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.