Ahead by 10, the Hubbarts Head to Nationals!

Nick Flaskay, Tampa Bay Skating Academy's managing
partner, congratulates JoJo and William Hubbart
on their accomplishments.

If last year they got the silver by inches, then this year they got the gold by miles.

JoJo and William Hubbart captured the gold medal in juvenile pairs at the 2013 Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships in Hyannis, Massachusetts, this month, finishing 10 points ahead of their nearest competitors. Last year, they got the silver medal, missing the gold by fractions of a point.

William Hubbart, 14, also grabbed the pewter medal in intermediate men's singles, sending him to the 2013 Prudential U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Omaha, Nebraska, in January, in two disciplines: pairs and singles.  

At left, JoJo and William Hubbart take the No. 1
spot on the podium to receive their awards.
At right, William Hubbart receives his award for
fourth place in intermediate men's singles.

The two teenagers are coached by world known coaches Alex Vlassov and Laura Amelina.

"I was so excited to get to go to Omaha," William said. "The first thing I did was give Alex a huge high five. It was so loud it echoed around the rink."

The pair team, which competed against six other teams, also received special achievement awards for the most points for side-by-side spins and for the death spiral. Their total score was 42.88.

In the last three years, the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar has delivered the gold, the silver, and the gold in juvenile pairs at sectionals in the eastern division. 

Coaches Amelina and Vlassov
with JoJo and William Hubbart.

In 2010, at the 2011 Eastern Sectional Figure Skating Championships, Sara Preston Davidson and Trent Wintermeier took home the gold medal. The following year, the Hubbart siblings captured the silver, and this year they came back with a bang to take the gold.

The year in which the sectional competition takes place can be confusing because the competition season begins with regionals in October and ends with nationals in January. U.S. Figure Skating uses the year in which nationals takes place to mark that competition season.
  

JoJo and William Hubbart

Last year, the Hubbart pair team went on to nationals to earn the bronze medal, but this year they've set the bar higher.

"We're hoping to get the gold, if we skate our best and work hard," JoJo, 13, said.

Vlassov and Amelina, a husband-and-wife coaching team, can't help smiling when they talk about the two skaters' achievements at this year's sectional competition.

"We're so proud of them. The kids did a good job," Amelina said. "For William to qualify in pairs and singles is phenomenal. For any skater to qualify in two disciplines is hard. It's very rare."

On top of that, his landing in fourth place in singles was as good as winning the gold.

"That was the best place he could get given the difficulty of his jumps and the overall program," Vlassov said.

But William's trip to Omaha as a single skater wasn't certain until the last minute. Each competitor performs a short and long program. The two scores are added together to get a skater's final score. After the short program, he was in sixth place. The top four advance to nationals.

For the long program, he was the last to skate out of 12 competitors. It was in his long program where he made up the points needed to secure fourth place - and his spot at nationals.

"I knew no matter what happened I skated my best and that was good enough for me," William said.

The Meet and Greets Were Sweet

Here are some pictures from the recent meet-and-greet events celebrating Tampa Bay Skating Academy's qualifying figure skating competitors. (See post titled, They're Baaaaaaack!!!) Congratulations skaters!

They're Baaaaaaack!!

They went. They saw. They skated....their hearts out!

Seven figure skaters who train at Tampa Bay Skating Academy, including two solo ice dancers, recently returned from regionals and solo ice dance nationals.

The rink in Oldsmar hosted a meet and greet on Tuesday, Oct. 30, and Saturday, Nov. 3, to showcase their accomplishments. Pictures and videos of their performances were shown and goodies were handed out. Skaters also autographed pictures and gave out several door prizes.

William Hubbart holding
his medal.

William Hubbart skated two clean intermediate-level programs at the 2013 South Atlantic Regional Figure Skating Championships in Wake Forest, North Carolina, two weeks ago. The 14-year-old skated away with the pewter medal, advancing to the 2013 Eastern Sectional Championships in November.

"I think I did well. I get to move on to sectionals," he said. "Now, I just want to do well there."

JoJo Hubbart poses with
her medal.

JoJo Hubbart, who skated two clean programs at the juvenile level, captured the pewter medal in the qualifying round, advancing to the final round. The 13-year-old placed in the top ten out of a total of 124 competitors. The top four go to sectionals.

"In the final round, I gave it what I got and I was happy, very happy," she said.

The brother and sister skaters also received USFSA special achievement awards for certain jumps and spins.

Jillian Ruck

Jillian Ruck, whose trip to regionals this year was her first, skated well at the juvenile level, landing her double flip for the first time in a competition.

"I did pretty good. I landed my double flip, which is a jump I just got. I landed all my hard jumps, but I double-footed on my easy jumps so I could have done better," the 12-year-old said.

"It was a big competition and a tough competition - you're up against girls with double axels, jumps that some of us don't have."

Julia Grant

Julia Grant competed at the intermediate level. The 16-year-old skated a lovely program, placing 13th in her group.

"I landed my two most difficult jumps and actually felt myself smiling throughout my program, so I'm really pleased with how I performed," she said.

All four of the above skaters are coached by world known coaches Alex Vlassov and Laura Amelina.

Emma Oleck

Emma Oleck, 13, trains part time at the Oldsmar rink. She also attended the 2013 South Atlantic Regional Figure Skating Championships and skated at the novice level.

Solo ice dancers Sarah Fuller and Sara Preston Davidson showcased their skating talent when they went to the National Solo Dance Championships at the World Arena in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in September.

Sarah Fuller poses with
her medal.

Fuller, who competed at the pre-silver level in pattern dance and the intermediate level in free dance, placed sixth in free dance. She advanced to the championship round in pattern dance, placing fourth out of eight and taking home the pewter medal.

"I was so happy I got a medal," the 15-year-old said. "I was nervous because there were some good girls there. But I did really well on my European Waltz."

Sara Preston Davidson

Davidson, who competed at the pre-bronze level in pattern dance and the juvenile level in free dance, placed fifth in pattern dance and sixth in free dance. The top four advanced to final round.

"Just being at the competition felt good," Davidson, 12, said. "I love performing the dances and I got to meet a lot of new people. I'm definitely going to do it next year because it was really fun." 

Both solo dancers are coached by Olympic medalist Jim Millns. To read more about the two girls' adventures at the second annual national solo dance competition, see the post titled, For 2 Solo Dancers Nationals Means Hard Work and Fun.