On Edge: Ladies Figure Skating Update

November 29, 2008 – Haven’t written much lately about figure skating so let’s catch up:

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, now in its 14th season, consists of six international events in a cumulative point-scoring format. The 2008 series just concluded with its sixth event, the NHK Trophy, in  Japan. Approximately 60 skaters from 16 countries competed for points and prize money.

Mao Asada led a  Japanese sweep of women’s podium at NHK Trophy – World champion Asada won the NHK Trophy Saturday, qualifying for the International Skating Union’s Grand Prix finals and completing a Japanese sweep of the podium.  Asada almost made history when she attempted two triple axels at the start of her routine. She completed the first one but the second was downgraded to a double.

It was a disappointing night for American skaters. Ashley Wagner, who was second after the short program, finished fourth with 161.10 points.  Last season, Wagner won bronze at Trophée Eric Bompard and finished fifth at Skate Canada.

Sixteen-year-old Mirai Nagasu, the U.S. national champion competing in her first Grand Prix Series,  finished NHK eighth after falling on a double axel and a triple toeloop.

At last week’s Cup of Russia, the fifth event of the 2008 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series, Italy’s Carolina Kostner earned gold in the ladies event.  American Rachael Flatt won silver, while teammate Alissa Czisny finished just off the podium in fourth.

Pretty Tough Trivia: Rachael Flatt began skating at age 4. Her father took her to shop for a birthday gift for her grandfather, and they came home with skating lessons instead of a gift. Her grandfather was a national fencing champion.

The Grand Prix Final (GPF) will be held Dec. 10-14, 2008, in Goyang City, South Korea. Check Grand Prix results here.

Ask Five-Time World Champion Michelle Kwan a Question
When one thinks about the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, it’s hard not to recall all the great moments Michelle Kwan provided fans across the country. The nine-time U.S. titlist has won 43 championships, including five World titles and two Olympic medals.

So if you have a burning question for the most decorated figure skater in U.S. history, now is your chance. Want to know what’s on her iPod? What her favorite competition was? Fave book or movie? Ask away. Visit the U.S. Figure Skating site now to ask Michelle your question… 

Fear the Turtle: Terps win 3rd NCAA field hocky title in 4 years

November 28, 2008 – Maryland won its third NCAA field hockey national championship in four years, defeating ACC rival and second-ranked Wake Forest 4-2 on Sunday. Both teams had advanced to the title game in dramatic fashion – with OT wins in the semis.

Senior Susie Rowe capped a historic senior season with a goal and an assist. Playing with stitches across her nose thanks to a hard hit taken in the semifinal victory over Iowa, Rowe tied the Maryland record for goals scored in a season early in the second half when the third goal of the game was her 28th of the season.

Soph Katie O’Donnell added a goal and an assist for the top-seeded Terrapins (22-2), who rattled off four straight goals after falling behind early against the Demon Deacons (22-4).

Junior Nicole Muracco and senior Danielle Keeley also scored for Maryland, which swept all three of its meetings with Wake Forest this season. The victory was Maryland’s sixth national title.

Junior Hillary Moore led the Wake Forest attack, posting two goals for the team. Moore is the team’s leading scorer, netting seven goals through seven games. Goaltender Crystal Duffield stopped four shots, but Maryland dominated play after Moore gave Wake Forest the lead 17 minutes in.

Muracco tipped in a penalty corner to tie the game and Maryland took the lead shortly before the half as O’Donnell blasted one by Duffield. Rowe and Keeley put the game away with goals less then three minutes apart in the second half.

Maryland outshot Wake Forest 13-5 and had a 9-2 advantage in penalty corners.

To what do the Terps credit the championship?  Just a year ago, Maryland – then defending back-to-back NCAA championships – found itself on the outside looking in when the school served as host for the field hockey final four. According to a Baltimore Sun article:

It made for a “painful” time, Maryland coach Missy Meharg said. In addition, with some Terps away to represent national teams and some taking shortcuts in their lives, 2008 did not get off to a great start, and the coach said the team was not close to being national title contenders.

But Meharg credited Joel Fish, a sports psychologist, for helping the team. In addition, the players opened up to one another by spending a lot of time talking. The camaraderie helped change the direction of the team, which spent six of the nine weeks in the top spot of the National Field Hockey Coaches Association poll and finished winning its past 12 games.

In other NCAA field hockey news, Lindsay McNamara scored the winning goal in double-overtime yesterday at Collegeville, Pa., lifting Bowdoin to a 3-2 victory over Tufts for its second-consecutive NCAA Division 3 field hockey title.

Congrats to all!

WPS announces St. Louis… Athletica

November 25, 2008 – The pieces of the WPS puzzle are all coming together.

Saint Louis Athletica is now the name for the Women’s Professional Soccer St. Louis franchise.  Team owner Jeff Cooper, alongside U.S. gold medalist Lori Chalupny and head coach Jorge Barcellos, unveiled Athletica’s name and logo on Tuesday afternoon at the Missouri Athletic Club in downtown St. Louis.

Resembling a medieval coat of arms and inspired by that of St. Joan of Arc, the Athletica crest features the silhouette of a woman atop her horse, proudly hoisting an “STL” flag overhead.  Below the crest, a SAINT LOUIS ATHLETICA banner is flanked by two fleurs-de-lis – a nod to St. Louis as an 18th Century French settlement.  The word “Athletica,” while not found in the English dictionary, is derived from the adjective “athletic,” with the “a” denoting the newly-created noun as feminine. 

“The word ‘Athletica’ denotes strength and power – characteristics of this organization that are epitomized by the crest, which also pays homage to St. Louis’ roots,” said Cooper.  “Naming a professional sports franchise is no easy task, to say the least.  With Athletica, we feel we have perfectly captured the essence of our team’s identity in a name and crest that transcends cultures.”

St. Louis one of seven founding teams participating in the inaugural season of Women’s Professional Soccer league. With Barcellos, former head coach of the Brazilian Women’s National Team, at the helm, St. Louis Athletica will kick off in April 2009 at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) where the team will compete against Bay Area’s FC Gold Pride, Boston Breakers, Chicago Red Stars, Los Angeles Sol, Sky Blue FC, and the Washington Freedom.

St. Louis Athletica Website

The STL-WPS has a new logo! from STL-WPS on Vimeo.

Sister, Sister

November 24, 2008 - Thanks to Women’s Tennis Blog for pointing out this YouTube video of Venus and Serena Williams taking part in a quiz during Wimbledon 2008. The sisters answered multiple choice questions meant to test how well they really know each other (a la the Newlywed Game) and they didn’t disappoint. Enjoy!

Ana Ivanovic launches charity gift campaign

November 24, 2008 – Lots of feel-good stories around the holiday season. From Ana Ivanovic’s website comes news that the star tennis player is launching a charity holiday campaign complete with cuddly teddy bears that can be given as gifts:

Ana is the figurehead of UNICEF’s Christmas gift campaign in Serbia. Together with basketball legend Sasha Djordevic, Ana is appearing in print advertising to promote the items, which are sold on a 100 per cent charitable basis.

“When I was a kid I used to receive UNICEF cards,” said Ana. “Now, I am sending them. It is a special pleasure to know that each UNICEF card and product, apart from making a person who receives it happy, directly helps at least one child.”

Items for sale in Serbia include teddy bears, greeting cards and toys such as the “Brio Ant”. Visitors in Serbia can buy the items by visiting the UNICEF Shop.

Funds raised through the gift campaign are used within Serbia to fund UNICEF’s priority programmes, which are aimed at promoting a rights-based approach to the survival, development and inclusion of all children from conception through adolescence.

There is a particular focus on the rights of those children who are excluded due to ethnic background, disability, poverty, violence, abuse or exploitation. Ana fronts the “School Without Violence” programme and she visited a Belgrade school earlier this month.

Ivanovic, who grew up in battered, war torn Serbia (along with Jelena Jancovic),  has an on-going relationship with the UN. Last year, she was named UNICEF National Amabassador for Serbia. In that role she uses her name and fame to advocate for child rights in Serbia, particularly in the areas of education and child protection.

Good stuff Ana.  To see who else is giving selflessly back – check our post on Random Acts of Kindness.

Carissa Moore becomes youngest Vans Triple Crown Champion

November 24, 2008 – The 2008 Reef Hawaiian Pro was always going to be about the new guard of women’s surfing from the opening heat of competition. And when it was over, Haleiwa crowned it’s youngest ever Vans Triple Crown of Surfing event champion in 16-year-old Carissa Moore.

Seems that Moore, who just dropped her longtime sponsor Roxy and signed a huge sponsorship deal with Nike and Red Bull, is making history on all fronts.

Moore won her way through every round of the competition from the preliminary trials heat that awarded one wildcard spot into the event. She now leads the 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing series ratings.

Three teenagers and a 36-year-old, 7-time world champion featured in the 30-minute final. Moore won, multiple world champ Layne Beachley (Australia) was second, 17-year-old Laura Enever (Australia) was third, and North Shore local Coco Ho, 17, was fourth.

While Moore’s rise to the win came with calm, sure-footedness, there was no shortage of drama around her to help pave the road to victory.

First came the fourth place elimination of reigning world champion Stephanie Gilmore (Australia) in quarter final one.

Next came the quarter final defeat of Alana Blanchard (Hawaii), who was hoping for a final finish today to guarantee her qualification onto the 2009 ASP women’s World Tour.

In the final, 17-year-old Coco Ho was at the center of drama. A win here would have guaranteed Ho a start on the 2009 elite World Tour, but after finding herself in fourth for most of the heat, her focus shifted to securing the win for Moore. With less than a minute remaining, Beachley was in need of little more than six points to steal the win from Moore. Ho took off, dropping in on Beachley, popping an air above her head and effectively shutting down Layne’s scoring potential in a classic case of schoolgirl tactics.

While it will never be known if Layne would have earned the score she needed to win, its indisputable that Moore earned the victory on the merits of her surfing alone.

As the final ASP women’s World Qualifying Series (WQS) event of the year, all eyes will now shift to the next two stops on the Vans Triple Crown to determine the final lineup for the 2009 women’s ASP World Tour: the Roxy Pro (Nov.24-Dec.6) and the Billabong Pro Maui (Dec. 8-20).

In addition to being the second of three stops on the 2008 Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, this week’s Roxy Pro at Sunset Beach carries the added weight of potentially crowning the 2008 ASP Women’s World Champion.  Will Aussie Stephanie Gilmore, 20, reigning ASP Women’s World Champion and current No. 1 on the ASP Women’s World Tour successfully defend her title?

GameChangers: Changing the Game for Women in Sport

November 18, 2008 - If you think all social networking happens on Facebook, think again.

Sports giant Nike – long an advocate for empowerment and change in the world of women in sport - has just joined forces with the non-profit Ashoka organization – a global association of social entrepreneurs –  to launch “GameChangers: Change the Game for Women in Sport.”

Gamechangers is an online competition that challenges young social entrepreneurs to come up with ways to “leverage sport for positive social change in the lives of girls and women.”

From now until February 11, 2009 the site will be accepting submissions and nominations for innovative solutions in the field of sport for social change.  Early entrants are also eligible to win a camcorder and digital camera so they can make a video for the site!

Judges include soccer player Abby Wambach and Mystics owner Sheila Johnson who will  select 10-15 finalists; the Changemakers online community will then vote for the 3 winners. Even non-contestants are encouraged to join the dialogue by making suggestions and recommendations in Changemakers’ online forum.

This is a great idea on so many levels so get your creative juices flowing. Not only does the competition inspire empowerment by offering winners the chance to see their proposals realized, but it also provides the opportunity for young women to get plugged into a global community of activists. 

Now that’s teamwork.

Teenage surfing phenom Carissa Moore’s big deal

November 18, 2008 – Eleven-time NSSA National champ, former Roxy Pro Gold Coast runner-up and sure-to-be future world champ Carissa Moore has just upped the ante – this time in the sponsorship arena.

Recently split from her longtime sponsor Roxy, the Hawaiian teen has signed two major deals – one with Red Bull and the other with Nike 6.0. 

According to Surfing Magazine,

All said and done, the 16-year-old Punahou junior will likely be enjoying one of the most lucrative contracts in female pro surfing history (estimated to be in the range of three-quarters of a million dollars by one anonymous source). “Carissa’s new agreements have for the first time ever shattered the glass ceiling of surfing sponsorship, opening up new and never heard of before possibilities for other surfers to eventually emulate,” says [agent Bryan] Taylor.

Moore is apparently also close to making a deal with a major department store – kind of like the deal snowboarder Shaun White made earlier this year to “design” a fashion line for Target.

And as a “head to toe” Nike rider, Moore will likely be marketed not just in the surf world, but in some of their more mainstream campaigns as well joining the likes of well-known Nike athletes Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova and LeBron James.

After eight years with Roxy, Moore’s split from the sponsor who’s been with her since the beginning is truly the end of an era. It seems a bittersweet transition but it’s great that Nike and Red Bull are stepping up to the plate with women’s surfing and Moore seems a great choice to represent the sport.

To other brands looking for the TNBT – there’s a whole new generation of super groms stealing the show.

Tennis Lingo

ACE
serve that is neither touched nor returned by the receiving player.

ADVANTAGE
 (”In” or “Out”) – the first point won by a side, following deuce. When the serving side wins this point it is called advantage-in. If the non-serving side wins the point, it becomes “break point” and the advantage is out.

ALLEY
The lane between the singles and doubles sidelines; out-of-bounds in singles play.

ATP
Association of Tennis Professionals, the men’s professional circuit

BACKHAND
player turns so that the shoulder of the racket-bearing arm faces the net before bringing the racket forward and across the body to meet the ball.

BACKSPIN
undercutting the ball with the racket so that it bounces back toward the net and away from an opponent.

BAGEL
winning a set 6-0. A double bagel is winning 6-0, 6-0.

BALL BOY
a person, male or female, tasked with retrieving tennis balls from the court that have gone out of play

BASELINE
boundary on either end of the court representing the outer limits of the length of the court.

BASELINE PLAY
hitting long ground strokes from the baseline

BREAK POINT
when a non-serving player has the scoring advantage and is one point away from winning the game.

BREAKING SERVE
when the non-serving side wins the game.

Read more

SI KIDS Sports Kid of the Year

September 25, 2008 - Who will grace the cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids by winning the 2008 Sports Kid of the Year? Ten finalists were selected from more than 6,000 nominations and the final decision will be based on fan selection.

Of the current crop of finalists, two are girls:

Nina Lussi from Lake Placid, New York is a 14-year-old ski jumper out of the New York Ski Education Foundation. She was highlighted by Sports Illustrated for Kids for winning the 2008 Junior National Ski Jumping Championships at Junior Olympics in Ishpeming, Michigan last March.

While she was on skis at the age of three, at eight Lussi decided she wanted to try ski jumping and it appears to have been a good choice. Now, six years after her first jump, Lussi is recognized as a top athlete in her age group.

Katharine Holmes is a 15 year old fencer from Washington, D.C. who finished the 2007-08 season ranked Number 1 in the U.S. in women’s epee in the 14-year-old and Cadet (17-and-under) divisions and third at the Olympic Trials. Katharine has maintained a near-perfect grade point average (3.97), was freshman class president, volunteers at a local retirement home, and is working on a project to clean up the Anacostia River.

Holmes’ coach says “Katharine is known for her mastery of a large number of fencing techniques that she uses to react instantly to her opponents actions during competitions. She is a smart, fierce, and focused competitor.”

This week’s top four vote getters will advance to next week’s semifinals. Voting closes at noon ET on September 29, so let your voice be heard and let’s put a girl on the cover of Sports Illustrated Kids!

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