NRW Trophy 2012. Dortmund, December 5th-9th 2012.

[os168]

Well very best luck to you on the basics or ice dancing and whatever you pursue. Thanks for sharing nice stories with Yuna, she sound like a pretty down to earth sensible young lady who doesn't behave like a Superstar, which is pretty much how I'd imagined her to be.

Yup, can't go wrong with Adele One of my country's biggest exports!! Her art is real, comes from the heart, especially the early stuff like Rolling in the deep, so I am sure someone like Yuna would appreciate it a lot.

I didn't realize Essen's rink was still so cold and no heating, but it is nice to offer a bit more privacy for practice I suppose. In a way I am glad this intimate and basic setting provided her an ideal ground to do the comeback from almost ground zero (temperature too). It is all back to basics now for her including her coaching situations and how she mentioned she want approach her skating from a humble place just as a member of the Korean national team. As a Yuna fan, I really want to thank you guys for taking such good care of her in Germany. I heard it was the German ladies's champion Nicole Schott's father who volunteered to picked her up from the airport, which is just an extraordinary act of kindness and rather symbolic I thought. How cool!

[TarAncalime]

Well very best luck to you on the basics or ice dancing and whatever you pursue. Thanks for sharing nice stories with Yuna, she sound like a pretty down to earth sensible young lady who doesn't behave like a Superstar, which is pretty much how I'd imagined her to be.

Yup, can't go wrong with Adele One of my country's biggest exports!! Her art is real, comes from the heart, especially the early stuff like Rolling in the deep, so I am sure someone like Yuna would appreciate it a lot.

I didn't realize Essen's rink was still so cold and no heating, but it is nice to offer a bit more privacy for practice I suppose. In a way I am glad this intimate and basic setting provided her an ideal ground to do the comeback from almost ground zero (temperature too). It is all back to basics now for her including her coaching situations and how she mentioned she want approach her skating from a humble place just as a member of the Korean national team. As a Yuna fan, I really want to thank you guys for taking such good care of her in Germany. I heard it was the German ladies's champion Nicole Schott's father who volunteered to picked her up from the airport, which is just an extraordinary act of kindness and rather symbolic I thought. How cool!

Ah Thomas did that? Yep, thats him. He is a dear and he is the 2nd chairperson at our local skating club EJE...always there at local competitions seeing after his daughter and all the other skaters, getting them drinks, meals and drives everyone around. He is often in Dortmund as Nicole trains there regularly. I will tell him when I next see him. And I often wonder how he runs his business next to being a full time skater's father! he used to be an ice hockey player back in Poland;-) he and his wife moved to germany when they were really young 20 years ago and stayed here.

I just "liked" Yu Na Kims FB site...I read about her last years. I think it is very importnat for her to have her little family ok around her because if you are an athlete it is the only family you have on the road.....if things dont work within this you are just miserable and cant do anything. I hope that her manager found the shop in Dortmund to buy more laces for her skates..tehy obviuosly forgot to pack enough spare laces before coming to Dortmund,-)))) they asked us whether we had any in essen, but we had only ice hockey skates laces.....but we told them where the shop is and that it is open of course. I imagine many skaters buy their spare stuff there for their equipment while competing.

I love Adele's Rolling in the Deep. The Piano Guys did a wonderful instrumental cover and that I gave to Yu na. Do check it out on their site. They have super cool Star wars parody video too.

[Olympia]

TarAncalime, how cool that you got to spend time with YuNa, and that you are training with an Olympian yourself. Thanks so much for taking the time to give us details that we would have no way of knowing otherwise. I'm sure YuNa was grateful to have some support and a kind welcome from local skaters--and some hot tea, as well!

Os168, that's a clever observation, that a mosquito is a kind of a "vampire" in its own tiny way, because it feeds on blood. Maybe the name did indeed bring YuNa some extra luck.

[os168]

Ah Thomas did that? Yep, thats him. He is a dear and he is the 2nd chairperson at our local skating club EJE...always there at local competitions seeing after his daughter and all the other skaters, getting them drinks, meals and drives everyone around. He is often in Dortmund as Nicole trains there regularly. I will tell him when I next see him. And I often wonder how he runs his business next to being a full time skater's father! he used to be an ice hockey player back in Poland;-) he and his wife moved to germany when they were really young 20 years ago and stayed here.

I just "liked" Yu Na Kims FB site...I read about her last years. I think it is very importnat for her to have her little family ok around her because if you are an athlete it is the only family you have on the road.....if things dont work within this you are just miserable and cant do anything. I hope that her manager found the shop in Dortmund to buy more laces for her skates..tehy obviuosly forgot to pack enough spare laces before coming to Dortmund,-)))) they asked us whether we had any in essen, but we had only ice hockey skates laces.....but we told them where the shop is and that it is open of course. I imagine many skaters buy their spare stuff there for their equipment while competing.

I love Adele's Rolling in the Deep. The Piano Guys did a wonderful instrumental cover and that I gave to Yu na. Do check it out on their site. They have super cool Star wars parody video too.

I just visited the youtube channel you talked about. It has an intro to Holst's Jupiter. Very Brit :D Yeahh!!!

Heh Yuna's FB has over 1 million 'likes' already I wonder how much more 'likes' now she IS back.

In 72 hours since when I post my fan cam (the one on that style guru's site), it has already generated over quarter of a million viewing with visitors from 139 countries, good balance of male and female viewers. I am totally taken back, seems a lot of people like her from all over. What you mean you read about her last year? Didn't you see her at Vancouver.

.... Some people are just meant to be super dads and mums what can I say, the secret behind most successful athlete.

[TarAncalime]

I just visited the youtube channel you talked about. It has an intro to Holst's Jupiter. Very Brit :D Yeahh!!!

Heh Yuna's FB has over 1 million 'likes' already I wonder how much more 'likes' now she IS back.

In 72 hours since when I post my fan cam (the one on that style guru's site), it has already generated over quarter of a million viewing with visitors from 139 countries, good balance of male and female viewers. I am totally taken back, seems a lot of people like her from all over. What you mean you read about her last year? Didn't you see her at Vancouver.

.... Some people are just meant to be super dads and mums what can I say, the secret behind most successful athlete.

Well, no Thomas Schott, Nicole's father is not as big as your Thomas whom you described;-))) there are a lot of Thomases like you said. wow, that is impressive with your fan cam and I imagine that the interest will increase until Worlds,-))) I checked out Yu Nas page to catch up about her annus horribilis in 2010/11.....and why she left out that season. her manager told me a few things too why she went back to her old coaches which taught her from childhood.....I was in Toronto actually staying with aunt and uncle when Vancouver 2010 took place. I watched a lot of stuff on an HD screen TV and of course Yu Na's LP;-))) and record she broke! my uncle who never watched figure skating even was very impressed! Some of my choir colleagues in Toronto even worked at vancouver at variuos jobs there (broadcasting etc.) and they said that this event was really something else indeed;-)))

Glad you liked The Piano Guys YouTube...they are amazingly good musicians with their own idea about things. I bought their Lord of the Rings instrumental from iTunes too....actually in their cover of adele's Rolling in the Deep they mixed Edward Elgar in (another Brit) composer......and I absolutely love Torvill & Dean BTW;-) that is why I have still doubts about Aljona and Robin#s LP with the Bolero this year. But it is so tricky to top yourself again and again..I mean is the sky the limit?

[os168]

Thank you for introduce me to the Piano guys, i will definitely give them a listen. I am already checking out their tracks on youtube. Will make a playlist

I am surprised the manager told you so much and so seems open haha... must have alot of down time while wait for training to keep conversation going. In a way it is better to keep things private before the press poking around, you know how curious the press are about Yuna Kim so some discretion might be best. Yes I love it when people don't follow the convention and have their own ideas and creativity even if they are doing covers of classics, or new original programs.

While Bolero might be seminal for the Brits and many ice dancing fans, I feel it is a high risk high reward approach. It shows confidence. For example what did you think of Virtue/Moir's version of Carmen for example? I absolutely love it. Also Robin and Aljona are world champs who are skilled enough to do it justice in their own way, and it is in pairs. Champions should always challenge themselves and set new standards. Live by the sword, die by the sword, so gotta respect that!

[EricRohmer]

I enjoyed and love conversations between you, os168 and TarAncalime.
Thank you!

[TarAncalime]

Thank you for introduce me to the Piano guys, i will definitely give them a listen. I am already checking out their tracks on youtube. Will make a playlist

I am surprised the manager told you so much and so seems open haha... must have alot of down time while wait for training to keep conversation going. In a way it is better to keep things private before the press poking around, you know how curious the press are about Yuna Kim so some discretion might be best. Yes I love it when people don't follow the convention and have their own ideas and creativity even if they are doing covers of classics, or new original programs.

While Bolero might be seminal for the Brits and many ice dancing fans, I feel it is a high risk high reward approach. It shows confidence. For example what did you think of Virtue/Moir's version of Carmen for example? I absolutely love it. Also Robin and Aljona are world champs who are skilled enough to do it justice in their own way, and it is in pairs. Champions should always challenge themselves and set new standards. Live by the sword, die by the sword, so gotta respect that!

Well, I first waited with posting here until the competition was well and really over and Yu Na was back in Korea,-)) of course......and as long as nobody is called any names, it is ok. Yu Na gave an interview at the airport after returning to Korea yesterday or so which I read first, and after that I decided i could go and post in the forum,-))) You are right with taking challenges of course....Aljona and Robins program will grow on me eventually. I enjoyed Tessa and Scott's LP to Carmen....it is so technically demanding that when I first saw it at Skate Canada I thought: oops everyone else would have tripped over at the first steps of that routine, surely! It is mind bogglingly difficult;-) and to a music everyone knows backwards....

Actually, I was being a coach for the first time in my life this morning when our coach asked me whether I could show the girls from the Special Olympics training group some level 1 and 2 elements! They are spiral, shoot the duck, bunny hop, One-foot glide and skating backwards in wiggles.......;-))) they all did really well on them and I learned something new that people actually see what you do and imitate it correctly,-)))) Actually, the Special Olympics Winter Games are in Seoul at the end of January 2013 and the German team practises in our rink as our coach trains the figure skating group...she has been doing that for 20 years now,-)

And then I had the ice for myself for a quarter of an hour because a school class didnt turn up because of icy streets....i put the Piano Guys version of Rolling in the Deep on and tried some improvising of what i have learned until now on the ice......;-))) just a wonderful feeling. But the next time I note down what I will do at this bar and the other first...make a plan or something and develop a routine. The more elements I learn the more I can add them later on....so thats the plan and at the end I have a personal routine to my favorite music that tells a story of how I learned to skate!

Thanks Eric! Please feel free to join in;-)

And: I carry around Aljona's and Robin's LP Pina from last season around on my smartphone as a video whereever I go...must have seen that video at least 100 times now and I never tire of it;-) thats something...

[os168]

Hey TarAncalime, congrats on being the coach for the first time. It must have really boosted your self confidence to help train girls for the Special Olympics. It is funny just a few days ago you took care of the Special Olympics Ambassador, who appeared to have trained at the Special Olympics practice rink, and now you are helping to coach the special Olympics team for the first time. It all comes back to the Olympics games. But if you are still in school, how were you able to find the time? Before and after school? If so.. talk about really making good use of your time Will you be going with the German special Olympic team to Seoul in Jan 2013?

I like the way you pay great attention to music, that clearly shows ice dancing is more of your passion. Though you'd really need a good partner which makes it bit tricky. I used to collect original film scores and follow film/television composers like how people follow rock bands, but with the digital age and the likes of Youtube really changed the way people create, release and exchange music, now there's lots of new version of the same track, and so many talented musicians out there you wouldn't have heard of doing cover versions of the same tracks, Rollin the deep is popular choice, and Muse seems another. Alot of British stuff seems popular, I discovered Emeli Sande also from youtube a few years ago, before she made it really big. She compose and play almost all of her own music.

By the way, it is pretty cool you don't seem to be so star struck taking care of Yuna and made hot tea for them (Ok got to ask: One sugar or two, Milk? LOL...British habit). What has been the atmosphere like among the local skaters in Germany having the reigning OGM come to compete at a local competition? Actually since you have so many Olympians around you and trains with special Olympic skaters, it probably feels quite normal. Were you go and check out NRW Trophy yourself this year and compare with previous years? The red Zamboni seems new and very cute.

I must admit, I was quite impressed by the leisure complex itself, it seems to cover many sports all together, with a big football match going on at the stadium right next door, and alot of freezing Germans munching away their delicious Frankfurters and cold beer right outside. Opposite the road there's seems some other big sport complex for some purpose I couldn't make out of. And of course there's the open walled ice Hockey rink right outside the figure skating rink that doubles as the practice rink. I don't think even in London we have something like this. Or even Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Not for winter sport anyway. Hmmm... not good. You guys are lucky compare with us.

[TarAncalime]

Hey TarAncalime, congrats on being the coach for the first time. It must have really boosted your self confidence to help train girls for the Special Olympics. It is funny just a few days ago you took care of the Special Olympics Ambassador, who appeared to have trained at the Special Olympics practice rink, and now you are helping to coach the special Olympics team for the first time. It all comes back to the Olympics games. But if you are still in school, how were you able to find the time? Before and after school? If so.. talk about really making good use of your time Will you be going with the German special Olympic team to Seoul in Jan 2013?

I like the way you pay great attention to music, that clearly shows ice dancing is more of your passion. Though you'd really need a good partner which makes it bit tricky. I used to collect original film scores and follow film/television composers like how people follow rock bands, but with the digital age and the likes of Youtube really changed the way people create, release and exchange music, now there's lots of new version of the same track, and so many talented musicians out there you wouldn't have heard of doing cover versions of the same tracks, Rollin the deep is popular choice, and Muse seems another. Alot of British stuff seems popular, I discovered Emeli Sande also from youtube a few years ago, before she made it really big. She compose and play almost all of her own music.

By the way, it is pretty cool you don't seem to be so star struck taking care of Yuna and made hot tea for them (Ok got to ask: One sugar or two, Milk? LOL...British habit). What has been the atmosphere like among the local skaters in Germany having the reigning OGM come to compete at a local competition? Actually since you have so many Olympians around you and trains with special Olympic skaters, it probably feels quite normal. Were you go and check out NRW Trophy yourself this year and compare with previous years? The red Zamboni seems new and very cute.

I must admit, I was quite impressed by the leisure complex itself, it seems to cover many sports all together, with a big football match going on at the stadium right next door, and alot of freezing Germans munching away their delicious Frankfurters and cold beer right outside. Opposite the road there's seems some other big sport complex for some purpose I couldn't make out of. And of course there's the open walled ice Hockey rink right outside the figure skating rink that doubles as the practice rink. I don't think even in London we have something like this. Or even Birmingham and Milton Keynes. Not for winter sport anyway. Hmmm... not good. You guys are lucky compare with us.

well, I started skating when I was studying English Literature and now I am a freelance Translator. So Ican decide whether to go to the rink or stay home working if the deadlines fit;-))) Yes, that is true that Yu na is special ambassador...I told her and her manager that the Special Olympics team trains at our rink. They were delighted about this nice coincidence...But unfortunately I cant go to Seoul with them....out of my reach financially at the present and also i start a medical therapy at the end of December and will not travel for the present months then. But stay at home and do my sports and my work and Yoga;-)))

Ice Dancing and partners....an ongoing problem. I decided to do solo interpretive skating for that reason...it is a category in adult skating competitions too,...so I dont need to hassle around with jumps and also I dont need a partner;-)))) makes it a lot easier....but first I will learn more elements. I also think that just hanging around at competations and getting to talk to other skaters is always a nice thing to do and it isnt just the winning or losing for me. Just enjoying the event and the sport together with other likeminded people. In Oberstdorf they habe a nice workshop and competition every year for adult skaters.

True about the music choices....there arent enough real songwriters left around in comparison to shows like Pop Idol and the like which is a problem if pubs are closing down that had live music and a chance for musicians to play in. Sad times indeed. Sting once said this in public and Simon Cowell called him names for that although Sting is correct in all points concerning playing live. He does have a few nice pieces to skate to as well.....A few years back an ice dance cuople from Azerbeidzhan skated to the single Desert Rose;-)

I couldnt go to the NRW Trophy because we didnt get any tickets as they were bought off by all the asian fans to see Kim LOL They travelled around the world to see her. Really fantastic. However, I know that my coach Monica (I am in 2 adult skater groups - one is on Tuesday and the other on Friday evening plus the special Olympics gruop which is today) got tickets to see the ladies Free Skating together with her mum because her mum and dad are 1. chairpersons of our club EJE and have been doing a lot of volunteer work in Dortmund. I'll ask her tomorrow what it was like. As their club mate Thomas Schott collected Yu na from the airport it seems likely that they all meet each other at the rink anyway;-))) Club life is very important in germany...every village has got a club of some sort;-))) Football, hunting, dancing or whatever.....

The BVB Dortmund (yep thats the football club who kicked Man City's butt in Champions league LOL) has their stadium right next to teh ice skating compley and oppsite of that I think is an summer athletics and rowing sport complex. The German eight oar boat with coxswain also trains in Dortmund and they won the Olympic race this year,-))))

BTW, I made Ginger-lemon tea with honey for them on Saturday morning...you cant drink coffee when u are competing on the same day. Wouldnt be a nice effect later on the day.....;-) Concering the red Zamboni on the rink...they did make videos about it too...very funny! I asked one of my ice masters actually why Zambonis have lights anyway....well it is safety standard that if electricity fails and it is dark the Zamboni can be seen and also finish the work....sounds reasonable. What I noticed while watching Yu na at her practice, it is so important to have all the lights on because the skaters have to see everything while jumping, if it is too dark they cant estimate very well how far they must jump to be safe for their landings....so the coach told me and I translated to the ice master to switch on some more lights at one point....then Yu Na nailed her 3Lz 3T combo again,-)))) I have to say that i never have seen so many 3Lz so cleanly and so effiently in one practice ever - really world class. I hope Yu na teaches skating at some point in the future (she studies PhEd in Seoul University) so people can learn really proper jumps from her apart from everything else of course!

[os168]

Heh... they took a video of it? I don't blame them. That is one cute Zamboni, what is not to like? It is BIG, it is RED, it is FAST, it SMILES as if it is sexy and it knows it. It might as well be a character from the Pixar film Cars, complete with German accent, cheeky attitude and everything!

I took some pictures too, here they are

http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...o/P1000370.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...o/P1000376.jpg

Sting is right, Simon is wrong. Simon is a business man, he see music as money not art. Sting happen to be one of my favourite musician of all time and I happen to love The Police. He is also a brilliant live vocalist even without backing tracks. There's so much soul behind his voice (you can tell his background is in jazz) that you just don't hear very often often these days. Though some young Brit like Ed Sheeran is pretty good, and he came from live performing, not manufactured artist at all.

Yes please feel free to share any other experiences you hear about. Your coach Monica clearly knows her skating, so her insight could be interesting but only if she is okay with your sharing them on a public forum :P It is funny with the internet, even there were only 300 people in the arena during the competition, yet it feels hundred of thousands are watching if there're just enough information get out (My fancam currently stand at just over 330k viewing). Oh and thanks for sharing the practice report, it is great to hear Yuna landed so many clean 3Lz and 3Lz3T at practice, a rare thing among today's ladies. I happen to love her 3Flip too, noticed they were massive and effortless during the live rehearsals.

[TarAncalime]

Heh... they took a video of it? I don't blame them. That is one cute Zamboni, what is not to like? It is BIG, it is RED, it is FAST, it SMILES as if it is sexy and it knows it. It might as well be a character from the Pixar film Cars, complete with German accent, cheeky attitude and everything!

I took some pictures too, here they are

http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...o/P1000370.jpg
http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...o/P1000376.jpg

Sting is right, Simon is wrong. Simon is a business man, he see music as money not art. Sting happen to be one of my favourite musician of all time and I happen to love The Police. He is also a brilliant live vocalist even without backing tracks. There's so much soul behind his voice (you can tell his background is in jazz) that you just don't hear very often often these days. Though some young Brit like Ed Sheeran is pretty good, and he came from live performing, not manufactured artist at all.

Yes please feel free to share any other experiences you hear about. Your coach Monica clearly knows her skating, so her insight could be interesting but only if she is okay with your sharing them on a public forum :P It is funny with the internet, even there were only 300 people in the arena during the competition, yet it feels hundred of thousands are watching if there're just enough information get out (My fancam currently stand at just over 330k viewing). Oh and thanks for sharing the practice report, it is great to hear Yuna landed so many clean 3Lz and 3Lz3T at practice, a rare thing among today's ladies. I happen to love her 3Flip too, noticed they were massive and effortless during the live rehearsals.

Yep on the NRW Trophy YouTube channel there are Zamboni vids as well;-))) it really looks like something from Pixar's Cars (love that movie). It is crazy what people notice....

I fully agree about Sting. I went to the Back2Bass concert at Cologne's E-Werk this March and it was just fabulous....I have seen him several times...also i happen to love his lute album as I do Ancient Music as well and I am familiar with this repertoire;-)))) I also went to the lute concert in berlin with a free ticket invitation. I watch the Durham DVD every Christmas as well. If on a Winters Night is just a geniuos Winter album. I'll check out Ed Sheeran....thanks

wow that is impressive with your fan cam...i noticed that Yu na Kim's skating got the most hits on YouTube etc. after the NRW Trophy...this competition really has taken a step out of obscurity it had until last week.,-)) Of course it helped that Aljona & Robin also decided to start there....LOL and mayn fellow skaters cheered on when their skating mates were on the ice competing...must have been a wonderful atmosphere at the rink....where do you get that nowadays? The Grand Prix Final in Sotchi was a failure concerning atmosphere I heard and read, many pundits said that the NRW Trophy completely stole the show! ;-)

3F ...yep I forgot to tell that Yu na also landed several of them cleanly in practice.....all of her jumps are flawless if she is on form;-9 at one point I really thought she jumps up to the ceiling of the rink,-)))) At the rink there is a small ice rink to practice as well...we call it the "Freezer" because it has a low ceiling and is very cold;-9 they normally play a kind of curling there....Yu na would not be able to practice there, she would ram the ceiling by jumping her triples.....

[naan]

Wow, thanks TarAncalime, and os168 for sharing!! Amazing! I really enjoyed it.
You guys are so lucky! Thanks a lot!

[os168]

3F ...yep I forgot to tell that Yu na also landed several of them cleanly in practice.....all of her jumps are flawless if she is on form;-9 at one point I really thought she jumps up to the ceiling of the rink,-)))) At the rink there is a small ice rink to practice as well...we call it the "Freezer" because it has a low ceiling and is very cold;-9 they normally play a kind of curling there....Yu na would not be able to practice there, she would ram the ceiling by jumping her triples.....

Heh funny observation about her jumping practice and it is sooo true. I took this during the rehearsals. Despite the blurry cam, the height still looks a bit insane to me.

http://i789.photobucket.com/albums/y...o/P1000442.jpg

By the way, I forgot to tell you that Yuna has coached the special olympics skaters before just like you (She was appointed as an ambassador of the volunteer team for special olympics a while ago, who trained with the young special Olympic athletes at the rink. Obviously they adore her, and call her big sister), so you two have something in common and it is no wonder her delight to with finding out Essen is a special Olympics practice rink

Anyway it's cool that you were so forthcoming sharing insight on behind the scene that leads to the critical 7 minutes on the ice in Dortmund. Clearly that Ginger Lemon Tea with Honey did the trick on Saturday. And....maybe if she had the same on Sunday, she could have cleaned her FS!! ... you never know! With those Butterfly/Mosquito effects ... one things can lead to another!!

Anyway.....wish you the best with skating, medical therapy, and training the special Olympic team. I can't say I am familiar with Adult Interpretative skating, but it sure sounds much more enjoyable than the FS programs of the singles category if they are truly free, cares about the musicality and expressions, and not being a slave to the COP this and that etc. I'd love to check out some examples on youtube when I have the time.

(BTW, funny story about Sting, I once ran into him in Siena, Italy during the Palio race years ago. I am not often star struck, but I was that day. He doesn't know who I am obviously, but was kind enough to nod back, waved and smiled. Very cool guy... big fan for life. I think he has a house near there.)

[gimble]

Wow, she jumps crazy high!