Mckenzie Schurman & Chandler Schaak, "Creativeskaters",
for March./April. 2012
By: Elizabeth Hollett Shackett

Mckenzie Schurman, 12, and Chandler Schaak, 15, are the Juvenile Dance bronze medalists at 2012 U.S. Junior National Championships. They have skated together for a short time and can attribute most of their success to relentless teamwork.

Mckenzie first began skating at age 9. You could say that she was virtually born into being on the ice! Her mother is Suzy Semanick-Schurman, 1988 Olympian and former U.S. National Ice Dance Champion while father, M.F. Schurman played in the NHL for the Hartford Whalers. "My mom went to the Olympics for ice dance and I was inspired by her to want to start skating."

Chandler began skating at age 11 in a Learn to Skate program in Boise, Idaho. What he likes most about the sport is to "see how fast I can improve a skating skill. The improvement is a direct result of my efforts." Sometimes Chandler looks to public session skating for inspiration. When training seems to be tough or overwhelming, he takes the ice with recreational skaters to remind him of the good time that the skating experience truly is.

Mckenzie and Chandler plan on moving up to the Intermediate Dance level this season and want to improve individually and as a team. They agree that their main strength is a good work ethic as well as their power and lifts. They are also strong performers as their joy of skating is self-evident in competition and practice. The young duo is eager to improve their physical strength, skating skills, posture,and solo spins for the new season.

As with most ice dance teams, Mckenzie and Chandler lead very busy lives. They train on and off
the ice 5 days per week for approximately 4 hours per day. I work mainly on their Pattern Dances
and share other coaching tasks with coaches Suzy Semanick-Schurman, Dmitry Ponomarev and
Chris Pottenger at The Pond Ice Arena and Performance Center in Newark, DE.

Off the ice, both skaters are enrolled in Connections Academy which is an online homeschooling
program. Mackenzie is in 7th grade and Chandler is in 9th. They excel in academics being also
National Honor Society award recipients.

Mckenzie and Chandler's ultimate goal is to compete in the Olympics and World Championships
They are, indeed, very ambitious and driven young people who are sure to succeed wherever their
work ethic and love for skating take them.

Mckenzie and Chandler's Upcoming Events:

           June. 2012:      Chesapeake Open, Laurel, MD
            Aug. 2012:      Lake Placid Ice Dance Championships, Lake Placid, NY
           Sept. 2012:       Challenge Cup, Ardmore, PA
           Sept. 2012:       Pikes Peak Classic, Colorado Springs, CO
           Nov. 2012:       Eastern Sectional Championships, location TBD

A Parent's Perspective:
By: Suzy Semanick-Schurman (Olympian, Calgary' 88)
Elizabeth is truly a visionary teacher that is dedicated to bringing out the best a skater has to offer.
I have been a competitive skater and a teacher for over 30 years and can see the difference of a
good teacher and an exceptional one. We are lucky to have Elizabeth as part of my daughters and
our students journey.  

Tests Passed
Schurman: Intermediate Moves, Silver Dance, Juvenile Free Dance
Schaak: Intermediate Moves, Juvenile Free Dance