This is the third part of our correspondence with Coach and Skating Director Lyndon Johnston as he chronicles the experiences of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver:

2/13/2010 (via email)

Just a couple of things,

Caydee and Jeremy drew 4th to skate and Amanda and Mark are 8th to skate.

Had good practices this morning as well, by tomorrow they will be ready.

We have one more practice today at another rink and then done for the day.

Going to try and see either short track and or long track speed skating in the next couple of days.

You wouldn’t believe the security around here. Not only is the RCMP but also local city police around, and then on top of that is the Canadian Military and last but not least the US secret service is also here. And they are at all of our practices. Early or late.

Wow, crazy.

How is everything around there? I hear that the newspaper is still doing some great articles.

Well, off and running again.

Lyndon

This is the second part of our correspondence with Coach and Skating Director Lyndon Johnston as he chronicles the experiences of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver:

2/11/2010 (via email)

All is going well. The main rink is interesting because it is also the main rink for short track, so they have thick pads that are around the rink and then they flip them over for the short track.
Practices have been going well. The kids have been working very well with their new surroundings.

The constant rain, or at least drizzle, has put little damper on the excitement here. I am sure that the area is beautiful, but if I had to put up with all the rain I would be very depressed.

The draw for the kids is tomorrow morning and then we will be able to let you know in what order they skate after that.

Have not had much chance to see other venues but have been seeing a lot of the other athletes.

Talk to you soon.

Lyndon

This is the first part of our correspondence with Coach and Skating Director Lyndon Johnston as he chronicles the experiences of the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver:

2/10/2010 (via text message)

Monday was our travel day. We arrived to Vancouver at 1pm. All athletes had a special area to go through at customs at Vancouver International Airport which made it very quick and easy! Processing and accreditation was the next step in the process. After that we spent the next couple of hours getting our USA apparel! Wow! The skaters and coaches look great! Practices went well yesterday and we just got off the ice for the first practice of the day. Talk to you soon!

Due to the overwhelming support shown by everyone, the 2010 AT&T US Figure Skating Champion and Olympian skaters (Caydee Denney, Jeremy Barrett, Amanda Evora, and Mark Ladwig) and coaches (Mr. Jim Peterson, Mr. Lyndon Johnston, and Ms. Alison Smith) have decided to open their final practice before they leave for the Winter Games in Vancouver to the public. The session starts at 1:10pm.

Our Olympians are steadily returning home and that means it’s time to party! This Saturday, January 30th, we will be having a open house celebration at the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex. It goes from 1:30-4:30 and you can meet the Olympians and congratulate them! Also, we have skates you can put well wishes and sign available at our front desk. Let the skaters, Caydee, Amanda, Jeremy, and Mark, and the coaches, Mr. Peterson, Mr. Johnston, and Ms. Smith, all know how excited you are they’re going to the Olympics!

The 2010 US Figure Skating National Championships in Spokane, WA have officially ended for all of the skaters training at the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex. As I’m sure you’ve heard, we swept the pairs spots for the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver, something as rare as sending a Floridian to the Olympic games. Now we get to send four. Caydee Denney and Jeremy Barrett skated a flawless short and long program to have a final score of 190.30. That score was good enough to win them the national championship, gold medal, and a spot on the US Olympic team. Not far behind were training mates Amanda Evora and Mark Ladwig, who earned the silver medal with a score of 173.78. Placing 11th in their first ever senior competition, the 2009 Junior National Champions Tracy Tanovich and Michael Chau showed tons of promise for the future. The Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex was the only complex to send three teams in the senior pairs division to the National Championships! This truly proves that we have the best coaches in the country with 2009 PSA Developmental Coach of the Year and head coach Mr. Jim Peterson, two-time Olympian and skating director Mr. Lyndon Johnston, and world and Olympic champion coach Ms. Alison Smith.

Also, skating in the junior division for the first time were Haven Denney and Daniel Raad. They skated well, placing a very respectable 7th. Daniel also skated in the senior men’s division where he placed 23rd.

Tracy, Michael, Haven, and Daniel will all return to Florida tonight along with Ms. Smith. Mr. Johnston will return Thursday. Caydee, Jeremy, Amanda, Mark, and Mr. Peterson will all return Monday night.

Congratulations to everyone for the superb showing in the National Championships. Thank you for helping make the Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex one of the premier international training facilities!

Just a reminder, Skate with Santa is Saturday December 19th from 1:15-3:15pm! From 9am-4pm we will be selling raffle tickets for the perfect stocking stuffers! Your raffle ticket will give you a chance to win one of 10 Public Skating Passes, 8 Skate N Eat Gift Certificates, or a Basic Skills Gift Certificate! It’s all happening this Saturday!

Good morning.

Hope that everyone is drying out from that rain that we had over the weekend.

Just a reminder that the Nancy Archie Meyer competition is this weekend. Skaters from all over Florida as well as the Southeast States will all be competing this weekend. This is the final competition these skaters will do before heading off for the Regional Championships in Maryland next month. And what this means, it will be a guide to what their point value will be at Regionals.

Good luck to all.

Also, we are having a simulation/ exhibition this Thursday from 5:00pm to 5:30pm. This will be a first for Evan Valeska. He is also competing for the first time this weekend. Good luck to him. We will also have several of our competitive skaters that are running through their short programs.

Lyndon Johnston
Skating Director

Congratulations  to all of the skaters who passed evaluations this past Monday!

Just a reminder to everyone that the fund raiser for our potential 2010 Olympic skaters is this Thursday @ 6:00pm at The Hall in Palmetto.

For information and tickets please call 941-729-0700.

Lyndon Johnston
Skating Director

This is the last week to take advantage of our Summer Special!  3 Months $99, with no enrollment fee!

Become part of our “Ellenton Fitness Family” today!  The staff at Ellenton Fitness Center cares about you and will treat you like family!

Come see our beautiful new “real people pictures” on display in Ellenton Fitness Center!  Come and workup a sweat…you just might find your picture on one of our walls!  Don’t forget to smile, or look tough!

Have you been “thinking” about joining a gym?  With the kids back in school, this is the perfect time to start a workout program.

Over the years, I’ve had conversations with many people dealing with all types of stress.  Stress due to marital problems, the loss of a loved one, loss of a job, poor health, pain due to an accident, etc.  I’ve pretty much heard it all!  My solution to help relieve stress and make you feel better…..EXERCISE!!!  I promise, you will feel better,  even after that first workout!

Make the commitment to exercise, take care of yourself, make YOU a priority, make your health and well being a priority!

Join Ellenton Fitness Center today, our Summer Special runs through August 31!
Become part of our “Ellenton Fitness Family” today!

Barbara Fitzpatrick

Fitness Center Director