Jennifer Comeaux's Blog, page 47

U.S. Nationals Nostalgia: Dallas 2003

Today I'm looking back at the 2003 U.S. Championships in Dallas as part of my series reflecting on the past eleven Nationals. I remember the weather in Dallas being very dreary and cold most of the week. Coincidentally, there were more than a few dreary performances inside the American Airlines Center.

This was the first year I was able to stay at the skaters' hotel, the sprawling Hyatt, and I enjoyed people-watching at breakfast every morning. With security tightened, spectators couldn't ride...

Six Sentence Sunday - 1/1/12

Today is Six Sentence Sunday, where both published and non-published writers share six sentences from their work. I'm sharing an excerpt from my upcoming debut novel, LIFE ON THE EDGE.

In this excerpt, Emily and her young coach Sergei just had a friendly night out at the Sting concert. Emily's best friend Aubrey has warned her about getting too close to Sergei since coach-student relationships are a big no-no.

A shiver sped down my spine at the thought of spending another evening with Sergei...

U.S. Nationals Nostalgia: Los Angeles 2002

2002 Nationals gave me my first chance to visit California, and I didn't want to leave the sunshine and clear blue skies. Since it was an Olympic year, there was a "do-or-die" feeling to the competition that I hadn't felt in Boston the previous year. I was happy with some of the Olympic team members but heartbroken for some of the athletes who didn't make it. More on that in a bit . . .

My sister and I couldn't go to L.A. without sightseeing, so we took the subway to Hollywood Boulevard to see...

U.S. Nationals Nostalgia: Boston 2001

With another U.S. Nationals approaching, I thought I'd look back on the past eleven Nationals that I've attended and reflect on some of the memorable moments. Between now and the start of the 2012 championships, I will be posting an entry for each year. Hope you enjoy this series and let me know some of your favorite memories from these events!

First up in the series is Boston 2001. Since this was my first Nationals, it will always hold a very special place in my heart. I'm hoping Boston will ...

Grand Prix Final Wrap-Up

[image error] I'm over a week late, but I wanted to post some parting thoughts on the Grand Prix Final. I wish North America held this event more often because I think it is the perfect competition to attend. Since each discipline has only six skaters, each event only lasts an hour, saving spectators from the "arena cramped leg syndrome" that occurs during four-hour marathon competitions. Plus, the roster of skaters is comprised of the best in the world, so the quality of skating is guaranteed to be high. ...

LIFE ON THE EDGE Cover Reveal!

The release date for my book LIFE ON THE EDGE is getting closer, and I'm so excited to show you the cover! I just received the galley proof of the book and need to read through it as the final step before publication. I'm so looking forward to sharing this story with everyone and hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

GPF Sunday Events

Sunday began with yet another early morning ice dance practice. Most of the teams didn't expend much energy and some left shortly after their very light run-throughs.

After attending mass at Notre Dame Cathedral and then grabbing a quick lunch, it was back to the arena for the Free Dance. I'd been curious to see Ekaterina Bobrova/Dmitri Soloviev skate live because on TV their skating always looked herky-jerky and heavy to me. Seeing them in person didn't really change that. They have good spee...

GPF Saturday Events

I apologize for not blogging on Saturday or Sunday. Breaks between the events were too short to do anything constructive. This post will cover all the Saturday events and I'll follow later with a post on Sunday's happenings.

Saturday started with another dance practice. Each team obviously practiced their free dance since they competed the short dance on Friday. Meryl Davis brought out the light blue dress she'd worn at a Skate America practice, this time with a coordinating mask hair decorati...

GPF Senior Pairs SP & Senior Men SP

It's late, so just a few quick thoughts on the Senior Pairs and Senior Men short programs. Tatiana Volosozhar and Maxim Trankov were awesome! This was my first time seeing them skate live. Aliona Savchenko and Robin Szolkowy had a small uncharacteristic mistake on the throw flip, so they're slightly behind V/T in the standings. These two teams have quite a lead on the rest of the field.

Aside from the top two performances, I also enjoyed Narumi Takahashi and Mervin Tran, another team I hadn't ...

GPF Sr Ladies SP & Sr Short Dance

Not too much to say about the ladies' event. A couple of disappointing skates and nothing that really left a lasting impression on me. On to the dance event, which was much more entertaining!

Kaitlyn Weaver/Andrew Poje started off the short dance with very loud support from the crowd and they fed off the energy and then some. They put all they had into that program. Next was Nathalie Pechalat/Fabian Bourzat, who took the energy from their training mates and ran with it, skating their best shor...