Hello from Helsinki!
4/5/2011 12:00:00 AM | Synchronized Skating
April 5, 2011
Hey Everyone,
I'm Stefani Andrews, the first of the seniors who are going to blog about our time in Finland!!!
We started out Monday with a 7 a.m. practice at the Goggin Ice Center. We did a run through of our short program and then worked on specific sections of the program. Then we did a run through of our long program and went back and visited some other sections. We spent the rest of Monday traveling.
The bus loaded and left Oxford at 10:15 a.m. We flew from Cincinnati to Detroit, then Detroit to Amsterdam, and then the final flight was from Amsterdam to Helsinki. We only had about an hour layover at each airport. Unfortunately, our flight from Detroit got in a little late and Jennie Gilbert (Miami Associate Athletics Director/Senior Woman Administrator) and six of us ended up running from customs and security to our gate. It was a nice jog at 6:30 a.m. Amsterdam time. Do not worry though, we all made it with time to spare.
I'm really excited to be in Finland. I think this is the best way to end my skating career. I've been working towards my goal of making it to the World Championships for as long as I can remember.
Being at worlds is bittersweet. I'm so excited to compete and see how different the atmosphere is compared to our normal competitions, but I'm also sad that this will be the end of my competitive career. However, I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm so happy that I get to share this experience with my team, and I know we will cherish these moments forever.
Miami University's synchronized skating team is one of two teams representing the United States at the World Championships in Helsinki, Finland. The competition is April 8-9, and each day this week a different member of the team will write about the team's trip in Finland. Today's blog is by Stefani Andrews, a senior zoology major with minors in Spanish and Latin American Studies from Anaheim, California.
