The Real Currency of the Olympics

Imagine a world that is perfect, everyone smiles with a pleasant welcome which is genuine and without judgment. Food is a 24hour free world buffet, might I add alongside a fully functional free 24hour McDonalds with McCafe. Everything in the village is free, it has a gym, hospital with full diagnostic centre, a dentist surgery, laundry services everything and more in one purpose built village for one reason; to get the very best performances from the very best athletes in the world. So if everything is there for free what could you want? 

In the village you can't buy anything, so nobody carries money around which makes it a very unique environment. Is there anything of value left then? Well yes, there is actually. The real currency of the Olympics are simple pin badges. Usually a symbol of your Olympic Association with the best ones having the year on it and the really special ones have the logo too. As an example ours was our famous British lion and Sochi 2014 on the bottom which made ours very collectible and we could trade with any nation.

Trading gets very competitive as everyone there is an elite athlete in elite sports, competition is in their nature. Pride is up for grabs with sponsors also getting in on the action that plays out from start to finish. The opening and closing ceremony being the big trading game days as all nations are present. Badges are swapped with each country designing and allotting numbers to each of their athletes. Volunteers try and get in on the action but the main trading is athlete to athlete as then every pin has a story.

Well its finally hitting home that I'm back and reality is kicking in. Getting stuck back in to training now and Sochi 2014 does sometimes feel like a dream but it was real with memories that make me smile every day.

Anyway, check in soon for my next chapter.

Do we make the Flight?

I just parked my hire car at the multi story at Manchester's T1, 50 minutes to catch my Munich flight and the lift breaks down. Do we make our flight?

Bearing in mind I still have to check my bags in and take the hire car from the top level of said multi story car park and take it to the Car Rental village and get the bus back to the terminal. But I'm getting ahead of myself, I will take you back to 7am when everything was calm and I was packing the car and waving farewell to loved ones. We were on schedule for our European Championship campaign to Budapest, ready for my 10:55am departure. A cup of tea in hand and smile on my face, ready to face Europe's best in the prestigious Championships. Training had been going great and I was ready to just get out there and do my thing. That was before I challenged Manchester's M6 Southbound traffic.

I filled up with fuel in Leyland and headed on my way at 7:30, usually a 40 minute journey but even so I checked the route the night before just to check there were no roadworks. Nope a clear straight run through with probably a bit of work traffic. Well a bit was an understatement, as soon as we hit the M6 there was warnings about delays and an accident way down the way. That meant the que went on and on and on. I'm not used to heavy traffic anyway but this was 2 hours of stop and start traffic with a maximum speed of 26mph in that time. I was a little frustrated to say the least and the fact that there wasn't even an accident was just ridiculous. Sheer traffic brought the M6 South bound traffic to a stand still for the duration of my journey, 3 lanes, 45 miles, 7:30 I left and I arrived at the Terminal at 10:05 with check in closing at 10:12.

To the top of the Multi story we stormed not a parking space in sight all the way up, but still with everything ready for the quick getaway. Jumped in a space, grabbed the bags and now to get 12 floors down to the departures. The lift doors close and nothing, no movement, no sound and no lights on the buttons just still. Stacey and I already pretty stressed as we like to be punctual with time to organize ourselves before we fly. Well no organization here, just sheer will power and hope to make the lift A. open its doors and spit us out or B. take us to our destination. Answer A happened after a very tense eternity of a minute with a very polite message from our captor saying "this lift is out of use sorry for your inconvenience". Freedom, I pick up both the 23 kg bags and run down all 12 floors, obviously for normal humans this would be a struggle but that is my day job and although it would of been a little more comfortable with skates on I made it to the bottom in no time. This was no moment to cheer as I just saw the Manchester T1 map that said I had to go to the 5th floor to departure desks, so back up I ran and then through to the Lufthansa desk. Bearing in mind check in closes at 10:12 and we were in the Multi story parking up at 10:05, did we make it?

"Sorry I hit terrible traffic!" I said "Where are you flying too?" the check in lady replied
"Munich" with what breath I had left
"Oh!" she was shocked,
"Oh?" I was tense, "Ok, here is your Fast-lane pass go quick!" she said with a smile.
So what do I do, i put the bags on the belt and I run straight back out to the car, take it to the car rental village and wait for the bus to bring me back to the Terminal 1 departure gates. Stacey went through security to meet our coach Lyndon who was at the gate as he arrived from the States a few hours earlier and prayed that I was going to make it before the flight left. The next task for me was to find the rental village in the maze of Manchester airport. A few laps of roundabouts and U turns later I was hot on the trail finding the signs that lead the way. Every red light was a ticking clock of wasted time eating away at my deteriorated patience but there was now a light at the end of the tunnel with our bags checked in and I was parking up the car.

Now the race was really on, should I call a taxi, commandeer a vehicle or just wait for the bus? I knew it wasn't far off but the bus could be 10 minutes, I ran for the bus and luckily there was one waiting. In an Die Hard kind of John MacLaine action moment I burst on to the bus and explained my situation to the young bus driver, "they could have my job for this, hold on!" he replied and we pulled away. He showed me a workers access to get straight to security control and I had almost made it, almost there! I sprinted to hear Flight to Munich Last Call, then fighting through the maze of duty free that lies before the Departure gates at Manchester's T1. Around up and over bags and people until I saw Stacey's bright blond hair like a golden shining light, I had made it, sweating, out of breath, at my wits end but they swiped my boarding pass and let me on the flight. Rarely have I felt such relief, rarely have I met so many people willing to help me in my time of need, Thank you Manchester Airport, thank you. Now for me to do my bit in return!
Budapest Europeans we meet at last.

British Champs 2013

We had a good run up to the British, well planned weeks and hard work. We were focused, full of confidence and ready to go for a great championships. We had just got back from Oberstdorf International that was our best ever score and were feeling pretty good about ourselves. But fate had other plans and in the end the British was not at all what we expected. Then again it is always the toughest and most awkward event on our calendar. It all started with one or two things going wrong, forgetting to pack things and not doing jobs that we thought we'd get done. Little stuff but it all started adding up, slowly it started to get in to our training sessions back in the UK, before the British silly things would happen like our practice ice would be cut short, interrupted or cancelled all together. We just couldn't catch a break. Then we competed in the short program, we got a time violation, a fall on the throw (that Stacey hasn't even missed all season let alone fall) and a downgraded jump but otherwise a pretty solid program. 

I was angry when the marks came up as it was a huge 5 points off our international scores. We felt even with the mistakes we made we should not of been marked so harshly. We didn't feel we were rewarded for the difficulty of our program's and performed strong senior pair elements. We felt very hard done by in our own country by our own judging panel, not what you want during our Olympic season. I ended up taking that energy into the free program where silly little stumbles happened throughout the program, Stacey got stuck with her leg above her head and wedged into my arm... That cost us a full point and I don't even know how she managed to get into that position? To top it all off we were both selected for drug testing and had to stand second on a podium we had owned for 10 years.

What can you do but look at it as a life lesson and move on. But what's the lesson? Don't do tons of stupid little things before I skate? Don't pee before a free program because you might get doping control? It's a strange one and definitely wasn't the result we wanted but maybe it's what we need before taking to the biggest stage there is in Sochi this February. Although I'm not looking forward to any commentary that even suggests we're Britain's number 2s as that would hurt like a toe pick to the face, although officially were ranked number one due to our high International scores. Anyway unfortunately I've let any kind of control over press in general out of our hands, such a shame when were having such a great season to be brought down like this. Well congratulations on making it through my British rant but that's about all I've got to say right now. We had a good Sochi preparation after the championships saw some family and are now back in Florida skating in a Holiday Show this weekend.

Well ciau for now and take it easy

Europeans 2013

4:15 am my alarm went off this morning, it is hard to think at that time let alone move and everything just goes to autopilot. This wasn't even for training but because we're heading back to Florida to finish our season strong, just 4weeks until the World Championships and effectively the end of the skating year. This Worlds is in London Canada and is our Olympic Qualifying event for the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympic Games. A big ask and a good time to step up our game, 4 years ago we stood up in Los Angeles. It was there we took our lucrative Olympic spot and became the first British Pair team to do so in 16 years.

Just after I posted my last blog we had another nasty moment where Stacey split her chin open on the ice. We were a little fatigued from a busy week and at the end of our free programme, Stacey landed the throw but then slipped off her edge landing straight on her chin. We went to a walk in clinic thinking they could patch it up but the wound was too deep and ended up in the Emergency room getting 12 stitches. Remember this was a week before the European Championships where we had to get the score to go to Worlds as we had missed every other event this season through injury. So like a trooper Stacey is back on the ice later that day. 

Europeans went surprisingly well, I mean we were still getting back to full fitness but Stacey nailed all the throws and the only major mistake was the side by side triple toes in the free. We got a lot of good feedback, judges and spectators alike seemed to enjoy our programmes. Zagreb itself was very chilly, it was the week a load of airports in Europe shut down from snow and there were a few logistical issues with the skaters. All in all a good event for us though and finished 10th in Europe! Had a quick break after and now time to dig deep for Worlds.

Best wishes

New Year 2013

My New Years resolution is to keep up with my blogging, I realise that I lead a rather unusual lifestyle and one day would like to look back and remember how it was. If you enjoy reading it too then even better! Europeans is now 2 weeks away, and we are coming back from 2 major injuries; I had a grade 2 right ankle sprain 6 weeks ago and Stacey tore her PCL in her left knee back in October. Only this last week have we been able to properly train so not expecting any miracles in Zagreb, Croatia where the Championships will be held. But we do have a firm goal set, we had to pull out of all our international competitions this year and haven't got the qualifying score required for the World Championships. This World Championships is our Olympic qualifying event so our goal of getting the required score is a very important stepping stone to our Olympic story. This season at our National Championships even with heavy injuries we managed to take our 10th British title. It's a privilege to skate for a living but it is an honour to train as British Champions.

I know its my resolution to write more blogs and have struggled in the past for free time living in Florida but will do my best to keep up. Our schedule and the intensity we train at here kind of eats up my time and in the evenings I have 2 huskies to look after. These days we start on the ice at 8:30 then finish in the gym 4pm with only 40 minute break for lunch. Its a tough schedule and the amount of concentration that goes in to training is intense but the coaching staff and athletes we train alongside really help motivate us to push through every day. When we had a bit of time in off season after Nice Worlds we crammed in some fun though and as much family and friends time as we could. Stacey's mother flew back with us and treated us to a trip to Discovery Cove, which I would recommend for anyone travelling

to Florida and is basically an all inclusive day at a beach resort where you swim with dolphins. And we visited Disney and met up with fellow team mate British ladies Champion Jenna, and her husband Kevin who is a Belgian skating legend. But then it was short lived and straight back into next seasons programmes.

When the current season started it brought for us a change of coach who planned for us to start early preparations and get ahead of the field for this season. We competed in May in Fort Myers USA, where we would usually start competitions in September. For the first time ever this year we did 3 (also Liberty and Ellenton Classic) events before we'd even usually do one, its good because it took us out of our usual season routine and shook things up a bit. Hopefully that preparation and hard work will pay off in the upcoming weeks.

To round up then 2012 was an Impressive year for us, we had highs like skating at a European Championships in front of a home crowd in Sheffield, we won our 10th British title, watched some amazing live events at the London Olympics, and had family and friends come visit us in Florida. But also a few lows with our injuries, missing a big chunk of the season plus competitions and not qualifying for the free program at the World Championships last season in Nice. We can plan and work as hard as possible but sometimes things are out of our control, you just have to do the best with what you get dealt and I

think this year we had a good hand.
Thank you!

Post Worlds 2012

Well Stacey’s head fixed and we did indeed survive the World Championships in Nice. We had a great qualifying round finishing in 4th place then struggled in the short programme which we’d already changed 3 times in the season because we felt it wasn’t running smoothly. Overall it was a good Championships and landed us a Grand Prix of America which is a great honour in skating. We made a lot of improvements this season and can’t wait to get out and compete again.

After we got back we took a full month off to sort ourselves out and to have a little rest. We didn’t have much time between moving from Poland to America so our whole apartment was dotted in garages all over the UK. While we were back we managed to unpack it all anyway and sort it into some kind of system, I also managed to redecorate Stacey’s room at the same time. The rest of the time we spent relaxing or doing things we enjoy like mountain climbing and seeing friends. When we got to Florida, Stacey’s mum followed us out and we managed to see a few sites that we hadn’t got chance to go to, Miami and Orlando. Then a week later we met fellow British athlete Jenna and her husband Kevin Van Der Perren and went to Disney World for the day.

Now were back in training fully rejuvenated and getting to grips with an exciting new season after the rest. Unfortunately our primary coach decided to move on, so we moved to our second in command from last season Lyndon Johnson who was a little too busy last season to take us on full time. He is a World silver medallist in Pairs skating and has a calm strength that you can rely on in a tough situation. We’ve started 2 new programme’s for this Olympic qualifying season and are trying our very best to make them our greatest ever. Obviously we try every year but Olympic qualifier is quite a motivation and to build on Olympic excitement we participated in Walk to London 2012 with American Olympians in Tampa.

This weekend has kind of blown us away with celebrating the Queens 60th Jubilee, we got right into it and felt so patriotic even though we are so far away. We had our own party and cooked British food for all our American friends while watching the pageants and concert. We often feel home sick but this really made us feel we wanted to be home. Next time we come home is for the London Olympics so I can’t complain too much.
Anyway take care and feel proud of who you are and
where your from!

Europeans 2012

So here we are, we've had a very busy schedule training six days a week and playing cricket for a full day too (more on that later) and currently in training for the World Championships in two weeks time.
What have the ice skaters been up to I hear you ask? Well, firstly and mainly we competed at the European Championships 2012 in Sheffield, England (you would be surprised how many Americans think Europeans could be held in Sheffield USA). The first and probably last time in our careers we can compete in front of a home crowd and boy did we put on a show.The last time the UK held a World or European Championship was about 20 years ago and was certainly well overdue. We thought it was great and gave us drive for the whole season, that cheer when a top British team steps on the ice at a Championship held in Britain is just amazing. To top it off we skated great, a top ten finish, and safe in the knowledge all our hard work had paid off.

A highlight of the Championships was that Prince Edward came to watch our Free skate and came for a meet and greet directly after. It was a great honour and we were quite blown away with his humble nature and his knowledge of the sport. As well as Prince Edward it was an opportunity for friends and family to come in their droves to see us skate including my dear Uncle and Godfather Dave King.
He came to watch us skate live for the very first time, enjoying himself so much he booked his place with my Aunty at the World Championships in Nice, France at the end of March. Very sadly and suddenly he passed away days later a relatively healthy man 61 years of age. For me the memory of our 2012 Europeans will be bitter sweet with that thought, though my Aunty has still said she wishes to come watch our World Championships in Nice as they had such a great time.

Prior to the European Championships our national Championships were also held in Sheffield where we won an amazing 7th senior title breaking all British records. We've competed so many times at Nationals that sometimes they blur into one but this time we had two things stand out, first our music stopped mid skate and I ended up chatting to the referee in the middle of our event and second a very strange official meeting.

In the meeting we were handed out our new squad kit only to find the sizes were a little off and when I say a little – I mean a lot! Think of 30 athletes of all ages and sizes that had been perfectly measured months earlier trying to squeeze into tiny jackets, t shirts hoodies and pants. Moaning and groaning like we were all in strait jackets, needless to say they were sent back even though we had plenty of teddies that they would have fit comfortably.

Anyway training in general has changed for the better moving away but living in Florida is quite a difference from Poland. Everyone will think of all the pluses but we had built up a life there and was hard to start a new, even when people do speak the same language. Also just because people speak the same doesn't mean that we aren't further away in personalities and culture. So I decided to start playing Cricket at the local club to meet some similar minded folk. Since this out of rink interaction we have once again found ex-pats that we moan about British weather too, as well as some great games of cricket!

But not all training is fun and games, actually at this point of the season none of it is. It’s serious stuff, a tense time for athletes and coach alike. Aiming for perfection while at the same time being so sore and tired that after the sixth day of training you can’t even make it downstairs. Repetition is key and it’s tedious work but you have to look at the end goal and push yourself every day. A few weeks back shows the danger of training at a high level in pairs while being this tired. It was the end of a session that hadn’t been going so well and in an attempt to salvage the last five minutes of training we were trying to push out a decent twist (I throw Stacey in the air she turns three times then I catch her, simple).
It went up at half the height as we were tired and the snap for rotation was slow. As I went for the catch it was well off axis and Stacey came down off balance falling back cracking her head on the ice. It was a nasty fall and I dived down to make sure she didn't try to move, she tried to get up twice as she didn't even realise then started to feel a bad head.

I held her head and felt flesh and a huge bump when I removed my hand the whole side of her pretty blonde head was turned a deep red, I put it straight back. I felt terrible for this dainty lady that puts her life in my hands everyday lying in pain and a pool of her blood. One of the pair guys on our ice rushed over and picked Stacey up as I kept the compression on her head. We rushed to hospital, trying to think of everything like insurance, passport and so on, then after spending an hour filling out forms and an hour waiting for our turn they gave her a Tetanus shot and a stitch. She didn't feel great for a few days with a sore head and mild concussion but has healed up nicely and still ended up coming back to training well before the Doctor had expected. It’s a tough sport and we are only in it because we love it and still feel we have a lot more to offer in the future.

Anyway I will write again soon about our greatest challenge of the season yet, the World Championships in Nice, France. But for now very best wishes and enjoy what you do!