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Elicia and Stephen Reynolds were introduced to ice skating in November 1997. She was 6 and he was 4. "Since we were homeschooled, Mom took us to the ice rink to meet and socialize with other children; I, however, became enamored with the ice and the exhilarating feeling of skating, Stephen, not so much. I wouldn't get off the ice after the public session; so Mom enrolled me in the learn to skate program. Stephen was signed up for hockey but quickly began to love skating too. Going to the ice rink was all we wanted to do. We loved playing tag on the ice with our friends." -Elicia Then in 1998, Elicia was captivated as she watched 15 year old Tara Lipinski win the Olympic title at the Nagano games. That was it! She wanted to compete! In the fall of 1999, the Reynolds family relocated from the east coast of Florida to the west coast of Florida for higher level coaching. The following year Stephen was selected to play the role of the adolescent Scott Hamilton in Scott's farewell performance with Stars on Ice for an audience of 7,000. That experience ignited young Stephen's desire to compete and perform on ice. "When the audience applauded for me it felt like my chest was going to explode!" -Stephen age 8 They also met the 1992 Olympic silver medalists, brother and sister ice dance team, Paul and Isabelle Duschesnay. Isabelle insisted the young Reynolds had all the ingredients for a successful ice dance team, but Elicia and Stephen were not so convinced. Although they were best friends, ice dancing with your sibling (in public with all the hockey guys watching) was not what either of them had in mind. Their love for ice dancing developed at their first competition, in October 2002, where they captured the gold at the 2003 South Atlantic Non-Qualifying Regional Championships in York, Pennsylvania. "It was wonderful competing as a team with your best friend." - Elicia. Their new found skating success was cut short due to a lack of financial resources. For the next three years they were unable to skate. During that time off ice, Stephen and Elicia placed their focus on their academic studies and continued developing their music ability (they both had been studying the violin for six years). Earning a position with the Venice Symphony in Venice, Florida, marked the start of their professional music careers, all the while keeping the dream of returning to the ice alive. Joyfully, their dream became a reality. In 2005 they returned to the ice. After a year of intense training with Frederic Palluel, they earned silver at the 2007 Junior National Championships. However, once again Elicia and Stephen's on ice training took a sharp halt in November, 2007. As the Florida real estate market collapsed in '08, '09, and '10 the outlook for the Reynolds skating team looked extremely bleak; but the team could not let go of their skating aspirations. In February 2011, the Reynolds family left Florida and moved to Pennsylvania so that Elicia and Stephen could skate at Ice Works in Aston. The pair was determined to return to the ice and be able to fund their own skating through incomes from orchestral performances, providing music for weddings and other ceremonies, offering violin lessons, retail sales, coaching with their local Learn to Skate classes, and marketing Edea boots with Skates US. Adhering to a minimum budget, they afforded only a few months of lessons with the 1980 Olympic ice dance champions Natalya Linichuk and Guennadi Karponossov. The lesson bills and ice fees quickly outpaced their income, and the young team was forced to forfeit lessons once more. They took themselves through the necessary testing from Intermediate level through Junior level in just six months. They choreographed their own short dance and free dance to prepare for the 2011-12 season. The Reynolds then continued their resolve and passed the last eight tests required to qualify to compete at the senior level for 2012-13 season, all completed without a single skating lesson. With only a few months before the 2013 Eastern Sectional Championships, the Reynolds were once again unable to afford a choreographer; thus, they choreographed their first senior short dance and free dance and taught themselves the Yankee Polka. A month before Sectionals, Uschi Keszler and Yovanny Durango assisted in polishing the Reynolds' performances. They finished the season with a 5th place finish, only 8 points below qualifying for National competition. In 2013-2014 the Reynolds faced yet another challenging season with very limited coaching and the demands of competing at the senior level. They continued with their coach, Uschi, and achieved victory in qualifying for and competing for the first time at the championship level at the 2014 U.S. National Figure Skating Championships held in Boston, MA. "It was an incredible experience that was everything we hoped for and then some." -Elicia. Elicia and Stephen are now working independtly, expressing their love for creativity skating and competitions. They are enthusiastically embracing the challenges and excited to experience their future in skating!
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Elicia
Birth Date: December 30, 1990 Height: 5' 4" Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida Beliefs: We thank God our Heavenly Father for our life and all of our blessings, and honor Him by following the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Hobbies: Performing in Orchestras and String Ensembles on the violin, Skiing, Shopping, Rescuing Animals, Photography, Cooking, Drawing Favorite: Color: pink Music: Classical, Soundtracks, Jazz Books: Harry Potter, Buyology, No Limits, Landing It, and other Biographies Animal: Dogs (especially my little Maltese, Beanie Baby) Foods: Sushi, Seafood Drinks: Kombucha Triple Green, Kombucha Gingerade, Thai Iced Tea Movies: Sherlock Holmes 1 & 2, Pirates of the Caribbean Series, The Devil Wears Prada, Made of Honor, Dark Shadows, Back to the Future Trilogy, Indiana Jones Series, Star Wars Series Musicians: The Piano Guys, Lindsey Sterling, Vanessa Mae, Joshua Bell, Itzahk Perlman, Enya, and Owl City Athletes: Tara Lipinski, Scott Hamilton, Michael Phelps, Maria Sharapova Sports Team: Philadelphia Flyers Quote: "The person who says, 'It cannot be done.' shouldn't interrupt the ones doing it."-- Chinese Proverb Did You Know? Elicia was awarded the Presidential Award for Academic Excellence. She officially turned professional on the violin at the age of 13.
Stephen
Birth Date: February 20, 1993 Height: 6' 2" Hometown: Boynton Beach, Florida Beliefs: We thank God our Heavenly Father for our life and all of our blessings, and honor Him by following the teachings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Hobbies: Web Development/Design, Operate Photoshop, My Pets, Rescuing Animals, Skiing, Performing the Violin Professionally Favorite: Color: blue Music: Electronic and Classical Books: Harry Potter, Landing It, No Limits, and other Biographies Animal: Dogs and Cats Foods: Mama's Italian cooking; Lasagna, Italian Meatballs, Canolis, Pizza, Sushi Drinks: Isolated Whey Protein Shakes, Dr. Pepper Movies: TRON, The Matrix, The Game, Dark Shadows, Back to the Future Trilogy, Indiana Jones Series, Star Wars Series, The Dark Knight Musicians: The Piano Guys, Owl City Athletes: Michael Phelps and Scott Hamilton Sports Team: Philadelphia Flyers Quote: "It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with the problems longer."--Albert Einstein Did You Know? Stephen graduated high school a year early and with honors. Stephen skated in a Stars On Ice Show with Scott Hamilton during Scott's Farewell Tour, the day before Stephen's eighth birthday.
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Question: What is your most frequently asked question? Elicia: You must come from a family of skaters don't you? Actually, no. There are more tennis players in our family than skaters. Stephen: Do you get along with your sister? Yes. We are best friends and always have been. Although we don't always share the same opinion, we were taught how to come to an amicable situation. Question: What do you enjoy more: skating or violin? Elicia: I enjoy the diversity. It's wonderful performing on the violin and being a part of a full orchestra, yet it's thrilling to compete in an athletic sport. I enjoy the creativity in both fields. Stephen: I enjoy both, but I want to focus on the skating now. My body will be able to play the violin much longer than to execute four minute programs. Question: You were both born in Florida. Why did skating have such an appeal? Elicia: I love different and exotic things. Ice skating in Florida is not mainstream. Stephen: It is a combination of music, dance, and athleticism. That's why I love skating. Question: What made you decide to ice dance together? Elicia: We didn't have much of a choice. Since we were brother and sister, we were paired to dance because coaches saw potential in us. However our mother said to just give it a try, and if we didn't like it, we didn't have to continue. Stephen: I was afraid to disobey Isabelle Duschesnay. Enough said. Question: What made you stay with it? Elicia: After our first competition at the 2003 Non-Qualifying South Atlantic Regional Championships, I fell in love with the idea of competing with my best friend at my side. Stephen: I didn't like it at all until Paul Duschesnay told me that it was a way to get the girls! He put his arm around my shoulder and escorted me to the hockey rink and said, "Would you like to be like me and dance with all the pretty girls, or get slammed into the boards by another sweaty hockey player like these guys?" Even at eight, I could identify with his wisdom. Question: When you were off the ice, did you ever think of quitting? Elicia: No, I never gave up the dream. Stephen: Never. I was determined. Question: Was it hard getting back to training after three and half years without skating? Elicia: Actually, my gratitude for being back on the ice far outweighed the challenges we faced. Stephen: Yes it was. Skating in five year olds boots that were deteriorating and two sizes too small was quite painful and stressful. One of my main concerns was that the leather heels kept separating from the boots. I Gorilla Glued them back together every other night, but that was financially the best we could do for the first six months. Then one of the skaters at the rink gave me a pair of his old boots. I felt frustrated with our limited resources: inadequate epquipment and no coaching; then I thought of the many days without being able to skate, and sheer determination pulled me through. Question: What is your favorite element in your program? Elicia: I love the hydroblade lift! Stephen: The hydroblade lift. I think it's so cool! Question: What is the most important thing you learned through not skating and getting back into the sport? Elicia: Follow your heart, and trust in God. Stephen: Dream big, and never take your eye off your goal.