CdA pairs skaters withdraw
ST. CHARLES, Mo. – After preparing for the big event for nearly a year, Kalie Budvarson and Chris Anders of Coeur d’Alene never played out this scenario in their minds: Anders fractured a bone in two places and tore ligaments in his right thumb, forcing the pair to withdraw from the State Farm U.S. Figure Skating Championships.
“We worked so hard for this,” said Anders, watching the 11 other novice pairs perform their free skate programs Monday afternoon at Family Arena, his arm set in a cheery blue elbow-length cast, “We were hoping to place higher than last year.”
The injury happened early during Sunday’s short program when Anders caught an airborne Budvarson during a split twist and jammed his thumb. He told Budvarson, coach Karin Kunzle-Watson and his family about his bum thumb, but later admitted he didn’t tell them how badly it hurt.
“He doesn’t say things like that. He doesn’t want to freak me and his partner out,” said Kunzle-Watson, who has been with the pair for three years.
The decision to pull out was made Monday morning after Anders returned to the rink from Barnes-Jewish St. Peter’s Hospital.
“I cried hysterically,” said Budvarson, who managed to put on a happy face when greeting fellow skaters and a small Spokane contingent, her hair and makeup done to perfection for her original agenda of wowing the judges.
Anders first was treated by the U.S. Figure Skating medical staff Sunday and iced his hand throughout the night.
“I’ve popped my thumb before and didn’t think too much about it and it got better. But this time it wasn’t getting better,” said Anders, evident during Monday’s 7:15 a.m. practice when he couldn’t grip Budvarson.
The untimely injury punctuated months already filled with setbacks and angst. After last year’s national championships, Budvarson was sidelined with nagging injuries and Anders had his only pair of skates stolen. Furthermore, their home rink, Planet Ice in the Spokane Valley, is set to close at the end of March.
“The decision not to skate was so difficult,” said Kunzle-Watson, a nine-time Swiss national pairs champion and Olympic skater. “Deep down, they don’t know if this is their last competition, period, their last nationals, period, or whether they will stake at the junior or senior level.”
For a time Monday, it appeared they might be able to pull off skating their long program. Anders said his injury was originally diagnosed as a sprain.
USFSA medical staffers fitted Anders with a removable cast after the morning practice, but said he needed further examination and X-rays at the hospital. Dr. Christine Lawless, USFSA medical director said in cases like his, surgery is required in order to reattach the ligament to the bone.
Anders plans to see a Spokane hand specialist when he returns home.
“I’m not surprised (he felt OK at first),” Lawless said. “Initially, that’s how most injuries are. The athlete comes off the ice, the adrenaline is pumping, it dulls the pain and allows them to move it.”
If Budvarson and Anders had decided to skate, the cast would have needed to be removed. The ultimate decision whether to skate, however, would have been made by the governing body.
“The risk outweighed the benefit,” Anders said. “And Kalie could have gotten hurt.”
Added Budvarson: “And we’d rather withdraw than get last place.”
The pair was in 11th out of 12 places entering Monday’s free skate. At the 2005 nationals, it finished 11th. Novice newcomers Jessica Rose Paetsch and Jon Nuss of Colorado Springs, Colo., captured first, holding the position after the short program. Trevor Young, a fifth-place finisher in 2005, and his new partner, Andrea Best, both from Detroit, held onto second.
Despite the ups and downs, Budvarson and Anders emphatically insist they are going forward with their careers. Budvarson mentioned possibly training in Colorado Springs, but everything is in the air until Planet Ice’s future is determined. Until Anders heals, the pair plans on practicing footwork and elements that don’t require lifting.
“We’ll be in Spokane,” Budvarson said, referring to next year’s U.S. championships.