Hello to all our Family and Friends,

Casey's last and final world cup was in Heerenveen, Netherlands this past weekend. Heerenveen has a covered oval so there was no concern with the weather. Holland is known for there enthusiastic fans. For the skaters each day, there were over 10,000 people watching and cheering. (More than the Salt Lake Olympic Venue!) It is also shown live on TV. Some fans go and stay the whole day. Watching all divisions and races. Casey said there was one group of fans, who call themselves the Kneuzen's, they were at all three world cups in Europe. Very dedicated fans.

Friday
Casey had a good week of training and felt good in warm-up. He said he got off the line quick in his 500m race and had a great 100m start. Going into the first turn he had a huge slip. He lost a bit of momentum, but dug in and picked up his speed. He finished in a time of 35.55 good enough to tie for 13th place.

Saturday
On Saturday, the competition opened with the 1000m races for division B. Because of Casey's fall in the previous world cup in the 1000m race, he moved down to division B. Casey was the last pair in the division, went to the line and realized his pair had scratched. He was racing alone! In a race like the 1000m race, it's always nice to have a pair to push you or challenge you. Casey finished the race with a time of 1:11.44 winning the B division for the day! This was the last world cup 1000m race for the year. He finished 18 overall in the 1000m standings. Because of this finish, he will not be skating the 1000m race in the World Single Distance Championships next weekend in Korea.

Sunday
On Sunday, the athletes skate their final 500m race for the world cup season. Casey has another rough day. He said he skated a great 350m of his race and then he entered the last turn wrong. Throwing his shoulders and hips into the turn too aggressively. This threw him a bit off balance and he wobbled abit, putting his hand down. He lost some speed and couldn't regain the momentum of the turn. He stayed on his feet and finished in a time of 35.47. A better time then Friday and putting him in 12th place for the day. Overall for the season, Casey finished 10th in the 500m standings. He has qualified for the 500m races in the World Single Distance Championships.

Also, opting not to skate the final 100m races on Sunday, Casey finished 14th in the 100m overall standings.

Casey leaves the Netherlands Wednesday and will arrive in Seoul, Korea on Thursday. The World Singles Distance Championships are there and it is the final competition on the year. Only the top 3 skaters per distance from each country can compete. Casey will be racing in the 500m races on Friday. They race two 500m races on Friday and combine the times, just like in the Olympics. They crown a world champion for each distance. Casey is disappointed he is not skating the 1000m race, but we always say, God works in mysterious ways.

I hope Casey doesn't kill me for doing this....but....the hotel he is staying at in Korea has a fax number! (dial 011-82-2-396-6633 (CORRECTED NUMBER) send) if you would like to send a word of encouragement, the hotel staff will make sure he gets your fax! I've been sending them perodically throughout his trip and he gets a kick out of them. Please send them ATTENTION: CASEY FITZRANDOLPH TEAM USA He races Friday Korea-time. Both races are on Friday. He usually leaves for the rink pretty early, so send them so he gets it Thursday Korea-time works best. Okay to figure out Korea-time you need to take your current time, do the opposite am/pm, then add 3 hours. (example: it's 7PM Madison-time on Wednesday. the opposite is 7AM plus 3 hours = 10AM on Thursday Korea-time) So a good time to send a fax would be next Tuesday, March 9th or Wednesday March 10th between 6pm and midnight madison-time. ONLY positive comments please!!! Good words of wisdom or encouragement, thank you! Let's hope we put a smile on that adorable face!

Have a great week and I will update you on his results March 13th or so.

Take Care,

Jenn Fitz