Fire On Ice Synchronized Skating Team

Day 8 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-04-04T01:56:00.000-07:00

So it turns out that after a week of warming up in the icy cold, we discovered the very well heated (and very well hidden) ballet room which came to good use. We worked on the long program with focus particularly on the whip instersections and lifts. In the middle of training we took a break to warm up with hot chocolate (a part of training that I'm sure I'll miss once we leave Tallinn). And the rest of the day was free time for the team to explore, eat, sleep and/or attempt to do uni or school work; emphasis on the word "attempt." ;) A little group decided on a little expedition to the local laundromat. The language barrier caused just a bit of an issue. This afternoon we analysed the short program videos from training and spent the night session drilling the no-hold and pivot blocks. During a section of the program the team pulled off an awesome pivot block. Dinner for most was a cuppa soup and bread rolls accompanied by the yummy hot chocolate that half the team snuck downstairs to get. For the rest of the night some of us chilled in our rooms while some others got together to watch Ice Age for the thousandth time on a channel that plays nothing but Ice Age day in and day out. I think many of us have leant to quote parts of the movie... "That's right sweetheart, welcome to the Ice Age!" Written by Dani Baret.

Day 9 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-04-04T01:32:00.000-07:00

Today was another average day in Tallinn. It was a double training day, meaning that we had two training sessions, meaning that we didn't have fitness in between, woo hoo! Our training sessions are really coming together which is very exciting for us. We are slowly adjusting to the cold (probably a little too late...) but the negative temperatures are still a little annoying. During the break many people used their time to further explore Tallinn. Chana and myself tried to get ourselves lost in the old part of Tallinn but it proves very difficult when all streets lead back to one main square! Our second training session was much shorter so we were all looking forward to it. That was until Kristina alerted us to the fact that we would be doing 2 short run throughs followed by a long run through followed by two short run throughs followed by a long run through and finally followed by 2 short run throughs. We were less than impressed. It was however April Fools and as we worked this out we decided that maybe we should get Kristina back. We had a plan to convince Kristina that we weren't getting on the ice and that her decisions to push us this hard had made us decide that we weren't skating anymore! So of course, we sent our trusty captain Briar Harold to do our dirty work for us. Our good old captain was shaking like a leaf trying to make the plan go through. When Kristina came around to give us a talk about how disappointed she was, we were less than convincing and could not contain our giggles! This April Fools brought our team together and we trained amazing! Written by Elizabeth.

Day 7 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-04-01T02:39:00.000-07:00

Another beautiful morning in chilly Estonia. The day started with a light pre-training breakfast in our hotel to fuel us on for our day ahead. Some team members also participating in the new morning ritual of "sneaky sandwich making". Focaccia bread and a sneaky filling of choice for a nice light lunch in the comfort of your hotel room or someone elses :). After breakfast kicks off the days first number off; with some daring skaters trying their luck at the Finnish translation of their number. Then comes the bus trip, full of mixed energy levels, some skaters opting for a pre-training power nap, others chatting amongst each other, or singing off key (thanks phoebe :) ), while others just take it all in and try to wake up! Our pre-trainng warm up is a very important part of the session, staying warm in our own personal indoor freezer is harder than it sounds with this morning's temperature being a chilly -6 C! But with a little bit of help from Ike and Tina Turner, our blood was soon pumping as we danced up a storm to the Nutbush. Today's session was a mixture of both the free program and the short. It was a good arm workout as we spent a good amount of time drilling lifts and getting more consistency and shape. It was a very productive session, with lots of videos taken from different angles, allowing for better critiquing. Back on the bus the daily awards were awarded. Today the award going to two people for "Outstanding Edges." Flea and Saara, were the only choice! After training we returned to the hotel for a light dynamic and static stretching session, taking over level 8. Free time allowing our sneaky skaters to enjoy their earlier made lunch, whilst others took naps, went shopping, did school work or ate out. In preparation for our surprise visit back to our training venue for a curling lesson and a few rounds against each other. The team purchased tickets for the local bus to take us to the "rink." The skaters, coaches, management and parents all taking part in this icy, tactical, slippery sport. Our instructors showing us some helpful ways to get the "stones" to the opposite end of the scoring circle. Some skaters with a natural flare for the sport, while others learnt and improved as they went. And as for the coaches and parents....Well, they tried ;). After some teams admitted defeat while others basked in their glory, our time was over and after a quick team photo, we walked to the bus stop, waited and waited and waited for the number 15 bus. For some it was all too much and a little nap on the bench was necessary. Finally the bus arrived and we all squished into the over crowded bus, just. While the daring members of the team went to another shopping mall, others went back to the hotel for dinner. The team then met up for our daily video analysis, wrote in our notebooks of handy things to remember and to correct in the programs and an early night was needed and deserved by all - except for those with school work to FINNISH!!! :) Written by Tania. Advised by Flea.

Day 5 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-03-28T11:23:00.000-07:00

What a day! Early morning training as usual; we worked on the long, specifically the lifts. Huge improvements with everyone, which was great. Nice work, Blaise, for the "Great job" award! We came back, most of us pretty tired. Spent most of the day resting, doing homework, or just chilling. Can't forget our super sneaky sandwiches from breakfast :) At 6pm, we had video analysis, and tore apart the short program, discussing what we need to work on and improve. The box intersection is improving, which is really good! We need to work on a few things but with the effort we are all putting in, we can easily achieve these things!!! Next came the late night training. We arrived at the ice rink and warmed up with a game of musical modest body movement statues and the Nutbush dance. We got on the ice ready for a warm up then short program. We all trained hard and worked on the spirals, ina bauers, pyramid and pivot block. After training hard, we got on the bus and it seems that not only are we improving on our skating, we are improving on our skills of counting to 19. We arrived back at the hotel, ready for soup and a bread roll before we get ready for sleep for another day of training :D Emily Thomson :)

Day 4 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-03-28T01:46:00.000-07:00

To start off with, we had a great session this morning!!! Even though it was early and extremely cold, we managed to pull off some good run-throughs, watched enviously by a small crowd of Estonian figure skaters from the side. Since the rink was like a freezer, it was extremely hard for our muscles to warm up but on the bright side, we're slowly acclimatising and so by the time we arrive to Finland we will be used to training in the extremely cold conditions. It really helped that there was the lovely mid-hot-choc break in the middle to warm up our nicely chilled bodies. After training, we layered up and Andrew led us in a very fun scenic run around a park with a frozen lake down to a gorgeous monument featuring a lovely angel; it was a very beautiful sight. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to admire the statue as we had to keep moving to keep from freezing to death. We also improved our agility by dodging and running on ice. We then had a lovely nice and long rest which gave us plenty of time to get ready for a team dinner and team bonding sesh in an italian restaurant within Old Town. The language barrier didn't stop us from having a fantastic meal, we also received from Maxi sized pepsi instead of what we thought we ordered which was pepsi max. After a video analysis session, most of the team leapt to bed, readying ourselves up for the early (and chilly) morning ahead.

Written by Jade.

Day 3 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-03-27T11:02:00.000-07:00

Oh what a day. This morning we had our first encounter with an Estonia ice rink. Oh boy was that an experience. The ice rink which we will be calling home for the next 10 days is an old Soviet missile factory and makes Canterbury look like Tajmahal. The rink looks like a warehouse and is covered in spray paint, and the temperature inside is the same temperature as outside, this morning being -6. We had 2 sessions today and the parents spoiled us with a much needed hot chocolate break in the middle of our morning sesh. After our morning practice we had free time whilst we were trying to defrost our toes and got to venture around Old Town or just stay in and study or chilaxxx :). Once we got home (hotel) for the night we had another greatttt big family dinner and some amazing ice cream for dessert again. Then finally we had a great ending to the very eventful day with some heaps cute bonding which consisted of us making and decorating our own envelopes. The Asians were really good at it and we were all jealous. In the next few days we'll be writing awllll nice things about everyone and putting them in everyone's envelopes. Yay for self esteem! :D Oli kiva kirjotella! :) <3 Saara Written by Saara

Day 2 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-03-25T12:30:00.000-07:00

First of all, a huge happy birthday to Jenna as she celebrated her 20th birthday with us here on a gorgeous day in Tallinn. After only semi recovering from our massive journey here, Kristina, Jo and the parents put together a mini Amazing Race style scavenger hunt for us. The parents all joined in at the checkpoints handing out our clues and tokens as we ran around the Old Town in Tallinn in the -5 temperatures but still managed to work up a sweat. There were a few tricky questions in there and a few controversies as some teams managed to skip clues and still somehow end up in the right place. The course showed of the old town's amazing landmarks including the Viru gates, St. Catherine's Passage, and a Disney inspired clue of 'Tangled with the King and Queen' lead us to a 15th Century castle tower before our final destination of an outdoor ice rink!!! We don't really know who won...but as I'm telling the story, we technically got to the rink first, TEAM BLACK BOOTS wins (Flea, Sammi, and Rachael). For only 3.30 euros we skated for an hour with rental hockey skates which saw a lot of us ending up sitting on the ice, which turned into lying on the ice as it had been snowing so it was perfect conditions for snow angels. :) After lunch and a quick nap, we migrated to the hallway for an afternoon fitness session lead by Andrew (Kristina's baby daddy :) ), because there's no gym here at the hotel, we did a massive range of exercises taking over the 8th floor. We had a sneak peak at the rink today on a video taken by Kristina. It's in an old warehouse and is the same temperature inside as it is outside. We just finished dinner and are all looking forward to a good nights rest before our first training session in the morning.

Written by Rachael Reading.

Day 1 - Tallinn, Estonia

2011-03-25T04:38:00.000-07:00

19 pairs of skates, 57 skating dresses, millions of crystals and 19 skaters arrived in Tallinn, Estonia, after 3 airplanes and 20+ hours in the air. Although it was a long long trip from Sydney, one of the great refliefs early on in the day was to get off the small 2-engine prop plane in Tallinn safely at 8:00am. We were greeted with -2 C weather and lots of snow on the ground. The ride to the hotel was short (another great relief) and we all were able to check into our hotel rooms super early (another great great relief!). Lunch, walking around the shops, exploring Old Town, enjoying the freezing cold weather, watching the snow fall, and then an early dinner made up the remainder of day #1 in Tallinn.

Canterbury Skate School Spring Recital

2010-10-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Fire On Ice Junior and Senior will be skating at the Canterbury Skate School Spring Recital on Sunday 10 October 5.45-7.45pm. We hope to see you there!

2010 NSW State Championships

2010-09-19T17:35:00.000-07:00

FOI Junior and Senior began the season with four good performances at states. We hope many of you were able to watch and cheer us on. We are looking forward to two great months of training prior to National Championships at the end of November. Pictures from States to come :)

FOI Senior Open Session and Tryouts

2010-05-11T16:09:00.001-07:00

Worlds 2010

2010-04-13T19:43:00.000-07:00

As I'm sure all of you know, the team skated 2 absolutely beautiful programs at Worlds. We could not have been happier with our skating in Colorado Springs and of course all the positive feedback we received from everyone! We look forward to an exciting 2010-2011 season and can't wait to see what lies ahead. Thank you to everyone for all your support this year!

Short program tomorrow!

2010-04-08T20:40:00.000-07:00

We had two absolutely wonderful sessions today. Our session in the World Arena this morning was one of our best short program sessions thus far, which has excited us a lot for tomorrow. The draw ceremony was tonight, and we were the second to last team to draw. The last available positions to skate when Briar and Kimbo went up to draw were second and seventh. We will skate second behind Croatia. It is a good position for us as it allows us to set a high standard with a beautiful skate. Off to bed as we have an early official practice tomorrow!

2010-04-08T08:32:00.001-07:00

It is the last day of the unofficial official practices today. We skated on the competition ice yesterday for the first time and it was amazing to be in such a large arena. We have two last sessions today and then the draw ceremony tonight. Good luck to our captains, Kimbo and Briar, on drawing a good skating position. For those of you who are unable to come watch, the competition will be broadcast on www.livestream.com.

2010-04-04T21:30:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T21:05:00.000-07:00

Last night the team enjoyed an NBA game - Denver Nuggets vs. LA Clippers. It was an exciting game after half time, and Rocky (the mascot) entertained us for the entire 3rd quarter. We started Easter off with a good training session and then spent the rest of the day relaxing. Angelique, our team leader, arrived this evening. Welcome to Colorado Springs Angelique!

The team did Bazza the bunny and probably exchanged a little too much chocolate and then the parents entertained us with an Easter egg hunt. We just returned from the movie The Last Song in which the majority of the team cried like a little baby. Boy are we an emotional team:)

Happy Birthday Kimbo!

2010-04-03T12:49:00.000-07:00

Today is Kimbo's 24th birthday! We celebrated with a wonderful training session this morning, a run in the really fierce wind with gusts up to 76km/hr, and then some singing and chocolate cake. We've been really really busy with training, fitness and some sightseeing. Yesterday morning we woke up for an early cog train ride up Pikes Peak. We were only able to go up to 11,000 ft because of the wind gusts and blowing snow, but it was still an absolutely amazing sight. We then drove through Garden of the Gods and saw the beautiful red rock formations. We had a wonderful training session last night and finally were able to show Paul all the improvements we made while in MN. And the improvements continued into this morning with another great session. Now we are off to Castle Rock outlets for shopping and then to a Denver Nuggets basketball game to help celebrate Kimbo's birthday. 6 days until Worlds!

Back on the ice today! Yay!

2010-03-31T07:34:00.000-07:00

We spent a wonderful and relaxing day in Colorado Springs yesterday. We woke up and went for a run in shorts and singlets. The weather was so beautiful; it was great to get out and do some fitness. Everyone felt surprisingly well for the high altitude. After grocery shopping and eating some much needed lunch, we rested and waited around until Briar returned from the doctor. So just to update everyone: Last week in MN, Briar's knee was hurting her and eventually it swelled up and she couldn't walk on it without severe pain. Eventually she went to the doctor in TRF and had an x-ray but was told she would need an MRI. Yesterday she went to visit a doctor and got an MRI. Much to Briar and the team's relief, she was told that nothing was pulled or torn in her knee but because of the trauma to the knee, fluid built up around the knee cap which made it difficult and painful for her bend and walk. She will be receiving intense physical therapy everyday until the competition, and the doctors believe she will be just fine to compete. Fingers crossed for Briar to heal! After only 2 days off the ice, we are excited to get back on the ice tonight for training at the World Arena.

2010-03-30T09:24:00.000-07:00

Arrival in Colorado Springs!

2010-03-30T09:19:00.000-07:00

After a long long long long (12 hours) layover in Salt Lake City yesterday, we have been welcomed in Colorado Springs with beautiful weather! We took a tour in SLC and went to the site of the 2002 Olympics where they held Nordic ski jump and we saw the combination track used for bobsled, luge, and skeleton. Unfortunately we were a week too late to meet all the athletes and get to try the bobsled for ourselves. We are now getting prepared to go for a run (in shorts and singlets!!!) and see what this high altitude is all about!

We will miss TRF!!!

2010-03-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Today was our final training session at The Ralph:( We are truly going to miss the wonderful hospitality of everyone in Thief River Falls. Fire On Ice would like to extend a warm and very much appreciated Thank you to everyone in TRF for all you did to make us feel at home, and a special thank you to TRF Figure Skating Club, Dale and The Ralph Engelstad Arena staff, home-stay families (Novaks, Bricksons, Hodgsons, Idlands, Holmers, Semankos, and Petersons), and the entire town of TRF for all the support! We came in as strangers and left as family and we will never forgot you.

After another road trip, we have made it to Fargo for the night and will be preparing for a very early flight to Colorado Springs.

A final day of adventure!

2010-03-27T09:08:00.001-07:00

We have been taking it slow these last couple days with training, but they have still been absolutely wonderful. Yesterday we finally got to sleep in and then went for a nice run outside on the back country roads outside of town. I never thought I'd see a team from the city running on gravel roads in the middle of no where. We are definitely enjoying the fresh air outside and not having to worry about rush hour on our way to the rink. Although we think we may have hit rush hour last night on our way to training, but that only meant about 10 cars lined up at the traffic light and only an extra 2 minutes to get to the rink;) We went to the fire station yesterday to take a picture with the fire trucks and crew. They were so wonderful and even let us turn on the sirens. We had training early this morning so that we could finish up before the hockey tournament started. Although it was an early early morning, we were rewarded with a free pancake and sausage breakfast that the farmers and radio station were hosting at the rink. Phoebe and Kristina were interviewed on the radio this morning at the breakfast. The remainder of today is a day of rest and activities. Some of the team is taking advantage of their last chance to experience all the small town adventures - the shooting range and 4-wheeling!

Fire On Ice in Thief River Falls newspaper

2010-03-26T09:55:00.000-07:00

The team made the front page of the newspaper in Thief River Falls. We have had such a great time here, and it will be hard to leave this "home away from home."

2010-03-24T18:53:00.000-07:00

Team Australia autographing programs for our new fans.
Mini-Prowlers synchro team with Team Australia. We love our new little synchro friends!

Last night with our host families:(

2010-03-24T18:47:00.000-07:00

Two training sessions today, a fitness session and off-ice. It was such a good day of training, but it was definitely a cold cold day to run outside! It is our last night with our host families, and we are definitely going to miss them. We will always remember all the things they let us experience - shooting guns, scuba diving in the river, driving their car on the "wrong" side of the road, eating cow that was butchered special for our dinner table, riding a yellow school bus, packing us a "sack lunch", cooking us Thanksgiving dinners, touring the town, trips to Walmart and Dairy Queen, and lots lots more! We will cherish these memories and will never forget our TRF families! Thank you all so much for such a wonderful and memorable experience!

2010-03-23T10:10:00.000-07:00

2010-03-23T10:08:00.000-07:00

2010-03-23T09:54:00.000-07:00

We had our second show on Sunday, and we improved even from the day prior. Things are going quite well, especially when Kristina gave us the night off last night. We visited the high school yesterday, toured the school and got to see the cafeteria and auditorium. Phoebe and Flea joined in on a basketball game, although the boys didn't share the ball with them. The skaters were so excited to see what a cafeteria looks like, and were really impressed with the way the high school reminded them of the movie Mean Girls. Lauren and Nakita were the lucky ones to take the yellow school bus home yesterday with their host family children. We had a good training session today and are spending the afternoon at Challenger primary school and then going to the waterpark tonight.

Thief River Falls Ice Show - Day 1

2010-03-21T08:20:00.000-07:00

Last night we did our first show for the folk of Thief River Falls, and it went off like a bang! We have had an amazing reception, and received our first standing ovation for our long program. When our first lift went up, we heard "ooos and ahhhs". It was such a wonderful feeling for the team! Our second show is tonight, and we're hoping to give even more back to the town! Thanks for all your support thus far, and especially a HUGE THANK YOU to our host families!!!

Thief River Falls Ice Show this weekend!

2010-03-20T04:04:00.000-07:00

It is great to finally be with our host families in TRF. We are all just trying to stay warm inside, but of course enjoying the snow (at least what is left of it) outside. We have a training session this morning and then the show this evening. And then we repeat it all again tomorrow! Thanks so much TRF families for having us!!!

2010-03-20T04:01:00.000-07:00

Arrived in Fargo!

2010-03-18T21:26:00.000-07:00

Well after 35+ hours in transit, we have finally arrived in Fargo. Some got to see a lot more of the surrounding area than they wished after getting lost from the airport to the hotel, while others made good friends at Denny's Restaurant. We are now off to bed to finally have a good night sleep! Thief River Falls bound tomorrow!!!!

2010-03-18T14:07:00.000-07:00

2010-03-18T13:50:00.000-07:00

Flight, Airport, Flight, Airport, Flight, Airport...

2010-03-18T13:09:00.000-07:00

We are 2/3s of the way through our 35 hour transit day. Our flight from Sydney to LA was very slow, but thank goodness for the individual movie screens. We don't know how we would have survived without them. Some of us slept, but most of us struggled since it was the middle of the day in Sydney. We are now in Salt Lake City, Utah, admiring the snow capped mountains - that is, only those of us awake. Half of the team is sprawled on the airport floor catching a nana nap before our next flight. Oh, and I'm pretty sure that the next plane fits our team...and ONLY our team! It's a bit small for our comfort. Then we will spend the night in Fargo, hopefully catching some zzzzz's so the next morning we have lots of energy as we head to our training site, Thief River Falls, and meet our host families (something we have been waiting for for a long time)!

We're off in 2 days!

2010-03-15T15:17:00.001-07:00

Well, the time has finally arrived for us to take another journey to World Championships. We have put every bit of energy, passion and dedication into training for the last 8 months to get to where we are today. Follow our travels from Sydney to America, Minnesota to Colorado. We will try to update this blog daily so you can feel like you are there with us the entire way! Thanks for all your support!