THE FINAL TUNE UP (Chapter 162)

A week and a half before Christmas, the leading lights of the figure skating community landed in Berlin for the Grand Prix finals.

Sophie and Warren were excited. Because this was their last year in skating, they were trying to savor everything. And they'd never been to Berlin, so this was an opportunity to check out a new city. They arrived early, with Betsy in tow, and did copious sightseeing. They checked out the Brandenberg Gate and strolled down the Unter Den Linden. They checked out the Berlin Wall Museum and Checkpoint Charlie. They took a tour of the Reichstag. 

"This is possibly the best thing about being a skater," Warren said. "We've seen so many places. It might be the part I miss the most."

"Now we'll just have to do it as tourists," Sophie laughed.

"Maybe, maybe not," Warren said. "I've been thinking about my career."

"How so?"

"I was thinking about what the doc that operated on my knee said to me. About becoming an orthopedic surgeon with a specialty in sports medicine, instead of a pediatrician. He says he still works with mostly kids and teenagers. And it'd give me a way to stay connected with sports."

"You mean like volunteering to be the doctor at competitions, stuff like that?" Sophie said.

"Exactly," Warren said. "I have time to think about it, but I'm seriously thinking about it."

"That would be cool, actually. You know how I feel-whatever you want to do. But, hey, you are an athlete. You know how an athlete's body works. I think you'd be dynamite at it."

"Yeah. And it'd be fun to go more places."

"We've seen a lot, haven't we?" Sophie said. "I mean, we've been all over the US and Canada, but, even outside of that, we've seen a lot."

"Yeah. Paris, London, Moscow, now Berlin. We've seen Switzerland and Norway."

"Beijing. Nagano, Japan. Don't forget Amsterdam," Sophie grinned.

"How could I forget Amsterdam?" Warren laughed. "And if we go to Worlds this year, we'll get to see Budapest."

"That's the best reason for going to Worlds," Sophia laughed.


The schedule for the Grand Prix Final was thus: the short programs (or original dance) on Thursday; the first free program on Friday; the second free program on Saturday. The second free, which was the current year's free, was worth half the score. The original program and the other free were worth one fourth each.

Since there are two OD's in ice dancing now, one would be drawn for the Final. Warren and Sophia were kind of hoping to rip off their rock and roll OD, but it was the quickstep that was drawn. That was OK, too, they were confident in that.

The order of skaters was the same as the Olympics: Pairs, Men, Dance, then Ladies. So, the pairs started out with their short program. The battle seemed to be between Andrea and Brett and the Canadian champs, Sellers and Poulin. However, at least in the short program, that battle was pre-empted, as both the top teams had problems. The leaders after the short program were the Czechs, Trogonickova and Kepul, who had finished fourth at last years' Worlds. Second were the young Russian pair of Yaskovarina and Chebinskiy. Andrea and Brett were third, Sellers and Poulin fourth. The defending world bronze medallists, Yin and Li of China, plummeted to sixth after major difficulties.

No surprises in the men. Three-time World Champion Lavrenti Bladanikov won, with Tom in second.

Then it was time for Warren and Sophia, who romped. Their Scott Joplin quickstep was almost unbeatable when skated clean-and skate it clean they did. The big surprise was the Brits beating the Canadians for second; and Amy and Ryan beating the Russians for fourth.

Also no surprise in the Ladies: Liz first, Allison second, the rest fighting for third.


The first free skate was the next night. This was to be the 'second' free skate, the one not from this year. 

Andrea and Brett got a bit more on track, but finished behind Yaskovarina and Chebinskiy. The Czechs fell to third-and Sellers and Poulin, having major problems, were fourth again. The men went right to form.

Warren and Sophia reprised their Bruce Springsteen free dance from last year, which they had only skated once and not at their best. They wanted to perform it right one time. They did, it was excellent, but it placed behind the Canadians just as it had last year. This phase of the competition was the most difficult for Amy and Ryan, since they really didn't have a second free dance, being a new team. They cobbled something together, but finished sixth and last.

The big shock was in the ladies', where Liz Cushman had the worst skate in about five years, and finished all the way back in fifth. She was still second overall, but so far behind she'd need help to defeat the leader-a completely stunned Allison Bowman. And Liz was only slightly ahead of a three-way tie for third place.


Andrea and Brett skated the final free program well, but not perfectly, and lost to the Czechs, who skated a wonderful, inspired program. The Canadians managed to pull themselves together somewhat and finish third in the final three, but fourth overall.

The big upset came in Men's, where Tom Bellamy, for the first time in his career, outskated Lavrenti Bladanikov to win the final. Bladanikov was excellent, but Tom skated the performance of his career and eked out a deserving victory. Kristin went nuts in the stands, and it was a good boost of confidence for Tom going into the Olympics.

Warren and Sophia simply nailed their Singing In The Rain free dance, and weren't challenged. The Brits finished second and the Canadians third-although they were only fourth in the final free dance, a discouraging development. Third in the final free-and fourth overall-were an ecstatic Ryan and Amy.

And Liz Cushman didn't get the help she needed. She won the final free, but Alison finished second, which was enough for Alison to win the title. Hungarian champion Ildiko Beres upset the skaters from Russia and Japan to win the bronze.

Tom and Warren and Sophia went back to the USA thrilled. Liz was disappointed, but encouraged by her win in the final free. And Andrea and Brett knew they had some work to do.

Next stop for the USA contingent would be Boston, in January, for Nationals.



