Vote for the Bay City 2003 Event of the Year
this was sent in by one of our friends in Bay City:

The Bay City Times has an article in today's paper asking readers to comment on which event of the year was most important/interesting. If any Ohnozoners are interested in voting for the U. S. Championships held in Bay City in 2003 that would be awesome. They can email the address below with a vote for the Speedskating Meet and a brief reason.

Here's what the Bay City Times says about February 2003:
"February - The U.S. Short Track Speedskating Championships were held at the Bay County Civic Arena, bringing some of the best speedskaters in the nation to town, including 20-year-old Apolo Ohno, winner of both the gold and silver medals at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. Ohno attracted new and old enthusiasts to the sport, the ice arena and Bay City during the weekend-long, sold-out event."

If you'd like to vote for the U.S. ST Championships, submit your pick, along with your reason for choosing it, kfrick@bc-times.com. by no later than noon Tuesday, Dec. 30. Please include your name, hometown and telephone number in your response. The Times may publish your comments. For more info, see 'A Year to Remember.'

Holiday Wishes

Wishing all OZers everywhere a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and the joyfullest of holiday seasons! I hope Santa brings you what you wished for, and that you eat and drink far too much (or at least, as much as you want). That's what I plan to do! ;)

Safe travels to everyone taking a trip this season.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has an article on Shani Davis today. Shani skated this weekend at the US Long Track Championships, winning the 5000m event.

The long and short of it: "The speedskating experts keep telling Shani Davis that, sooner or later, he's going to have to choose between racing in packs on the short track and racing in pairs on the 400-meter oval." Full article

US Junior Short Track Championships
The US Jr ST Championships took place in Walpole, MA this weekend, with some interesting results. The names will undoubtedly become more familiar over the coming years.

Here are the overall winners who will represent the USA next month at the World Jr Short Track Championships in Beijing:

Ladies
1. Hyo-Jung Kim (Fullerton, CA), 3544.5 pts
2. Jade Wheeler (Los Alamitos, CA), 2293 pts
3. Kristen Biondo (Broadview Heights, OH), 1696.5. pts
Maria Garcia finished 6th overall.

Men
1. Nicholas Frank (Westlake, OH), 2251.5 pts
2. Ryan Bedford (Midland, MI), 2224 pts
3. Anthony Lobello (Tallahassee, FL), 2160.5 pts

Interesting note: Hyo-Jung Kim appears to be something of a ringer. USS notes she trains in Korea despite having US citizenship. She won almost everything in sight this weekend (except the 500, the Koreans' traditional weak point). Said Scott Koons: "Kim was a complete unknown who came in and dominated the competition."

He's got guts: Ryan Bedford broke his arm in 2 places in a crash during Saturday's 1500, and went on to win the 1000 and 1500 superfinal today!

More info from US Speedskating:
- Frank and Kim Win 1500-Meters on Opening Day of U.S. Junior Short Track Championships
- Frank and Kim claim U.S. Junior Short Track Titles