Britannia Cup 2020 with DC EDGE Junior

by Colleen Curto & Evan Israel

            Tuesday evening, we flew over the Atlantic Ocean for the first time as a team. We attempted to get some sleep during our flight so that our jetlag and adjustment to UK time would not be too difficult when we landed Wednesday morning. Five and a half hours later, we landed at the London Heathrow Airport! We picked up our luggage and quickly went through customs to get breakfast at the Costa Coffee in the airport. Not too long after, we were picked up by the bus on the left side of the road and, while some slept and others did work, we traveled three hours north of London to Nottingham.

            When we arrived at the hotel, we slicked our buns and changed into our practice attire for an unofficial practice. The team leaders, doctor, and Safesport representative warmly greeted us when we assembled in the lobby before walking over to the ice arena. We warmed up in a large dance studio, and, after walking through both of our programs and stretching, we walked down to the locker room to put on our skates. Although we were slightly tired from the day’s travel, we appreciated the chance to get our feet under us and enjoyed having practice on the same ice that we would compete on later in the week.            

Afterward, we took off our skates and headed back to the hotel for an early dinner. There, they served a buffet of an array of foods that we could all enjoy before getting ready for a good night’s sleep. 

            On Thursday morning, our second day in England, we woke up bright and early for an hour of practice, focusing on our short program. After a productive practice with helpful critiques from our coaches and team leaders, we returned to the hotel for about two hours of rest time before heading out to explore the town of Nottingham. We began our walk through town at the famous Robin Hood Statue at Nottingham castle. From there, we walked over to Old Market Square, passing by cliffside caves, classic British telephone booths, popular British shops, and the city’s tram system.

            Once our trip to the center of Nottingham concluded, we headed back to our hotel to prepare for the second practice of the day. At this practice, we worked on our long program, specifically focusing on our travelling circle, moves in the field, and whip intersection.

            We quickly returned to our hotel before dinner to shower and change. We had dinner at “Pitcher & Piano,” which was converted from a church into a restaurant. We all enjoyed this chance to try classic British cuisine, such as fish and chips, and relax after a long day of skating and adventures. 

            We finished the day with an early bedtime in anticipation of another early wakeup call for practice the following morning.

            Friday was a pretty calm day. We woke up around 5:00 A.M. for a two-hour practice, our final unofficial practice before the competition would begin on Saturday. Our practice was split in half with an ice cut, so we spent the first half of practice focused on our short program and the second half on our long program. After a good practice, we had a long break in which some of the team rested while others caught up on lots of schoolwork. For dinner, we ate out at an Italian Restaurant in the center of town.

            It is Saturday – aka Short Competition day! We had the opportunity to sleep in and sit down to eat breakfast at the hotel before getting ready to depart for a mid-day official practice. After the short, familiar walk to the arena, we ran through our programs, warmed-up, and stretched before going downstairs to get our skates on. We put on our blue official practice dresses, taped our skates, and received words of encouragement from our team leaders before leaving the locker room and entering the bright, expansive ice arena. We stepped on the ice for our very first official practice of the weekend and completed two solid run-throughs before getting off. After our practice, we felt confident and ready to make our international debut!

We walked next door to eat a lunch organized by the LOC before returning to the hotel for an hour or so of downtime. Before we knew it, it was time to apply our makeup and put our hair in braids, while a remix of music played in the background. Afterward, we changed into our competition attire and returned to the conference room for mental training and a quick pump-up before going to the arena. We went through our usual warm-up routine, but this time we ‘strutted’ one-by-one to music as the rest of the team cheered after stretching. Once we were finished, we exited the studio and passed by other teams who were speaking in all different languages.

We entered the locker room and put on our sparkly, purple dresses before our team leaders came in to wish us luck. We envisioned our program while our music played and then had a team huddle before leaving for the ice. Adrenaline, nerves, and excitement rushed through the team as we stood in line next to the boards. DC EDGE was called, and the crowds cheered and chanted “USA!” – the moment we had been excited for since being selected to compete internationally.

And just like that, our short started and ended. We walked back to the locker room, happy with our performance and ready to come back for Long the following day.

            Feeling confident and ready to take on our long program after a great skate of short, we woke up mid-morning on Sunday to prepare for official practice. As was determined by our draw the previous night, we would skate fifth in the competition that day.

            Knowing that today would be our last time taking the ice as Team USA for this season, we wanted to leave nothing behind. Our morning routine preceding our official practice was nearly identical to the previous morning. We skated to our full potential in official practice and left the arena feeling fully prepared to skate great later in the day.

            After a quick break to take out our official practice buns and wash off our makeup, we met together in a small hotel conference room. Listening to the same mix of music, we began our pre-competition hair and makeup ritual. Our hair was left-side parted, slicked and sprayed back, and securely sewn into place with a black hair piece and sparkly clip. Our makeup was completed to perfection, with our eyeshadow sparkling, false eyelashes glued on tight, and setting spray applied as the final touch. Once our hair and makeup were complete, we listened to a couple of our favorite pre-competition hype-up songs as we danced and sang along in unison. Eventually, it came to leave for the rink.

            Our locker room time was extended slightly, as one of the earlier teams had complications with their music. After a brief wait, we completed our usual team huddle and cheers, and it was then our turn to skate.

            We took the perfectly clean ice after the ice cut. Our confidence levels peaked along with our adrenaline. We showed the audience the potential of our “Conductor and Her Orchestra” program. Earning a season’s high score of 99.37 in our long program and 150.89 total, we were incredibly pleased with our performance from the weekend.

            At the awards ceremony, in addition to our bronze medals, we also received a trophy for the most enjoyable performance of the event. We were honored to be recognized out of a group of so many other amazing teams. 

            We are so grateful for this opportunity to make our international debut as part of Team USA in Britain! Congrats to all other teams who competed in the event, in particular Starlights for earning silver in the Junior event, Skyliners for earning gold in the Junior event, Haydenettes for earning gold in the Senior event, and Adrian College Varsity for earning silver in the Senior event.  Thank you to everyone for this outstanding experience!