continued...

What is it like to compete professionally at this age?  Which aspects are harder, and which are easier than they were 10-15 years ago?

William: Competing at 40 in a figure-skating competition is more of a personal challenge than it was when I was competing in the standard qualifying competitions for elite skaters who are aiming for the Olympics. For me, it's more about what I can still do without causing serious injuries to myself, rather than winning an event so that I can qualify to compete further. Winning truly is secondary. I also feel that I am having much more fun with the sport than I did when I was a younger, more serious competitor. Even though the same pre-competition nerves - that went dormant for more than 16 years - have found a way to resurface, I find that my life experiences have made it easier to put them in perspective, which makes them less of an obstacle. As far as the actual skating part goes, the only physical limitation I have is my ability to do multi-revolutionary jumps. They were never my strong point anyway, and because of the difficulty in executing them and the risk of injury they present, I have mental blocks about them and I feel unwilling to attempt the most difficult ones. What is great about pair skating is that there are so many qualities other than jumping that I can focus on and still be competitive at the adult level.

Do you have any advice for aspiring skaters?

Choeleen: Dream big, set goals, stay focused on what you have control of to attain your goals, and make every training session count. Most of all, enjoy the process and the performances. It isn't always easy, but finding the fun in pushing yourself to your limits each day will make all the difference!

Is the experience of pair skating significantly different from single skating? Do you do any special training or worry about any particular injuries in pair skating?

William: Pair skating is considerably different from single skating in many ways. In pair skating, you not only have to perform the same jumps and spins that a single skater has to perform, but you have to sync them with another person. This can take a pair team years to master, and there are even Olympic-level pair teams who never seem to be able to do it consistently. I have been a pair skater since I was a kid, so I developed the awareness of having somebody skating next to me at an early age. My partner, Choeleen, had never pair skated until we started working together in the fall of '06. She had to learn to be in the right place and to trust that we weren't going to hit, kick or crash into each other.

Of course, in pair skating, the only way to learn your boundaries is to actually hit, kick and crash into your partner at times - not deliberately of course, but it happens. I like to tease her by telling her that I have a scar somewhere on my body that corresponds to every one of our tricks ... and I'm only partly kidding. The other elements of pair skating are lifts, throws, death spirals and pair spins - all of which require strength and body awareness by both skaters, and both have the responsibility of committing to their part or both could get injured. Pair skating can be made to look easy, and it actually is once both skaters reach the point where they are working as one, but a lot of repetitive practice is required to reach this level. I don't think most people realize how hard pair skating is on the body unless you are the one doing it.

The repetitive practice of lifting on one side of your body, throwing your partner's body weight from the same side of your body in the same direction over and over, being spun around from your shoulder, or landing on one foot after being thrown three feet in the air - all of these things cause your body to become out of alignment and unbalanced over time. In addition to chiropractic care, I have found yoga to be an important part of my overall fitness and injury-prevention strategy.

With the 2007 U.S. Adult Championships behind you, what do you hope to accomplish next?

William: As of right now, the U.S. Adult Championships is the largest adult skating competition happening. There are several others throughout the year in other parts of the country and world, but because of the balance I am trying to keep with skating and the rest of my life, I would like to stay home and continue to practice, make improvements and compete in the U.S. Adult Figure Skating Championships again in 2008 - hopefully with an even stronger appearance than we had in 2007.