On Dec 3 2009, my friend Cat Lepkowski of Michigan's Ice House SA reached the summit of Figure Skating's test structure. Passing the Senior Freeskating test and the 15 tests that must precede it is a tremendously difficult task that requires years and years of dedicated work, and a great deal of skill. Only a small percentage of skaters can claim this great prize, and very few among the general public can claim any other accomplishment of comparable effort. Cat is pictured here with her coach Michelle Hunt.
Cat has been a friend of mine for a long while, and i've had the pleasure of watching her grow as a skater. Today's performance was an amazing capstone to all those years of growth. Everything in her performance showed technical excellence, and she combined that excellence with a truly beautiful presentation. It was a true pleasure to share this special day with her, and I offer to her my most sincere congratulations on a job WELL DONE.