Figure skaters say they enjoy spending time simply being together

Sand says working with show as tough as competition

AS a married couple who trains together, works together, travels together and then goes home together, ice skaters Jenni Meno and Todd Sand look ahead to the time when they don't spend as much time together.

They're pretty sure they won't like it.

"That's always been our relationship," said Meno. "We're best friends."

Added Sand, "Jenni and I from the beginning spent so much time together. It's really comfortable."

At some time in the future -- and they're not ready for it yet -- they know they'll move on to different careers. And Meno said it will be a difficult adjustment not seeing as much of her husband.

The two come to Huntington Dec. 27 for the Smucker's Stars on Ice show. Joining the three-time U.S. National Pair Champions will be a cast of well-known skaters, including Katarina Witt, Todd Eldredge, Kurt Browning, Kyoko Ina and John Zimmerman and Renee Roca and Gorsha Sur.

"It's a unique show," said Sand. "There are a lot of group numbers. You see people skating together on the ice that you would never see together otherwise."

Sand and Meno perhaps would not be skating together if they hadn't met at the 1992 Olympics. They were with different partners but had the same coach.

"We got very close and shared a lot about ourselves," Sand said. Their pairing off and on the ice happened about the same time, he said.

"It was a big scandal when it first happened," he said.

But they quickly realized what a good team they made, going on to win three pairs championships.

So, who's the better skater?

"I've never been asked that before," said Sand, as Meno laughed.

"I don't know. We both have different qualities that we bring."

He said he and his wife don't place blame when one makes a mistake in competition or a show.

"You know you're a team. It's never one person's fault."

Sand says working with the ice show is as rigorous, if not more rigorous, than competition.

"But we absolutely love it," he said.

The current tour is led by producer/director/choreographer Sandra Bezic. Musical selections include Elvis, Ozzy Osbourne, Leonard Cohen, Bon Jovi, Tony Bennett and Will Smith. The show explores themes of power -- athletic power, star power and the power of a dream.