Vignettes at the 2012 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

Premium ContentMouse over Home then click on Premium Content for information.

Johnny Weir speaks to the media during a press conference at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championship in HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., Friday. PHOTOS BY REBECCA S. GRATZ

Weir hopes to ‘wake up' Omaha in comeback

If Johnny Weir's year goes according to plan, Omaha might be the scene of an unlikely comeback.

If it doesn't? People are still going to be talking. And that's part of his plan too.

The three-time national champion (in 2004, 2005 and 2006) is one of the most recognizable American skaters in recent history.

He's known as much for his athletic talent as he is for his fashion choices — you might remember his feathery swan costume from a few years back — and his willingness to be candid about almost everything. (At a press conference in San Jose, he spoke at length about perceived corruption in the sport, other skaters' performances and an allergic reaction he developed from algae while on his honeymoon with Victor Voronov.)

And for the past couple of years, since he retired from the sport altogether, he's been doing anything but skating: appearing on TV shows, writing a book, recording a pop song called “Dirty Love.”

But now, Weir says, he's ready to return to the ice.

He misses the competition, the fans, being in top shape. He thinks the sport's popularity has dwindled in recent years, and that it needs a Johnny Weir-size dose of personality.

In San Jose, where he made an appearance at the downtown ice rink, watched his friends skate and put in some time as a TV commentator, Weir told The World-Herald that he's “98 percent sure” he'll be in Omaha next January.

It's not a given. Despite his past success, he may have to work his way up to nationals by competing at the regional level. And there's the issue of age: At 27, Weir is nearly a decade older than some competitors.

But he says he's ready and looking forward to next year's nationals.

He's been to Omaha once before, he said, for a skating show. He remembers it as a “sleepy town.”

Next year, he says, that will change.

“I want to wake it up,” he said.

Bob Dunlop, senior director of events for U.S. Figure Skating, points out the bevy of information and schedules posted while leading a tour for the Omaha Local Organizing Committee of the setup for the U.S. Figure Skating National Championship at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., Friday.

Even smallest details key for organizers

On TV, it all looks so easy.

The skaters seem to glide on the ice without much effort. The camera is at the perfect angle to capture every jump, every smile and every fall. The music is ready, the ice is smooth and the scores are calculated quickly.

But as the organizers of next year's U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Omaha are learning, it takes a major effort behind the scenes to produce something so seamless.

Even on a relatively quiet morning at San Jose's HP Pavilion, hours before skaters will take the ice for competition, the place hums with activity.

In the winding hallways around the entrance to the ice — the places you don't see on TV — there are dozens of volunteers and coaches, Zamboni drivers and photographers. Spandex-clad skaters stretch and run laps, earbuds tuning out the sound of a skating competition coming together.

And on Friday morning there were about a dozen people from Omaha — members of the Omaha Sports Commission, leaders of the local skating community, volunteers — listening to Bob Dunlop, U.S. Figure Skating's senior director of events.

They saw it all: The small computers used by judges and officials to watch instant replays of each routine and calculate scores. The rooms where the skaters can relax before heading out onto the ice, where they get tested for drugs, where they get medical treatment or massage therapy.

They learned that even the small details can make or break the event, and they had plenty of questions: Should Omaha offer on-site costume and skate repair? Why wasn't San Jose providing bottles of waters for skaters? Would some spectators need a shuttle bus?

“We want to make it very convenient and comfortable so the athletes are able to focus on skating,” said Sue Williams, an active member of Omaha's skating community who was on the tour. “And we want to make sure the fans are able to enjoy the skating.”

The good news, Dunlop said, is that Omaha — and every city that hosts the event — is free to make the championships its own, if it's willing to make the effort.

“This championship is the same by name,” he said, “but every year it's a different entity.”

From left, Sheryl Scarborough of Annapolis, Md., Andy Depew and his wife Evelyn Sakoda of Seattle watch the pairs skating warm-ups dressed in their American flag jackets at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championship at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., Thursday.

Devoted fans are front and center for every competition

There are the casual skating fans, the type who tune in during the Winter Olympics or buy tickets when “Disney on Ice” comes to town.

And then there's Andy Depew.

He's the guy who's been sitting in the front row for just about every moment of every national championship for the past 26 years. You can't miss him, or the rest of his group: They're the ones wearing the matching American flag jackets so their friends watching at home can spot them.

Seattle resident Depew, 64, has been at this for so long that he's watched plenty of skaters move from novice to junior to senior level, and then become coaches.

“After a while you get attached,” he said. “It almost feels like a family.”

He's not alone.

Take Bill and Diana Hart.

Both in their 70s, the Harts have traveled from their home in Pacifica, Calif., to every national championship except one since 1999.

Bill Hart wears a visor covered in souvenir pins from each stop.

They like watching young skaters improve. They like the competition. They like sitting so close that they sometimes feel the spray of ice in their faces when a skater slices past.

Being a spectator, they say, is a bit of a sport in itself.

“Get your tickets early,” Diana offered. “And get the best seats.”

“Be prepared for long days,” Bill added.

They're already talking about next year, and Omaha.

Unsurprisingly, so is Depew and the rest of his front-row, jacket-wearing crew.

“Oh, yeah, we'll be in Omaha,” he said. “Almost in the same spot.”

___________________________________________________

Suttle promotes city to skating fans during his day in San Jose

Omaha Mayor Jim Suttle doesn't call himself a figure skating fan, though he describes the sport as “spellbinding.”

But he's certainly a fan of what figure skating can bring to his city.

On a one-day trip to San Jose, the mayor spent the afternoon chatting up skating fans at the Omaha ticket booth: “I told them they will be very, very welcome when they come to our city.”

Later he stopped by at a reception where members of the Omaha Local Organizing Committee were mingling with U.S. Figure Skating officials, organizers of previous national championships and at least a couple of skaters.

All seemed to be willing to share their secrets, said Keith Station, assistant director of the Omaha Sports Commission. “Even the people who are our competitors (to host the championships) or will be eventually,” he said. “It's all in good spirit.”

U.S. Figure Skating President Patricia St. Peter said Omaha's active push to get to know the sport and people involved will be the key to a good event next year. It's important to understand the scope of the event and what the “community will need to do to create a successful competition,” she said.

Suttle said he also planned to check out some of the action on the ice later in the day. “I enjoy seeing professionals, and that's what they are. I can't do what they do.”

___________________________________________________

Young ‘sweeper' conquers the job of clearing the ice

Out on the ice, Ginger McKelvey feels invincible.

All of those people are looking at her. They're clapping. Some are standing. A few are tossing things on the ice to show their appreciation: stuffed bears, candy, flowers.

It's so exciting, she says, that it doesn't even matter that it's all for someone else.

Twelve-year-old Ginger, from nearby San Mateo, Calif., in a blue skating dress and white U.S. Skating vest, her hair pulled neatly into a ponytail, is part of a small army of young skaters with an important mission. They're called sweepers.

When a skater finishes his or her program, Ginger and the other sweepers have to race out on the ice and pick up all of those gifts.

“The only thing you might be a little nervous about is running over an animal,” she said. “But once I'm out there, I feel like I can conquer the world. I feel so special.”

She had to audition to get the gig, skating around the ice as people tossed stuffed animals in her path.

So did Amanda Koong, another 12-year-old skater, from Los Altos, Calif.

She'd been hoping to be a sweeper for years, ever since she saw the small skaters zooming around the ice on TV. If a big event ever comes here, her parents said, you can try out.

“There are lots of people that throw stuffed flowers,” she said. “I also saw a couple of bears with little skates on — they were really cute.”

The sweepers don't get to keep anything they pick up. The skaters rarely do, either. Quite a bit of it gets donated.

When the championships come to Omaha, young skaters in the community will make up the sweepers' ranks.

It's an opportunity Amanda says they should jump on if they get the chance. “Definitely.”

___________________________________________________

Event draws young skaters working their way up ladder of competition

They're everywhere, these future Michelle Kwans and Kristi Yamaguchis and Brian Boitanos.

There's Nina Sebastien, a third-grader from Reston, Va., sitting next to her grandparents in the arena, clutching her ticket. It's her first time seeing the national championships in person, but when it comes to this skating stuff, she's an old pro.

She's only 8, but she can land all kinds of jumps. (She admits her Lutz could use a little work. It's easy to get tripped up, she said, on the toe pick of your skate.)

Her mom was the 1985 junior national champion in the pairs event, and Nina wants to carry on the tradition.

Spending a few days watching the best in the business is pretty exciting, she said. It's a glimpse at how far she might be able to go in just a few short years.

But she's not too serious about it all — at least not yet.

“Yeah,” she grinned, “I'm skipping school.”

There are dozens of young skaters already working their way up the competitive ladder.

At the city's outdoor rink downtown, 15-year-old twins and novice-level ice dancing competitors Meara and Grant Lorello of Gambrills, Md. — along with Grant's skating partner, Hannah Pfeifer, 16, of Woolwich Township, N.J. — laced up their skates.

They'd finished their competition earlier in the week (Meara and her partner took sixth place and Grant and Hannah came in seventh).

Now they were spending the week sightseeing, skating for fun and occasionally getting the chance to chat with top skating stars — though the Lorellos say they don't get too star-struck.

“It used to be a big deal when we were younger,” Meara said.

If he comes to Omaha, Grant said he and his partner might make a move for the junior level. That's the step before senior level, the one that generates the big names and the chance to compete in the Olympics or World Championships.

But it's a lot to think about.

“We've talked about it,” he said. “I don't know yet.”

« Metro/Region

Share