Photo Courtesy of RedSports

Photo Courtesy of RedSports

Photo Courtesy of RedSports

Photo Courtesy of RedSports

Medals, Medals, Medals

All Stars shine at Nationals

April 02, 2007—Among the gold medalists at Nationals this year was seven year-old Gazel Lee, a first-time competitor in Ladies PrePreliminary A event with a total score of 31.95. The younger sister of Maxel Lee, Gazel has practically grown up on the ice in Singapore, and she skated with maturity and moves beyond her years. However, Julia von Atzigen, 10 years old, placed a strong second, earning 31.44 in points on the back of a strong bielman spiral. Another seven year old, Claudia Philipp placed third with points of 30.27. Skating to the theme from Mission Impossible, young Claudia proved that anything is possible with commitment and lots of hard work.

In PrePreliminary Ladies B, it was difficult to tell that gold medalist Audrey Tan was making her first appearance at Nationals. As the very first skater to compete at Nationals this year, Audrey had reason to be nervous, but she performed like a pro. Dorothy Huang, another new skater to Nationals, picked up a silver medal.

Newcomer 10 year-old Celine Bavaud won the Ladies Preliminary A event with a well-choreographed program of dramatic and demanding technical elements. Celine scored 40.26 points. Michelle Lee, who is always a delight to watch, won the silver medal with 37.13 on the back of strong program component scores and good single jumps. Third-place Bramina Braet demonstrated how tough young skaters can be when she lost her edge going into a camel spin and went down hard. “I knew immediately that it wasn't going to be good,” said a rueful Bramina. But she recovered well and went on to land a single flip-axel in sequence. Bramina earned a bronze medal for her gutsy comeback.

Special mention should be made of Claudia Krogmeier, Melissa Leow, Mahardika Kasih, Germaine Lim and Sarah Wong. All five girls skated with passion and flare for their programs. A natural performer, Claudia Krogmeier captured the difficult nuances of her Indian-themed music while Melissa maintained a lively, fast-moving program. An all-round lovely skater, Mahardika actually placed 2nd in technical points in the event. Germaine had a graceful program to What a Wonderful World. However, kudos must go to 9 year old Sarah Wong, competing for the first time at Nationals. She scored extremely well on technical points, and she can look forward to an improvement in her program component scores as she becomes more comfortable with competing.

In Preliminary Ladies B, Cheryl Khoo had a razzamatazz skate to Sing, Sing, Sing to win the gold (with her spins particularly well-rated). Silver medalist Elishea Hidajat, skating to Egyptian-themed music, had a confident program with lots of detailing and style.

In a tough category of talented skaters, Phoebe Wang claimed a clear victory in the PreJuvenile Ladies A event on the strength of her program component scores. Phoebe won the gold with another elegant, well-defined program to the theme from Anastasia. Silver medalist Jacklynn Benfield also had a charming and amusing skate to the Pink Panther while bronze medalist Debbie Stuart skated with subtlety in her program. In Prejuvenile Ladies B, gold medalist Casatrina Lee demonstrated how far she has come in the past year with a dynamic program to Pirates of the Caribbean. The PreJuvenile Ladies hold great promise for the future.

In the Juvenile Ladies event, Ng Yi Ching put down an impressive technical program, winning the title and scoring the highest technical score of the competition! Yi Ching landed two double-double combinations, scoring 18.81 in technical points. Jasmine Mehaffey scored strongly in program components to win the silver medal. Bronze medalist Cheryl Lim, made an admirable return to Nationals after a two-year break, scoring the second highest technical mark in the event. Bravo to the Juvenile Ladies for raising the bar in their event.

Competing for the title in the PreNovice Ladies event were three skaters with some incredible programs: 11 year old Sarah Rodgers, 13 year old Anja Chong and 13 year old Alexandria Wong. Leading after the short program was Alexi, with Sarah in 2nd and Anja in 3rd. Skating to Pirates of the Caribbean in the free skate, Anja laid down a charismatic free program, punctuated with huge double jumps.

Next up was Sarah Rodgers. She had a pulse-racing free skate to Edvin Marton's techno-driven version of the Godfather that left the crowd gasping at her speed. As part of her technical package, Sarah landed a double toe-double toe combo and a double salchow-single toe-single loop combination, preceded with unusual entries. However, she suffered a 1 point deduction for a fall.

Skating last to music by Bach, Alexi knew she had to deliver her program as choreographed to win the title. She opened with a double lutz-double loop combo, which was unfortunately downgraded. “I had doubts about it as soon as I landed it but I couldn't worry about it too much,” she said. “I had to focus on the upcoming double flip-double toe.” With the second combination rated clean, Alexi went on to claim the gold in PreNovice. She also scored the highest overall score of 90.14 at the Championships.

Coming from Beijing, 15 year old Sarah Paw won her second consecutive title in Novice Ladies, with 12 year-old Brittany Lau placing a strong second. Skating to the soundtrack from The Last Emperor for her short program and to Zorro for her free skate, Sarah continues to impress with her spins, the sophistication of her skating and the great variations in her music choices. Sarah received Level 2 ratings for both her combination and layback spins. Brittany, who won the Juvenile event in 2006, landed a clean double salchow-double toe loop in her free skate. Congratulations to both Sarah and Brittany.

Tasha Benfield, 14 years old, was the sole competitor in Junior Ladies. Performing to the Nutcracker for her free skate, Tasha scored the highest mark for a single element—3.20 for her double lutz-double loop combination. Tasha is a clear storyteller with her programs, and we look forward to seeing her skate next year.

The All Stars had great representation among the Adult events as well, with Karen Lee, a former National Champion in PreJuvenile Ladies B, winning the gold in the Adult Ladies Bronze event. Clara Teo won the bronze medal. Competing in the Ladies Adult silver event was Isabelle Tan, who won a silver medal thanks in part to the difficulty of her spiral sequence, and Hong Sung Ah, who placed third.