2008 Qualifying Regionals Press Release

FRANCHESCA CHIERA RETURNS HOME FROM 2008 QUALIFYING REGIONALS
Coral Springs Olympic Hopeful Competed in Qualifying Event

October 23, 2007 - (Coral Springs, FL) - Florida Gold Coast Figure Skating Club member, Franchesca Chiera, performed in York, Pennsylvania on October 14th - 20th in the 2008 South Atlantic Regional Qualifying Competition. The 2008 South Atlantic Regional Qualifying Competition is a qualifying event sanctioned by the United States Figure Skating Association. Ten-year-old Franchesca passed the Juvenile Free Skate test in August, enabling her to compete at a qualifying level.

Unfortunately, Franchesca was out of school the prior week with a bad bout of the flu and lost a lot of strength. Coach Victor Lomakin considered pulling her from the event, but Franchesca insisted on performing. Her double-axel was replaced with a single axel and her strongest element, combination spins, was not up to her usual standard. She finished 14^th in her flight of 17 skaters; thus, she did not advance to the next round. However, her determination to perform impressed the skating community in York.

Franchesca skated to 'Wizards of Winter' by the Trans Siberian Orchestra. Her performance included a double-Lutz, an axel jump, double flip/double toe combination, double loop, double Lutz/double loop combination, and a variety of spin combinations.

The recently completed 2007 skating season saw Franchesca place eleventh in a field of 15 (Juvenile Free Skate program) at the 2007 Liberty Summer Figure Skating Competition; fourth at State Games of Florida (Juvenile Short program); 2^nd at the Florida Open (Juvenile Short program); and, 3^rd at the South Florida Challenge (Juvenile Short program). She also took 2^nd place in the Pre-Juvenile Free Skate program and 1^st place in the Pre-Juvenile Compulsories at the 2007 State Games of America held in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The second place finish qualified Chiera for a return performance in 2009 for the bi-annual event.

Franchesca is a South Florida resident and trains at Glacier Ice & Snow in Pompano Beach, Florida. She started the fourth grade in August and is maintaining an "A" average, while practicing six hours a week. Franchesca hopes to represent the United States in the 2014 Winter Olympics, to be held in Sochi, Russia. To learn more about Franchesca, please visit her website www.FranchescaChiera.com.

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If you'd like more information about Franchesca, please contact Kathy Chiera at 561-213-4867.