Varner Takes Bronze at JGP Final

Geoffrey Varner

December 17, 2005
Article & Photo © J. Barry Mittan 

U. S. skater Geoffrey Varner reached the 2005-06 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final on the strength of two solid performances at the Andorra Cup, where he placed third, and the Croatia Cup where he finished second. Sixth in juniors at U. S. Nationals in 2005, Varner had hoped only to get two JGP assignments for the season. "I was very excited to reach the Final," he said. "I'm hoping to medal at Nationals." Varner finished third at the JGP Final, second in the free skate.

Varner began skating when he was six. "I started playing hockey but that was pretty easy," he said. "I played for about two years and was always chasing the puck around trying to score. I switched to figure skating when I was eight. My older brother Justin was a skater." Varner landed his first triple toe loop at 14 and his first triple axel at 17. "I've tried the quad toe and the quad flip," he stated. "I can get around but not stand up on them." In his programs for this season, Varner has used triple flip/triple toe in the short and both triple lutz/triple toe and triple flip/double toe/double loop in the long. "I can do triple toe/triple toe comfortably but I like the triple lutz/triple toe the best," he added.

The 18-year-old has tried all the major disciplines. When he was ten, he danced with Alexandra Schwab, competing in Junior Nationals twice and finishing around tenth in juvenile dance. He tested up to bronze in dance. In 2004, he competed in pairs with Minna Lee in intermediates, reaching Junior Nationals but only finishing eighth in qualifying. "I thought it would be fun to try something new," Varner said of his dance and pairs experience. "I did it when my singles weren't going well."

Varner trains at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE with Barbara Roles Williams, with whom he has worked on and off since he was nine. "He's easy to coach," Williams said. "He's his own person but he completely takes direction when he's training. He loves to skate and he skates from inside his heart." Varner moved from Stockton, California to Newark two years ago after he heard that Williams had moved there. He works on ice for four hours a day five days a week with another hour and a half a day in off ice training. "I'm in the gym every day even in the off season," he noted.

Chris Conti did Varner's original short program last season to "Watch Me" by Randy Edelman and the "Crouching Tiger Hidden Tiger" soundtrack. Sasha Kirsanov and Tisa Della Volpe updated the program for this season. They also help make changes to his other programs as the season progresses. Philip Mills choreographed the new long program using music from the soundtracks of "1492 Conquest of Paradise" and "The Last Samurai". "I pick my own music," Varner said. "I go to the music store and listen to CDs for five hours a day until I find something that I feel I can skate to and bring the crowd into it." His exhibition program is to Rob Thomas' "I Don't Want to be Lonely No More".

Off ice, he enjoys playing football and baseball in recreational leagues. "We have games between the skaters at Delaware," he said, "the freestylers versus the ice dancers. The freestylers won four out of five. A lot of the kids do things together, nothing too dangerous. I like to hang out with my friends, go to a lot of movies and go bowling. I like action movies and films like Gladiator. I also like video games." Varner also enjoys offroading.

Of the future, Varner said, "I hope to accomplish a lot in my career. I'd like to make Worlds a few times. Then I'd like to coach afterwards. I help coach every now and then at the rink. I like the feeling of helping the younger skaters." Varner is currently a senior in high school, where his favorite subject is history. He plans to attend college at the University of Delaware.