By Kara Defreitas (Junior Team - 2006)
(Mar 2006) This past March, US Figure Skating offered the Colonials Junior Team a great opportunity. Placing second at Nationals qualified us to send two skaters and one coach to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado. We were invited to participate in the US Figure Skating Sports Science and Medicine Camp. Alli Bayko and I, Kara DeFreitas, were selected to represent the junior line; together with Merita we would join Lisa Darken and two Chicago Jazz skaters as the only synchronized skaters in the entire OTC complex. Prior to leaving we had to fill out detailed paperwork and document all our physical activity in a training log. We wanted to represent the Colonials as best as we could, so we both worked hard to improve our stamina, core strength, and flexibility. After two months of preparation, we boarded a plane and set off for Colorado.
Our Olympic Training Center experience began as soon as arrived in Colorado; we met up with all the other skaters at the airport and were picked up by two red, white, and blue Olympic Training Center buses. The group of figure skaters was very diverse; there were athletes from across the country ranging in age from nine to twenty-one. There were four of us synchro skaters among various novice and junior mens, ladies, pairs, and dance competitors. Everyone had placed at nationals; it was neat to meet successful individual figure skaters and compare our experiences, for training as a synchro team is far different than training as a singles skater or pairs team.
Upon arriving at the actual training center, we each received our identification necklaces, complete with our dorm keys and ID numbers that granted us access to the dining hall. Eating in the dining hall was amazing; we stood in line behind swimmers, weight lifters, volleyball players, and many other athletes who lived and trained at the center in preparation from future Olympic Games. Looking around the dining hall we wondered who we would see representing our county on TV during the next Olympics. To be among such prestigious athletes was an amazing feeling; it made us appreciate what being an athlete really meant. We were among future Olympians; the fact that we were included as synchronized figure skaters just shows how far the sport has come; we are being recognized as genuine athletes both in the figure skating and Olympic communities.
Walking down the Olympic Boulevard is an experience I will never forget. The wide strip of concrete is bordered on both sides by statues depicting each Olympic sport, both summer and winter. A description plaque accompanies each figurine, and the famous five circle Olympic symbol stands tall at the end of the boulevard. Alli and I spent a good hour walking the boulevard, taking in all the sights and posing with various displays.
Everything at the Olympic Training Center had Team USA spirit; the gas station had USA posted above its awning, the buses had USA painted across their bumpers, and USA Olympic flags swayed in the Colorado mountain breeze. These three powerful letters, “USA” stood engraved over the five-ring Olympic symbol, an emblem of hope and inspiration to all the athletes who give up their lives to train for our country. The American spirit was contagious; being at the Olympic Training Center inspired all of us to push ourselves farther than we ever had before. We realized that being successful is all about recognizing your own potential and then taking action to achieve all that you are capable of. Our experiences at the Olympic Training Center inspired us to work harder than ever before this coming season, because we realized that success is not a measure of luck; it is a measure of hard work, dedication, determination, and the belief that anything is possible. This is a lesson we hope everyone at Colonial can take to heart; we are all dedicated athletes, and if we strive to fulfill our potential, we will find personal success.
