2011 Cup of China Blog #2

Penny Coomes & Nick Buckland from Great Britain will be our bloggers for Cup of China. This is their rookie blog for IDC.

Hello from Shanghai,

I hope you enjoyed reading Nick’s blog yesterday. We thought we would take turns, and so today you’ll be hearing from me. Today was the Short dance competition, and my day began with the ice dancer’s ritual of doing my hair and makeup. There is so much preparation in getting ready for these events; in fact, I think the contents of my suitcase were mainly cosmetics.

Nick and I wanted to get to the rink early with plenty of time to warm up before the practice. Unfortunately, when we went downstairs to catch the 8 a.m. bus, we found out that there was no 8 a.m. bus, and that the first bus wasn’t for another 30 minutes. Emily (Samuelson) and Todd (Gilles) had decided to get a taxi to the arena, and Nick and I decided to do the same. Even though Emily and Todd’s taxi left before ours, our taxi driver managed to get us there first. It might have had something to do with him completely cutting across the road to get onto the other side. It was quite impressive — yet almost definitely illegal.

The practice this morning went well. Again the arena was very warm. I know some of the guys were getting a bit sweaty, but I like it! I am normally so cold when we train or compete, so for me, it is a nice change. After the practice we went back to the hotel for some lunch and a nap before returning for the competition.

The short dance event this afternoon seemed to go well for everybody. There were quite a few people in the audience, which is always nice, and so it felt like there was a great supportive atmosphere for the skaters. The competition felt short, as there are only 8 couples in the Grand Prix events now. Nick and I were pleased with how we skated, and we enjoyed watching the rest of the competition.

After the short dance, Nick and I were asked to take part in a press conference. This was a first for us, and a nice surprise, too. It was strange to be sat up there, but we enjoyed it and we hope to be up there again in the future.

Today seemed to come and go so quickly. I am looking forward to the free dance tomorrow, but for now I am going to go to bed so Good Night, and Nick will update you some more tomorrow.

Penny xx