« September 21, 2003 - September 27, 2003 | Main | October 5, 2003 - October 11, 2003 »
October 4, 2003
Picture of the Day
World Cup Countdown - 13 Days: Picture of the Day
Observing the action in Bay City
Posted by noelle at 11:44 PM | Comments (17)
Baltimore Clip 13
Baltimore Clip 13
Clip 13 is ready! Download it here. (right click and save target as...)
Posted by noelle at 6:34 PM | Comments (0)
October 3, 2003
Picture of the Day
World Cup Countdown - 14 Days: Picture of the Day
Preparing to take to the ice in Bay City
Posted by noelle at 10:42 PM | Comments (0)
October 2, 2003
Bay City 1
World Cup Fever!
It has been a long off season! To celebrate the countdown to Calgary and Marquette, I'll be posting at least one new pic every night. Kicking it off with these two from Bay City, seven long months ago!
Posted by noelle at 11:03 PM | Comments (14)
Bay City Blur
Posted by noelle at 11:00 PM | Comments (8)
Random "Apollo" References
Random 'Apollo' References
Thanks to Anita for these two!
Koltsov scores hat trick in tie (PittsburghLIVE.com): "Konstantin Koltsov's ludicrous speed on the ice has long been his most attractive quality as a Penguins prospect. The 22-year-old forward might break a sweat in a foot race against Apollo Anton Ohno, but not many others."
From NMU Online: "The World is Coming" to NMU for the World Cup speedskating event that will be held at the Berry Events Center on Oct. 24-26. More than 150 athletes, many of whom skated in the Salt Lake City Olympics, will represent 25-30 countries in this World Cup speedskating competition.... Maybe you'd like to be here, too. If you do, make hotel reservations now as lodging accommodations are expected to be scarce by mid-October. Case in point, Apollo Ohno's two fan clubs have already made reservations to travel to Marquette for this North American appearance by their speedskating star."
(Not sure, but that might be a reference to us!)
Posted by noelle at 5:46 PM | Comments (31)
September 30, 2003
Operation Kirkland Raffle Winners Announcement
Announcing the Operation Kirkland Raffle Winners
The drawing was held today for the Operation Kirkland raffle prize winners -- 3 winners of the tapes, 2 bonus tape winners and 1 beret winner. So without further ado, find out who all the lucky winners are (including one VERY lucky double-winner!):
http://www.angelfire.com/hero/projectao/index_winners.html
Congratulations to all the winners and heartfelt thanks from Da Raffle Team to all who participated in the raffle or helped spread the word. You guys made this effort a huge success!
I'd also like to share a short but sweet message that Cody Kirkland sent me yesterday: "Thank you guys for all of your support and help. We love you guys." - Cody Kirkland
Posted by noelle at 11:30 PM | Comments (52)
Marquette Update
Marquette Update
Representatives of the US Olympic Education Center and US Speedskating (Bill Kellick, Rusty Smith) held a conference call today to preview the Marquette World Cup and answer media questions.
+ The competition: So far, 24 teams have confirmed they will compete in Marquette, giving a total of ~125 athletes and ~180 delegates, counting coaches and officials. The countries confirmed to date: Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Great Britain, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Lithuania, Mongolia, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Ukraine and USA. The Netherlands planned to attend but since scratched.
+ Tickets: At this stage, about half the event tickets are already sold. With a month to go, the USOEC is just now starting to publicize the event and they expect it to sell out. Their message: buy your tickets now if you haven't done so yet! Ticket info available at http://worldcup.nmu.edu/
+ What to watch for from Team USA: Scott Koons expects strong performances from the team as a whole, and mentioned as skaters to watch Apolo and Rusty on the men's side and Caroline and Allison on the ladies' side.
Rusty is really looking forward to skating in Marquette because he's had outstanding results when he's competed there in the past. Rusty is training hard and aiming for a Top 3 in Marquette. Rusty also mentioned that Bridie came back from her period training with the national cycling team stronger than ever and she's ready to race! Rusty also noted that the venue is excellent for spectators, and there isn't a bad seat in the house!
+ Weather: Marquette weather in late October is unpredictable. It could either snow, or it could be sunny and in the 60s - or both! The World Cup takes place during fall foliage season as well, so bring your cameras (like you weren't already planning to!).
+ Download video: The USOEC has set up a site where you can download broadcast-quality clips of the Berry Events Center venue, Marquette, speedskaters, Coach Scott Koons Q&A and more. Check it out here: http://matrix.acs.nmu.edu/worldcup
+ Donate to the USOEC: The US Olympic Education Center program is in jeopardy due to loss of funding, and they need all the support they can get. The short track program plays a crucial role in the development of U.S. skaters and as you know, many members of our current short track team got their start in the Marquette program. For info on how to make tax-deductible donations to the USOEC, vist http://newsbureau.nmu.edu/usoec/
Posted by noelle at 2:58 PM | Comments (0)
September 29, 2003
USS News - World Cup Qualifying
News on the U.S World Cup Team and Saratoga Springs
US Speedskating has set the following criteria for athletes to pre-qualify for World Cups 3, 4 and 6: "Any skater finishing in the top 3 in any individual distance at World Cup 1 or 2 OR attaining a World Cup ranking in the top 3 in any individual distance after World Cup 1 and 2 will get an automatic bye (if you are in a USS program, you must still compete in the American Cup, per the Letter of Commitment, even if you receive a bye to the World Cup team); additional skaters will be selected from the final classification of the American Cup in Saratoga Springs, NY on November 8-9, 2003."
What this means: It sure sounds like all the current World Cup team members will skate in Saratoga regardless of how they perform at World Cups 1 and 2.
Further: This confirms the team's World Cup schedule includes 5 out of 6 World Cups (see 2003-04 World Cup schedule), skipping WC#5 in Prague and the World Team Championships in St. Petersburg. Also, per Bridie Farrell, the team is competing at CODA the weekend prior to the Calgary World Cup, and at American Cup 2 in Syracuse January 17-18.
Posted by noelle at 5:43 PM | Comments (25)
September 28, 2003
Baltimore Clip 12
Baltimore Clip 12
Here's the latest Baltimore clip! (Thanks again to Linda M, Maggie and Sonia)
Download clip 12
(right click and save target as...)
Posted by noelle at 4:55 PM | Comments (19)
Tickets for Kids Article in Marquette newspaper
Article on Tickets for Kids Project: The Marquette Mining Journal newspaper is running an article today on the Tickets for Kids project that Neil Clark has organized.
World Cup enthusiasts challenge community
"Neil “Red Fedora” Clark of Long Beach, Calif., hopes his challenge is matched by the Marquette community. Clark, a U.S. speedskating enthusiast who will be attending the World Cup event at the Berry Events Center on Oct. 24-26, hopes many Marquette area youths will be in attendance too." Read more
Posted by noelle at 10:53 AM | Comments (0)