Cannuscio & McManus move on

by Cannuscio & McManus | Photos by Robin Ritoss and Daphne Backman

After 9 seasons together we have decided to retire from competitive skating. Coming face to face with that decision is incredibly daunting, but in reflection, our career has been so much more successful than we ever dreamed possible. We were members of Team USA for 8 consecutive seasons, and through that time we have had some life changing experiences, met some incredible people, and brought back some great hardware.

Starting out as a bottom tier Junior team in 2008, it was hard for anyone to imagine that Colin and I would some day stand on the Championship Dance podium. However, it was one of many goals that we set out to achieve, and 8 years later, our dream became a reality. We certainly took many people by surprise and in that moment we realized that it was perseverance and staying completely true to ourselves that got us to where we knew we could be. Not to mention our incredible coaches, Karen and Christie, who always made us believe in what we thought was impossible.

While our last season was not at all equivalent to what we were striving for, there comes a time when we have to sit back and decide if dedicating ourselves to another year is truly worth it. There is so much that goes into that decision, especially when we coach to financially support our skating and afford every day life. With the combination of how the season ended and where we are in our lives, we were able to come to the decision to move on.

We are so incredibly grateful to USFS for helping to support us, and giving us the incredible honor of representing our country for the past 8 years. To our fans, and Friends of Figure Skating, we will miss looking out into the arena and seeing your familiar faces. To our former competitors, what an incredible time to be an Ice Dancer in the United States. We will miss sharing the ice with you all, and best of luck to each and every one of you this season! To the University of Delaware Ice Arenas and staff, we can not thank you enough for all of your support in our training. We are so proud to have represented this facility, and to have our names on a national medalist banner hanging in the arena.

None of this would have been possible with out the incredible support of our parents. Words can not describe how thankful we are for everything you have sacrificed for us and for joining us on this incredible journey. From 5:00AM sessions to flights across the world you have been there every step of the way. To our amazing coaches, Karen Ludington and Christie Moxley, thank you for everything you’ve done for us, for believing in us, for inspiring us, and for going above and beyond the call of duty for our sakes. Also a big thanks to Stephanie Burdette for your motivation, positivity, and for keeping us in our best physical and mental shape. We would also like to extend a thank you to Alexandr Kirsanov for getting us started in our career and helping us achieve all the things we set out to do. To all the other coaches we’ve had the honor to work with throughout our career Ben Agosto, Marie France, and Patrice Lauzon, thank you for taking the time to help shape us into the team we are today. We are able to step away from competition without any regrets knowing we took full advantage of all the opportunities that were given to us.

We will still be involved in the sport through coaching, choreographing, and by serving on various committees. We still have so much more to give to this sport!

Anastasia and Colin