Quick thinking gets Hughes dressed in time

Talk about a costume disaster.

Twenty minutes before she was due on the ice for warm-ups at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday, Emily Hughes realized she’d forgotten her skating dress back in the hotel. These dresses are painstakingly chosen months in advance, so it’s not as if she had a spare one stuffed in her bag.

“I would have had to go out in my (workout) pants and a top,” she said. “And surprised everyone.”

Hughes and coach Bonni Retzkin had carefully planned out their afternoon, leaving themselves 50 minutes to travel the mile from the hotel to the arena. They made it in plenty of time, and spent the next half-hour relaxing backstage.

When it came time for Hughes to get dressed, Retzkin asked if she had her dress on.

Hughes said no.

Retzkin then asked if it was in Hughes’ bag.

Again, Hughes said no.

“I was so focused on skating, I forgot about the dress,” she said. “I ran in a little circle and she’s laughing at me.”

Retzkin’s first thought was to call Hughes’ father, John. Instead, she sprinted for one of the skater shuttles and asked the driver to get her back to the hotel as fast as possible.

When she got to Hughes’ room, Retzkin found the raspberry dress with gold beading immediately.

“It was hanging up in the closet,” Hughes said. “Right where I left it.”

Retzkin hustled back to the arena, and Hughes was able to get dressed with about five minutes to spare.

Asked if the drama threw her off, Hughes laughed.

“No, I had the best warm-up of my life,” she said.

Hughes finished second to world champion Kimmie Meissner, missing out on the national title after falling on a triple flip.

Despite the drama, it was a pretty good weekend for Hughes, who turned 18 on Friday.

“This is a really, really good birthday present that I gave myself,” she said. “Yesterday was a lot of fun. I knew I couldn’t celebrate too much. Today will be the celebration, I guess.”

World team

Meissner and Hughes earned a trip back to the world championships.

The two were named to the world team along with Alissa Czisny, who finished third at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships on Saturday. Worlds are March 19-25 in Tokyo.

Meissner is the reigning world champion, but she knows she’ll face stiff competition from Japanese stars Miki Ando and Mao Asada. Ando beat Meissner at Skate America earlier this season, and Asada was second at the Grand Prix final.

“Considering it’s in Japan, I don’t think I’m going to be the favorite there,” Meissner said. “That’s why I’m going to train really hard and get the program to the best it can be so when I go there, I can really surprise people.”

Bebe Liang, Danielle Kahle and Juliana Cannarozzo were named alternates for the world team.

Junior champ Mirai Nagasu and Caroline Zhang, who won the junior Grand Prix final, headline the team for the junior world championships, Feb. 26-March 4 in Obertsdorf, Germany. Ashley Wagner also made the team.

Going home

The world championships won’t be the typical road trip for pairs skater Rena Inoue.

Inoue was born and raised in Japan, and this year’s worlds are in Tokyo in March.

“It’s going to be really special,” she said. “It’s going to be a great opportunity for my family and friends to see our competitions.”

Inoue skated for Japan at the 1992 and ‘94 Olympics, then moved to the United States in 1996 to train. In 1999, she did a pairs tryout with John Baldwin at the urging of his father. The two clicked, and have been together since.

Inoue and Baldwin have won two national titles, and they represented the United States at the Turin Olympics last year.

Though they finished second in pairs Friday at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, it earned them a spot on the world team – and a trip back home for Inoue.