The memories are still so vivid: the week America's most promising figure skaters came to Salt Lake City.
It was February, and Salt Lake City was hosting the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships. The wind was icy that week, but it was nothing compared with the pin-and-needley atmosphere around the skating venues.No one really knew what to expect from the largely unknown field of athletes. Those who follow the sport knew the changing of the guard was inevitable. In any post-Olympic year, athletes retire, turn professional or split from former skating partners. And 1999 was no exception.
This was the year to meet tomorrow's superstars.
It was the year some young lady would emerge from the swirling dust left as Tara Lipinski bolted from amateur competition to perform professionally and Nicole Bobek succumbed to another injury.
It was the year the next young man would step up and fill the place vacated by men's champion Todd Eldredge, who kept his amateur skating eligibility but elected not to defend his national title.
And it was the year the country would crown its next champions in ice dancing and pairs skating. Longtime dance champions Jerod Swallow and Elizabeth Punsalan retired, as did pairs champs Jenni Meno and Todd Sand. The pairs team of Kyoko Ina and Jason Dungjen split to pursue separate interests.
In fact, if you were the betting type, your only safe bet that week was Michelle Kwan to win by a length and a half.
Neither she nor any of the skaters who stepped into the spotlight that breezy week in February disappointed. Kwan's grace and maturity punctuated her claim as the nation's best. Even with a fall in the long program, her performances dazzled the Delta Center crowds.
But who can forget the red-hot Naomi Nari Nam, the pre-teenybopper who crunched her ponytailed head against the ice, dusted herself off and completed one of the most charismatic performances since little Lipinski herself?
And what about the promise of junior ice dancing champions Jamie Silverstein and Jusin Pekarek? Mature beyond their years, S & P brought passion and pulsating energy to a sport long overlooked.
Raise your glasses, too, to Michael Weiss. After years of skating in the shadow of American legend Todd Eldredge, Weiss handled the expectations with poise. His ascendancy to the role of national champion seemed just.
Salt Lake City was the gateway for a new cadre of athletes, all striving singlemindedly for one goal: to make a return trip in 2002.
They continue striving toward that goal this year, and already things are a-changin'.
Weiss started his season with bumpy performances at Skate America in October and later at Trophee Lalique in Paris. Skating with a stress fracture in one ankle, and welcoming the birth of another child, Weiss has not managed a top-three finish at an International Skating Union-sanctioned competition yet this year.
Timothy Goebel, who made a splash in Salt Lake City with his talk of multiple-quad jump programs, showed he could walk the talk when he landed three quads (including one quad Salchow-triple toe loop combination) at Skate America.
Kwan announced she wanted a more "normal" life and enrolled full-time at the University of California at Los Angeles. Apparently, the added stress of dorm life has not inhibited her training -- Kwan has won both ISU-sanctioned events she has entered this year.
Silverstein and Pekarek have emerged as contenders on the senior ice dancing scene, finishing fourth at this month's Sparkassen Cup in Germany.
So what makes these folks so good? What distinguishes them from the rest of America's up-and-comers?
Figure skating
Amateur figure skating is judged on a number of criteria, including jumps, spins, footwork and overall presentation.
Competitions are divided into two programs, short and long. The short program may not exceed 2 minutes 40 seconds and must contain eight key elements (for the junior and senior levels). Those elements include an Axel jump, the only jump to start from a forward outside edge; a solo jump; jump combination, solo spin; and spin combination.
The long program, called the free skate, must not exceed 4 minutes for the ladies and 4 minutes 30 seconds for the men at the senior level. The free skating program, as the name implies, allows a skater more latitude in the content and "flavor" of the routine.
Each program is expected to demonstrate a balanced mix of jumps, spins and connecting moves and should express the character of the music used in the program. Skaters should be careful to avoid repeating jumps, which may result in scoring penalties.
Jumps are often the focal point for spectators. In order of increasing difficulty, the jumps most commonly performed in competition are toe loop, Salchow, loop, flip, Lutz and Axel. The jumps vary by a number of factors; among them, which leg the skater takes off and lands on, on which side of the skate blade the jump originates and in which direction the jump rotates in the air.
George Rossano, author of "A Spectator's Guide to Competitive Ice Skating," writes that "the quality of a jump is determined by the speed of the takeoff, the difficulty of the connecting steps preceding the jump, the height of the jump and the flow and speed of the run out."
"Jumps should take off without hesitation from connecting steps," Rossano writes.
Jumps are evaluated based on those factors, plus the number of rotations the skater is able to perform. Timothy Goebel made news when he became the first American male to land a quad jump in competition. The quad is quickly becoming the new standard of difficulty among the men.
Tonya Harding is currently the only American female to have landed a triple Axel in competition, and that jump continues to elude female competitors.
Spins are another integral part of any skater's program. There are three basic spin positions: upright, sit and camel. Each has many variations. The first two spin positions are easily recognized. The third, the camel spin, is performed on one leg, with the body bent parallel to the ice so the body forms a "T" position as the skater rotates on the ice.
In competition, judges evaluate the spin based on the speed of rotation, the number of rotations, how well the spin is centered, the difficulty of foot changes and spin position.
Jumps and spins are woven together by connecting moves, which may include steps or spirals. These connecting moves are often the vehicle to showcase a skater's creativity, originality, grace, or unique skill.
Pairs skaters are also required to perform skills in tandem (jumps and spins), and lifts.
Ice dancing
Though ice dancing is grouped with figure skating during most competitions, the similarities are actually few.
Unlike the other disciplines, the ice dancing competition is divided into three parts: compulsory dance, original dance and free dance.
The compulsory dance counts for 20 percent of a dance team's total score. In this competition, each team performs the same dance, using the same music, dance holds and steps.
In the original dance, the dance type and rhythm are predetermined, but skaters are free to demonstrate their own style and creativity when choosing music and choreography. The original dance counts for 30 percent of the team's final score.
The final dance, the free dance, counts for the remaining 50 percent of the team's score. In this program, the skaters have four minutes to pull out all the stops. This dance allows a team to show originality and expressiveness in performing lifts, turns and dance steps.
Each dance is laden with requirements -- required steps and steps that are prohibited. In the compulsory dance, for example, the dances must be performed in strict time to the music. The rules also specify that certain movements be performed during the major beats of the music. The number of beats for each step is also specified in the rules.
Still, the sport has been burdened by controversy over the years as accusations of judging misconduct tainted several major competitions, including the 1998 World Championships and Winter Olympic Games. As a result, the ISU has been active in its attempts to clarify rules and discipline errant judges.
The next televised Grand Prix competition will be Sunday on ABC. The competition, Nation's Cup, was held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, and featured reigning world champion Maria Butyrskaya. Also look for Americans Matthew Savoie, Brittney McConn (remember her inspiring performance at Nationals?) and ice dancers Jamie Silverstein and Justin Pekarek.