With the Beijing Olympics on everyone’s minds these days, it felt like the perfect time to drive out to an ice rink and speak with two Olympic hopefuls, a brother-sister ice dancing team.
On a sunny and relatively warm February morning, I went with multimedia producers Matt Riedl and Jim Salitsky to the Ion International Training Center in Leesburg.
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We pulled into the mostly open parking lot and unloaded the equipment. It was a minor win that we were able to carry all the heavy film and production gear — cameras, lights, stands, etc. — into the rink in one trip. Matt and Jim joked that I could be their assistant on more shoots since they usually make several trips from the car to the location.
Inside, the lobby was warm and sunny. Behind the front desk were signs boasting the hockey teams that use the rink. To one side was a little café. We met the two teens, Brendan and Caroline Mullen, and their mom, Julie. We also met the rink owner, Luiz, and two coaches. The training center opened a few years ago but already has attracted junior and senior ice dance teams from across the U.S. and abroad.
While the atmosphere was friendly and warm, inside the rink was frigid! Rows of seats surrounded the ice and colorful flags from different countries hung from the ceiling.
Matt and Jim set up the cameras and lights and mic’d up Caroline and Brendan while a Zamboni zipped by leaving smooth, gleaming ice in its wake.
Then with two cameras trained on them, the siblings — dressed in their O’Connell High School uniforms — sat on chairs on the ice and talked about their experience skating, how they got started and what they dream of — future Olympics. Their enthusiasm was palpable and their breaths were white puffs that hung in the air.
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After we wrapped up the interview, the fun part began — filming them performing their free dance program. After changing into their skating outfits and warming up, they skated pieces of their program to music. Watching them gave me chills! Matt filmed them from a large camera propped up on the side of the rink. Jim borrowed some rental skates and joined them on the ice, skating in large circles holding a small camera attached to a gimbal stabilizer. The shots he got from the ice look amazing.
While Matt and Jim had the important job, I enjoyed shooting some videos and photos from my iPhone for our social media channels. I got footage of both skaters and behind-the-scenes shots of Matt and Jim.
After about an hour, Caroline and Brendan were getting fatigued, Matt’s feet were freezing from standing on the ice and my fingers were stinging from the cold. It was time to pack up and head back to the office.
What a great way to spend the morning. Check out the story and video, and keep an eye out for these siblings in Italy 2026.
Bartlett can be reached at [email protected].
