About Us

KIDS' QUESTIONS

June/July 2010

U.S. champion and Olympian Rachael Flatt has taken her final exams at Cheyenne Mountain High School in Colorado Springs, Colo., and now is looking ahead to another exciting skating season. She's also anxiously anticipating her freshman year in college, which will occur in the fall of 2011 at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif. Flatt took time out of her busy schedule to answer some questions from her biggest fans.

What are your favorite memories from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games?
Kate Manzagol, 17
Rochester, Mich.

I was happy with my experiences at the Olympics. I had worked harder than I had ever worked before and I had the performances I hoped I would have. I have several memories from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games that stand out in my mind. The first memory is from the six-minute warm-up for my programs. The roar of the crowd was deafening and exhilarating! You could feel the energy in the building. I don't think I have ever felt something like that before. My second favorite memory is when I finished skating my long program. I was happy with how I had performed and also relieved.

Rachael Flatt (Photo by Yuri Kabodnov/AFP/Getty Images)

How do you plan to handle both competitive figure skating and intense studies at Stanford? What rink will you be training at for the Sochi Games?
Sarah Bui, 14
Cerritos, Calif.

I think I will handle skating/training/competing and school at Stanford pretty much the same way I always have - one day at a time, setting goals as needed, prioritizing my work on and off the ice as needed. I have always been efficient with my time and if necessary, I will take a lighter course workload when required. But I really don't expect things to change all that much, and that is due to the workload I carried my last two years in high school. My junior year, I took seven classes, with three of those being AP classes, and in my senior year, I took four AP classes and a work study class. I am excited about taking a gap year and focusing on my skating, but I am also extremely excited about beginning my college classwork in the autumn of 2011 at Stanford, and I will most likely focus on engineering. There are many rinks in the Bay Area and I am looking forward to finding a training schedule at the local rinks that works into my class schedule.

When did you land your first Axel? Double Axel? Triple jump?
Laleh Omaraie, 14
Buffalo Grove, Ill.

I landed my first single Axel when I was 7 years old; my double Axel when I was 10 years old, and it took about one year to land the double Axel completely clean and rotated. I landed my triple Salchow when I was 11 years old, and I had all my triples by the time I was 13.

What do you like to do in your free time?
Emmanuel Savary, 12
Newark, Del.

I love to play tennis, read, ski, go the movies with friends, play mini/putt-putt golf, hang out and go hiking with our dogs, Fred and Ethel. I love to spend time with my family as I have had a pretty busy schedule the last two years and I do enjoy hanging out with my family. We have marathon board game nights during the holidays. Our Monopoly games can go for days. When we go back to Del Mar, Calif., I love to spend time at the beach. I can't get enough of the sand, sun and surf.

What do your dogs, Fred and Ethel, do when you're at the rink? Do they ever come with you?
KT Fiore, 10
Lake Forest, Ill.

Our first Old English Sheepdog, Lucy, used to come to the rink with us. We used to drive from Boulder, Colo., to Colorado Springs, Colo., several times a week for skating and it was about a 230-mile round trip. When Lucy was a puppy (and quite small), my mom used to wrap her up in a blanket and carry her into the rink. Several people thought she was a stuffed animal as she would usually sleep the entire time we were there. Now that I live in Colorado Springs and the commute to the rink is less than 15 minutes, Fred and Ethel hang out at home or go to the dog park with my parents. If my mom is driving me to the rink, the dogs love to go on a "car ride" to the rink if my mom needs to drop me off that day.

How do you balance your studies at school with your hard training for skating? How much time do you typically put into both each week?
Lili Malone, 15
Lincolnshire, Ill.

I would have to say that the key to the balance I have found in school and skating has a lot to do with time management and staying organized. I know that I have a limited amount of time each day to devote to my on-ice work as well as my off-ice work. So, I don't waste time. "Carpe Diem!" There is a lot to be said for that phrase. Make the most of each minute count. Quality does matter. I know that there are days when I may struggle with something in school, and if that is the case, then I try not to be shy about asking questions. I get help if I don't understand something. The same has held true for skating. I work on my elements, programs, etc. each day as it is the little steps along the way that have led me to achieve the daily, weekly, monthly goals that eventually lead to the big goals.

Rachael Flatt (Photo by Tom Kimmel)

I am having a lot of trouble landing my Axel. I always fall backward because I push my skates forward. Can you help me?
Zoe Geller, 10
Jacksonville, Fla.

I have a couple suggestions. First, make sure your landing leg bends at the knee. Stay soft in the knee, rather than keeping a straight leg. Second, you might want to compare your jump to someone else who can land their Axel consistently and with quality. Video analysis is a great tool for this.

What are your goals for the next skating season?
Julie Madoff, 13
Sacramento, Calif.

I have several goals for the upcoming season. Most importantly, I want to keep improving and growing as a skater. Specifically, I want to improve my speed, achieve a more refined style and presence on the ice, and work on my carriage/posture. I incurred a back injury four years ago, and now that I have a little time because I'm not starting school until the autumn of 2011, I will have more time to work on getting my back healthy, and hopefully regaining some flexibility through site specific-therapy and training.

What has been your favorite place to compete and why?
Coleen Decker, 17
Detroit, Mich.

My two favorite locations to date for competition have been Vienna, Austria, and Tokyo, Japan. The fans in both locations are incredibly supportive. I went to Vienna for one of my Junior Grand Prixs and fell in love with the culture, the food and the architecture. I have been to Japan several times and each time I go back, I find something new to appreciate about the culture and people.

What was your favorite high school experience outside of skating?
Nicole Reid, 15
Houston, Texas

I suspect graduation is going to be memorable (I will have graduated by the time this is in print). I loved my AP Chemistry teacher. She had great labs, brought in batches of homemade chocolate chip cookies when someone aced a test in her class (I had my fair share of those days); the two school assemblies that were held in my honor: the first when I won the U.S. title back in January, and the second as a send-off to the Olympics. Prom was great; National Honor Society Christmas tree sale at the high school parking lot in a snowstorm (good story value but freezing cold!); Senior Night at Kiva, which is the night the juniors host a dinner for the graduating seniors with stories, photos, more stories, slide shows and more funny stories. I had to give a speech at Kiva on behalf of the graduating seniors and I could hardly stop laughing. It was such a fun night.