In the Loop

Ryan Jahnke, from MySkatingMall.com, and 2003 World Team Member has been working on a video called, "What's So Great About Figure Skating".

This is a motivational, inspirational, and exciting video.  Ryan worked hard over the last few months filming skaters (some celebrity skaters too!), getting people to submit their own videos, cutting the tape, and promoting this video.

Check out the video here, make a comment on YouTube, and support the figure skating community.

We love figure skating too Ryan!  Keep an eye out for a CherryLoop Video coming soon.

Watch the Video Here "What's So Great About Figure Skating?"

We leave for the Southwest Regional Championships early Wednesday morning.  We can't wait to see all of our favorite up and coming skaters.  Regionals is where it all begins.  What regionals will you be attending this year and where?

I love following the skaters from Regionals, then on to Sectionals, and finally Nationals.  Last year we watched some close friends climb that ladder.  Ashley Cain and Joshua Reagan surprised the field by winning Nationals in Novice Pairs and they are on the Jr. Grand Prix Circuit as we speak.  

Agnes Zawadzki, another friend of the company went on to win the 2010 Junior National Championship.

But it all started at Regionals.  Last year the Southwest Regionals was in Dallas, this year we make the trek back up to Colorado Springs, CO to see all of the skating action.

If you plan on being there please stop by and say hello.  We'd love to see you again and we'll snap some pics at the CherryLoop booth.

For those of you staying home, don't worry...CherryLoop.com will still be shipping out your favorite figure skating merchandise.  Some of the staff must stay home and hold down the fort.  We'll also be shipping stuff directly from our booth at The World Arena.

Thanks again, and we'll see you on the ice!

Travis and Robin

Brianna de la Mora and Taylor Wilson took home the Gold at the United States Junior Figure Skating Championships, in Strongsville OH. They represent the Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club, and are coached by Elena and Val Prudsky.  We’ve been very impressed with them since we first saw them skate at the Houston Fall Invitational over Labor Day in 2009.  At that time, they had only been skating together for 2-3 months.  We saw them skate again at the Southwest Regional Championships in Grapevine, TX. We’re very excited about their future and glad to hear that Taylor is going to stay close to home and go the University of Houston next year.  Brianna is only 10 years old and skating with fire.  We couldn’t be happier for the both of them, and we are certain you’re going to be hearing more from these two!

Mandy Garza and Brandon Frazier brought home the Bronze in Novice pairs at the US Championships in Spokane.  Mandy and Brandon represent the Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club, but train with Dalilah Sappenfield’s group in Colorado Springs.  They rose from 4^th in the short program to 3^rd with an impressive 2^nd place finish in their Free Skate.  Mandy and Brandon have only been skating together for about 8 months, and this was their first Nationals.  I doubt this is the last we’ll be hearing from this pair.  They plan on moving up to Juniors next year and competing in the Junior Grand Prix Circuit.

Please join us in congratulating Brianna, Taylor, Mandy, and Brandon for seeing success after a lot of hard work.

If you know a skater, that you would like to see highlighted in our blog, please let us know by dropping us a line at info@cherryloop.com.  We love this sport and we especially love watching our skaters work hard and see success!

See you on the ice!

Travis and Robin

Congratulations Ashley Cain and Joshua Reagan – Gold Medal at Nationals!

We would like to congratulate Ashley Cain and Joshua Reagan of the Dallas Stars Figure Skating Club for taking the Gold in Novice Pairs at Nationals in Spokane, Washington.  Ashley also grabbed a Silver medal for her solid performance in the Novice Ladies competition.

Ashley and Joshua finished in second after the short program, and then went on to win the free skate and pull into first overall.

Ashley’s week was very full competing in both events, but obviously she handled the pressure, hard work, and lack of sleep very well indeed.

We could not be happier for Ashley and Joshua.  We first met Ashley and her family last year at the Houston Fall Invitational, and then we got to know them better at the Southwestern Regional Championships in Grapevine, Texas.  We will be watching with great interest as her skating career continues to blossom.

For more information, interviews, and quotes from the skaters themselves read the ongoing coverage at Ice Network.  Here are some articles relating Ashley and Joshua at Nationals:

Cain, Reagan take novice pairs title

Aliso Viejo and Colorado Springs teams also medal

 

Cain edges Kulgeyko in novice ladies short

Coaching a family affair for Texans

Keiser jumps her way to novice title

Cain picks up second medal of Championships

Ashley Cain with Gold Medal – CherryLoop booth at the Southwest Regional Championships, Grapevine, Texas

We are proud to announce that CherryLoop.com has recently partnered with the MySkatingMall.com.  You will soon be able to buy and sell gently used figure skating items directly from the online mall.  Imagine an eBay or Amazon type store just for figure skaters.  Not only is this a much needed service, but MySkatingMall is taking the idea one step further.  5% of every purchase made at the mall will be donated to the skaters club of choice!  This serves and supports the entire skating community.  Your club makes money from your purchases, you save money by buying gently used items at a discounted rate, you can sell items that otherwise would have sat in your closet.

Ryan Jahnke, 2003 World Team Member and PSA Master Rated Coach, is the founder of MySkatingMall.

I’ve spoken with Ryan several times over the last few months regarding the MySkatingMall.com and CherryLoop.com partnership.  He is extraordinarily passionate about skating, serving the community, and helping every skater have the opportunity to succeed. He has been intimately tied to the figure skating community for more than 24 years, so he knows the obstacles that must be overcome in order to succeed in this sport.  We are proud to assist Ryan in this pursuit, and look forward a successful partnership.

Some you may know that CherryLoop.com was actually considering a similar idea during the infancy of our business.  Before we decided to launch CherryLoop.com, one of our ideas was to have an auction site just for figure skaters.  Obviously, we chose to open an online retail store offering the most fashionable and functional figure skating apparel, equipment, and accessories instead.  We also considered opening up our forum for our customers to have a “Craig’s List” way of offering your old skates, dresses, and equipment for sale to other customers.  Weeks before we were going to open it up, we received a call from Ryan regarding forming a partnership.  We thought it was a wonderful idea, and we are happy to offer our customers a way of buying and selling gently used figure skating items, while at the same time donating a portion of the proceeds to the clubs of the skater’s choice.

If anyone has any questions regarding MySkatingMall.com, feel free to contact us and we’ll keep you updated on everything that we hear.  We’ll also inform you of the official launch date when that becomes available.  You can also learn more at the MySkatingMall.com website:  http://www.myskatingmall.com.