Sixteen: Refuse to Lose

Executive Produced by Rory Kennedy and Liz Garbus
Produced and Directed by Liz Mermin and Alison Ellwood

In Refuse to Lose, we pull back the curtain on four truly elite athletes. These girls are playing for high stakes-from college scholarships to endorsement deals that could make the whole family rich. Sometimes they perform like pros; sometimes their nerve fails. Always, families, coaches, and competitors are watching closely, and everything hinges on the performance. How do they the pressure? What do they gain, and what do they give up by focusing so much energy in one area? Where do they get the courage and stamina to keep at it, even in the face of defeat? We look at these questions by interweaving two different stories:

• Sarah and Stephanie, both competitive ice skaters, live at two different ends of the spectrum. While both have been skating seriously for most of their lives, they are now heading in opposite directions-one poised to move into a new phase of life where skating takes on a diminished role, the other rushing headlong towards the highest level of competition. Will Stephanie be able to compete against Michelle Kwan? Will Sara be comfortable with the realization that she may never be a champion?

• The Narbon High School Lady Gouchos are already at the top of their game; they are national champions who, when we meet them, are trying to continue a 45 game winning streak. We follow two of their best players, Willnet and Lisa, as they struggle to stay atop the pack, and deal with the pressures generated by such high expectations. For Lisa, this involves returning to top form after being sidelined for six months with a knee injury. For Willnett, whose family has moved her between schools several times in the last two years to get her on the best teams, it means securing college scholarships for herself and her hearing-impaired, basketball-playing sister and making the game work for her whole family. We'll follow their incredible year, their failures and their successes, both on court and off.