Masha's remarkable talent in the presentation aspect of her programs, was what set her apart from her fellow competitors, resulting in a second place overall finish in Eastern Intermediate Ladies in the series.

In Eastern Juvenile Ladies, another TBSC skater claimed the second place medal. Nadine Menna competed and placed in seven different competitions across the country to earn her honor.

In Eastern Juvenile Boys, Edward Sprogis of Daytona Beach FSC, took top honors and first place.

In Dance, three couples from Florida medalled in Intermediate Dance in the Eastern Section. First went to Radina Hakim and Michael Amick from Central Florida FSC. second were the sibling team of Rebecca Lerman and Jamie Lerman from City of Palms FSC. The newly formed dance team of Olivia McNamara (Tampa Bay SC) and Matthew Stephens (Central Florida FSC) claimed third.

Regional Championships, the next stepping stone

The South Atlantic region is one of the largest in the U.S. The sheer number of skaters make qualifying for the next levels of competition a difficult feat. Add to that competing against talented skaters from power-house training clubs like the University of Delaware and others and if you're a skater from Florida, you wouldn't think your chances were very good. Florida skates proved otherwise. While there were skaters who moved on to Sectionals at the higher levels, the honors belonged to the younger skaters.

Masha Leonov, competing in Juvenile Girls, placed first in the Group 1C qualifying round, 4th in Juvenile Girls Group 2A initial round and second in the final round. Masha was bested in the final round by another Florida skater and training partner, Kaitlyn Steward from the Citrus FSC. Kaitlyn took first place in both her qualifying and initial rounds as well. Both girls moved on to compete at Junior Nationals.

In Juvenile Boys, a second place final round finish for Edward Sprogis, also qualified him for for Juvenile Nationals.

In Juvenile Pairs, the newly formed team of Tracy Tanovich and Michael Chau, representing the Southwest Florida FSC, took second, while siblings Taylor Elliot and Zachary Elliott, Central Florida FSC, placed fourth. Both teams also qualified to compete at Junior Nationals.

In the Intermediate level, it wasn't a big surprise that the winner in Intermediate Ladies was Sherry Barnes (Citrus FSC). Her high flying jumps and consistency were no match for her competitors. Sherry placed first in all rounds of the competition, earning yet another spot for a Florida skater at Junior Nationals.

In Intermediate Dance, two couples also earned their way to Junior Nationals. Olivia McNamara, Tampa Bay SC and Matthew Stephens, Central Florida FSC, placed 4th in the first compulsory dance, 2nd in the 2nd dance and 2nd in the free dance to place 3rd overall, while Radina Hakim and Michael Amick, both from the Central Florida FSC, took fourth overall.

Across the country, Mallory Carmichael, an associate member of the Tampa Bay SC who represents the Seattle FSC, also qualified for Junior Nationals, by placing 3rd in Juvenile Girls at Northwest Pacific Regionals. Mallory trains at the Tampa Bay SC and is coached by Olympic Bronze medallist Jim Millns.

Junior Nationals

The 2005 US Junior Championships were held December 1-4 in Jamestown, New York and Florida was well represented. The competition was tough, the placements varied, but the Florida skaters were everywhere to be seen.

In Juvenile Girls, Masha Leonov placed second in qualifying round 1B and 7th overall.
Mallory Carmichael placed 18th in qualifying round 1B.

Competing in Juvenile Boys, Edward Sprogis won his qualifying group and finished 5th in the final round.

The brightest moment of the competition was enjoyed by Sherry Barnes, who won Intermediate Ladies in tough field. In the final free skate, she has some bobbles on a couple of other elements but completed three combination jumps: triple Salchow-double loop-double toe, double Axel-double toe, and double Lutz-double loop. Just as she did at Regionals, Sherry repeated her feat of winning all three portions of the event in Jamestown.

Other finishes by Florida skaters included: Olivia McNamara (Tampa Bay SC) and Matthew Stephens (Central Florida FSC), 8th in qualifying round 1B in Intermediate Dance; Radina Hakim (Central Florida FSC) and Michael Amick (Central Florida FSC), 11th in Intermediate Dance Group 1A qualifying round; Kaitlyn Steward (Central Florida FSC), 12th in Juvenile Girls 1A qualifying round; Tracy Tanovich (Southwest Florida FSC) and Michael Chau (Southwest Florida FSC), 9th in Juvenile Pairs, after placing 6th in the Group 1B qualifying round.

Taylor Elliott (Central Florida FSC) and Zachary Elliott (Central Florida FSC) did double duty, competing in both dance and pairs. In Juvenile Dance, they placed 4th in Group 1A qualifying and 8th in the final round. In Juvenile Pairs 1A qualifying group, they placed 15th.

Other competitors with Florida ties showed their stuff in Juvenile Dance. Brielle O'Connor (Space Coast FSC) and Daniel Eaton (Detroit SC), both of whom train in Rockledge, placed 6th in Group 1B qualifying and 10th in the final. Casey Smith and Boris Nouchtaev, who competed on behalf of the Washington FSC, but train in Ft Myers, placed 8th in Group 1A qualifying and 9th in the final round.

Not since Florida-based skaters began competing and placing nationally back in the 90's, have so many from the state made their mark on the skating world in qualifying competitions. Sparked by the win of the Junior Nationals Pairs title by the Florida team of Shantel Jordan and Jeremy Barrett last season and continued competitive success of the Juvenile and Intermediate skaters, the future looks very bright indeed.