Local pair stumbles on first day at Nationals

Old scoring system or new scoring system, a botched move, leading into a fall, is never a good thing in figure skating.

Coeur d’Alene novice pair Kalie Budvarson and Chris Anders were victims of such misfortune Sunday when Budvarson stumbled well into their inspiring short program at the 2006 State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships at St. Charles, Mo. The pair, competing at the Family Arena, the secondary venue, 26 miles west of downtown St. Louis, finds themselves in 11th out of 12 places entering this afternoon’s free skate.

Budvarson’s miscue cost the pair three points by each judge for falling and another point for poor footwork. Under the former 6.0 judging scale, a fall was costly, but not to such extremes.

“I caught my toe pick and fell,” said Budvarson, 19.

Added 20-year-old Anders, her partner of three years: “Everything else besides that felt really good.”

Moments before the 2 1/2 -minute “Cirque de Soleil” program ended, Budvarson stumbled.

“I was really more nervous saying ‘Don’t fall again, don’t fall again,’ and just have fun.” Budvarson said. “And then I tripped again.”

The pair scored 32.21 points for their effort, 15.90 for technical element such as jumps, spins and footwork and 17.31 for program components, such as choreography and transitions.

“Footwork is not usually something that’s a high challenge,” coach Karin Kunzle-Watson said. “It was really just unfortunate she slipped there and got a little shaky. She got up real quick, but a fall is a fall.”

Budvarson and Anders sit well behind leaders Jessica Rose Paetsch and Jon Nuss. The Colorado Springs, Colo., skaters have 44.43 points, which give them a razor-thin lead over Andrea Best and Trevor Young of Detroit, who compiled 44.25 points in their short program.

The 11th-place standing is the same position Budvarson and Anders found themselves in after last year’s short program at Nationals in Portland. They also drew the first spot in today’s free skate, the position they were in last year as they finished 11th overall.

“Under the new system, a fall is devastating,” Kunzle-Watson said. “There’s a lot they can make up, but they have to go out there and be strong and skate their little hearts out.”