<p>Just heard that Rachael Flatt is going to Stanford next year. I can certainly understand Stanford accepting her, but I never thought of Bay area as a mecca for skating. I’m sure CC posters will enlighten me.</p>
<p>Rachael has been accepted to Stanford, but she has never said that she is going to Stanford. I believe that she will wait until she receives all of her acceptances and then decide.</p>
<p>How wonderful to see all the women perform strongly in the short program! I remember competitions when it seemed as if no one skated a clean short program. It’s so much more enjoyable when all of them are at the top of their game. Very elegant costumes, too. I’ll be so happy for Brian Orser if Kim Yu Na wins (I remember him so well from the battle of the Brians). What a great night of skating.</p>
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<p>Brian Boitano is from the Bay area. And Debi Thomas lived there too and also attended Stanford while still skating. And southern California certainly is a hotbed of figure skating as well. Michelle Kwan, Linda Frantianne, Randy Gardner & Tai Babilonia, Dianne De Leuuw, Tiffany Chin, and others that I can’t recall off the top of my head all grew up and/or trained here.</p>
<p>Figure skating meccas tend to develop wherever the top coaches live. The young skaters come to them.</p>
<p>I agree skaters move to where the coach lives. Kwan was coached by Carroll, so I am guessing he lives in CA.</p>
<p>She might also elect to put away her skating shoes for college. I can’t recall the guy, but yrs ago he was accepted by Harvard Law and asked them to give him 1 more yr so he could compete before attending. Just because they said that they are going there does not mean that the school won’t give them the time off to pursue their career. She may have elected to go there because they are allowing her some special perks.</p>
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<p>Do you know that the coaches now receive medals? The commentators brought this up when Evan won. Last night I realized that if Kim Yu Na wins gold, Brian Orser will finally get his Olympic gold medal. Isn’t that terrific?!</p>
<p>And of course, Joannie Rochette - what amazing focus. Scott Hamilton was crying. Weren’t we all?</p>
<p>Coaches should get medals IMHO…they dedicate their lives just as much…of course the amount of money they make as a top coach pales to the medal.</p>
<p>I saw a few yrs ago a 20/20 special that showed the facilities that gymnasts train at and there are a lot of people paying a lot of money to have their kids coached by people like Carroll.</p>
<p>I worked in Brian Orser’s hometown for a few years when I started my career, but I never did get to know him. He was on the verge of the Canadian title at the time.</p>
<p>Years later I got to know Mrs Martini (Martini and Underhill)quite well. One of us asked her if she was concerned that her husband was skating with someone else, her answer was an emphatic no.</p>
<p>The only skating champion I know from Harvard was John Misha Vukovich (sp ?). Is this the person?</p>
<p>Petkavich?</p>
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<p>Emily Hughes, 2006 Olympian, is currently an undergrad at Harvard. She took time off from school to train for the Vancouver games but did not make the US team this time. Big sister and Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes is a Yalie, but I think her time at Yale all happened after she won the gold.</p>
<p>Paul Wylie was accepted to Harvard Law but I think he ended up getting an MBA. John Misha Petkovitch was a Harvard undergrad in the 70s IIRC.</p>
<p>There have been numerous champions who attended Harvard, although many fewer recently. Dick Button, Tenley Albright, John Misha Petkevich and Paul Wylie all attended Harvard undergrad and continued to skate. I believe that Hayes Jenkins attended Harvard Law School. Wylie also got a degree from Harvard B school.</p>
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<p>Unfortunately, there are very few top level coaches in the Bay Area currently. In the past, Rudy Galindo, Kristy Yamaguchi and Brian Boitano trained there, but recently, there have been very few top national competitors from that area. Southern California, by contrast, has numerous top level coaches. If Rachael Flatt decided to go to Stanford, it would be quite difficult for her to train with a top level coach on a regular basis, if she wanted to continue competitive skating.</p>
<p>Paul Wylie was the one I recalled that asked for a yr off before matriculating.</p>
<p>Paul Wylie is responsible for launching Evening with Champions through Eliot House. It’s a big fund-raising event for the Jimmy Fund of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and draws ice-skating stars every November to Harvard.</p>
<p>Is everyone watching Team USA vs. Switzerland?
0 - 0 end of 1st period–hope USA advances . . .</p>
<p>They have to keep crashing the net…the Swiss are blocking everything in the crease, and the goalie is having a terrific game. If the US keeps it up, something will go in, eventually. I wonder if Switzerland has the stamina to keep up this pace after playing yesterday? Though a great game is wonderful, I’d like to see the US score already…</p>
<p>I’m watching, barely. I can hardly keep up.</p>
<p>No score yet! I can’t stomach a shoot-out . . .</p>
<p>Hey–had to edit–USA just put one in!!</p>
<p>Wow - high drama</p>