'Winter Wonderland' Show Lights Up the Season

Here are pictures from Tampa Bay Skating Academy's holiday show last weekend in Oldsmar. The more than 100 figure skating performances brought smiles to the faces of those skating as well as family and friends. Wishing everyone Happy Holidays!

'Oldtimer' Hockey Players Score Big With Local Charity

When a group of about 100 admitted "oldtimers" hit the ice to play hockey at Tampa Bay Skating Academy last weekend, their goal wasn't only to get the puck into the net.

Florida Oldtimers' Hockey Association players practice
recently for the Senior Charity Hockey Tournament.

It was to help feed those in need in the Tampa Bay area. They not only made their goal, in some ways they exceeded it.

The 3rd Annual Senior Charity Hockey Tournament, organized by The Florida Oldtimers' Hockey Association to help support local charities, raised $6,650 - 10 percent more than what they had hoped to raise. That amount will provide nearly 27,000 meals worth of food to local families in need.

On top of that, the hockey players who participated in the November 23 through 25 event collected an estimated 1,200 pounds of non-perishable food items to give to this year's charity, Feeding America Tampa Bay.

Thomas Mantz, CEO of Feeding America
Tampa Bay, holds a check presented to him
by Neil Armstrong, right, & Scott McCance.

"I'm very proud and happy to announce that we exceeded our goal," Neil Armstrong, one of the event founders, said. "A lot of these guys play in tournaments all over the place, but this is unique because it's for a charity. They all have a good time and they feel good about it."

Tampa Bay Skating Academy donated referees and scorekeepers for all three days, as well as practice ice. Other sponsors included Tampa CoPack, which donated water for all the games, the Tampa Bay Rowdies, Beaudin's Hockey Zone, Keel & Curley Winery and restaurants such as the Outback, Jack Willie's, and Lee Roy Selmon's.

Sponsors donated everything from time, food and water to trophies, raffle donations and silent auction items.

All of the hockey players in the Oldtimers' Hockey Association are 50 years old or up. However, there were a handful of younger players in their 40s who participated in the tournament. "We allow three or four to give the old guys a break once in a while," Armstrong said, laughing. "It's a weekend of hockey. That's a lot of hockey."

At top, the Hennessy's won first place in Division A.
The Tampa Tropics, at bottom, took second place.

During the course of the weekend, about 250 people came to the Oldsmar rink to support and cheer on their teams. The first and second place winners in each division received a trophy during the awards ceremony on Sunday.

"It's a great cause - and we had a blast!" said Scott McCance, whose team, the Hennessy's, came in first place in Division A.

The Killer Bees, at top, captured first place in Division B.
The Focus All Stars, at bottom, won second place.

But win or lose, the real goal was helping those in need who don't know where their next meal will come from.

About 50 million Americans - or one in six people across the country - struggle with hunger.

Last year, Feeding America Tampa Bay provided food to more than 400,000 people in its 10-county service area in West Central Florida. The food bank is a resource to 600 approved charities that operate some type of feeding program, including soup kitchens, food pantries, emergency shelters and Kids Cafe sites.

"It's about doing something to help other people," Armstrong said.

The idea to start a charity hockey tournament came about from a meeting among Armstrong, McCance, Rich Stack, Frank Daly and Norm Dann, founder of The Florida Oldtimers' Hockey Association.

The hockey players were sitting around at a restaurant shortly after Tampa Police Officers Dave Curtis and Jeffrey Kocab were killed during a traffic stop in June 2010.

"It was a tough time for the whole city," Armstrong said. So he and his buddies decided they wanted to do something to help. They put together a mini-tournament with four teams.

The first charity hockey tournament raised $4,500 for the Tampa Police Officers' memorial fund. The second year, they raised $5,500 for the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay.

All of the charity events have been held at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar. 

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.

For 2 Solo Dancers Nationals Means Hard Work and Fun

Sarah Fuller (left) and Sara Preston Davidson (right).

As with every solo ice dance competition that has gone before, Tampa Bay Skating Academy's Sarah Fuller and Sara Preston Davidson put in long hours of practice with one goal in mind: to do their best in the moment.

Training at the rink between seven to 10 hours a week - with about half of those spent on solo dance - the two ice dancers focused on getting the steps and the patterns down perfectly.

But they both knew no matter what happened when they went to the 2012 National Solo Dance Championships at the Colorado Springs World Arena last month, the experience alone would be gold.   

Sarah Fuller

Fuller, who competed at the pre-silver level in pattern dance and the intermediate level in free dance, placed sixth in free dance. 

She made it to the championship round in pattern dance, placing fourth out of eight and skating away with 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. To make it to the final championship round in each category, skaters had to finish in the top four. 

"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."

More than 200 figure skaters from all over the United States participated in the second annual national solo dance competition, which is considered to be the "nationals" for solo ice dancers.

Fuller and Davidson worked hard all year to receive their invitation to make the trip. Each had to compete in qualifying solo dance competitions during the year. Only those who finished in the top six in pattern dance or free dance in each of the three regions advanced to the national competition, which is hosted by the Broadmoor Skating Club in Colorado.

The two girls competed in the Eastern division. In pattern dance, Fuller tied for first out of about 20 skaters. In free dance, she tied for third out of about a dozen intermediate free dance level skaters. 

Davidson placed fifth out of about 20 in pattern dance and third out of about 16 skaters in free dance to win a chance to compete nationally in both categories.

Both figure skaters are coached in ice dance by Olympic medalist Jim Millns. Fuller, who has been skating for 13 years, started ice dancing two years ago. Davidson has been skating for eight years and launched her solo dance career seven months ago.  

Solo ice dance is gaining more recognition as a competitive sport. Last year, skaters only competed in pattern dance, which combines the athleticism of ice skating with the artistry of ballroom dance. This year, they added the free dance which includes twizzles, spins, step sequences and edge moves. The free dance is similar to freestyle programs but without the jumps.
 
For Davidson, competing at the World Arena, an 8,000 seat multi-purpose arena, home to world-class concerts and events, was a first. 

"I was nervous because it's a really big rink," she said. "The ice is really flowy, like you push once and you go all the way across."

Fuller, who last year was the Pre Bronze National Solo Dance Champion, also had to make some adjustments when she skated at the Olympic-size rink.  

"I had to get more speed to make the patterns longer because the (World Arena) rink is more oval than our rink," she said.  

Both skaters agree solo dance is fun but for Fuller the fun is heightened by the 'friendliness' of all the other skaters.

"No one's real competitive about it," she said. "Everyone's so nice and they wish you good luck and really mean it." 

The two skaters made sure they took in the sights in and around the Pikes Peak region during their week-long trip. Davidson discovered her visit to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings, where she took pictures of Anasazi Indian dwellings, placed her a step ahead of her classmates back at school.

Pictures of the dwellings that the school had were outdated.  "The ones we took were from now. It was really cool," she said.

Davidson's mom, Kathy, was thrilled to blend school with skating.

"It's nice that with all the travel involved with competing in figure skating we get to do the whole education thing, too,"  she said. 

Even though the Indian exhibit was fun, Davidson said it didn't top her list of fun things to do.

"The most fun was the party afterwards because it was on the ice and we played pin the hockey stick on the hockey player," she said. The game is similar to pin the tail on the donkey.

Fuller's high point, though, came off the ice.

"The best part was staying in a cabin in the mountains," she said. "I almost pet a deer!" 

Both skaters are setting their sights on future competitions. Meanwhile, it's back to the rink for lessons and practice.