August 5, 2016 at 1:36 p.m.
Peitsch places at ISI figure skating event
Peitsch places at ISI figure skating event
Peitsch traveled to Blaine, Minn. last week to compete in the Ice Skating Institute's (ISI) World Recreational Team Championships. Though Peitsch didn't crack the top three in any event, she said the experience was great nonetheless.
"It was nothing I ever done before. It was so cool," she said.
Peitsch competed in four events in the Freestyle 4 category, beginning with a sixth-place finish in her long program. She took fifth in the artistic program, sixth in the light entertainment program and fourth in the theme spotlight program.
"It was probably the best I've ever skated it, considering the coach who put me on," she said, discussing her long program. "My coach couldn't be there the first two days, so I had my friend Peter (Biver) put me on. It's just nice having someone put you on the ice. I did that program and it went really well, but I took sixth. I wasn't too surprised because I've never skated it super strong, but I felt like that time it was the best (I've done)."
Prior to the competition, Peitsch said she was not a fan of the theme for the spotlight program - the 1970s - or the music that accompanied it. Ironically, it's where she scored her best finish.
"I'd been dreading it all week because it was my least favorite (program)," she said. "I don't care for it, but I got out there and I went through the warmup. Then the music started playing and I just totally got into it. It was the last day of competing so, even though every time I compete I give it my all, I just really drove that one and gave it everything. It was the last time the judges were going to see me perform. I think that's why I placed as well as I did."
Peitsch, skating in her first ISI competition, said she could have potentially placed higher in the artistic program, if not for a misinterpretation of the rules.
"The one thing we didn't realize would be as big of a deal as it was were props," she explained. "It said in the booklet props were encouraged. It never said they were mandatory, but everybody else had props. We were talking to my coaches and they said that next year, we should definitely be bringing props."
Aside from the competition, Peitsch said two things stood out about the week - the emphasis on the artistic side of skating and the camaraderie among competitors.
"Even though I competed against everyone in my locker room at some point, everyone was so kind and so supportive," she said. "With ISI you can just kind of take a step back and breath and actually have fun with your programs and not be super hyper-focused. You want to have focus on having more fun with the program rather than all of the technical aspects."
She said, the entertainment side of the sport was on full display during a benefit show toward the end of the week.
"These two girls dressed up like mixing beaters and skated to 'Beat It' by Michael Jackson," Peitsch said. "It was so cool. It definitely gave me an idea, because I had never seen an ISI competition before, but it just really showed me what ISI is looking for in the theme numbers and the light entertainment. I'm definitely set for next year."
The show, which supported the ISIA Education Foundation, was headlined by Olympic medalist Gracie Gold and her twin sister, Carly. Peitsch said the siblings helped her learn a jump during a clinic earlier in the week.
The competition will not be the end of Peitsch's ISI career. Her finishes last week in theme spotlight and artistic entertainment qualified her for next year's World Recreational Team Championships, which will be held in Anaheim, Calif., as well as the ISI Conference Championships next May in Blaine.
"We're going to be doing lots and lots of fundraising for that," Peitsch quipped.
Jeremy Mayo may be reached at [email protected].
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