Sum up your year

[icenut84]

Well, another year's over. What's gone on in your skating this year? Have you reached your goals you set at the beginning of this year, if you set any? What are your goals for next year?

For me:

*I've skated 45 times this year.
*I've had 12 group lessons and 28 15-min private lessons this year.
*The rink I skated at closed in March, which was the last time I was in regular lessons.
*I'm nowhere near the goals I set :( but I'm not really surprised given the circumstances.

My goals for next year:

*Join NISA (I've already got the application form).
*Be in regular lessons, both dance and freeskating, and practice hard.
*I want to have consistent (centred!!) spins, including a scratch spin and (hopefully) a sit spin.
*I want to start working on the loop and flip again, get them consistent, and hopefully at least start working on the lutz and maybe axel.
*Improve the amplitude on my spirals, and get consistent and comfortable doing spirals on ALL the edges, including catch-foot ones.
*Progress in dance.
*Stretch more often, so that eventually I can do the splits. Side splits at least, and hopefully forward splits too eventually.

That's all I can think of right now. I hope I can achieve all this and haven't set my goals too high...

[garyc254]

I stayed vertical more often.
I didn't severely injure myself.
I had lots of fun on the ice!!!! :D :D :D

[sk84life]

my goals for last year basically were met i got my
2 saw consistant basically
2toe consistant basically
and my 2 loop consistant basically
passed my novice moves
and my passsed my intermediate free

my goals for this year are to
get my 2 flip more consistant
start workin on my 2 lutz and mayb b able to land it sumtimes
pass my junior moves (which are pretty good right now & i'm testing them in april)
and get my program more consistantly clean

[luna_skater]

This time last year, I never would have imagined I'd be where I am now!!

I moved to a new city and found a synchro team to skate on. It was the first time I had ever skated synchro in a different club since I started in 1991. We won two gold medals, which was the first time in my life I'd had two golds in one season, and we won silver at Nationals, which was my first National medal.

I started taking dance tests in May. I've skated since 1986, but I never tested. I did learn-to-skate programs and then focused solely on synchro starting in about 1994. So although I have solid skills, it was a huge leap for me to try private lessons for the first time after skating for 17 years!! I initially thought I'd at least go up to Sr. Bronze, just so I could start judging, and I thought maybe I'd do skills, too. Seven months later, I am working on my Senior Silver dances, which I was aiming to start in May 2004!! And I'm testing my Prelim and Jr. Bronze skills at the end of January. During the times when I'm most frustrated, I try to stop and remind myself of the abnormal rate at which I'm passing tests. :D Some people spend years working on a move that I expect myself to learn in a month, LOL.

I have never set very specific goals for myself, because I'm always working hard at improving EVERYTHING. My never-ending goal is just to become more and more confident and better at my skating each time I step on the ice. In terms of my tests, I hope to be on my gold dances by the end of next summer. I am testing one Jr. Silver and two Sr. Silvers in February, and will probably do the last two Sr. Silvers a few months later. I hope to pass my Sr. Bronze Skills in the spring or summer, and be working on Jr. Silver by the end of the summer. A more long-term goal of mine is to learn my basic spins and get all my single-jumps. It's something I want to do at some point, but I want to concentrate on dance and skills for the time being.

[Mel On Ice]

Setbacks:
Flu kept me from competing at a major competition
spent most of spring and summer rehabbing an injured ankle
jump-shy after injury
failed the bronze MIF test after doing something like 8 lobes of the 5-step mohawk sequence on one side

Accomplishments:
a recognizable sit spin
Won 5 medals at one competition (2 synchro, 3 solo)
thisclose to passing FS3 and that dang change-foot
Won my first-ever USFSA competition medal
Did my hardest-ever program at the first competition back after my injury with only one mistake (backspin died after one revolution)

Goals:
pass FS3
pass Bronze MIF
pass Bronze free
land the loop, flip, lutz
figure out the exit on the backspin
get more revs on the camel (I'm up to 2 1/2!)
get another USFSA competition medal
finish my artistic program; have loads of fun with it
to NOT swear on the ice after I screw something up

[PattyP]

Setbacks:

Sprained ankle at AN set me back a bit in the spring.
Failed my Adult Gold Freestyle test.
Skates were stolen in November. Couldn't get new skates broken-in in time for next test session.

Accomplishments:

Finally got a medal at AN! Gold in Interp II!
Passed my Adult Gold MIF test on the first attempt!
Kept my weight down all year and improved my skating stamina through running.

Goals:

To improve the consistancy of my axel.
To finally land some doubles...not cheated.
Pass my Gold FS test.
To continue improving my speed, edges & flow.
Intermediate MIF??

Patty

[Black Sheep]

Thumbs Down:

Had to skate my Gold FS event with a bad back at AN.
Didn't get the teaching job I wanted.
Dealing with "Crazy Lady".
Messing up at the Intermountain Open in Utah.

Thumbs Up:

Won a gold medal for my Cats Interp. event at Adult Mids.
Skating my China Girl solo in my ice show.
Performing my Cats Interp. program in the exhibition at AN.
My new Saturday Night Fever Gold FS program, which won me 1st place at the DuPage Open and 2nd place at the IL State Champs.
My new lutz-axel jump combo.
My new and improved 2sal.
My new K-Pick blades, which have already done wonders for my 2toe!


8-)

[NickiT]

I achieved all the goals I set out at the start of the year. These being:-

1) Lutz
2) Backspin
3) Parallel (Camel) Spin
4) Pass my NISA Level 2 Elements and Free Tests

My goals for the new year are to make good progress on the following:-

1) Axel
2) Change Foot Camel Spin
3) Flying Camel
4) Possibly to pass my NISA Level 3 tests - we'll see!

Nicki

[LWalsh]

Accomplishments this year:

Passed Silver moves and freestyle
Got Lutz more consistent and speedier
finaly managed to grab my foot in a catch foot spin
lost eight pounds that haven't found their way back in months

Next year I hope to:

Perfect catchfoot spin by Adult Nationals
Land an Axel - Oh please, please!
Get my flying camel to the point where it could be included in a program - looks more like a dying camel
:roll:
Perform cleanly at Adult Nationals

[jenlyon60]

I passed my European Waltz ...

Goals:
Test and pass Tango
Test and pass Bronze MIF

[Terri C]

The year in review for me:

First USFSA gold in Pre- Bronze Ladies at Dogwood Open in NC in May!
Passed Pre Bronze MIF in August.
Survived USFSA GC in May ( if you were there, you know what I mean!)
Was elected to the BOD of a new skating club and is in charge of sanctions and gettting our provincial status application together!

Dealing with a new rink owner who is a former pro hockey player (guess where his priorities are??:twisted: )

[RNsk8r]

It's been a great year overall for me.
-I passed pre-juv moves and prelim. free in March
-I got my first custom Klingbeils, and goldseals in March-what do you know, I really can spin!(sometimes :D )
-I was off the ice for nine weeks in the summer with a torn tendon and had surgery in Sept.(no fun)
-Just last month, I started fully rotating my axel and two weeks later, landed it on one foot for the first time with only a quarter cheat. I've even done some fully rotated ones on one foot.
-Started working on double sal and double toe
-Got my first young adult program music, and my coach is letting me do the initial choreography-what fun!
-Combination spins are becoming a little more consistant, camel sit, sit-change sit, scratch-back scratch, camel-back sit.

What a year its been-I can't wait to see what 2004 holds!

[CanAmSk8ter]

I actually went back and searched for my last year's goals. Here's what I found:

1. Pass two Silver dances, probably Rocker and American
I came SO close to this one. I passed my Rocker in August, and I was supposed to take my Tango three weeks ago. My coach said unless I had a total meltdown there was no way I wasn't going to pass it. Mother Nature had other ideas, throwing us a rather large snow and ice storm, resulting in the test being cancelled. I'm taking it in three more weeks.

2. Pass at least the free dance and the Paso for ISI Dance 7 (anyone else see a pattern developing here- one of avoiding the Silver Tango? LOL)
This didn't happen. Neither of the rinks I skate at is using the ISI program anymore, so as much as I'd like to, I'm probably not going to be taking any more ISI tests. As for avoiding the Tango, I spent some time working on it over the late summer and early fall, and it's become one of my strongest dances- definitely better than my American!

3. Try my Novice MITF, even though I probably won't pass
Just didn't happen. I don't have enough ice time to work on all my dances plus my moves, and the dances come first. I know I COULD get the moves ready if I wanted to make it a priority, but I don't like them :twisted:

4. Compete at ISI Adult Champs and maybe my district championships
Didn't do districts, but did Adult Champs and won both of my events.

5. Either place in the top half of Novice of the top three-quarters of Junior at Lake Placid, depending on which dances are chosen
I skated Novice and had two really, really good skates. I managed to get put in one of the tougher groups (again) and placed eighth out of ten. A couple of my friends and their parents told me that there were two groups where I probably would have been in the top five. So I was ok with that.For me to put together two clean skates was a victory in and of itself.

6. Do at least one (non-qualifying) competition in Junior and maybe one Senior
I skated Novice and Junior at my club competition and placed second (out of three ) in Novice, and third (out of three) in Junior. But I got positive feedback from a local judge I know who was on the panel for both, and he said both dances looked good. My friend and her mom, and my mom, said they thought it was close in Junior and that they were surprised none of the judges had me second. But, whatever.

Now for this year:

1. Finish my Silver dances, and be ready to take my Blues by this time next year

2. Place in the top five in Novice in Lake Placid, and maybe compete Junior as well

3. Continue to push for speed, power, and extension

4. Lose five-ten pounds and keep it off

5. Start working on Novice moves a bit more seriously at some point

6. Have fun with my friends, and keep a good attitude every day at practice

7. Eat more healthily

[sk8er1964]

Oh my - was I ever unrealistically ambitious last year ;).

Here's my goals from last year (here's the link for those of you who posted goals last year http://skatingforums.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=4996:

1. Enjoy my return to competitive figure skating at my soon to be held competitions. I was able to fulfill my this-year's-goal of being to compete at next year's Adult Nationals by passing all the required tests in time.

OK, I enjoyed my return to competitive skating. I had a great time at AN.

2. Consistently land two or three doubles (salchow, toe loop and loop) by Adult Nationals in April.

Injury shot that goal all to he-double-toepicks. I just started working on my doubles this past November.

3. Fix my muscle memory problem with the Axel (I can land it consistently, but I have a scrape on take-off that is driving me nuts!)

OK -- axel is great -- scrape is still there and probably always will be.

4. Improve my stamina, and lose 25 more pounds (40 since last February and counting...)

Stamina has been improved.....weight has not.

6. Land a double flip and double lutz.

Um, yeah. Right. What was I thinking?????

7. Pass the Intermediate MIF - those are really challenging to me.

Passed them in September.

8. Keep improving and keep having the time of my life skating!!!

OK, this one was easy!!!

For 2004:

1. Pass my Novice moves.

2. Consistantly land those darn doubles (sal, toe and loop)

3. Improve my placement at next year's AN (Lake Placid).

4. Keep improving and keep having the time of my life skating!!!

Much more realistic this year, I hope :)

[icedream]

1. land my axel

2. pass to freestyle 6

3. do everything nicely in freestyle five BEFORE passing (some people just go on to six because they can do an axel but they cant do a camel or a backspin or anything else)

4. lose 10 lbs.

5. improve speed

6. get at least a duet in the spring ice show and a solo in the nutcracker.

7. Practice more.

8. dont forget to turn in the practice ice forms before or on the due date!

[skatepixie]

THUMBS DOWN:

~My great-grandma died
~My grades took a nose dive
~Ive never experenced this much foot pain in my life. A certain skate fitter at my rink is evil. Add to this that I still havent gotten an appointment at Harlick, due to time issues, and you have a mad Pixie.
~I cant spin.
~My experence with a jr coach left a lot to be asked. Ill leave it at that for now.
~Im not happy with the school Im attending in the least.

THUMBS UP:

~My friends (Online and Offline) are the best people on earth.
~I found skating: a great sport where I dont have to run. I can be artistic too, which is a huge pluss.
~Ive landed all the singles except for loop and axel. Pretty good for someone who started in March.
~Ive been used as an example in stroaking, edging, and jumping for people with 1-2 years experence. (Im really proud of this.)
~My relationship with my coach is great.
~My jump recognition is good.

REFLECTION:

Basically, some really bad stuff happened. On the other hand, I dealt with it. I discovered a carieer path. I found sashafans.com as well as this board. I got through the bad stuff pretty well. Im sorry if I was a strain on all the people in my life while I was dealing with it though. If I took it out on you, Im sorry and I owe you big time. K?

[DancinDiva]

All in all, this has been a great year for my skating! It has actually been my first year of skating, as I only started in January. As I was just starting out, I didn't set any goals for myself, all I wanted to do was get a feel for the ice and see if skating was something I really wanted to do. My accomplishments may not seem like much, but I'm happy with them! So far I can do:

*foward and backward crossovers, in both directions
*foward progressives, chasses, and swing rolls
*very nice foward inside mohawks, right AND left
*basic consecutive edges (foward and backward inside and outside edges down a line)
*foward inside and outside three turns, foward alternating three turns (inside and outside), working on back outside threes
*learned the Dutch waltz and the Canasta Tango
*got my foward spirals, and they are the envy of all the other adult skaters at my rink!
*a decent inside spread eagle (I knew all those years of ballet would be good for something!)

Now, since I have a bit more experience, I will set a few goals for the next year.
1. Pass the Dutch Waltz test in January
2. Pass the first adult Moves test (what is it called? preliminary?) in January
3. pass the first freestyle test in April...this one is going to take some work!
4. get a few jumps. So far, I have a pitiful waltz jump and a barely there half-flip.
5. get a one foot spin. I'm still too chicken to pick up one foot!

That's it for now, but I'm sure I'll think of more later! Congrats to everyone on their accomplishments, and good luck in the new year! May the skategods smile upon you all!

[jp1andOnly]

Since this year in skating for me started in Oct, I didn't have much of a skating year so to speak.

I was able to:

1. Buy new skates that fit!!! When your feet shrink as much as I did you need them (from a 8.5 skate to a 6)
2. Find a coach that I like and find ice time that suits my schedule
3. Land all my single jumps and will start on the axel in Jan. I did rotate a double flip which I am proud of
4. Have a nice low sit spin that I'm proud of.
5. Rediscover my love of skating :)

Next year I would like to:

1. Lose more weight. I managed to get 70lbs off and could stand to lose about 20. I'll take another 10lbs at this point
2. Improve my camel spin. I keep peeing on a fire hydrant :)
3. Improve my speed and stamina
4. Compete at Adult Nationals when they happen in March (up here in Canada)
5. Land an axel
6. Pass my junior bronze free as well as a gold dance (don't care which one..one would be nice)
7. For my competitive program I'm using my brothers old senior men's short program. I hope I'm able to skate as well as he did to it minus the triples of course ;)

[Mrs Redboots]

Rachel, I hope to see you test at least Level 1 Dance before the end of next year, especially if you are joining NISA. And perhaps see you in one of the low-level competitive adult classes - you are well within the "Young Adult" category now.

As for me, it's been a good year, on the whole. Solihull was okay - we finished about where we expected to. Mountain Cup fabulous - Robert got a solid bronze in the solo dance, and I won the Ladies Interpretive. Couples dance 4th out of 4, but it was mostly how the marks came out. Bracknell not so good - my first Bronze medal in this country for Artistic, which pleased me enormously, but the dance was awful, somehow. British Adult Championships great fun, pity our music didn't play properly. Oxford okay - again, we finished last, but that was how the marks came out, we weren't absolutely last. Dune of Flanders total disaster - I ought not even to have tried to skate as I really wasn't fit. Didn't do so well in RIDL matches, but I don't really care..... except that I mind when we make a total nonsense of a dance against a couple we could have beaten, as happened at Gillingham.

The Bad Reichenhall camp was lovely - it is just so sad that one of the skaters, who helped us such a lot with our presentation and so on during the session after the formal training, succumbed to the cancer that had already ravaged her on 7 December.

So for next year it's a matter of really, really improving our presentation, since good presentation does cover a multitude of sins. And getting a new Interpretive together - the one I worked on last autumn didn't quite come off the way I'd hoped.

[batikat]

A bit of a mixed year for me. Probably not helped by the fact that I try to do a bit of everything so dont' actualy do anythign that well. I didnt' actually set any goals other than to compete at Bracknell, Oxford adn the Adult Championships in Sheffield and I managed sll those. Oh yes I did intend to land a loop jump this year but although it's close I cant' claim to own a loop jump yet (I've landed on one foot but then collapsed or on two feet).

Highlights:
doing well in our club's adult's comp winning the OD and coming 2nd in the Improvisation class (beating a teenager wayhay!)

Getting a bronze medal (out of 5 ) at the British Adult Championships for level 4 and under dance (I'm level 2 and I won the OD section to get bronze overall)

coming in the top half of the Free dance comp at Oxford - despite having to take the ice immediatly following an 18 year old with level 5 dance in the same comp. - very daunting.

Attending the British Novice Championships to watch my children skate in the Pairs competition (and finish in the top half)

My coach presetning me with the papers to test level 1 Freeskate elements which I'll take early next year.

Getting 10 revs on my upright spin.

Skatign in 2 numbers in the Christmas pantomime


Lowlights
The disappearance of my sitspin

Not getting round to taking any tests

Loop jump not quite there yet.

Skating really badly at the Bracknell Opens thereby throwing away the OD cup I won last year and should have been able to retain!!

On balance quite a good year!
For next year I want to take level 2 Freeskate tests, get my loop and flip, a camel spin and all the back 3's

[StarshineXavier]

Looking back I had a really successful year. I challenged myself a lot, and felt the benefits of doing so.

1. Finished off Sr. Silver dances. The blues had been one of those dances that didn't come easy to me, but in January, I passed it, and got good marks from the judge.

2. Passed Jr. Silver Freeskate. I am a horrible jumper and it has not come easy to me at all, but I worked really hard and passed the test in February, with 13/14 on elements and 11/12 on the program. The program was perfect except for a fall on the 2nd last jump, which was a big improvement from the time before, which I fell on pretty much everything.

3. Passed Gold Interpretive. It took me 2 tries with 2 different programs, but I got it in June. And not only did I pass it, but I got really good marks from the judge.

4. Competed Gold Interpretive. I came 3rd out of 7, which was a huge surprise since I didn't think I skated that great. It felt good to be back competing last October after a year and a half break for testing.

Future Goals:
-compete at Regionals in Gold Triathlon
-finish off Gold Dances
-work on making my double jumps stronger and higher

[Debbie S]

Hmmm, my goals for this year (thanks for finding the old thread, sk8er1964) were:

1. Get a back spin.
2. Improve all spins.
3. Learn a loop, flip, lutz, and axel.
4. Get more speed and height on jumps.
5. Improve back 3's.
6. Stop getting scared I'll fall and (as a result) "freezing up" (which usually leads me to stumble anyway) on jumps, spins, and turns.

Well, I did get a "sorta" back spin - I'm still working on it, but my (new) coach has given me some good tips on it, and at this point, I'm including it in my program for the Wash Invitational next month.

My scratch and sit spin have gotten better, but my camel is nowhere to be found. :(

I learned the loop and the flip, but they, like the camel, are MIA. Losing practice time due to injury and business school didn't help.

I've got a bit more speed going into jumps - the ones I can do - but I've really got to improve the salchow.

I can do a good BO 3 on my right foot - why can't I translate that to my left? BI 3s still need work, but at least I'm ending up on an edge (usually) and not a toe pick.

My coach gently chided me yesterday for my lack of fearlessness on the loop - need I say more? Actually, I fell this summer on a waltz-loop combo and hit my face on the ice (thankfully, other parts of my body hit the ice first) so I am leery of that jump. But my 3s have gotten faster.

For next year:

1. More of the same that I wanted to do this year - improve spins and turns, land the harder jumps, etc.
2. Do well in my first competition - the Washington D.C New Years comp.
3. Pass Pre-Bronze MIF and FS (I think I'm going to take them at the same session, in Feb - am I masochistic or what?;)).
4. Compete in my first Bronze comp and try not to finish last (actually this is contingent on my achieving goal #3 - if that happens, I'll compete in the Chesapeake Open in June, and they don't have pre-Bronze).

Looking forward to another year of skating, and to digging up this thread in 365 days to see how I did. :)

[rinsk]

2003 summed-up:

-competed freestyle for the first time in 6 years: two adult events and one non-adult event: came last all three times out and didn't land anything axel or higher but doesn't matter, I'll build up from there.
-I got an awesome new solo.
-I successfully potty-trained my camel spin.
-layback spin received a face lift and a chin-tuck and is looking good.
-discovered that I have been skating 3 years on badly skewed right blade which has done really bad things to my knee, hip and ankle on all my backwards spins. Had skate repaired and am relearning a more ergonomically pleasing backspin, back sit and back camel.
-jumps have slowly but surely progressed: my axels no longer leave 3-turn tracings on the ice and I can get 2 bladelengths between the take-off and the landing, and I'm starting to get more body awareness in the air on my doubles meaning that my legs with sometimes actually cross and I had this really cool Eureka moment about my air position the other day that I'm hoping was a significant milestone.
-passed my first diamond dance (rhumba) with 4 goods and 2 excellents.
-failed my Westminster in the states again and again then confused everyone by going out and passing 2 international dances.

2004:

-compete regular junior silver at regionals (they changed the ages for adult: I am no longer an adult) without making total fool of myself and land at least the 2 axels in my solo and one of the 3 doubles.
-somehow get Gold Biathlon pulled together so that we can go to Starskate provincials and try qualify for nationals.
-3 bladelengths on my axel.
-consistent double sal, double toe, double loop and double flip.
-start double-double combination of some sort.
-deflutz my lutz and start work on the double.
-potty train flying camel.
-get my layback to pick up speed (like other student of my coach's layback done which is totally mesmerizing).
-more speed and better speed maintenance on my spin combo (it sort of fizzles out during my last big flourish of music in my solo).
-train solo in a more disciplined fashion.
-do more stroking sessions with the competitive skaters at my rink to hmmm... improve my fitness.
-some sort of off ice routine.
-find somewhere to skate whereever I get placed for residency.
-pass my Romantica before leaving for residency.
-get the West so that I can finish my golds.
-start training either Austrian or Rav.

[triple twist]

I just totally improved over all as a skater and understand how much it takes. I think my spinning ability has increased dramatically with discovering I could do that whole irina Slutkaya spin she does (lay back toching skate, beillmans etc) and the sasha cohen spin where she lifts her skate over her head. I've also come a long way in power and speed on the ice. Haven't landed any new jumps but I did start working on the double axel so thats pretty good!

Goals for 2004: Just jump jump jump! I want to land everything!
gold interpretive
test my gold skills
test my dances!
spin faster
Improve over all as a skater

[Figureskates]

First of all I want to say how impressed I am by the progress and accomplishments by all you skaters. Good show.

Okay, the envelope please.

Thumbs up....

1) Got my Salchow...finally.
2) Passed PPM
3) Got more speed and edge quality..as my coach sez, finally

Thumbs down...

1) Toeloop is most elusive!!

2004 Goals

1) Go to AN in Lake Placid, only as a spectator/volunteer since my club is host.

2) Get the toeloop.

3) Pass PPF by late winter.

The timetable of some of this is predicated on what happens when I go to the doc next week about the gallstones. Depending on course of treatment, my skating is going to be impacted somewhat...........

[Chico]

Let's see....

I started working on doubles. I'm trying up to the flip, but my 2 loop is my best. Two toe is the hardest for me.

I changed coaches.

Working harder on moves and I think their improving. I am doing more difficult skills.

Working on a camel/sit/back sit. Working on a camel/back camel. (hard!)

I have a pretty good catch foot attitude spiral for ME. =-)My new coach was impressed.

Chico

[techskater]

2003:
Got my 2 sal to finally land consistently and while competing
Got my 2 toe
Combo spin finally spins, especially the camel part

2004:
Skate clean programs with all the jumps and spins with speed and confidence at Mids and AN's including the 2 loop that's really close right now and both jumps mentioned above

Another 20 pounds (I lost close to 30 since starting my new job in September)

Land my 2 flip

Start on the 2 lutz and 2 axel

Pass Intermediate Moves

[skaternum]

Last year I said:
1. Make my sit spin actually look like a sit spin.
2. Get my lutz-loop combo to have "run out" on the exit.
3. Get a layback.
4. Make progress on an axel. (Notice I didn't say I'd "get" an axel. Not stupid enough to say that!)
5. With the help of new Klingbeils coming in February, which I pray will fix some of the problems with my right leg, get my pre-juvenile moves passable. (This goal is optional!)


I'd say I accomplished 1 & 2. I'm almost there on 5. (Well, they're probably passable, but I want them to be better than that.) I really just started working on 3 & 4 again. (I'd put them aside because of my back problems.) The Klingbeils helped a lot with the leg & back problems.

So this year my goals will be:
1. Have a decent freeskate at Adult Nationals.
2. Improve my spins, especially my wanna-be-layback.
3. Put together an Interp program for the first time.
4. Make some progress on the axel.

[jazzpants]

This past year (2003) has been mixed for me skating wise... Initially, my overall skating seemed like it was improving and I was starting to do power 3's on both sides.

Then came my new job...and my new secondary coach, who gave me a reality check... and it ain't nice!!! (Plus just before I took her I started losing my forward power 3's again.) :evil: :evil: :evil: And well -- short version of the story of my skating life is that I have to start from scratch again and learn how to really skate again from scratch.

However, I feel that towards the end of the year, my skating has improved a bit. I've had some rough spots but I am starting to see some consistency and some steady improvements on my basic skating.

My accomplishments for 2003: I was finally landing the flip. Not consistent, but I am landing it once in a blue moon. (Last year this time I wasn't anywhere near getting all the way around. Sometimes it was downright scary!!!) 8O There are more days now where I would have no problems landing the loops and days where I would two foot the landing. (It depends on how chicken I am and how cold and stiff this ol' body is that morning...)
My scratch spin and sit spins are a little bit more polished and noticably faster than last year, though there are still days where those spins would have the FITS. :x I occasionally would get the camel spins and I finally did my very FIRST camel-sit spin combination this year. More power, more power...(*grunting noise*) I am skating a bit faster this year...at least enough that my primary coach definitely noticed. (Okay, at least going forward I'm going faster!) :P I think I finally conquered the FI mohawk, at long last!!!! :D FO3's have significantly more good days than bad. (Last year it was 80/20 (bad/good)!!!) And I think I'm getting closer to being able to do that :evil: LFO3 at a faster speed (and get the RFO3 a bit closer to what my secondary coach wants.)Happy Skating New Year, everyone!!! :mrgreen:

[Azlynn]

I didn't really get to do my own skating in 2003, just teaching, so for the coming year...


get to skate FOR ME!
get the elusive loop and lutz back
keep stretching and weight training regularly
try and get spins back
get spiral leg higher
improve the left footed three turns
keep enjoying being on the ice
choreo a Junior Bronze Freeskate Prog and an Intro Interp

[miss cleo]

the Good, Bad and the Ugly for 2003

"Skated the Program" for Interp at AN the way the coach wanted it.
Never saw her so jazzed and I was rewarded for it.

Had a nuclear melt down in the free skate at AN. I should have stayed in bed.

There are few things uglier than skating poorly and still getting rewarded by the judges. I hate the feeling of getting an award and knowing I didn't deserve it.

2004 Challenge

Time to live and skate "in the moment" instead of having "out of body"
experiences at competitions. You know the feeling, when you get off the ice and can't recall if you did the program correctly or not cause your so busy worrying about something else you did out there.

No more "apologetic" looking skating!

[BringontheRain]

- injured in January
- came back
- passed Junior Moves - March 18
- Silver at Worcester Open - sometime in April
- landed double axel in April but only a few times
- boot problems in April
- Competed in July, but in warmup I fell and sprained my wrist, got 2nd to last ... oh well
- Passed Junior Free August 26
- Did nothing all fall, but double axels
- Still didn't land any
- Did Senior Moves and nothing else from November 20ish - Dec 16 and then failed them ...

That's all ...

[Mxicex]

The Good
*Finally became consistent.
*Triple Salchow became consistent
*double axel is ALMOST there
*Found two more coaches that are GREAT and FUN to work with
*Passed novice free and moves.
*Skated at different rinks and met some REALLY good friends
*Learned to have fun on the ice

The Bad
*Skated poorly at regionals
*lost my jumps for 3 weeks when I broke in new skates
*grades went down.
*eating habits became unhealthy
*Had some rough times at the rink because of music issues

The Goals
*Find a pairs partner and compete in Novice or Junior Pairs at regionals
*Have triple flip by regionals
*Skate clean programs
*Eat more healthy
*Make top 6 in novice finals at regionals
*Pass junior moves
*

[plinko]

A very modest year compared to what others have posted. I'm most proud of the muscles in my legs, I was strongly urged to get back to skating as a way of building muscle mass to support my rebuilt knees. It works. If you don't jump, skating is a very low impact activity.
I got over my fear of falling on my kneecap. It just doesn't happen at all (I fall on all the other parts of my body).
I learned a lot of things and do them all badly. I'm happy with that.

Next year:
More speed and to be able to skate without noise. Learn more dance patterns, I get frustrated at hearing some of the music and have no idea what I should be doing and the beat is enticing.

[MissIndigo]

Last year's resolutions...and the outcomes are in italics...

1) Test and pass Bronze Moves (get my first crack at it Feb 9th!)
Hahahahahaha...failed it...TWICE. Don't even go there, don't even go there...I am bitter

2) Test Bronze Free...sometime.
No time.

3) Get my sit spin up to the level of my camel and layback. It's passable but not good enough.
Again, no time.

4) Get my backspin faster.
Uh, still no time.

5) Make my flying camel bigger...right now I'm more like hopping ...Had to stop work on that one when my hand was cast this past August.
Well, my hand isn't cast any more, but, repeat after me, NO TIME.

6) Compete at the Peach Classic this year! I really, really want to do this.
Didn't make it, and you guessed it, NO TIME!!!

Just will take things one at a time, I suppose!
Now that, I did do.

This past year's highlights included taking on a new coach and acquiring a like-new pair of Klingbeils for nearly a song. Since then, my speed has improved, my power has improved, and I am so much smoother on the ice. For the latter half of this year I have put 75% of my effort on moves, a tactic I don't regret since I enjoy edgework anyway.

The major setback was failing the moves test twice, with the first time I think justifiably failed and the second time, well, like I said, I won't go there. Another setback was illness last January and March, taking me away for two weeks both times.

This year I hope to return to some more freestyle elements and get the spins going even better. I can coach myself somewhat on the techniques of spins through the layback, and hope to begin work on the flying camel again. Maybe I'll get a flip too, and my freestyle coach is optimistic that I can begin work on an axel later in the year.

So it goes, but my main goals this year are to pass Bronze moves (retesting in seven weeks) and Silver moves, hopefully before I graduate. Still, I really gotta save some money this year for things other than skating, so we'll see what happens. :??

[sk8er1964]

Miss Indigo -- Hang in there! 2004 will be better, I'm sure.

PS - just going for a PhD is a wonderful accomplishment in itself. I've always dreamed of going back for a PhD - maybe when I retire.....

[melanieuk]

2003 for me was a non-starter as far as skating went.
I didn't get the end of my programme made, I split with husband and lost the will and finances to carry on skating.
I've been back a few times - only to see if I can still do parallel spins.
Hopefully this year I'll get my butt in gear but I'm quite happy to let my daughters skate for me this year!!