Susan G’s Report from Colorado Springs

Susan G’s Report from Colorado Springs September 2003
Disclaimer: due to camera malfunction no pix available. Sorry! Our family has vacationed in Colorado for 10 years, starting out near Colorado Springs. This year a trip to watch the elite skaters/national team practice was a great way to begin our vacation. We arrived at the World Arena Ice Center last Wednesday morning (9/3) and saw all “the usual suspects” out on the ice doing the hard work of training: drills, drills and lots of laps. Coach Li Yan was timing laps and everyone seemed to be working hard. Afterwards Ted and I were standing near the exit when Derek Gray walked right by and stopped to talk for a few minutes. He said that the next day a Japanese team would be skating and this would include an Olympic gold medal winner! We thought Apolo would feel uncomfortable with fans showing up at the ice arena. It would be like sitting in your office in the middle of work and having a stranger walk in and ask for coffee. So we stood near the area where they would be stretching after skating and waited to see if anyone would come over to talk. Rusty came over, and later Apolo very quietly. I think he just felt sorry for quiet shy Ted stuck with two motor mouths! I gave Apolo a “special People’s Republic of Berkeley Shorttrack Tee Shirt.” He looked puzzled, opened it up and cracked up laughing: on the front is a sign saying “Slow Thinkers Stay Right.” He held it up, and pointed laughing at Rusty standing on his right....a priceless picture you will just have to imagine. The next morning a university team from Osaka, Japan under the direction of national ST coach Kenichi Sugio showed up to skate. The team included Olympic, National and Junior National team men and women. Takafumi Nishitani, winner of the gold medal in the 500m at the Nagano Olympics in 1998 was there and 1/2 of the skaters had appeared in international competition. The warm up relays were supposed to be slow.....but everyone got so excited that they started skating ridiculously fast and turned it into a race! Apolo turned on the jets...you could practically SEE them LOL. He was laughing and having a great time, they all were and the camaraderie with all the skaters was wonderful to see. I just hope Li Yan will be able to communicate effectively in the upcoming season......the speed and action is so fast there is simply no time hesitate or think about what you need to say or do. The Olympic Training Center is beautiful. There are about 100 permanent residents and room for another 400 or so in various clinics and short term training. All expenses are covered and the athletes receive a small monthly stipend if they need it. I assume if you have other assets this isn’t available. Our guide told harrowing tales of commotion and uproar when Apolo was in the weight room, and said that he literally runs when tour groups show up. I can understand why he would be even more reserved than usual. Privacy in your home and immediate workplace is really important. Get ready for great skating in just a few weeks! SusanG

Susan G’s Report from Colorado Springs
September 2003

Disclaimer: due to camera malfunction no pix available. Sorry!

Our family has vacationed in Colorado for 10 years, starting out near Colorado Springs. This year a trip to watch the elite skaters/national team practice was a great way to begin our vacation. We arrived at the World Arena Ice Center last Wednesday morning (9/3) and saw all “the usual suspects” out on the ice doing the hard work of training: drills, drills and lots of laps. Coach Li Yan was timing laps and everyone seemed to be working hard. Afterwards Ted and I were standing near the exit when Derek Gray walked right by and stopped to talk for a few minutes. He said that the next day a Japanese team would be skating and this would include an Olympic gold medal winner!

We thought Apolo would feel uncomfortable with fans showing up at the ice arena. It would be like sitting in your office in the middle of work and having a stranger walk in and ask for coffee. So we stood near the area where they would be stretching after skating and waited to see if anyone would come over to talk. Rusty came over, and later Apolo very quietly. I think he just felt sorry for quiet shy Ted stuck with two motor mouths! I gave Apolo a “special People’s Republic of Berkeley Shorttrack Tee Shirt.” He looked puzzled, opened it up and cracked up laughing: on the front is a sign saying “Slow Thinkers Stay Right.” He held it up, and pointed laughing at Rusty standing on his right....a priceless picture you will just have to imagine.

The next morning a university team from Osaka, Japan under the direction of national ST coach Kenichi Sugio showed up to skate. The team included Olympic, National and Junior National team men and women. Takafumi Nishitani, winner of the gold medal in the 500m at the Nagano Olympics in 1998 was there and 1/2 of the skaters had appeared in international competition. The warm up relays were supposed to be slow.....but everyone got so excited that they started skating ridiculously fast and turned it into a race! Apolo turned on the jets...you could practically SEE them LOL. He was laughing and having a great time, they all were and the camaraderie with all the skaters was wonderful to see. I just hope Li Yan will be able to communicate effectively in the upcoming season......the speed and action is so fast there is simply no time hesitate or think about what you need to say or do.

The Olympic Training Center is beautiful. There are about 100 permanent residents and room for another 400 or so in various clinics and short term training. All expenses are covered and the athletes receive a small monthly stipend if they need it. I assume if you have other assets this isn’t available. Our guide told harrowing tales of commotion and uproar when Apolo was in the weight room, and said that he literally runs when tour groups show up. I can understand why he would be even more reserved than usual. Privacy in your home and immediate workplace is really important. Get ready for great skating in just a few weeks!

SusanG