UP NEXT ..... INDOOR NATIONALS

We have been home for a few days now from Outdoor Nationals. I'm still not unpacked nor have I received the two large boxes of stuff that I am having shipped home. They were things that we needed like a blender, supplements, sweatshirts (LOL-you know Colorado weather, anything is possible!), the batteries to the video camera (they weight so much and you only get one bag now...) can opener, paper plates, containers and anything else you can think of to survive for 12 days. Most people do not stay at the places with a kitchen etc., but I always try to if we are there for more than 3 or 4 days. It allows you to have things in your room like cream for your coffee (what every athlete needs!) snack stuff or even things to make sandwiches and additional lunch items, in case you can't leave the track or road course to get something to eat. It works out fantastic until I have to unpack it all!!! It usually takes me 2-3 WEEKS to get everything put away and even then I have stuff floating around for awhile longer.

Speaking of two-three weeks. That's when we have to leave for Indoor Nationals!!! So when those boxes arrive home I will refill things like the coffee container, paper towels, new video tapes and all the stuff we will need for indoor. I can't believe that IDN is in less than 3 weeks. It seems like just Friday I returned home from Nationals.... oh wait..... I did, it was just Outdoor Nationals! By the way, ODN was wonderful. All of the new people that I met. Skaters that I interviewed for upcoming magazines (by the way the articles are done... and on their way to Jessica!)

I won't get near as many photos from IDN as I do from ODN because my camera and I don't get along indoors!! Actually I just can't seem to get it to work indoors. It could be the camera but I have a feeling it is more "operator error" and I'm not embarrassed to say it either!

Come back by over the next 2-3 weeks as we prepare for IDN. I will let you in on what we are doing and how our practices are going. Oh... and in the midst of all of this we have a FIREWORKS fund-raiser for our team. We will be working 12-14 hours a day for 7 days straight. It will be interesting to see if I survive this and how much money we actually make. That starts this coming Friday/Saturday. Should be REALLY interesting!! Money brings the best out in people!! Stay tuned for this one! LOL Linda

ONE IMPORTANT FACT...

I wonder how many of you thought that this "important fact" might be gossip or information???!! LOL

Naaawwww.... just thought you'd be interested (maybe, maybe not) that I took over 4000 photos in 6 days at Outdoor Nationals and I video tapped, although I only kept and posted 3,218 photos. If nothing else... it was important to me!! :) Linda

MEDIA CATCHES FALL

THE GAZETTE, the local paper in Colorado Springs, spent a few days at the track picking up different stories each day. The first day they did a story on hometown boy Norman Kirby. Josh and I were fortunate enough to be asked some questions about Norm. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that it would have led to Josh's picture being the lead picture on Norm's story until I saw the article posted in the Cafeteria area of the OTC!!

You can click on the photo itself to enlarge it. It is incredible that Josh did not go down... he did run into plexiglass. His left leg/foot is caught underneath Sebastian Cano's right leg. Sebastian hasn't quite hit the ground yet.... but trust me, he does! Although the caption underneath the picture reads that this was in the 15K elimination race, it was actually in the 500m Consolation Race.

Today was the last day of Outdoor Nationals 2008. Team USA and the Alternates have been chosen. I was not feeling well today and did not go out to the road course, so I have no new photos. But I did get yesterday's photos loaded onto to my FLICKR site. You can go here to see the 800+ photos from yesterday.

Photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/58909696@N00/sets/

And I have a 3-minute clip of the Senior World Class Men's 20K Elimination race from the Road Course. Check that out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezXnrPGtmkw

I hope you've enjoyed the week as much as I have. Indoor Nationals is in less than 4 weeks. I wonder what stories that will bring??? Bookmark this page if you haven't already and keep checking back. Linda

THINGS TO DO.....

Hello all. First of all I would like to thank each of you for stopping by and reading my blog. My stories are usually about all of the "fluff" or "interesting facts" in skating and I enjoy writing about what is going on. Every once in awhile..... I add a story that I am very passionate about. Today some things happened during the competition that upset me. If you know me personally, whether you like me or not... you know I am very passionate about the sport of inline speed skating and about the skaters. I have gone to bat several times for skaters that are not even my own, because it was the right thing to do.

A situation happened in a race that I feel was unfair to the skaters that competed. Tonight I need to take the time to research my options as a coach for those skaters. That means that I won't have the time necessary to write the stories that I had planned. I also took over 1000 photos today that I would like to "download and then upload".

These photos that you see here (on top - Richard Hawkins, Executive Director of USA Roller Sports and Josh Wood) the photo on the left (Nicole Lloyd with her black eye! Click on the middle of the photo to enlarge) and the photo on the right (Colin Thomas sporting a couple of bandages and Harry Vogel with a sling) are only a taste of what I took today.

Due to my commitment of fairness for the skaters (always remember this is MY opinion only), I am going to pass on writing a story tonight to take care of business. I will try and at least post the pictures. I hope you enjoy them and I appreciate your understanding. Linda Wood

SEND THE BEST - BBQ

Send The Best hosted a BBQ to raise money for the Jr World Team according to Ross Creveling. Ross came up with the idea last year and along with the help of Karen Shields and Mr. Carroll (Keith Carroll's father) and a few other people that were behind the scenes, they pulled off a great BBQ. At just $5.00 a plate that included a bottle of water, baked beans, chips, and your choice of brisket, hamburgers, hot dogs or bratwurst, it was well worth it for a great meal and to help the Junior World Team. They made approximately $700.00. Thanks to all who supported STB!!!

SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!!! GUESS WHO ?????

Guess who's coming to dinner???? O.k. it's not dinner, but to the line? You are probably wondering if the heat finally got to me! It did, but that's not what I'm talking about.... I'm talking about my favorite basketball player ...... and she will be on the line first thing tomorrow morning!!!

That's right, BRITTANY BOWE was at practice tonight and she looks great!!! Yes she plans on skating the road competition. Originally she had prior school commitments that would keep her from attending Residency and World's, so she had to back out of Outdoor Nationals. Finally the school (basketball coach/team) agreed to let her participate a few weeks ago from what I understand, and the rest is history. She looks happy and healthy. She skated over to Renee' Hildebrand and myself and gave us both a big hug. I look forward to watching her compete!

CLOSE TO RECORD HIGH'S

I love this picture of Jim Larson!! This was taken at 8:00 in the morning. Check out the reflexion of the sun off of his sunglasses! His face is red and he just looks hot (NO Jim... not that kind of hot!!!). By the way, Larson is here in Colorado Springs, but he is not skating. He wanted to come and watch all of the skating and just hang out. I think Jim has some other things "cooking" and when that happens, we better ALL get out of the kitchen!I knew it was hotter than what "weather.com" said it was!!! Last night while I was watching the news they said that Saturday was 94 degrees in Colorado Springs and 90 degrees yesterday. If you are not familiar with the area, the elevation is a little over 6000 feet. That puts us closer to the sun which intensifies the heat. When it hits about 82 degrees here, it feels like 100 degrees in Sacramento, California. Both places are dry when it comes to humidity but again, due to the elevation the air is much drier here. So when it topped 94 degrees, it would be safe to say that it equaled about 110-112 degrees in the Sacramento area. And that is HOT!!!

The top of my head has blisters and is sore to the touch. I know, I should have worn a hat, but I feel like I get hotter and it is very restrictive. No, I am not vain and although my hair can be the talk of conversation periodically (take a look at the profile-it's spiked and wildly colored), I have no problem just letting it go. I just have never been a person to wear a hat, so I have paid for that one!! They say that wild hail storms are expected later today/tonight. It is currently overcast and much darker outside than it has been. I sure hope this doesn't put a damper on our cookout tonight!! If it does, I bet that Ross Creveling and Karen Shields will work it out for us to have our BBQ tomorrow or the next day. They have purchased so much food.... I plan on driving over during practice tonight and taking pictures of the road course and such. Stay tuned.... Linda

SR MEN VIDEO

I had the opportunity to grab a few laps of the last race of the day. The World Class Men's 15K Elimination race was about 20 laps into the 75 lap race when I shot this. You can see this on YouTube as well: WC Men ODN 2008

Linda

AS THE WHEEL TURNS ??!!

Of course I am just using a "play on" with words but I thought I would address just a few questions that I have overheard the last few days concerning skaters.

There have been questions about skaters who normally attend Outdoor Nationals but whose names have not appeared on the "results" page. So I thought that I would try and answer those questions!

COLIN THOMAS: He was not here during any of the practice days and did not arrive in Colorado Springs until late Friday evening. That meant that Colin had missed the 300-meter and the 1000-meter races, which Colin is well known for his great results. Arriving late Friday night, getting little sleep and stepping out on a track, that he hadn't skated on since his last clinic. His first race was the 10K points/elim race on Saturday morning. He skated well but I could tell he was a little sluggish. The next race would be the 500-meter another favorite of Colin's. He hammered through the heats and quarters yesterday and held nothing back during the semi's and the finals... where he finished first. Colin #75 is here leading the outside pack in today's 15K Elimination Race.

Although I watched the 15K Elimination race today, I can't remember if he was involved in the crash or not... but Colin did skate. On the way out of the Velodrome I saw Colin and asked him how he felt. He said that he needed that 10K yesterday to get "warmed-up" and that he was ready and looking forward to the road competition. It was great to see his big smile and positive attitude.

CHAD HORNE: Chad is not here. I heard from someone, who I consider a reliable source, that Chad has been busy with school and his car. That he has skated but not enough to compete at Outdoor Nationals. I hope to talk to his mom Theresa and give you more factual information about Chad. He is a great skater and I know that I miss him!!

JESSICA SMITH: Jess is in Salt Lake City, Utah training on ice. She is training for the opportunity to compete in the 2010 Olympics. They will have the Olympic trials in December 2009, which is practically around the corner. In fact that's only 18 months away. We wish her the very best!!

HEATHER RICHARDSON: Heather is actually here watching the racing. I saw her this morning and she looks.... sun burned!!! LOL She in another great skater that is currently living in Salt Lake City and training on the ice. She is doing a fantastic job in Long Track. She is currently beating skaters that have competed for years. Again, her focus is the 2010 Olympics. Heather, GOOD LUCK!!

So this should answer a few questions! If there are other skaters you would like information about, drop me an email and I will try and find out where they are and what they are doing! Linda

THANK YOU........

Several of my skating friends that have not been able to attend Outdoor Nationals this year have sent me personal emails. Some have been " good luck " for my skaters and others have been to tell me they have enjoyed the pictures and the stories.

I have LOVED receiving these emails and reading them (Ms Debbie, Ami, Lisa, Laura, Lora, Bob, David, Jim, Wendy and others)... but I have not had an extra moment to respond to you individually. So I wanted to say "thank you", we are alive and doing well and I will write back after we get home!

In the meantime check out my "work space"...... this is where I am downloading, uploading, charging, recharging, writing and creating.

Stay tuned for more news tonight. And don't forget to check out my photo collection. http://www.flickr.com/photos/58909696@N00/sets/

Also I will have photos of the road course tomorrow as well as the SEND THE BEST BBQ!! I am looking forward the start of the road racing, however I am not looking forward to the early morning start time of 7am!! Enjoy.. L

HOT HOT HOT...............

This word could just as easily describe today's racing action as it could the weather!! When I walked out of my hotel at 7:30am with my jacket on and started sweating before I got to the car, I knew immediately we were going to be in trouble with the heat. I could not believe how hot it was. I called my husband and asked him to look up the weather. It felt like it was in the 70's+ and all it would do is get hotter.

I actually woke my husband up (it was 6:30am in California and Saturday so I guess he's off the hook!! lol) and he told me he would call me back in a few minutes. By this time I had turned the air conditioning on in the car and I just couldn't believe it was only 7:40am. When he finally called me back he said that "weather.com" said it was 63 degrees in Colorado and it "felt like 63 degrees". I said, "if this is what 63 degrees feels like then I'm 25 years old and 40 pounds lighter! And how does "weather.com" know what 63 degrees feels like??????

I finally arrived at the track to see many spectators with their umbrellas opened up and tents already set up along the banked track. In fact I counted 16 pop-up tents. That is the largest amount of pop-up tents that I have witnessed before at the Outdoor National Championships. Along with that, the number of spectators was much larger too!

But enough of the weather.... we started the morning off with the 10K Points/Elimination race. I have said many, many times that I feel that this race is the toughest race there is to skate and even tougher race to win. I respect each and every skater who steps up to the line to challenge themselves and their peers to try and outlast them, try and out point them and possibly even set a record. Although no records were broken in any of the 10K points/elimination races, the competition was tough and close.

Each division had their challenges. The Jr World Class Ladies would be the first to the line. I am still not sure what the hold-up was, but after the ladies had been standing at the starting line for what felt like 5 or 10 minutes, they released the ladies to go and roll around. After another 5 or 10 minutes in the early morning heat, the ladies were back to the start line and ready to go. Once the gun went off, it instantly became intense. With one lap down and starting the second lap, two girls went down hard. One of them being Kristen Attipoe. It appeared that she had hit her head..... but I couldn't focus on her for too long because the first set of points were coming up. Although I didn't have any skaters in this event and I am not working with Team USA this year, I find it almost impossible to just watch the race. I don't know if it's just become habit or if I have a need for knowing exactly where each skater is during every lap of the race. With that said, as the girls came back around Kristen had gotten up and was being help by the trainer over to the middle of the track.

Briana Kramer stopped on her way out yesterday and told me that she was not pleased with the way she had skated her 1000-meter race. She was disappointed in her performance and knew she could have done better. She then stated that she knew what she needed to do for the points/elim race and that she was going to win it. Well if determination had anything to do with it, I knew that she would in fact win the race! She then turned and walked out of the banked track area.

Briana brought her "A" game to the table. Once she settled in, I knew the race was hers. But the skater who caught my attention and was new to me.... was Sophie Webb. Where did she come from??? This meet was the first time that I was aware of Sophie and her drive. I know that I don't know EVERY skater... but I do get around and I love to watch speed skating so why hadn't I noticed her before??? I need to make a note to go and talk to Sophie and find out a little bit more about her! This event would finish with Briana Kramer finishing 1st - 40 points, Sophie Webb collected 23 points to finish second and Alex Harris 3rd with 4 points. There would be questions as to the girls who actually finished 4th through 8th. Some of us saw one thing and others saw the finish another way.

On to the Jr WC Men. They didn't even get through the first corner when at least 5 skaters went down. They all got back up but when that happens in the first turn with that many skaters, in MY opinion.... it would have been nice to call all of the skaters back and restart the race. Those skaters that fell had a very tough time trying to catch up and in fact never really did. But controversy wouldn't stop there. Andrew Shatzer started racking up points (he had 3, but at the time he was in 2nd place by only one point and skating great) when an official blew him off the track. For whatever reason the official called him off... it was a human error and we all make them. I believe they pulled him out with 38 laps to go out of the 50 lap race. I was glad when they figured out that they had made an official error and that they were willing to rerun it... I just didn't like the fact that the other skaters on the track had been racing for at least 4 more laps before they were stopped and Hank Galbraith and Kevin Quandt had actually scored big on the points during these laps. Well to make it fair the officials decided to take away all points earned after Andrew was pulled off of the track. As I sit here now... I still don't know what the right answer is, but it didn't seem fair to take away all points earned on lap 36 and lap 34 (that was the only points both of those boys had) and yet Andrew didn't have a chance to earn points during those laps... so what do you do???? Well all of the skaters that were left on the track at lap 33 were allowed to restart the race. BUT they didn't restart the race like you might think.... at lap 50. They restarted the race at lap 36 and everyone who had points prior to that, that was still left in the race, got to keep their points. If you aren't confused by now you are MUCH better off than I was. Next thing I know... bang.... the gun goes off and we are trying to figure out what lap was what and when , how, who and where!! It was a tough race for me to watch as a coach and once again I didn't have any skaters in the event... but somehow it just didn't seem fair. It would finish with Hank Galbraith in 1st, Jake Powers 2nd and Justin Mannon took the 3rd.

Senior World Class Ladies would be a whole different race!!!!!!! If you were fortunate enough to listen to the live feed provided by USARS, you know just how close this race was. It honestly was the most exciting race that I have seen out of the World Class Ladies in over 5 years!!!! It was the talk of the track for several hours! Back and forth the ladies went.... Chelsea Creveling is a new woman! I don't know what she did this past year, but she needs to keep on doing it. She has been successful in the sprints as well as the longer distance races. Several times Chelsea led in points only to have Emily Scott take it back. At one point Katelyn Horning was right in the mix and Erin DiJulio had scored points as well. Near the end of the race Xion Akana from Idaho jumped out there and grabbed enough points to put herself on the board. In the end the top three would be Emily Scott, Chelsea Creveling and Katelyn Horning.

By the time they started the Senior World Class Men the heat emanating off of the track was enough to cook lunch if I would have had time! The guys all lined up and when the gun went off, they sounded like a herd of cattle in the middle of a stampeded. I actually closed my eyes (I can't believe that I did that) and just listened for "the fall". It never came! I was happy about that. Joey Mantia started off early collecting points followed by Jonathan Garcia. Next grabbing points were Harry Vogel and Chris Creveling. At some point Michael Cheek and Josh Wood decided they better start going for points. It's funny. Some skaters have the strategy to go out early and grab points and hope to just hang on and there are others who wait and start taking points at the 2/3's mark or the halfway mark. For me, that is leaving way too much to chance. It always makes me nervous!! A few point laps after Josh and Michael took off, Dane Lewis made his move. Points would go back and forth and it would be close several times, but it would finish Michael Cheek 1st - 22 point, Dan Lewis 2nd-11 points and Josh Wood 3rd-10 points. But the highlight of this race belongs to JASON KORBEL!!! What a way to end the race. With 5 laps to go, Jason takes off and grabs 1st place points with 4 to go, then 2 more points with 2 to go. He's coming into the last lap leading with 4 points. Jason takes the win with Harry Vogel chasing him down. At that point Harry had only 5 points... and as he finished 2nd across the line... he received 2 points. This meant that Jason and Harry were tied, but since Jason crossed this finish line first... he beat Harry overall. What a race!!!!!!!!

Next it was onto the Freshman and Masters. Some super racing out of all of the skaters. But it is now after 11pm and I have not been to sleep before midnight for the last 5 nights. I will write about these two divisions first thing tomorrow. I have been downloading the photos and writing this article since 7pm, so hang in there skaters... I have some great stories to tell about both of those divisions!! Have a great evening and hope you are all getting more sleep than I am!! Linda :)

FIRST DAY OF COMPETITION

I must admit that I am starting this article the night before "the first day of competition". Part of my reasoning was that I wanted to get a "jump on the competition"! I know.... "don't quit my day job". But it's true. Once Outdoor Nationals starts, it becomes push, shove, run, go from the moment you wake up until you fall into bed that night.

Sure the program calls for just 2 races, but let me try and enlighten you to their day and what it entails. Usually the night before (tonight) the skaters are rushing around trying to make sure that they have their numbers, helmet, skates, wheels changed, uniform and safety pins together. Along with that they need to make sure that they bring plenty of clothes for cold weather as well as warm weather. And it doesn't matter WHAT the weather channel says.... if Mother Nature decides that she wants to show up and blow some "hot air", then the wind gusts up to 44 mph today was her way of letting us know that She would do as She pleases. So bringing sun screen, an umbrella, chapstick, sweatshirt, and tank top are not unusual. And that brings us to sleep. If the athlete can fall asleep and get the rest they need then they are set to arrive.

Almost 24 hours later.....

The first day of competition is over! I am sun burned and wind burned!!!! Remember I talked about the weather.... well looking at weather.com last night it said that we would have a high of 80 degrees. It would still be in the 60's at 11am and low to mid 70's while the 300-meter races were scheduled. The wind was supposed to be 8mph up until noon when it was supposed to pick up to 10 or 11 mph. HA...... NOT....... It was warm early on. I'm not really sure exactly how hot it got, but it was in the high 80's for sure... maybe even hotter!! I knew it was going to be a hot one when we were all taking our jackets off by 9am and the wind gusts picked up to 20+ mph at times. But there was one skater.... who had the "perfect" wind conditions (or lack there of). I stood at the top of the velodrome and video tapped each and every skater's 300m race today. I might not have gotten every start, but I was able to tape each race and write down each skater's time while holding conversations with several different people that I hadn't seen since the last time we were all in Colorado Springs.

But I wanted to mention this one skater who I know pretty well. He's a great skater. He's even talked about having that "perfect" race, but who knew that it would happen today????

Mr. Dane Lewis from Sacramento, California skated the race of a lifetime!! It was as if the "Speed Skating God's" came down and stopped the wind for just 25.909 seconds. There was a slight breeze as Dane stepped to the line. Taking a breath and shaking his arms and hands out, mentally getting in the zone..... Dane set his feet in the 45 degree position. Next he "balanced" himself. As he placed his foot back with ease and control, the slight breeze just seemed to disappear. It was completely still... absolutely quiet.... Dane then loaded and exploded like a man out of a rocket!

He honestly skated the most perfect line that I have ever seen Dane skate. And I have had the opportunity to watch him for many years. His timing was impeccable as he set his corners up, just enough straight-away pushes and he skated all the way through the line (many of you need to take notice... Dane DID NOT look over at the clock while he was still skating!!!). And then his time popped up on the unofficial clock of 25.91. I knew instantly that he had set a new record. I knew that he had beat Joey's record of 25.959 set at last years National Championships! No one will ever be able to take that race away from Dane. It was Dane's perfect race.... then the official time was announced.... 25.909. Everyone went crazy. I even saw Dane crack a smile! I mean "who wouldn't crack a smile??".... it was a perfect race! Congratulations to Dane and his coach Dennis Bizeau.

But we won't stop there!!! No way... there were many new faces out in the crowd of Juniors. Some skaters may not have gotten points but they sure got my attention. One of those skaters is Eben Jackson from Auburn, Washington. His first time out here and he has two years left after this Championship!! He finished right outside of the point scale for Junior World Class Men. Finishing 9th with a time of 28.158. Another first-timer was Scott Stubblefield also from Washington who finished 5th with a time of 27.709. These are skaters to keep your eye on.

In the Junior World Class Ladies Erin Jackson from Florida not only blew her competition away but she blew me away!!! I remember her from last year!! I couldn't believe the improvement and she took the win with a time of 29.093!! Next was Kristen (hope I spelled her first name correct) Attipoe from Florida was another skater who absolutely amazed me. She was a "late" registration and went to the line first. So I didn't have her name or number until after she started skating. I was amazed at her speed and the way she carried herself on the track. She finished 3rd and it wasn't until much later that I realized that her brother skates too!

For me, it was no surprise that Sara Sayasane from California took the win in the Senior World Class Ladies 300-meter with a time of 28.813. She continues to perfect her sprint and I look forward to seeing her compete for Team USA in Spain this year! One of the skaters who amazed me is known more for her long distance successes and that is Emily Scott who finished 4th with a 29.791, breaking the 30 second barrier for the first time!

Senior Men.... well you already know the story of Dane and his win.... the top 10 guys can usually place anywhere on any given day, however the one big surprise of the day was 6th place skater, Michael Cheek who broke into the 26's (I will bet for his first time) and finished in a time of 26.814.

I would LOVE to tell you all about the 1000-meter races, but frankly I did what I always do.... I worked the stop watch so that the skaters knew their times and where they were and what was needed. That's a coaches job sometimes.... you don't actually get watch the races but have to do the work so that the skater has the information needed to do what they do best... skate fast! But the one thing I do have is their placements. I have been told that they were going to be available on the USARS website but I was unable to find them, so I will take the time to put them here for those of you who are computer challenged like myself!! Don't forget to check out my photos that are updated daily! http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodsk8/sets/


300-Meter

Jr WC Ladies
1-Erin Jackson-FL
2-Mariah Richardson-NC
3-Kristen Attipoe-FL
4-Alex Harris-FL
5-Melanie Bradley-FL
6-Sophie Webb-FL
7-Briana Kramer-FL
8-Courtney Grzech-FL

WOW... I just realized that 7 out of the 8 Jr Ladies all come from Florida!! What are they brewing in their water??!!

Jr WC Men

1-Keith Carroll-PA
2-Kevin Quandt-FL
3Justin Mannon-NJ
4-Jake Powers-NC
5-Scott Stubblefield-WA
6-Michael Ringer-VA
7-Jonathan Blair-GA
8-Mario Valencia-FL

Sr WC Ladies

1-Sara Sayasane-CA
2-Amber Yarborough-UT
3-Katelyn Horning-VA
4-Emily Scott-FL
5-Molly Brown-NC
6-Brandy Clark-VA
7-Chelsea Creveling-VA
8-Christine Pyles

Sr WC Men

1-Dane Lewis-CA
2-Joey Mantia-WA
3-Harry Vogel-NC
4-William Bowen-VA
5-Sebastian Cano-FL
6-Michael Cheek-NC
7-Jonathan Garcia-UT
8-Justin Stelly-UT

1000-Meter Finals

Jr WC Ladies

1-Alex Harris
2-Melanie Bradley
3-Briana Kramer
4-Mariah Richardson
5-Lauren Forrest
6-Katie Grimm
7-Nicole Lloyd

Jr WC Men

1-Mario Valencia
2-kevin Quandt
3-Jake Powers
4-Hank Galbraith
5-Keith Carroll
6-Andrew Shatzer
7-Kyle Gresham
8-Michael Garcia

Sr WC Ladies

1-Sara Sayasane
2-Emily Scott
3-Amber yarborough
4-Erin DiJulio
5-Katelyn Horning
6-Ricci Porter
7-Ananda Jolliff
8-Molly Brown

Sr WC Men

1-Joey Mantia
2-Josh Wood
3-Dane Lewis
4-Justin Stelly
5-Harry Vogel
6-Chris Creveling
7-Sebastian Cano
8-Jonathan Garcia

I apologize if I have misspelled someone's name or given the incorrect placement. Remember that this information is second-hand and is not considered official!!!!!! Congratulations to all of the skaters!! It was a GREAT day and we have less than 12 hours before we must be back for the 10K point/elimination race. So I will leave you for now! Have a great evening and we will see you tomorrow! Linda :)

COLORADO SPRINGS - Coaches Conference

Wow.. it's been a while since I have written here on my blog!! I am currently in Colorado Springs (and have been for 4 days) for the 2008 Outdoor National Inline Speed Skating Championships. But there are OTHER things going on as well!!






Several of YOUR coaches have been out here in Colorado Springs for the last 3 days, 2 of which were spent at the 2008 USOTC Coaches' Conference. Hopefully your coach was able to attend this great clinic hosted by USA Roller Sports and the USOTC. Each day for 4 hours we sat in a classroom style atmosphere and listened to speakers from SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY, ADDECO, SPORTS NUTRITION, USADA, and TRAINING BY DESIGN. All of these topics were presented by staff from the US Olympic Training Center and geared towards bettering ourselves as inline speed coaches. As I expected.... there was a wealth of information and as always, I am going home with so much new information, both for training purposes and from USADA (United States Anti-Doping Association). This young man on the left, Taylor Hooton, died as a result of steroid use. Taylor had just turned 17 years old and was preparing to start his Senior year in High School, when his life was tragically cut short due to steroid use. This and many other stories were brought to light during the USADA presentation.




I hope your coach was able to attend!! If not, look for my article in the USARS Fall Magazine. Linda

If your coach is sporting one of these cool Polo shirts, that means they attended the 8 hour, 2-day workshop held at the USOTC this past week.