TBSA Skaters Spend the Holidays Performing on Ice at Busch Gardens

The flip side of all the long lessons, numb noses, and hard landings in figure skating is ... the ice show. 

That can be easy for skaters to forget sometimes, but not for a group of hand-picked

The TBSA skaters who perform in
Busch Gardens' holiday show pose at
the Countryside mall rink recently. 

Tampa Bay Skating Academy skaters who are showcasing their talents in Busch Gardens' 

Christmas On Ice show through Friday. 

"What I like about it most is smiling, skating, dancing and acting funny," says 7-year-old Talia Deka, one of a dozen young TBSA skaters, ages 7 to 11, who were chosen by Sha' Non McManus to be little elves in the show.

From l to r, Nicole, Emily C., Claudia, Lizzie, Brooke,
and Lilianna enjoy a sleigh ride during the show.

"It's very difficult because they miss three days of school and the parents always have to be there," says McManus, who is a scout for the Christmas On Ice show performed in the theme park in Tampa. "It's a lot on the family and they're volunteering their time. But it's a fun activity and they get to meet a lot of professional skaters."

And, of course, McManus says, they get to say, "'Hey, I skated in the Busch Gardens' holiday show!'"  

The 25-minute show, which features world-class skaters, runs until Friday, Jan. 3, 2014. 

There are two to three shows per day during the week with more shows on the weekend. Each young skater performs three days a week, taking turns to be one of six elves in the new choreographed show. 

"Normally, we only hire three little ones, but this year we changed the choreography so we needed a lot more kids," McManus says. "They're doing really well."

Talia performs on stage.

 

Talia, who's been skating since she was 2 years old but only recently renewed her love for the sport, enjoys performing on the ice. 

"I feel so excited. I feel like everybody is looking at me and watching me and I feel the song is really cool," she says. "I feel special that I'm in the Christmas show. It's really, really fun."

McManus, who also is the skating director at TBSA Countryside mall, has been a scout for about five years for the Advanced Entertainment Group, Inc., which contracts with Busch Gardens to perform the ice show at the Moroccan Palace Theater. 

Brooke, left, and Nicole having fun during the show.

Each of the 15 young girls who are in the show have at least two to three years of figure skating experience. It's important they know when to be at certain spots on stage, referred to as tracks. 

"They're all really good show girls," McManus says. "They can swing in and out of tracks really well."

And that's probably because they really enjoy what they're doing. 

"The best part I love about it is everything," Talia says. "It's all fun."

So be sure to visit Busch Gardens this week and go see our Oldsmar and Countryside skaters perform their hearts out through Friday.

                                                              
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Introducing the TBSA skaters and what they enjoy about skating in the holiday show: 

1. Nicole Tutak, 11, has skated for about seven years. This is her second year in the Christmas On Ice show. She loves to perform and she hopes skating in shows will be in her future. 

2. Jessica Sheynin, 11, has skated for five years. This is her first year in the show. She loves to see the audience smiling and enjoying the show. 

Allie dancing it up on the ice.

3. Allie White, 10, has skated for five years. This is her fourth year in the holiday show. She loves performing and making sure the audience is having a good time. She's the only girl to play the role of "Austin" in Busch Gardens year-round Iceplorations show, which starts Jan. 14, 2014. She doesn't skate in the year-round show but is the lead child actress.

4. Emily Carr, 10, has skated for three years. Her favorite part about participating in the holiday performance is watching the audience enjoy the show.

5. Basia Wasiak, 10, has skated for four years. This is her first year in the show. She says every part of the performance is exciting. 

6. Lizzie Gogola, 9, has skated for six years. Her first year in the show, she loves playing the part of the saxophone girl and she loves the snow on stage. 

7. Brooke Ribble, 9, has skated for three years. Her favorite part is having fun with friends while skating. 

8. Jenny Sheynin, 9, has skated for five years. This is her second year skating in the show. She says she loves being a part of the show and loves the cast members and everyone who works backstage. 

9. Lilianna Murray, 8, has skated for three years. This is her second year performing in the show. Her favorite part is being with her friends and helping the jugglers with their props during the show. 

10. Claudia Amis, 8, has skated for three years. She loves performing in front of the audience and she enjoys the "meet and greet" after the show.

Front row, l to r, Jadyn, Lizzie, and Brooke.
Back row, l to r, Allie, Emily L., and Emily C.

11. Jadyn White, 7, has skated for two years. This is her first year in the show and she is excited to join her sister, Allie, on stage. She loves to perform and show her "attitude" on stage. 

12. Talia Deka, 7, loves to entertain the audience. This is her first year in the holiday performance and she enjoys making up her own dance moves during the show.  

(Skater bios provided by Mary White, who coordinates the young skaters and parents.) 

One skater from Brandon, Lauren Lampien, and two skaters from Clearwater, Angie Volkin and Emily Lowry, also perform in the show.

Park hours for this week are 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday, Dec., 30. On Tuesday, New Year's Eve, the park hours are 9 a.m. to 1 a.m. And on Wednesday, New Year's Day, through Friday, Jan. 3, 2014, the hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Enjoy the show!

Charity Hockey's Main Goal: A Win Over Cancer

During the holiday season, charity and goodwill often take the spotlight--even on the ice. 

The 4th annual Charity Hockey Tournament starts Friday, Nov. 29, and runs through Sunday, Dec. 1, 2013, at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy (TBSA) in Oldsmar. The event, sponsored by Goals for a Cause, will raise money for

Former Lightning player
and current center for the
Philadelphia Flyers, Vinny
Lecavalier, center, poses
with "Goals for a Cause"
founders Frank Daly, left,
and Neil Armstrong.

children with cancer and for underprivileged young athletes.

About 100 hockey players, many who play in the "50 and over" leagues at TBSA and Brandon, will participate in the tournament. There are also college-level players who participate in the fundraising event. 

Goals for a Cause is a charitable organization that aims to provide support to area nonprofits by combining fundraising, volunteer efforts ... and hockey. 

Last year, the charity hockey tournament raised $6,600 to help feed the hungry through Feeding America Tampa Bay. This year, the money raised will go to the Vinny Lecavalier Foundation and the Tony Rolon Hockey Scholarship Fund.  

“Every year we continue to build,” says Scott McCance, an event organizer. “We want to do more than we did last year.” 

TBSA is one of several sponsors of the event. Other sponsors include Jack Willie’s Bar Grill & Tiki restaurant, Creative Water Concepts, Inc., Lee Roy Selmon’s, FAST of Florida, Inc., Can-Ice, Stahl & Associates Insurance, LegalJourney Law Firm, and 2nd Time Sports. 

Among other outreach projects, the Vinny Lecavalier Foundation, or Vinny 40 Foundation, provides support for children and families affected by cancer through the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorder Center located at All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg. 

Each year in the U.S., there are about 13,400 children who are diagnosed with cancer.

“We are so fortunate that ‘Goals for a Cause’ chose to support Vinny and his foundation,” says Genevieve Bale, executive director for the foundation. “Knowing that people continue to support him although he no longer wears the Lightning uniform speaks volumes about the impact he continues to have on the children and families battling with pediatric cancer.”

After playing 14 seasons with the Lightning team, Lecavalier recently made a switch to the Philadelphia Flyers. In 2007, he gave $3 million to the hospital for the pediatric center. 

McCance says most of the money raised will go to the Vinny 40 Foundation. But some of it will also go to the Tony Rolon Fund, which provides financial assistance for underprivileged children so they can purchase hockey equipment and ice time. 

These hockey players will help raise money
Nov. 29, to Dec. 1, 2013, at the Charity Hockey
Tournament held at TBSA in Oldsmar. 

To help raise funds, there will be a silent auction and a raffle. Items include a pair of Vinny Lecavalier autographed, game-used skates; a 2012-13 Tampa Bay Lightning team-signed helmet; a 2013 Vinny Lecavalier autographed jersey; a Vinny Lecavalier autographed and game-used CCM RBZ stick; a Bauer helmet with 23 autographs, including Vinny’s, Marty St. Louis’, Stamkos’ and 20 others; a Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks, autographed jersey; and a Jean Beliveau, #4 Montreal Canadians former captain, autographed jersey.

The idea to pitch in to help those in need in the community began when the four founders--Neil Armstrong, Frank Daly, Norm Dann and Rich Stack--were moved to do what they could in 2010 to raise money to benefit the Kocab/Curtis Memorial Fund in honor of slain Tampa police officers Jeffrey Kocab and David Curtis. 

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 TBSA. 

So help keep the giving going and come on out to TBSA in Oldsmar this weekend to enjoy some holiday hockey fun. 

Formula for Success Leads from the Ice Rink to the White House

As any figure skater will tell you, there's a lot of science behind the jumps.

But for Tampa Bay Skating Academy figure skater Elizabeth Corn, it's the subject of science that had her jumping ... for joy.

The 14-year-old recently found out she was a finalist in the 2013

Elizabeth Corn holds the trophy
she received for her science
project on nanoparticles.

Broadcom MASTERS national STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) competition - a distinction that earned her an all-expense paid trip to Washington D.C., last month, and a meeting with President Obama. 

The night she learned she was one of 30 finalists out of 300 semi-finalists to make the trip, she relied on some of those figure skating skills. 

"I was jumping around the entire night," Elizabeth says. "I couldn't believe it! It's not like you get to go to Washington D.C., for the first time and meet the president and shake his hand. It was really cool!"

Skating since she was about 7 years old, Elizabeth applied the discipline she learned from her sport to her science project, titled, "The Effects of Nanoparticle Size on the Antibacterial Effects of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) on E. Coli Bacteria."

She visited Washington D.C., from Sept. 27 to Oct. 2, 2013, to showcase her project at the National Geographic Society, where she and the other finalists shared their knowledge with a panel of world-renowned scientists and engineers. 

Elizabeth stands in front of the board
outlining her science experiment.

Prior to that, Elizabeth's project won first place in the microbiology category, and Best of Fair, at the Hillsborough County Regional STEM Fair. Her project also won first place at the State of Florida Science and Engineering Fair. 

Elizabeth's interest in scientific research comes from having family members who have been affected by cancer. Because nanoparticles are used in the treatment of cancer, Elizabeth became interested in how the extremely small particles can help aid in the treatment of the disease. 

Through her experiment, she was able to show that the smaller the nanoparticle, the higher percentage of effective treatment for cancer. 

"I found that if you decreased the size of the nanoparticle, the treatment could be increased by 35 percent," she explains.

Elizabeth designed her own experiments to prove her hypothesis, but finding a laboratory to conduct her research wasn't easy. She finally got an offer to work in the research laboratory at Illinois State University. She says she learned so much. She's grateful she had the chance to work with Dr. R. K. Jayaswal, professor of microbiology and director of biotechnology, molecular and cellular biology at the university. 

Elizabeth was among thousands of sixth-, seventh- and eighth-graders from all around the country who participated in the science and engineering competition. When she made the 300 semi-finalist cut, she never imagined she would become a finalist.

"I always thought I had a good project but when I looked at all the others, I didn't think I'd make it," she says. "But my mom kept telling me, 'there's always a chance.'"

The Tampa resident also had a chance in Washington D.C., to spend more time with the president than expected. 

She and the other finalists visited the White House the day before the government shutdown on Oct. 1. She says staff members were telling President Obama he only had five minutes to spend with them because he had a speech to give. But he spent about 20 minutes with them and took them on a tour of the Oval office. 

"He really took a lot of time out to talk to us," she says, adding the finalists even got to take a picture with the president. 

The third annual Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars) competition seeks to inspire middle school students to put their science and engineering ideas and passions into action. And Elizabeth, who is now in ninth grade at Berkeley Preparatory School but completed her project when she was in eighth grade at Davidsen Middle School, plans to do just that. She wants to be a medical researcher when she grows up. 

But Elizabeth also has some ambitious skating goals, too. A USFS

Elizabeth on the ice at Tampa Bay
Skating Academy in Oldsmar.

(United States Figure Skating) juvenile-level skater and an ISI (Ice Skating Institute) Freestyle 6-level skater, she wants to continue to hone her skills on the ice. 

"I want to compete in figure skating until I'm a senior," she says. "It would be so cool to land a double axel, even if it's two or three years from now. It would be really awesome."

Elizabeth says she loves the feeling she gets when she lands a hard jump. 

"It's amazing," she says. "It's such a relief. You feel like you'll never be able to do it and then it happens."

Elizabeth with Coach Jim.

Jim Millns, Elizabeth's figure skating coach for about seven years, admires how she pursues her passions on and off the ice. 

"Elizabeth is one of the kids who has always been fun to work with, always pleasant, and takes everything in stride." 

The Perfect Union: Fun and First Place Finishes

At the ISI World Team Championships this year, Claudia Cannatella, 15, couldn't help letting her excitement spill over.

The 11-member Tampa Bay Skating Academy Countryside team would bring home a first place trophy, the Board of Directors award, for the highest score among teams with 15 or fewer skaters - a "great accomplishment," says Coach Bill Coyle.

But it was when Claudia spotted 2011 US National Figure Skating

The team from Tampa Bay Skating Academy in
Countryside Mall brings home a first place victory.

Champion Ryan Bradley that the excitement bubbled over.

"I was a little star struck," Claudia explains. "I just started screaming, 'I love you! I love you!' I asked him if he would marry me. He didn't answer so I still have to find out."

Claudia Cannatella

She may get a chance to find out at next year's ISI championships in Boston, where Coach Bill has high hopes for another great finish. 

This year, the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) world championships were held in Anaheim, California, July 22 - 29. The TBSA Countryside team came in 13th overall out of 89 rinks. The event drew more than 2,000 competitors worldwide. Each team member competes individually. If they place in the top five, they receive a team point depending on what place they get. The points are then added up and a team score is given. 

Winning the Board of Directors award for the highest score out of about 30 teams with fewer skaters felt great, says Coach Bill.

"It's nice to be recognized," he says. "We're one of the smallest

Coach Bill

rinks in the country and we continue to excel and bring home trophies. This was a huge competition. For these kids, it's like going to nationals."

ISI competitions differ from US Figure Skating (USFSA) events in a variety of ways. Both are great opportunities for skaters to enhance their skills. But ISI is a recreational figure skating program, whereas USFSA is the route to regionals, sectionals, nationals and the Olympic Games.

"Next year, I think we're going to have a bigger team," Coach Bill says. "We'll definitely try to shoot for higher placement overall."

Although the TBSA Countryside skaters had lots of fun on and off the ice at this year's championships, there was a lot of hustling from rink to rink to compete. Several rinks in California hosted the world event. 

Morgan Gamble

"We did pretty good as a whole and I did pretty good myself," says Morgan Gamble, 15, who competed in seven events. Morgan earned four first place finishes, one second, one third, and one fourth.

"I really enjoy showing people how much I've achieved and proving to myself I can perform in front of people and not just Coach Bill," says Morgan, who has made the trip to the world championships five times. 

Morgan has filled up five hats with pins from all over
the world. She trades pins with friends she meets
at the ISI world events.

Allyssa Savaglio, 15, who competed in 11 events and also has been to the championships five times, says she likes the diversity in the types of events. For example, participants can skate an artistic program, a couples program, or do an interpretive program, to name just a few. 

Out of the 11 events she participated in, Allyssa earned three first place finishes, two seconds, one third, three fourths, and two fifth places.

Allyssa Savaglio

"It's a lot of fun because each event is so different," she says. "You can be strong in one event and weak in another, so you can work on that one for next time."

Next time brings lots of promise for TBSA Countryside skaters, who are working hard with the Boston competition in mind. And who knows, maybe then Claudia will receive Bradley's answer to her marriage proposal. "He heard her, too," Allyssa says, as a witness. "He was laughing."

                                                ----

Below are the TBSA Countryside skaters' placements at the ISI world event:

Brianna Bella: 1 first, 2 seconds, 1 third.

Allie Burch: 1 first, 2 fourths, 6 thirds, 1 sixth.

Claudia Cannatella: 1 second, 2 thirds, 1 fifth.

Ashley Cinotti: 1 first, 2 thirds, 1 fifth, 3 sixths.

Alexis Cinotti: 1 first, 1 second, 2 thirds, 1 fifth.

Guilanna Lombardo: 1 first, 2 seconds, 1 fourth, 1 fifth.

Tyler Ouzts: 3 firsts, 2 seconds, 3 thirds, 1 fourth, 1 sixth.

Julia Savaglio: 2 firsts, 1 third, 1 fourth, 1 fifth, 3 sixths.

Erin Tibbits: 2 firsts, 1 third, 1 fourth.

Twice the ice makes TBSA the official home for Jr. Lightning

When Nick Mininno made the Tampa Bay Jr. Lightning Mite Travel Team recently it's as if the 7-year-old scored two goals in one.

He not only gets to become a member of the team, but he also gets to train at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar - the new official home of the Tampa Jr. Lightning Hockey Club.

At left, Nick Mininno, 7, and his dad, Jim.

"I like this place," says Jim Mininno, Nick's dad. "I checked out a few other area rinks, and I like the people here, and I like the rink. For one, it has two full-size rinks, compared to the other area rinks, so there's more opportunity here for kids to get ice time."

Just like his dad, Nick enjoys playing hockey at TBSA, too.

"We get to have fun and shoot on goalies," he says, smiling.

The Mininnos aren't the only ones excited about the Jr. Lightning organization moving to TBSA.

"We've seen positive results since it was announced (last month)," says the Jr. Lightning's Vice President Julie Garr. "People are excited. We've had more kids try out. It's very obvious for the parents what to do next because everybody is working together."

Boys and girls ranging in ages from 8 to 18 can try out to be a part of the Jr. Lightning club, one of Tampa's top youth hockey organizations.

For more than 20 years, the club operated out of Clearwater Ice Arena, which only has one sheet of ice.

Garr says there were several reasons that prompted the organization to move the youth hockey program to TBSA, which has two full-size rinks.

"They have dual-ice, which a program like ours needs," she says. "They also have built up their in-house program in the last year, which was very appealing to us. And there is a mutual respect with management. So far, it's been easy going."

While the Jr. Lightning organization will continue to be self-governered, the partnership with TBSA is a team effort designed to encourage and prepare youth hockey players as they advance from the learn-to-skate programs and the instructional and recreational hockey programs to the A and AA travel teams.

TBSA Hockey Director Al Nicoll stands with some
of the boys who tried out recently and made the
Jr. Lightning Mite Travel Team.

Al Nicoll, TBSA's hockey director, is pleased the Jr. Lightning club has joined forces with the rink.

"They're getting involved in our in-house program, coaching clinics and mentoring programs, so we can do better training to get the kids ready to play travel hockey," he says.

As Nick continues to play hockey throughout his childhood, he may not remember the day he made the Mite travel team. But he definitely remembers the day about 2 1/2 years ago when his interest in hockey was first piqued.

"My dad turned on the TV and he started watching it," he says. "He use to play when he was my age so I got interested in it."

There's little doubt hockey will continue to be a bond he and his dad will share for years to come - at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy in Oldsmar.

All together now....a great ending to a challenging season

For the Tampa Bay Skating Club's junior synchro skaters, there's only one thing that beats doing your personal best - and that's doing it in unison. 

After a series of setbacks and injuries at sectionals, the Florida Sunsations put themselves back together and did what they had hoped to do at nationals recently: skate their best.

The junior Florida Sunsations synchro team.

"I just really wanted us to have a clean skate and be proud that we skated our best," senior member Laura Verkyk says. "After we got off the ice we were all in tears. We really acted like we got first place."

The team finished in last place out of 12 teams from across the nation, but performing well was their No. 1 goal.

"Even though we got last place, the place wasn't important," senior Allyson Klovekorn says. "We beat our scores from sectionals and we skated a clean long program."

One of the commentators for the 2013 US Synchronized Skating Championships in Plymouth, Michigan, said the 12-member synchro team from Oldsmar, FL, had the most important thing going for them during their long program:

"They should feel very proud of this performance to come out and really just hit each element," said commentator Becky Search, 2007 World synchronized skating silver medalist. "They look like they were having so much fun, which when it comes down to it is the most important thing."

For Laura, 18, part of what made it so fun was the support of the audience.

The Sunsations perform at the 2013 US Synchronized
Skating Championships.

"The best part was the feeling of being out there on the ice and hearing our name being cheered from the fans and everybody clapping to our music," she said. "We've never had that before. It was such an accomplishment. It was very overwhelming."

(See the video of their long program performance at nationals as they skate to the music Material Girl by Madonna and Sparkling Diamonds by Moulin Rouge. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c1tba7Elg0)

Two years ago the team started participating in the more competitive US Figure Skating events, which have strict rules and guidelines for performance and allows teams to compete at sectionals and nationals. Prior to that, they only competed in Ice Skating Institute (ISI) events, which are geared toward recreational skating. 

Rachel Duckworth, who co-coaches the junior Sunsations along with Nicole West, says she never doubted the team would compete at nationals this year.

Coach Rachel Duckworth

"I would tell them, 'We're gonna make it to nationals,' and they would say, 'No, there's no way,' and I would say, 'Yeah, we really are,'" Duckworth said.

The top four teams at sectionals go to nationals. But because there weren't any junior synchro teams competing from the western division, the Sunsations just had to participate at sectionals to get a ticket to nationals.

"We've never had a synchro team get to nationals before so to get there was exciting," she added.

After skating their personal best at the March 1, 2013, national championships, the Sunsations came back home to compete again. It was as though that 'first place' feeling stayed with them because this time performing their best won them the top spot locally.

Coach Nicole West

At the March 23, 2013, ISI Spring Fling competition at the Tampa Bay Skating Academy they captured first place out of four other teams.

While they ended their synchro season on a high note, their road to nationals was a bumpy ride fraught with setbacks. At the 2013 Eastern Synchronized Skating Sectional Championships in February in Lake Placid, NY, the team endured one injury after another.

"They stole the show when they ended up with four people in the hospital," Duckworth said.

Intermediate member Carla Brunini and junior members Alisa Goldstein, Alisha Sarley, and Tori Kerr were all taken to the local hospital for a variety of injuries.

Carla had an asthma attack. Alisa fell during the competition and someone accidentally ran over her finger. She received several stitches but went on to compete at nationals. Alisha injured her knee and wasn't able to compete at nationals. And Tori injured her foot but was able to skate at the national championships.

Tori slipped and injured her foot on the icy walk to the Lake Placid Olympic Center to perform. She went on the ice to compete anyway.

"Rachel carried me off the ice," Tori said. "I couldn't walk anymore." Other than that, though, she said, "It was a lot of fun."

Just having the opportunity to go to sectionals and then nationals was an exciting experience for the team.

"Especially since I'm a senior it means so much to me," Allyson said. "I always wanted to go watch nationals. I never imagined skating at nationals. So it was great to get to go my last year." 

At left, Allyson Klovekorn, and
Laura Verkyk

Allyson, who also competes as a single skater, says being on the ice with other team members is more fun then skating alone.

"It's not as stressful. The pressures not all on me," she said. "It's me and all of my team. So I can have more fun out there."
 
And, synchro skaters know, there's something about skating with others that tends to bring out the best in a skater.

"I didn't like competing solo," said Laura, whose been on the team for four years. "When I started skating synchro, skating just became so fun for me. I progressed so much. They encouraged me. When I am with my team I want to do it for them." 

And that's exactly what the junior Florida Sunsations synchro team members did for each other this season - saved the best for last. 

Team members wait to hear their scores at nationals.
Allyson Klovekorn, Olivia Naab, Alisa Goldstein,
Sarah Bowman, Caroline Tuxhorn, Ali Stipe,
Mariah Salas, Laura Verkyk, Tori Kerr,
Brittany Rossow, BrookeLyn McGauley, and
Sarah Fuller, who filled in for injured Alisha Sarley.