Wednesday, June 20, 2007 It's been a LONG morning. Jordan woke up at 4:15 am to skate at 5:30 then compete at 8:00. she is taking a nap right now then skating later this afternoon. Her dress is absolutely amazing on the ice. We have received many compliments!!! She still didn't skate that well. Many of her jumps were changed to accomodate the pain in her knee. She caught an edge on her axel and only completed 2 double combinations instead of three. However, she looked mature and had great spins. She took 1st place and now will skate in the World Arena for the final round. This is a big step for her. the World Arena is a miniature version of the Delta Center with made ice for events. Tomorrow she competes in a higher level to test the waters. It's called a short program...

Thursday, June 21, 2007 Today felt like the longest day for both Jordan and I. It started out with another 4:15 morning. She practiced in the big arena and she was very slow. The ice is much softer. She competed today in the Intermediate Short Program which is a level higher for her. She was the only Juvenile in the group of 14 skaters. Jordan popped her double lutz which is a big no-no. She placed 7th but afterwards the judges gave her a positive critique. Jordan started to loose her drive that morning and Lisa and I really had to pull some emotion out of her. We basically told her, she needed to prove to us that she wants to be here to compete. She had her next practice to prove to us she will work harder and fight through the rough moments of skating (early practice, knee pain...) Prove to us she did...It was her best practice in weeks. We are going to bed early tonight and her practice is at 8:00 am tomorrow! She doesn't compete tomorrow but will save her energy for the final round on Saturday...

Saturday, June 23, 2007 Jordan placed 1st in the final rounds. It was one of the most memorable experiences for Jordan and I. We started the morning early (4:45 am). Her practice was OK. She was the 14th skater out of 15. The first half of the week she competed with 45 skaters to make final rounds. The final round was using the new judging system and skating in the World Arena. Televisions are located around the arena televising the event. The tele prompter is located in the middle of the arena listing the scores. The announcer is just as professional as Jason and the sound system is incredible. The arena sits 8500 people in the most comfortable cushion seats. The ice is made for the event with all the walls draped in black fabric. The camera has the red light on as you skate and the line of computers and judges are on one side of the rink. It is very intimidating to skate the first time in the World Arena. After each skater the scores are posted on the tele prompter. Skating 14th is not a great position but she stayed focused and wouldn't hear or watch any of the skaters. She stayed in the dressing room and her coach kept her busy and relaxed. By the time she was ready to skate I knew she had an opportunity to place well. Her 5 minute warm up was nice. We were sitting in the first three rows and I thought it might make her nervous but I didn't move. We had a great crowd of supporters and friends watching. She started her program with making her double loop a single...not a good start and I was afraid this wasn't going to be a good skate. Her next jump was a double lutz, double toe combination. She was struggling with this jump through out the week. She popped it earlier and since the ice was softer I figured we would see a repeat. Jordan fought hard and landed the jump. Remember Jordan hasn't seen any of the other skaters or their scores. She didn't realize she really had a chance. The next jump was double flip, double toe and it was positioned right in front of us. Now this was one of those "Mom" moments I will never forget. She landed the double flip, double toe went into her beautiful beilmann spin and with some pretty arm movement, took a deep breath, looked right at us and smiled like I have never seen. She looked right at me. Her smile told me she was taking this all the way, the look in her eyes told me how much she loves the ice. It was a rare, pure moment that I will never forget. She gave us chills. She continued her program landing all her jumps. It was a long delay for the results. I watched Jordan as she heard her score. It was a load roar as they announced "Jordan King is currently in 1st place." I am proud she placed first but more grateful I had that moment to experience as she looked at me while skating.