Coyotes Skating Club of Arizona

Congratulations to our Junior Nationals skaters who competed in Cleveland, Ohio, November 29 - December 2. Shayna Moellenberg had an amazing first showing at JN, placing second in her qualifying round and sixth in the Juvenile Girls Final, missing the medals by less than 2 points. While the rest of our team did not qualify for their final rounds, they did us proud in their qualifying rounds by skating their hearts out, and along the way made some new friends from across the country. What a great experience for these skaters:

It was a great weekend, as all of our Sectional team medalled and will advance to Nationals, January 21 - 28, 2007, in Spokane, WA:

Congratulations to all these skaters and their coaches and families. Good Luck at Nationals!

Excited about competing in their first Junior Nationals (Cleveland, Nov. 29 - Dec. 2), Shannon Wells, Shayna Moellenberg, Caitlin Fields, Adam Civiello, Max Settlage, and Chris Petropulos receive Good Luck wishes at their sendoff. Click here for more images.

Heading off to Sectionals brings smiles to the faces of Douglas Razzano, Derek Trent, Danny Curzon, Molly Aaron, Tiffany Vise, Chelsi Guillen, Kelsey Syme, and Max Aaron. (Missing: JT Pfoh) (Click image to enlarge)

January 26th - 7:30 PM - Jobing.com Arena (formerly Glendale Arena)
Specially priced tickets: $40 (discounted ticket and no service fees)
A group of seats (lower level, section 116 rows D – N) has been reserved for Alltel Ice Den & Coyotes Skating Club of Arizona skaters and their friends & family. Price includes admission to pre-show warm-ups and a chance to win an autographed poster. A portion of ticket sales benefits the Coyotes Ice Ensemble. Tickets may be purchased from the Coyotes Ice Ensemble in the lobby of the Alltel Ice Den during "Learn-to-Skate" classes beginning November 14. Tickets will be sold on a "first come, first served" basis. For more information please contact: CoyotesIceEnsemble@cox.net

This ice session on October 28th was a lot of fun! If you missed it, you can check out all the cool costumes here.

We will be hosting a Club Ice session at the Alltel Ice Den on Saturday, October 28, from 3:20 - 4:20 pm. All Club members are invited and costumes are encouraged

And much of that shine was from the medals hanging around their necks! Three medallists advanced to Pacific Coast Sectionals (Nov. 16 - 18 in Seattle), where they will compete to qualify for Nationals:

Douglas Razzano, 2nd in Junior Men

Max Aaron, 1st in Novice Men

Molly Aaron, 3rd in Novice Ladies

(Also competing at Sectionals will be Chelsi Guillen, Danny Curzon, Kelsey Syme, and JT Pfoh, in Junior Pairs)

Six skaters qualified for Junior Nationals (Nov. 28 - Dec. 2 in Cleveland) :

Chris Petropulos, 5th in Intermediate Men

Shayna Moellenberg, 3rd in Juvenile Girls

Shannon Wells & Adam Civiello, 2nd in Juvenile Pairs

Caitlin Fields & Max Settlage, 3rd in Juvenile Pairs

In addition, 3 skaters earned alternate spots for JN:

Katlynn McNab, 5th in Intermediate Ladies (1st alternate)

John Loui, 7th in Intermediate Men (2nd alternate)

Alyssa Hightchew, 5th in Juvenile Girls (1st alternate)

We had several additional skaters who qualified to compete in the final rounds of their Regional events. Here are their placements in their qualifying/final rounds:

Desiree Pontarelli, 5th/10th in Junior Ladies

Meghan Speranzo, 2nd/7th in Novice Ladies

Chelsi Guillen, 2nd/10th in Intermediate Ladies

Katie Polese, 4th/ -- in Intermediate Ladies

Madeline Aaron, 3rd/11th in Juvenile Girls

And the following skaters also turned in fine performances, narrowly missing the chance to compete in the final round:

Andriana Henson, 6th Group B Novice Ladies

Madeline Kuhn, 5th Group C Intermediate Ladies

Heather Kutz, 5th Group E Intermediate Ladies

Alex Petropulos, 5th Group D Intermediate Ladies

Haley Stofflet, 6th Group C Juvenile Girls

While a final round was not held in Open Juvenile, two Club skaters placed in the top 5 in their groups:

Nicole Voltz, 4th Group B Open Juv Girls

Stephanie Casey, 5th Group A Open Juv Girls

Congrats to these skaters and to all the rest of the Coyotes Regional Team, their families, and coaches for a fine showing and lots of team spirit! Good Luck to the skaters advancing to Sectionals and to Junior Nationals!

Douglas Razzano will be representing the USA in the Junior Men's event at the Junior Grand Prix Czech Republic competition in Liberec, October 19 - 22. Congrats, and Good Luck, Douglas!

Our 47-member-strong Regional team demonstrated its readiness for the 2007 Southwest Pacific Regional Championships by skating exhibition performances on Saturday, September 16, at the Alltel Ice Den. Following the exhibitions, we held a send-off celebration honoring new and returning team members at Peter Piper Pizza. Competitors received team jackets, personalized roller bags, and many good luck wishes. An array of refreshments and cameraderie were enjoyed by skaters, families, and coaches. Special thanks to Mindy Aaron, Bobbie Speranzo, and their planning committee for a wonderful series of events! For photos and a list of team members, click here.

Our Regional Team will be skating exhibition performances of their competition programs in preparation for Regionals. This exhibition will be held Saturday, September 16, from 6:00 - 9:00 am at the Alltel Ice Den. Following the exhibitions, a Send-off celebration will be held in the Peter Piper Pizza at the Ice Den. All club members, family, and coaches are welcome to cheer on the team!

Please join us at the Alltel Ice Den for a sendoff for Max Aaron, Tuesday, August 22, at 4:55 pm. Max has been selected to represent the US in the Novice Men's event at the North American Challenge Skate (NACS) event in Pittsburgh, PA, August 24 - 27. NACS is a select US - Canada competition for Novice and Junior skaters, and it is an honor for Max and our Club that he has been selected. Good Luck, Max!

Congratulations to Club member Stephanie Wagner, who won the gold medal in Preliminary Artistic Light at the National Showcase competition in Chicago, August 3 - 9. Stephanie also skated in the Preliminary Artistic Dramatic and Preliminary Extemporaneous events. Kudos also go to Jamie Deese for placing in the top 6 in both of her Pre-Juvenile qualifying rounds. For more on National Showcase, visit here: http://www.usfsa.org/Story.asp?id=35116

The Synchronized Skating Teams and Coyotes Ice Ensemble are currently looking for new members. Joining a team builds life-skills of participation and cooperation, presentation, and self-esteem. If you are looking for a place to share your love of the sport and create wonderful friendships, be sure and visit with the teams during their Open House on September 9th. For more information: View Flyer Here

Those skaters who qualify (Juvenile and above) and planning to compete at the 2007 Southwest Pacific Regional Championships and have not yet received the Regional Team Competitor jacket, it is imperative that we take your measurements as soon as possible. We must submit our order to the manufacturer in a timely manner to receive the jackets by the competition.

Mindy Aaron will be available at the Sunday, August 6th Test Session at the Alltel Ice Den between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. to take measurements. If for any reason you cannot make it during this time please call Mindy at 480-229-3708.

The August 6th Test Session at the Alltel Ice Den will have three Junior Pair Tests. For more information please contact Mindy Aaron at 480-229-3708. Please no calls after 9:00 p.m.

US Figure Skating has adopted new requirements associated with submitting entries for Qualifying Competitions. Please read this information thoroughly so you are sure to have your entry received in time. If you have not submitted an online entry before and don't have a password to get into the Members Only area of the USFS website, be sure to request a password well in advance of the deadline.

Please note the separate entry forms and announcements. Should you have any questions please contact Patti Coyle at pcoyle.ghn@cox.net.

Annual Dinner and Elections

Our annual dinner at Greyhawk was a rousing success, thanks to the efforts of Mindy Aaron, who planned the event. President Hal Marron recognized the achievements of our skaters over this past year and a special award was presented to 2006 Olympian Ryan O'Meara, who was present for the festivities. Kim Agster was newly elected to the Board of Directors and Patti Coyle and Terri Fields were re-elected. A highlight of the evening was the Magnet Lady who made photo magnets for a never-ending line of attendees.

The newly formed Board met soon thereafter to elect officers for the coming year: Anne Curzon, President; Terri Fields, Vice President; Patti Coyle, Secretary; and Bobbie Speranzo, Treasurer. After several years presiding as President, Hal Marron stepped down to make time for other commitments to US Figure Skating. He is the new chair of the Singles committee for USFS and will be the Chief Referee for 2008 Nationals. We thank Hal for his leadership and welcome his continued contributions to the Board.

2006 Olympian and club member Ryan O'Meara is the new dance director at the Alltel Ice Den. Read more about his plans on the USFSA site here. Our skaters will all benefit from his competitive experience and skating expertise. Welcome home, Ryan, it's great to have you back!

Five of our adult skaters proudly represented the club in their new club jackets at Adult Nationals in Dallas, March 29 - April 2. While fun and cameraderie defined the overall atmosphere of this event, there was some mighty fine skating, too. We want to give special recognition to our medallists and also to Jacki Alexander (Adult Gold Class III & Masters Interpretive Class III), Laura Lister (Adult Bronze & Interpretive Class III) and Dawn Kinsley (Adult Gold & Masters Interpretive Class III) for all their hard work and enthusiasm.

Please join us at the Ice Den at 6:15 pm Wed, March 22 as we wish good luck to our skaters competing at Adult Nationals in Dallas, TX, March 29 - April 2.

"Disney on Ice - Princess Classics"
April 1st - 3:30 PM - US Airways Center (America West Arena)

Specially priced tickets: $23
A group of seats (lower level, section 111 rows 9 – 18) has been reserved for Ice Den Skaters and their friends & family. Price includes a "2 for 1" coupon for "Radio Disney Family Skate Night" and a chance to win a Disney Princess Wand with Memorabilia Book. Tickets will be available for purchase in the Ice Den lobby during "Learn to Skate" classes March 7th through 25th. Please make check payable to Coyotes Ice Ensemble.
For more information contact: CoyotesIceEnsemble@cox.net

New Judging System Seminar

The Coyotes Skating Club of Arizona is hosting a seminar on the "New Judging System". Officials and Coaches will be able to earn, US Figure Skating and PSA credits respectively by attending the seminar. Those skaters, along with their parents, that are at or above the Juvenile level are also encouraged to attend as the new system will be used for the majority of the upcoming competitions this season.

Please complete and return form (click here) as there is limited availability and applications will be taken on a first come basis. There is cost of $35 to attend which covers lunch and materials associated with the seminar.

The Coyotes Ice Ensemble will be holding its "Annual Used Dress/Equipment Sale" on February 28th, March 2nd, and March 4th. This sale will be promoted to the Alltel "Learn to Skate" classes. The team will be gathering inventory beginning February 20th. It's a great time to clear out those closets and recoup a few dollars! Click here for details: 2006 Dress Sale Form.pdf

Their finalperformance in a very close competition at Nationals pulled Ryan O'Meara and his partner, Jamie Silverstein, up to the Bronze medal in Championship Dance and a spot on the US Olympic team! This is the first such feat for a Coyotes club member and we are so proud to have him represent us and the USA at the Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Our Coyotes team at Nationals skated with conviction and gave performances that we and they can be proud of. We applaud these athletes for their commitment and for furthering our presence at the National level:

Katlynn McNab had a golden showing at her Young Internationals competition in Belgium. Winning both the short and long programs at the Minimes (Intermediate) level at the Kempen Trophy, Katlynn bettered 21 other girls to win the event. Go Katlynn!