Figure Skating in Australia

[GF2445]

Welcome to the "Australian Figure Skaters" thread. This page is dedicated to celebrating the accomplishments of our Australian Figure Skating on and off the ice.

Also, feel free to discuss here too about Australian Skating...or any figure skaters (There is a good chance that I will be talking about other skating athletes as well)!


Fan Fests for Team Australia members

Kailani Craine

Brooklee Han

Brendan Kerry

Below is a link to previous articles from an archived blog about Australian Figure Skaters.
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/showthread.php?40930-Figure-skating-blogs-from-the-AOC-website
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Summer in Michigan: Danielle and Greg's Blog

"As Australians we regularly get asked with confused looks ‘why are you living in Michigan?’

Aside from the obvious reasons; access to world class coaching and training conditions which the Detroit Skating Club has to offer, the beauty of Michigan’s parks and lakes provide a great escape from the intensity of summer training when we leave the rink..."

Article Written by Danielle O'Brien for the Australian Olympic Committee
Published on August 12, 2013
Link to Article Below
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/blog/summer-in-michigan-danielle-and-greg-s-blog

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Graduation, holidays and next stop - Australia! Brooklee's Blog

*This article was published before Brooklee had to withdraw due to illness

"It has been a long time since I sat down to write. I was not sure why until I decided to write about what I have been up to since May..."

Article Written by Brooklee Han for the Australian Olympic Committee
Published on August 15, 2013
Link to Article Below
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/blog/graduation-holidays-and-next-stop-australia-brooklee-s-blog

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Family affair for Sydney skaters

"As figure skater Chantelle Kerry aims at selection for Sochi, she does so with the support of her family behind her all the way.

The young Sydney skater is coached by her mother, Monica MacDonald – herself a figure skating Olympian from the 1988 Calgary Games, where she competed in ice dancing alongside Rodney Clarke..."

Article Written by Alice Wheeler for the Australian Olympic Committee
Published on August 14, 2013
Link to Article Below
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/news/family-affair-for-sydney-skaters

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Skate Down Under

Video Gallery of Skate Down Under
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/media/E620DE50-0ABC-11E3-A509005056A37760

Day One recap + a video report
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/news/glitz-and-glamour-at-skate-down-under

Day Two recap + a video report
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/news/skaters-light-up-sydney

 

[karne]

Additional: Australian male skaters have the most awesome classy costumes. The only two blunders I saw at SDU were David Kranjec's tattered knees on his LP costume, and I wasn't all that keen on Andrew Dodds' clown in the SP. But otherwise, my goodness. The winners for me were Jordan Dodds and Brendan Kerry; proving simple is often better.

 

[GF2445]

Brendan Kerry in bronze medal position

"Following his win at Skate Down Under in Sydney last week, Australian figure skater Brendan Kerry is sitting in third place after his short program in the season’s first International Skating Union’s Junior Grand Prix in Riga, Latvia..."

Article from the Australian Olympic Committee
Published on August 29, 2013
Link to Article Below
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/news/brendan-kerry-in-bronze-medal-position

*Also, follow link at the bottom of the article to watch Brendan's short program!
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Meet Danielle O'Brien and Greg Merriman: champion ice dancers and petrolheads

"AUSTRALIA'S best ice dancing pair are revheads who attend street drag races in America's toughest city Detroit. Go figure..."

Article Written by Anthony Sharwood for www.news.com.au (News Corp)
Published on August 24, 2013
Link to Article Below
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-new...ds/story-e6frfkp9-1226703348566#ixzz2g3dF7pDq

 

[karne]

This is SO exciting. I think it would be Australia's first JGP medal if he could pull it off.

I hope he tries the quad!

 

[dorispulaski]

Anthony Liu was skating for China when he was a junior, so I don't think he did. He won Nepala & Karl Schaeffer when he was an Australian though.

Did Cameron Medhurst ever skate juniors internationally? I can't tell from his Wikipedia bio.

 

[karne]

Did Cameron Medhurst ever skate juniors internationally? I can't tell from his Wikipedia bio.

I don't know, but the JGP is only a fairly new concept, isn't it? The last ten years or so?

 

[Orange Cat]

!!! This is so exciting! It was wonderful to watch Brendan live in Sydney! Not very coherent at the moment! !

 

[karne]

!!! This is so exciting! It was wonderful to watch Brendan live in Sydney! Not very coherent at the moment! !

I'm with you Orange Cat! The sound I made this morning when I woke up and found out was somewhere between a squeal, a squeak, and a shriek!

And better yet, tomorrow night Brendan will skate at a CIVILISED hour of the day for Australians - the men's long program starts at 6pm AEST! Brendan will skate last again! Will he try the quad?

 

[Orange Cat]

Everything about this is so exciting! Even if he doesn't go for the quad he has such a beautiful 3a-3t. Quads are nice but being clean is nicer (I think). Ahh!! :yay:

 

[GF2445]

Feeling super excited for the free skating tonight. Brendan is not on for a couple of hours though!!!!!!

In other news, channel 10 did another small report about the winter Olympics- but again it's not about figure skating!! It was short track speed skating--- close but no dice

 

[GF2445]

Feeling super excited for the free skating tonight. Brendan is not on for a couple of hours though!!!!!!

In other news, channel 10 did another small report about the winter Olympics- but again it's not about figure skating!! It was short track speed skating--- close but no dice

Noooo!!! Brendan ended up finishing in fifth. He had a rough free skate. Nonetheless it's an official PB by more than 10pts but nearly 20pts below what we know he can do. Fingers crossed for his next assignment. Anyways well done Brendan. Respectable result

 

[karne]

I can't even watch the video. My phone Youtube keeps saying "unsupported format" and I broke my internet for the month. Guess I'll just have to sit up for just over another hour, wait for my connection to go speedy again, and watch. And

 

[GF2445]

5th out of 27 skaters. Is pretty good. It might be a little sad now. By the end of the season we would've probably forgotten that he dropped to fifth. We will look at his isu bio and and we'll say 'he started the season with a fifth place finish- good start'

 

[karne]

5th out of 27 skaters. Is pretty good. It might be a little sad now. By the end of the season we would've probably forgotten that he dropped to fifth. We will look at his isu bio and and we'll say 'he started the season with a fifth place finish- good start'

That's true. Fifth is still amazing for an Australian skater on the international stage. And then there's Nebelhorn next month.

I guess I just thought that a JGP medal would help him so much at Nebelhorn!

 

[GF2445]

That's true. Fifth is still amazing for an Australian skater on the international stage. And then there's Nebelhorn next month.

I guess I just thought that a JGP medal would help him so much at Nebelhorn!

I would've helped for sure, confidence wise.
But if you flip that idea on its head- having a bad skate/ missing out on a medal could give him a greater sense of determination---he has that killer instinct-- he just needs to bring it out more!!

 

[Orange Cat]

It's a shame Brendan didn't have a good free skate - especially because he has done an amazing free skate in competition!
Crossing my fingers and toes for Nebelhorn!

 

[GF2445]

Tomorrow afternoon at 2:30pm (Mexico Time) [Which is Tomorrow Morning (AEST-Australian Eastern Standard Time)] is the Junior Ladies Short Program.

It will be great to see Brooklee competing. It should be good for her as the required jump this year- the triple loop- seems to be a good jump for her! She has kept her Short Program from the previous season which worked for her very well. Hopefully they worked on boosting her PCS mark. She will be skating in the final group.

 

[GF2445]

Kerrys born with ice in their veins

CHANTELLE Kerry’s immediate future is on ice while brother Brendan is running, or rather skating hot.
Translated, that means Carlingford’s Chantelle is waiting to know if she’ll contest the last Winter Olympics qualifying event in Germany this month....

Article from Hill News (A local Newspaper in the Hills District in North-West Sydney)
Published September 3, 2013
Link to Article Below
http://www.hillsnews.com.au/story/1749301/kerrys-born-with-ice-in-their-veins/?cs=1202

 

[spikydurian]

Thanks GS2445 for all the links and information. I hope our Aussie skaters can make it to Sochi. Good luck to them all!

 

[GF2445]

Han eighth in Mexico

"Australia's Brooklee Han has produced a promising performance as she aims for Olympic selection, finishing 8th at the Junior Grand Prix in Mexico City over the weekend..."

Article By Alice Wheeler for the Australian Olympic Committee
Published on September 9th, 2013
Link to Article below
http://sochi2014.olympics.com.au/news/han-eighth-in-mexico