Paetsch and Nuss Win U.S. Novice Gold

Jessica Rose Paetsch & Jon Nuss

February 19, 2006
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan 

The Broadmoor Skating Club continued its success at U. S. Nationals as Jessica Rose Paetsch and Jon Nuss took home the novice pairs title in 2006. "I was pretty surprised when we won," Paetsch said, "but after the Indy Challenge we were pretty confident that we could compete." The couple was undefeated during the season, winning the Cup of Colorado, Indy Challenge, Regionals and Sectionals as well as Nationals. "Now we can't wait for the Junior Grand Prix series," Nuss stated. "We hope to get two JGPs and make the Final."

Paetsch began skating when she was seven. Her father had skated recreationally as a child and he thought that she might like it. "I was watching TV and saw skating and wanted to do it," she said. So her parents enrolled her in a Learn to Skate program. As she was putting on rental skates for the first time she asked, "Where's my coach?" When she got on the ice, she stroked over to the Level 1 coach who watched her skate over and gave her a short test. This scenario was repeated with the coaches for the next four levels, who then told her parents that she was to good for the first 5 level classes and suggested that she take private lessons.

She is still skating singles, now in intermediate ladies, and finished eighth at Regionals in juvenile ladies last season. She landed her first competitive double axel last July in Vail and is now starting to train the triple salchow. "Pairs is something that she has always wanted to do," said her mother, Caroline. "She would watch the pairs events on TV and just dream of the day that she could fly through the air over someone's head or by being thrown. Part of her bedtime routine when she was small was for her father to throw her into bed from as far away as possible. She would not go to sleep until he did that."

Nuss started life on ice as a hockey player when he was eight, but he didn't like it and switched to Learn to Skate figure skating classes. "My younger sister, Kristen, was already skating and I was hanging around the rink so that's why I started," Nuss said. He competed in singles until the 2004-05 season, finishing sixth at Nationals in novice men in 2003. Nuss landed his first triple salchow at 14 and has landed up to the triple lutz now.

He first started skating pairs with his sister when he was 13. "She wanted to do it and kept bugging me about it," he said. "We skated for four years and then she decided to quit so I went back to singles." The siblings finished as high as sixth in intermediates in 2004. "Jon didn't really want to do pairs again, but I kept after him for about a year until he agreed to do it again," said coach Dalilah Sappenfield. Nuss has trained with the Broadmoor Skating Club for about eight years, but is in only in his first year working with Sappenfield.

"Dalilah had been looking for the right girl since after Sectionals the year before," Nuss said. "Finally she told me that she had found a girl in Denver who was a great skater." He first went to Denver to see Paetsch skate in the Showtime On Ice show put on by the Denver Figure Skating Club and the Colorado Skating Club. She was Alice in "Alice in Wonderland."

"When she and Jon had their first try out, all we could hear was Dalilah laughing and having a great time," Mrs. Paetsch said. "From what we could see Jessica Rose and Jon matched right from the beginning. Their timing, skating speed and style were a perfect match that Dalilah didn't have to teach much." Sappenfield said that coaching them was "the most fun thing ever because they work so well together and they learn fast."

The couple has been skating together since May of 2005. "I always wanted a pairs partner," said the diminutive Paetsch. "I like doing lifts and throws. Jon's funny and cool to be with." "Jessica's fearless," Nuss added. "She'll do anything. I look forward to skating with her every day. She's always smiling and full of energy."

The skaters split their training time between Colorado Springs and Denver, working three days a week in the former and two in the latter for about an hour and a half each day on ice and a half an hour off ice. They did a throw double salchow and double loop in their 2005-06 programs and plan to work on throw triples in the off season. They're also working on their double twist. "That was the hardest to learn," Nuss said. "Everything else came very easy."

Sappenfield choreographed the team's programs. For the short program, they used "King Herod's Song" from Jesus Christ Superstar. "Jessica found it and it seemed fun," Nuss said. "For the long program, they used "Sing, Sing, Sing". "They have a lot of energy so I wanted something to bring out their personalities," Sappenfield said. "It's bubbly and full of energy." For a gala program, Paetsch wants to skate to "The Barbie Song".

Paetsch comes from a musical family as her parents both teach and play music. Likewise, her dad edits all the music for their skating. She began playing the violin at two but switched to the cello because she liked it better. "I play everything on the cello," she said, "but mainly a lot of classical. I practice every day."

Paetsch is home schooled and is in the seventh grade. She excels at math and science. Eventually, she would like to skate in some of the professional shows. She would also like to try coaching or something on TV, like sportscasting. If she wasn't skating, she would like to play in a good orchestra. However, she's not sure what she really wants to do. "I'm only just 13 years old," she said.

To relax, Nuss likes to play video games and listens to a lot of music, mainly hip-hop and rap while Paetsch mainly listens to pop. He also likes to play ultimate Frisbee with his friends. "I like skiing a lot," he added, "but I have to be more careful now." Paetsch likes to sit at home and watch television or visit with friends when she's not skating. She also plays baseball and volleyball for fun. Paetsch loves to swim and has always wanted to be a lifeguard at a pool for the summer. She also loves to ride horses with her grandmother in Colorado Springs.