January 27

Today we arrived in Prague, Czech Republic, to begin our extravagant trip. After an exhausting day of traveling across the Atlantic Ocean, we decided to go shopping in an effort to adjust to the time change.

Later on, we stepped onto the ice to warm up and get our legs moving again. Over a period of an hour, we ran through sections of our short and long program. Surprisingly, the long flight did not have an effect on our skating skills. It was somewhat of a laid-back practice, which did not include lifts that are involved in the long program, to ensure the safety and comfort of the skaters. Our practice came to a close with the reassurance of each element. The coaches, Holly Teets and Ann Barr (with coach Shannon Peterson in spirit), along with the skaters were very pleased with how well practice went.

To continue our day, we went back to the hotel and indulged in some pizza, which was served in the restaurant beneath the hotel. The first day in Prague came to a finish, and the skaters returned to their hotel room for a long-awaited sleep. 

January 28

The skaters woke up, with the sun shining through the window, to begin another eventful day in Prague. We all gathered in the hotel dining room to eat a typical European breakfast, followed by departing to HASA—the practice rink. This practice, which happens to be our last unofficial, lasted a duration of 90 minutes. Holly requested a more rigorous practice in order to achieve the goals we have set for this international competition. The skaters worked with much ambition to receive maximum points, which was asked upon by the coach, Shannon Peterson, who was not able to make the trip. The practice ended on a good note, with smiles and confidence on all the skaters faces.

We entered the bus to receive a speech from our team leader and doctor, who proceeded to give us information about the requirements for the Prague Cup. From there, we headed back to the hotel to eat lunch and re-energize. Afterward, we went back into the city to explore more of the beautiful old town square. This included buying souvenirs and taking pictures by the historical statues and buildings. One monument which we greatly enjoyed was the “Praha Orloj,” or for us English speakers, the Prague Astronomical Clock. We witnessed cuckoo come out from the clock – a of plethora figurines circling once around on a small track and returning into its home.

Once again, we departed and went back to the hotel to eat dinner and review our practice on the projector, which was recorded by our team videographer. After watching our programs, we proceeded with off-ice practice, where we went through our short and long program once. During this, three of our teammates — our team captains, Katilyn Peterson and Laura Friedman, along with team member Abby Tomba — were at the draw. When they returned we found out we were skating sixth, which happens to be last in the flight. We were very excited with the news we received.

We then gathered in the lobby with the Skyliners, who are here to represent the USA in the junior division. Justin Dillon, our team leader, began to inform us how to express our team spirit and reminded us what an honor it is to represent the United States of America. After he finished his speech, we all headed off to bed to end, once again, another long and wonderful day.

January 29

A relaxing Friday morning started with us sleeping in until 9. We felt refreshed from a good night's sleep as we walked down the stairs to start our busy day.

After another typical European breakfast we headed to Tesla, the competition rink, for the first time. The rink is very close, so the walk was not too tiring. When we entered the rink, we started warming up, which included stretching and our team dance. After that, we entered the locker room and then stepped on the ice for our short program official practice. The ice was a little rough from previous teams skating on it; however. we managed to keep it together and had an overall successful skate.

We walked back to the hotel for lunch, which was followed by cake since our captain, Laura Friedman, was celebrating her 23rd birthday. With our competition later in the day, the coaches allowed us to have down time. Most skaters took advantage of this and used it to get some sleep.

At around 5:30 we all headed down, one by one, to get our make-up done by a few of the skaters. When everyone was finished, we were informed that we were going to watch the Skyliners perform their short program. We were very excited to cheer for our country. When we arrived in the rink, we gathered in the bleachers to await their skate. As they stepped onto the ice, their light blue dress sparkled in the light. They did absolutely amazing, looking very relaxed as they skated through their Les Miserables program with ease.

After they finished, we left the bleachers, warmed up, entered the locker room and before we knew it, we were standing in line waiting to step onto the ice. Our short program, which is to "Love Me or Leave Me" by Sammy Davis Jr., ended with the crowd on its feet. We received our scores and were currently in first place. We were thrilled with our placement as we headed back to the locker room to finish our day.

With a smile on our faces, we joined the Skyliners for a delicious dinner, followed by a group picture of all the U.S. competitors. After an eventful day, we settled down to prepare for the challenges of the free skate.

January 30

Today was our final full day in Prague, which happened to be the best day yet. The skaters woke up bright and early and started off the day with breakfast.

Following this, we met in the lobby and headed to the rink for our free skate practice. The practice went very well, although we were a little messy in some elements. Our coaches, however, were very pleased.

We headed back to the hotel for our last European lunch. Our coach, Holly Teets, requested off-ice so we could watch our official practice. From this, we were able to see the elements that needed work and discuss how to get the element called. This was followed by rest time, which the skaters greatly appreciated.

Around 2, we individually went down to the rooms of the captains, Laura Friedman and Katilyn Peterson, to get our make-up done. We also had to get the flowers in our hair so we could get the "look" needed for our program, "Malegueña." Once all of us had the look of a flamenco dancer, our job was to act it out on the ice. We flaunted our pink, black and red skirts while we walked confidently to the rink.

Awaiting us were the Skyliners, who were ready to take the ice in their stunning pink dresses. We chanted our "USA" cheer at the top of our lungs as they performed a nearly flawless free skate. They ended up in first place by a wide margin -- 24 points.

With such great inspiration from the junior teams, we set out to follow in their golden footsteps. We counted and counted again until the six-count music was ingrained in our heads. The image of the U.S. flag being raised in our honor flowed through our heads as we ran through our normal warm-up routine. Our final assurance came when we spoke to our coach, Shannon Peterson, on the phone, giving us those last words of wisdom from Iowa.

We were definitely pumped (although still FREEZING) as we took the ice. The performance was not perfect; however, we still managed to take home the gold by a solid 12 points. Ecstatic, we waited behind the stands and took a ton of pictures in anticipation of the ceremony. They finally announced the Crystallettes, Team USA, and we stepped onto the ice with dignity and gratitude. We were awarded our gold medals and beautiful trophy while our country's national anthem played.

It was one of the most memorable and emotional moments of our careers; we couldn't be more proud to be on Team USA.