U.S. Championships

Mike wins Silver at US Championships

January 10, 2004

Michael Weiss, the defending U.S. National Champion, gave a valiant effort to win his fourth national championship in Atlanta Saturday night, but fell just short.

Michael was fourth after the short program and had to win the free skate and hope for a little help from other skaters to win. He delivered a superb program that was flawless. "I just couldn't overcome the missed triple axel in the short program," Michael said.

Michael will be on the World team when it competes in Germany in March.

"It's been a difficult couple of months with having the flu and then walking pneumonia. I skated two good programs here and I really am happy with my program tonight," Michael said.

Michael said he did everything within his control. He decided to forsake a quad in the program to focus on producing a clean skate. "It didn't feel right in the warmup so I decided to go for the clean program," Michael said.

Michael landed nine triple jumps, three in combination, and by far delivered a technically difficult program.

"When you're in the position I was in, I'm just trying to control what I can control. Being in fourth is not a position I like to be in. Again this year the competition shows the US team is strong. I am proud how we skated."

Every male skater in the final group got a standing ovation

"I'm happy the way the long program went," Michael said. "It was a clean program and it felt right to me."

Michael said he was happy to do well at Nationals and make the World team. "I wanted to get by Nationals and work on Worlds."

Mike in fourth after short program

January 8, 2004

Defending National Champion Michael Weiss is in fourth place after the short program at the US Nationals at Atlanta. He has a shot a defending his title. The free skate, worth two-thirds of the final score, is Saturday.

Michael and coach Don Laws had worked on correcting a flaw in the triple Axel earlier in the day and had actually fixed it.

"I just mixed the triple Axel," Michael said matter of factly. "It's the only jump in the program I missed. Don told me what to do to fix it and I when I took off I knew it was off. Welcome to sports. You win some and you lose some. Some who skate well do and some who do didn't came through tonight.

But before going out to perform his short program, Michael decided to add a quad toeloop in combination. He barely missed the quad when he just scraped the ice with his free foot but completed the triple toe loop in combination. "We discussed putting in the quad backstage and finally we decided to do it.," Law said. "This (Thursday) morning at practice he did one of the most beautiful quad toeloops he's ever done."

His triple Lutz was huge and his footwork was spectacular Thursday night, some of the best of the evening. Skating to "Henry V," he truly looked like a king defending his territory. Laws just shook his head after Michael's program and said: "I think Mike just likes to fight back. It always seems to push him when he's behind. He was fifth in Paris a year ago and won Trophy Lalique. He has what it takes to come back. He needs to skate a good program Saturday and hope everything falls into place."

Michael said he will do the quad Lutz and quad toeloop in his free skate Saturday. He is scheduled to be the only skater to try two quads during the free skate.

TV Schedule

Watch Mike on TV Saturday from 4-6 p.m. and 8-11 p.m. on ABC and Sunday 4-6 p.m. on ABC.

Mike discusses his programs for U.S. Championships

January 7, 2004

I was having dinner with Dan (Hollander), Victor (Kraatz) and Elvis (Stojko) and we were talking about movie themes. I said that I wanted to come up with some ideas with a patriotic theme for my long program.     

We came up with a list of about 15 CDs and I picked up 5-6 from Borders.     

I came up with this selection myself. I did let Lisa and Don (Laws) listen to the cuts. If either of them had disagreed I would have listened to their opinions.     

I liked the CD that had "America The Beautiful" and "Battle Hymn of the Republic". It was a patriotic tribute to all the military families. The Marines, Navy and Army did it. The tracks at the end are a bunch of bugle calls that sounded like they would be a great introduction to my footwork section. But early on I wasn't sure if I would use it.

I sifted through some possibilities. Lisa listened to it and thought it was OK. I gave it to Don (Laws) and then went on vacation to Wilmington, N.C., for a long weekend in June.     

The first section starts with  "Drums of War".  Then comes "When Johnny Comes Marching Home".  "Amazing Grace" is the middle part and then the end is the "Battle Hymn of the Republic".     

I really like "Amazing Grace" for the slow part. It starts on horns and picks up with the orchestra from the back. It is also sentimental for me because my grandmother's name is Grace and that song has always had special meaning in our family.     

The long program is broken down into different musical sections. The first part is where I have the two quads and triple axel. The middle part features the footwork and some other triple jumps including the triple axel. The last piece I try to find some music where I bring it home and get the crowd into it. I usually do what I call decorative triple jumps in this section.     

I decided on the patriotic theme because of the situation the United States is in. We have a heightened sense of patriotism and freedom. I felt this music would be perfect and still have the feel of skating. The people in the South are very patriotic and it should go well in Atlanta.     

This is a time where people should be proud of their country and this is the perfect opportunity to show some patriotism.     

I am skating my short program to "Henry V". I've always loved the music ever since Paul Wylie skated to it in the '92 Olympics. I think it is great for my short program.      I listened to all types "First Night" and the track of "Columbus 1415".     

I settled on "Henry V" because the opening is emotional and powerful. It's a piece of music that is quick and dramatic.     

If my music has a movie theme, I always rent the video and see what is going on and what the story is behind the music.

I always try to picture myself skating to the music I like. If I feel it I will consider using it. I try to wait to get a feel for the music, something I can skate to and interpret. A lot of times if the music drags on, the audience will also feel the program dragging on.     

I like show pieces. I had a certain feeling while skating to "Malaguena". It had a feeling of emotion and inspiration.     

My music selections vary. There is a wide difference between my competitive and show programs. In terms of entertainment, the audience really likes for it to be upbeat. But when you?re doing competitive programs the judges want to see more of the skating and techniques.

Did you know:  Skaters do not have to buy rights to music they use in their programs. The ISU and USFSA write down the CD names, numbers and exact tract and take care of that. If ABC televises the competition it may make it more difficult to get the rights approved to air it.

Cutting the music

Cutting the music is the most tedious but most important     

I will do the rough cut. I want this one minute but twenty seconds later I want something sliced in and then maybe twenty seconds later in the same piece I want that segment to end. When I'm done I have a professional to do the final cut. That?s where I get to be real specific on what beat I want to hit. Usually I will get a couple of CDs and then I can burn extras.     

Usually the first time I get the cut back from the professional it?s not right.

Sometimes it may go back two or three times until I feel like it's perfect. I will make the changes so it matches my skating. I may want to go up in some sections instead of down. It may fade too quietly and I may want it to fade in five seconds instead of ten.     

We will have choreographed stuff and the first level may be too loud. Or the first seconds may be good but I might want it two levels higher.     

I will go through and figure the opening minute and a half and then maybe the final minute and a half. The middle section will make up the difference. If there is one piece I like more, maybe?"Amazing Grace" I will make it maybe two minutes and cut down something else to fit into the four minutes, 39 seconds range. The short program can only be 2:40 but I always max out my music. There is so much to fit into programs now.

In the long program it's hard to get in eight triples and two quads. It's almost impossible to fit in all the elements. The jumps must get in and if the program is 4:20 it's like doing a jump drill. The other time you're filling with moves in the field and footwork. In "Henry V" I had 15-16 minutes of music to cut down to 2:40. I must listen very closely to the entire piece many times and get the best parts to fit into 2:40. It's hard to pick out the best pieces. A lot of times on a tour bus I will just sit with my headphones and fast forwarding and rewinding to music. If listen to a 15 minute track I will write on a piece of paper three minutes or 3:45 and write what I think goes into that spot.