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POSTCARD FROM 2002 BOFROST CUP

Guten Tag from Gelsenkirchen, Germany famous for beer, bread, and football! Bofrost Cup, formerly Nations Cup and the Sports Paradies hosted skaters from 18 countries. Gelsenkirchen is part of the "Industrial Way", where former mines are now museums. A few Americans did travel to Gelsenkirchen to cheer on their favorites. German chocolate from the village shop was one of the souvenirs we brought back home.

Yoshie Onda of Japan won her first Ladies title at Bofrost Cup skating to Concerto for Cello and Orchestra; Serenade. At the post competition press conference, Ms. Onda was excited with her first Grand Prix win. Even though her triple axel was short of rotation, she was still happy overall with her performance. With continued practice, she anticipates landing the triple axel in future competitions. Fumie Suguri also from Japan was disappointed with her Silver Medal finish but still was elegant skating to Swan Lake and Russian Dance from Swan Lake. Ms. Suguri was happy to see many people come to see the competition and looks forward to skating in her home country for the NHK Grand Prix Event. Finland's Susanna Poykio skated to a Bronze Medal finish to Spellbound Concerto by Miklos Rozza-London Promenade Orchestra. Ms. Poykio was happy with the final results but realized she hadn't skated her best as she had a busy 2 weeks. American Amber Corwin finished 5th overall.

Evengy Plushenko of Russia, skated to St. Petersburg 300 by Igor Korniliuk to win the Men's title. It was his first time skating to his long program and it felt well. Last season he had an injured groin, knee, and back but feels good now. "Not so bad for an Olympic Silver Medal win" Evengy said. He feels he has a lot to offer as he is only 20 years old and anticipates skating for at least eight more years. Alexander Abt skated to Bolero by Maruice Ravel. He bruised his right leg at Skate America and hoped to have skated better here. Mr. Abt feels that 2 Silver Medals at 2 Grand Prix Events will probably qualify him for the Grand Prix Final. Chengijian Li from China skated to the Star Wars Soundtrack by John Williams -London Symphony Orchestra to a Bronze Medal finish. At the press conference, Mr. Li was not content with his long program performance and hopes to skate better as the season progresses. Crowd favorite, Michael Weiss pulled up from 7th in the short program to 4th overall skating to musical selections of Malaguena by E. Lecuona and Concert de Aranjuez by J. Rodrigo. He was accompanied to Gelsenkirchen by his new coach Don Laws and wife Lisa Thornton Weiss. At the Gala Exhibition, Mr. Weiss got a standing ovation and was encouraged to skate a short encore. There was a banner hanging at the Sports Paradies for Michael Weiss with the saying, "Michael Weiss, a Sleeping Giant".

Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviyski of Bulgaria danced to their first Grand Prix title to Afrah Baladi by Mostafa Sax. They were very happy with their first Gold Medal performance even though Maxim had a problem with his leg. The Israeli dance team of Galit Chait and Sergei Sakhnovski now coached by Evengy Platov came in 2nd with their rendition of Lord of the Rings soundtrack by Howard Shore and Lord of the Dance by Ronan Hardiman. They felt they skated well and still have a lot to work on this difficult program. Both Galit and Sergei have made new changes after worlds with their new coach and now working on more technical programs. German favorites, Kati Winkler and Rene Lohse won the Bronze Medal with their performance skated to medleys from Crazy Benny by M. Friis, U. Savery, M. Parsberg-Safi Duo, Private Investigations by Mark Knopfler-Dire Straits, and Played A Live by M. Friis, U. Savery,M. Parsberg-Safi Duo. They were both happy with their skate as this is the beginning of the season for them and they hope to improve.

Xue Shen and Hangbo Zhao of China won their first Grand Prix Event in pairs skating to Violin Fantasy on the Opera Turandot by G. Puccini. They were happy for this good start and they have good feelings skating in Germany. Silver Medalists Russians Maria Petrova and Alexei Sokolov skated to Spirit Wind by David Arkenstone and the soundtrack from Pearl Harbour by Hans Zimmer. Bronze Medal went to Dorota Zagorska and Mariusz Siudek of Poland who skated to Xotica by Rene Dupere. They are working hard with their new coach and have changed their training. Rena Inoue and John Baldwin representing the US had an impressive skate for their first appearance at a Grand Prix Event. Look for this Grand Prix Event to return again to Gelsenkirchen next November!

In summary, from security precautions in Spokane and great crowd attendance, to the enthusiastic Canadian crowd, to the small town arena decorated with banners for favorite skaters, the first three Grand Prix Events certainly had a different flavor in this post Olympic season. Skaters with injuries, skaters with new programs, and skaters with new coaches makes up for an interesting new season. It is a rebuilding year, with new faces to watch and new titles to win. A new scoring system for all to try to understand and a new season to put behind the controversies of the previous season. Spectators from all over the world will still travel to watch and experience the "Thrill and Excitement of Live Competition" at the ISU Grand Prix Series. The Grand Prix Final will be held in St. Petersburg, Russia with the top 6 skaters of each discipline competing for the Grand Prix title!

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