Hockettes in Austria: Days 1-3

by Hannah Bacal & Sarah Tuzinowski

Day 1 

We landed in Germany! We walked around Munich and ate some tasty foods. We headed to the hotel in Austria and enjoyed watching the Swiss Alps pass by as we drove. It was a long day of travel; it was nice to relax at the hotel to get reenergized for the exhilarating days we had ahead of us. 

Day 2 

We woke up early to enjoy some amazing breakfast at the hotel. We boarded the bus fueled and ready to skate our programs at our unofficial practice. Heading to the rink we didn’t know what to expect, however we weren’t disappointed. The rink was stunning with a gorgeous view of the Swiss Alps! The team was nervous because for most it is their first international competition. Once we stepped on the ice the nerves disappeared. We adjusted to the rink dimensions because it was a different size than we were used to back home in Michigan. The ice felt great and we had an amazing productive practice to prepare for competition. After practice we headed straight to strudel making! We were taught by one of the best and it was so fun! We explored Austria more before going to our second unofficial practice. We were with the Locals! We polished our programs at our second practice and we feel ready to compete on Friday. See you tomorrow!

Day 3

After a good night’s sleep, we were ready to attack the day ahead of us. After eating and getting ready for the official we headed to the rink. We were prepared and ready to do what we needed to during our official. Our official went great and we headed to lunch. Next our team gathered together to watch our videos and make any last minute changes that will improve our programs further. As a team we did our buns and make up. As we always do we played music on the bus, and danced as a team together to get hyped up for competition. We had a sharp off ice and got our brains in sync.  After a team team talk led by the captains we got in the same headspace. In the locker room we did our usual routine, singing to “Waving Flag” by K’NAAN and David Bisbal, having a dance party, doing sharp arms, and standing in power pose. Walking to the ice the team felt strong, confident, ready to prove ourselves to the judges, our families, friends, and the world. Stepping on the ice, although there were only other teams cheering us on, the environment was supportive and felt great to skate in. Although it was not the normal International atmosphere, we were lucky to have our fellow Team USA teams cheering us on! During our program the team felt great. Having a clean, highest scoring skate of the season for our team we were feeling amazing and confident for our long program tomorrow. We cannot wait to head back on to the ice and skate our long program!