Our newest (official) silver skater! [Archive]

LoopLoop

11-11-2004, 08:25 AM

Last night NoVa passed his silver moves and FS tests. :)

It was a last-minute opportunity to test (he found out on Monday) so he thought maybe his nerves would be better this time, without weeks of anticipation to put him on edge. He hasn't had a lesson with his singles coach for a couple of weeks, so I stood in and worked on the moves with him for an hour Tuesday night. Then I left and he practiced them some more by himself.

Fast forward to yesterday... He skated not quite as well as he did on Tuesday night, but it was enough for two judges to pass him. And you all know that the FS test was a piece of cake. :bow:

flo

11-11-2004, 08:56 AM

Wow!!!! Way to go Nova!
Congrats to both of you! :)

jazzpants

11-11-2004, 09:07 AM

YOU GO, NoVa Sk8r!!! WHOO HOO!!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Mel On Ice

11-11-2004, 09:27 AM

hooray! Every person who passes another test gives me hope!

skatingatty

11-11-2004, 09:39 AM

Yay! Congratulations, to NoVa and his "coach" LoopLoop. I had no idea he hadn't passed the silver test already; I thought he was working on the gold level. Great news to hear! :)

NickiT

11-11-2004, 10:01 AM

Congratulations!!

Nicki

dbny

11-11-2004, 10:20 AM

CONGRATULATIONS!

skaternum

11-11-2004, 10:24 AM

NoVa is my hero. :bow:

Terri C

11-11-2004, 10:25 AM

Congratulations!!! Nice surprise, huh??? 8O 8O :D :bow: :bow: :bow:

skatergirlva

11-11-2004, 10:49 AM

Congrats NoVA and good work super coach LoopLoop. Laura would be proud of your moves coaching. :)

LoopLoop

11-11-2004, 10:56 AM

Congrats NoVA and good work super coach LoopLoop. Laura would be proud of your moves coaching. :)

Yeah, I'll have to tell her about it next week. ;)

MQSeries

11-11-2004, 11:07 AM

Congrats to NoVA.

What are the elements for Silver MIF and freestyle?

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 11:17 AM

I am *SO* excited about passing these tests. The silver moves test has been dogging me for a year and a half.

Although I did not have a great moves test (one might say the judges were a little generous!), I cannot thank Loops enough for acting as a superior drill sergeant on a public session on Tuesday night. I was actually able to find my edges on that Fairfax Ice session.

Loops: "Oh my God, great 3-turn ... and on a good edge!"
Me: "What? Oh, so THAT's what an edge is!" :P

Of course working solely on moves made me kind of, er, "edgy," so Loops at one point said, "Go do a camel spin!" Phew.

She also stepped up and put me on the ice for the moves and FS tests (since I had found out about this test 2 days ago, my singles coach was unavailable). Once again, Loops has proven to be my hero.

After my moves test, we didn't know if I had passed, so we had to wait for a while. Then one of the judges motioned for my music (by pointing to her ears and makinga circular gesture indicating a CD--I hope!), so then we knew. But I couldn't celebrate because I had to test my freeskate! The one-minute warmup was kind of a shocker. Despite getting disoriented and improvising the last half of my program, I pulled it off. In fact, I had so much time left at the end of my program (I left out my unnecessary footwork sequence), that I held my sit spin for 10 revolutions! Didn't think I could even do that. One of the judges put down 8+ and told me afterwards that she just stopped counting.

And I forgot to wear my rhinestone competition shirt--I thought I would need it to distract the judges. Nah, not this time.

I am so relieved--I couldn't wait to call my singles coach afterward.

Then Loops and I "celebrated" by ... skating in the adult-only public session afterward at 8pm. It wasn't bad considering that the only thing I'd consumed since lunch was half a bottle of Gatorade.

I thanked Loops by dropping her in a split twist, and she thanked me back by thwacking me in the face with her elbow on another twist attempt. :P

Anyway, I'm happy to officially be a silver-level skater. [Does this mean I have to start working on gold moves? :cry: ]

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes!

Mrs Redboots

11-11-2004, 11:27 AM

CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!!

What a great feeling - and do you mean you haven't started working on your Gold moves yet???? It's Thursday already.....

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 11:29 AM

Adult Silver MIF

-Eight Step Mohawk Sequence (Juvenile move)
-Forward & Backward Free Skating Cross Strokes (Juvenile)
-Forward Outside/Back Inside 3-Turns in the Field (Pre-Juvenile)
-Forward Inside/Back Outside 3-Turns in the Field (Pre-Juvenile)
-Forward Right & Left Foot Spirals (Pre-Preliminary)
-Inside Slide Chassé Pattern (Intermediate)

Pass Avg: 2.7

Adult Silver Free Skate

Jumps: At least 3 different single jumps; one must be loop, one must be flip
Combos: 1 jump combination with single jumps; 1 jump sequence with half or single revolution jumps
Spins: Camel spin (3 revs); One spin from layback, attitude, or sit (4 revs); Combination spin with (only 1 change of position), change of foot is optional (3 revs per position)
Moves: connecting moves consisting of spirals, edges, etc.

Dur: 2m 10s
Pass Avg: 2.7

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 11:31 AM

Haha!
I'm sure my coach will browbeat me into working on them shortly. But now I can press her to help me land that ever-elusive double salchow and double flip (screw you, axel :evil: ).

What a great feeling - and do you mean you haven't started working on your Gold moves yet???? It's Thursday already.....

sk8er1964

11-11-2004, 11:40 AM

Congrats - what a huge accomplishment (and at the last minute, too - wheee!) :D :D

Debbie S

11-11-2004, 01:24 PM

Congratulations, NoVa!! And congrats to Coach LoopLoop, too! :D :D

Mastering those 3-turns is quite an accomplishment. Now it's on to brackets, right?

I guess this means you'll be doing double-duty (singles and pairs) at AN?

:bow: :bow:

mdvask8r

11-11-2004, 01:24 PM

CONGRATS! CONGRATS! CONGRATS!

I know how very hard you have worked on those moves.
Where did you test?

and one other thing . . . Congratulations!

SK8RX

11-11-2004, 01:40 PM

Congratulations! I guess we'll be seeing you at Nationals in both singles and pairs. Great! Onward and upward!

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 01:51 PM

I tested at the Wheaton rink in Maryland. I left work at 5:15PM and tested at ~6PM. Thank God there was little traffic driving north through DC!

Sigh. Yup, I guess now I *must* compete in singles and pairs at nationals!

I guess I won't quit skating just yet. ;)

phillyskater

11-11-2004, 02:00 PM

YAY!!! Congratulations, NoVa!!! That news is "First Rate"!

philly

InsideAxel

11-11-2004, 02:47 PM

Way to go NoVa!

Loops, can you come help with my tests? ;)

C'ya!

Kelton

mikawendy

11-11-2004, 02:49 PM

I guess I won't quit skating just yet. ;)

No, I think if you were to quit, you'd have quite an irate LoopLoop on your hands! ;)

...and congratulations!!!!!

LoopLoop

11-11-2004, 02:59 PM

Way to go NoVa!

Loops, can you come help with my tests? ;)

C'ya!

Kelton

Does this mean you're testing gold soon? ;)

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 03:05 PM

Yes, help K' pass his gold tests ASAP--preferably by Jan. 15! :)

Does this mean you're testing gold soon? ;)

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 03:09 PM

Haha; I seem to make this promise to myself just about every year.
Good thing I'm not too great on the follow-through!

I would never desert Loops, though I try to be as obnoxious and annoying on the ice to drive her away. Seems like she's on to me! :lol:
Maybe I can amend my declaration and just quit singles skating?

Man, juggling my singles and pairs lessons and practice times is getting to be quite an ordeal! And sleep? ... What's that? 8-)

No, I think if you were to quit, you'd have quite an irate LoopLoop on your hands! ;)

...and congratulations!!!!!

LoopLoop

11-11-2004, 03:19 PM

I would never desert Loops, though I try to be as obnoxious and annoying on the ice to drive her away. Seems like she's on to me!
Hmmm, two can play that game. :twisted:

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 03:21 PM

Um, I never said *you* weren't repulsive as well! :lol:

We seem to have built up quite an immunity toward each other ...

Hmmm, two can play that game. :twisted:

InsideAxel

11-11-2004, 03:41 PM

Does this mean you're testing gold soon? ;)

Thinking about it. :roll: Passed my Pre-Juv MIF last weekend, so I'm trying to decide between Juv or Gold as to which to work on next.

Yes, help K' pass his gold tests ASAP--preferably by Jan. 15! :)

*lol* If I didn't know better I'd swear you're tryin' to get rid of me! ;)

C'ya!

Kelton

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 03:46 PM

Who? Me? Uh uh.

That said ... GOLD GOLD GOLD!!! :P

My camel just can't stand up against your mighty axel(s)!

I'm trying to decide between Juv or Gold as to which to work on next.
*lol* If I didn't know better I'd swear you're tryin' to get rid of me! ;)

PattyP

11-11-2004, 04:04 PM

Congratulations Nova!!! :D

That is a huge accomplishment to pass both moves and FS test in the same day!!! :bow:

PattyP

jmp123

11-11-2004, 04:34 PM

Congrats! I am especially impressed by the moves test, since I can't even get up enough guts to work on them! Way to go!

mskater

11-11-2004, 07:56 PM

Congratulations Nova! You were already a 'Silver' level skater, easily, but it must feel good to have "the papers":)

That said ... GOLD GOLD GOLD!!!

I second that notion; otherwise I'll have to start looking over my shoulders before too long! 8O

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 08:17 PM

Thanks, C'!

Deep down, I knew I had it in me to pass. Thanks for all the good vibes you sent my way--major accolades for your superb channeling effects! 8-)

To add to the story, this was my third try at the silver moves. What was so frustrating was that I have been competing in silver level (love that "skate-up" rule!) since Jan. '03. So it definitely feels good to be a true card-carrying silver-level skater. And now, if I want (and I think Loops wants), I can take the adult bronze and silver pair tests. Since I had never passed a moves test (passed bronze level FS before the moves were instituted in Sept. '02), the current rules would have required me to take the pre-bronze and bronze moves before taking the bronze pair test. Yet another hurdle dodged.

And as a side note, one of the judges told me that my moves still kinda sucked, though they were passable. She was surprised at how "night and day" my moves and FS were. Isn't that the way it goes?
That said, I just want to spin. Now I can skate up to gold-level spin events. Hooray! :D

Congratulations Nova! You were already a 'Silver' level skater, easily, but it must feel good to have "the papers":)

pennybeagle

11-11-2004, 08:47 PM

Hey, congratulations!! :bow:

I also just passed my silver FS on Saturday. Guess what I got to work on come Monday morning for my lesson? The dreaded back inside-forward inside perimeter three turns on the Gold moves :evil:

So...see you at nationals?

Terri C

11-11-2004, 08:54 PM

Now I can skate up to gold-level spin events. Hooray! :D

Why don't you go for it at the New Year's competition??? ;)

flo

11-11-2004, 09:00 PM

Kelton,
Congrats as well! Go for the gold!
Nova, you and loops could take the silver test. It would be good for the judges to see adults make the transition from fs to pairs, and do a great job.

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 09:05 PM

I'm thinking about it! But one of the requirements is a cross-foot spin. Spin as I like, my legs/hips cannot seem to grasp the concept.
But, I would love to do the flying camel, and I have some more weird/interesting spin combos to showcase!

That said, doing more than 2 events per competition is getting to be quite a slog--I'm no Becca G.! I did 3 events at Peach and 5 events at the Halloween comp. Darn near wore me out.

Focus #1 is pairs (ya hear that, Loops? Death spiral or die trying! :P ); the rest we'll see ...

Why don't you go for it [gold-level spins] at the New Year's competition??? ;)

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 09:15 PM

COOL! A great past week for us both. 8-)

I am dreading seeing my singles coach. She'll probably pull what I call the "invincible" card: Since I conquered these 2 tests in a single bound, she'll convince me in her beguiling way that I can tackle gold moves. Nuh-uh! I guess I'm under her spell; she even carved out a special Sat. morning freestyle session for me.

But I just want to get back to working on the walley (it's been 2 years since I abandoned it!), flying sit spin (Loops, we WILL someday do sbs flying sits!), flying reverse sit (I hate calling it the flying axel sit spin given my current conflict with the axel!), and double salchow.

I'll be at nationals for sure. Definitely for silver pairs (I officially requested April 11-15 off from work already); not sure about interp or singles.

As much as I pooh-pooh moves, they've really helped my pairs skating. Our pairs coach gave us some new stroking exercises, and I was surprised at how easy (well, nothing moves related is really easy fo me) they were, compared to maybe 8 months ago.

Loops is light years ahead of me when it comes to moves, so I feel guilty that I am the "limiting factor" when it comes to our program footwork. Maybe she and my coach will gang up and persuade me to start those gold moves. (Resist, Steve, resist! :P )

Hey, congratulations!! :bow:

I also just passed my silver FS on Saturday. Guess what I got to work on come Monday morning for my lesson? The dreaded back inside-forward inside perimeter three turns on the Gold moves :evil:

So...see you at nationals?

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 09:26 PM

Flo,
We plan on taking the bronze and silver pair tests (i think); perhaps after our holiday show (we get to begin the choreography tomorrow at Fairfax! Yippee!) and after the New Year's Invitational in early February. And thanks for your encouraging words--I hope we'd do well, too!

After my test sessions last night, one of the judges--who was very kind and receptive--mentioned that there are so many test judges who would like to get their badge in pairs. Since we are the only adult pair skaters in this area (I believe; unless there are others in the woodwork?), many of these judges have to trek up to Delaware or points further.

What better way to help out the local skating community (besides me test judging--but that's a different topic for a different day!) then to test adult pairs? I think it would be good for the local sections--Washington FSC and the Skating Club of NoVa, er, Northern Virginia--to see adults doing pairs (as you mentioned). Yes, we're adults, but we can do it just the same.

Oh wait; testing at the adult bronze pair level would require a 2min 10sec pair program, as opposed to our 2min 40sec silver program. Not ANOTHER program--How many do I have to do in one season? :P

Nova, you and loops could take the silver test. It would be good for the judges to see adults make the transition from fs to pairs, and do a great job.

Terri C

11-11-2004, 09:27 PM

I am dreading seeing my singles coach. She'll probably pull what I call the "invincible" card: Since I conquered these 2 tests in a single bound, she'll convince me in her beguiling way that I can tackle gold moves. Nuh-uh! I guess I'm under her spell; she even carved out a special Sat. morning freestyle session for me.

I feel your pain- you know when coaches come up with "ideas" 8O . That happened today to me on lesson. Coach has installed the faucet, only the faucet, on the kitchen sink that I dreaded that would be added to my program after Halloween Classic.

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 09:35 PM

:lol:
Great analogy!
My coach, had she seen my FS test, would have FREAKED OUT at the appalling improv number I pulled. (I know, I know, I passed, but that's not the point!)

I am still recovering from all the skating I've done this week; all those moves near killed me. Then I have TWO pair lessons tomorrow starting at 8AM. As you may tell, I am not even ready to go to bed.

Ugh. Singles coach, let's just work on crossovers on Sat. morning. :P

I feel your pain- you know when coaches come up with "ideas" 8O . That happened today to me on lesson. Coach has installed the faucet, only the faucet, on the kitchen sink that I dreaded that would be added to my program after Halloween Classic.

Terri C

11-11-2004, 09:39 PM

:lol:

Ugh. Singles coach, let's just work on crossovers on Sat. morning. :P

I'll bet that won't happen!! ;)

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 09:42 PM

I'll bet that won't happen!! ;)

<sigh> Right you are. She'll pull out her encyclopedic moves tome and pick some arcane pattern. "Steve, it's a Schaeffer push. ... Got that?" <world-weary sigh>

Nah, just kidding. I love her to pieces.
I'll be working on double flip or double sal ... OR both. Anything to distract her from my bête noire, the axel. ;)
Actually, I've not seen her in ~3 weeks, so we'll probably spend most of the session catching up on gossip. Oops, did I just write that? :)

flo

11-11-2004, 09:55 PM

Hi Nova,
I took bz and silver on the same session. I also didn't want two programs. The plan was to use one program with all the elements included. I had asked USFSA ahead of time and had permission to do so from them in writing. However as we were to take the ice for the second test, one of the judges said that we had to have the additional time. So, I asked my coach to put on the music with his longer version of the piece. :roll: So, the first time I skated to the longer piece was there in the test. We made up a spiral sequence as we skated to take up the extra time. It went well, (but would not suggest this method) and was a clean program. Go for it!

NoVa Sk8r

11-11-2004, 10:04 PM

Haha. I'll leave all the minutiae up to Loops. She's in charge of our "strategery."

I'm just the dumb lug who picks her up (what's our motto, Loops?: Brains/Brawn.) ;)

Maybe we'll do prelim pair and bronze on the same session?

Thanks again, folks, for your kind words, suggestions, and support!

Happy skating to all, and to all a good night.

NoVa out!

Hi Nova,
I took bz and silver on the same session. I also didn't want two programs. The plan was to use one program with all the elements included. I had asked USFSA ahead of time and had permission to do so from them in writing. However as we were to take the ice for the second test, one of the judges said that we had to have the additional time. So, I asked my coach to put on the music with his longer version of the piece. :roll: So, the first time I skated to the longer piece was there in the test. We made up a spiral sequence as we skated to take up the extra time. It went well, (but would not suggest this method) and was a clean program. Go for it!

2loop2loop

11-14-2004, 06:03 PM

sue123

11-14-2004, 06:37 PM

Oh and NoVa - glad to see there's another skating chemist out there - although I'm still writing my PhD :frus: :frus:

John

i don't think you're alone, although i'm still working on my bachelors, in biochem, though. the whole department thinks I'm nuts for skating, especially when a fell about a month ago and got a pretty nasty concussion. and somehow, they all know how i'm doing as far as getting my moves down, even if i don't tell them.

but at least i'm not that involved in the physics department. when i took physics, my prof. somehow found out that i skate, and wanted me to analyze the physics of a spin (centrifugal force, i think). can you imagine having to work out the physics of jumps and everything else?? :frus:

NoVa Sk8r

11-14-2004, 06:59 PM

I'm always glad to find other skating chemists. See, we're not all pocket-protector-wearing, stuck-in-the lab dweebs!

Since I no longer work in the lab, I sometimes don't even consider myself a chemist (I have a Ph.D. in bioinorganic chemistry from Duke University). But I guess, once a chemist, always a chemist

Good luck with the dissertation--I know how that goes! Thank God I was close enough to the rink in grad school; it provided quite a release.

Hey NoVa Sk8r and LoopLoop

How about this for a random coincidence. I had already seen some of your photo's from NoVa Sk8r's webpage. Well I was at my friend Jenny's house after skating on Friday and she was showing me her photos from the Halloween Classic - she pulls out one of a pair couple and I say "hey that looks familiar" - it was of you two doing an ina bauer - spiral (nice position btw). Then she was left wondering how I (being thousands of miles away in the UK) recognise a photo of you two.

Oh and NoVa - glad to see there's another skating chemist out there - although I'm still writing my PhD :frus: :frus:

John

NoVa Sk8r

11-14-2004, 07:09 PM

Oh my God ... that reminds me. When I was first learning how to skate back in 1998, I suffered a minor concussion after falling on the ice after working on that (then) elusive scratch spin. Well, the incident happened 1 week before my preliminary doctoral exam. I was completely out of it (well, more so than usual :) ); my research advisor suggested I postpone the exam. I said, "Uh, uh!" I took the exam (high on painkillers and muscle relaxants, no less), and passed. After that, I pretty much decided that Iwould devote most of my grad school time at the skating rink: I was determined to achieve perfect spins. (I'm getting there!)

Because of grad school expectations about working in the lab 24/7, I never really told anyone that I skated. It wasn't until our department chairman saw me at the rink that the jig was up! Then, some grad student--a hockey skater--took a picture of me doing a camel spin, and the chem department used it as part of its recruitment propaganda to show that there were many activities in the surrounding area. :oops: and 8-)

i don't think you're alone, although i'm still working on my bachelors, in biochem, though. the whole department thinks I'm nuts for skating, especially when a fell about a month ago and got a pretty nasty concussion. and somehow, they all know how i'm doing as far as getting my moves down, even if i don't tell them.

but at least i'm not that involved in the physics department. when i took physics, my prof. somehow found out that i skate, and wanted me to analyze the physics of a spin (centrifugal force, i think). can you imagine having to work out the physics of jumps and everything else?? :frus:

sue123

11-14-2004, 08:51 PM

Oh my God ... that reminds me. When I was first learning how to skate back in 1998, I suffered a minor concussion after falling on the ice after working on that (then) elusive scratch spin. Well, the incident happened 1 week before my preliminary doctoral exam. I was completely out of it (well, more so than usual :) ); my research advisor suggested I postpone the exam. I said, "Uh, uh!" I took the exam (high on painkillers and muscle relaxants, no less), and passed. After that, I pretty much decided that Iwould devote most of my grad school time at the skating rink: I was determined to achieve perfect spins. (I'm getting there!)

Because of grad school expectations about working in the lab 24/7, I never really told anyone that I skated. It wasn't until our department chairman saw me at the rink that the jig was up! Then, some grad student--a hockey skater--took a picture of me doing a camel spin, and the chem department used it as part of its recruitment propaganda to show that there were many activities in the surrounding area. :oops: and 8-)

glad it worked out for you. i took a cell bio exam a week after getting my concussion (it was a pretty nasty one too :?? ) and lets just say it didn't work so well. fortunatly, my prof is an athlete too, so she understood.

i didn't plan on telling anyone i skated, but it's such a big part of m life, that when i kept coming in bumped and bruised, they wondered what was up. that was about a year ago. but it's cool, i got written about also for recruitment, to show that not everyone who is in the dept as a student or employer is only involved in chem.

flo

11-14-2004, 09:12 PM

How funny. I spent most of my pre-skating time in a lab in toxicology. Now in research. I have a photo of me and a patient at NIH and I have my skates on. Some of the kids in my studies were stuck at the hospital for a while, so I would have tea parties and things, and take them skating!
One of my favorite programs was to "The Stepps of Central Asia" by Alexander Borodin - also a chemist.

NoVa Sk8r

11-14-2004, 09:14 PM

And Jeff Buttle is studying chemical engineering, so we're in good company! 8-)

Mrs Redboots

11-15-2004, 07:03 AM

Hey NoVa Sk8r and LoopLoop

How about this for a random coincidence. I had already seen some of your photo's from NoVa Sk8r's webpage. Well I was at my friend Jenny's house after skating on Friday and she was showing me her photos from the Halloween Classic - she pulls out one of a pair couple and I say "hey that looks familiar" - it was of you two doing an ina bauer - spiral (nice position btw). Then she was left wondering how I (being thousands of miles away in the UK) recognise a photo of you two.

Oh and NoVa - glad to see there's another skating chemist out there - although I'm still writing my PhD :frus: :frus:

JohnYeah, but your friend Jenny knows you compete internationally, same as she does - we've all been at the same competitons..... but I suppose NoVa and LoopLoop don't, not yet. I wonder if there is any chance of persuading them???? :?:

At least you are doing your PhD in a beautiful city with a lovely rink and a fantastic bunch of adult skaters - I do wish we lived a little nearer! As it is, you are a good two hours away from us, and it's too far for frequent visits. Such a pity that when we did live near there (and went into the city fairly often), I didn't skate, either as a child or when I was a young mother!

LoopLoop

11-15-2004, 07:29 AM

nerd_on_ice

11-15-2004, 03:49 PM

Hooray for skating grad students! (or hooray for grad student skaters?) :bow:

I am a Ph.D. student in 18th-century British literature (didn't have the good sense to get into the hard sciences or any other moneymaking field).

Luckily my advisor is an avid (read "obsessed") mountain biker, so he is all about my devotion to skating. However, after reading these stories I think I will NOT skate on the morning of my oral comprehensive exam in a couple weeks--unless I really think I'm going to tank and need a trip to the hospital to get out of taking the exam!

NoVa Sk8r

11-15-2004, 11:07 PM

Who said the hard sciences are a moneymaking field? :P

I actually lucked out. It turned out that my advisor's wife had a niece who supported herself in school by coaching skating. Still, it was kind of awkward when my advisor knew why I wasn't in the lab. I had to work a few Friday and Saturday nights (when I knew he would be in his office) just to show him that I was still putting in the time in the lab. That worked for, oh, 3 weeks or so! :lol:

Hooray for skating grad students! (or hooray for grad student skaters?) :bow:

I am a Ph.D. student in 18th-century British literature (didn't have the good sense to get into the hard sciences or any other moneymaking field).

Luckily my advisor is an avid (read "obsessed") mountain biker, so he is all about my devotion to skating. However, after reading these stories I think I will NOT skate on the morning of my oral comprehensive exam in a couple weeks--unless I really think I'm going to tank and need a trip to the hospital to get out of taking the exam!

Mrs Redboots

11-16-2004, 03:49 AM

Luckily my advisor is an avid (read "obsessed") mountain biker, so he is all about my devotion to skating. However, after reading these stories I think I will NOT skate on the morning of my oral comprehensive exam in a couple weeks--unless I really think I'm going to tank and need a trip to the hospital to get out of taking the exam!Wouldn't you be better skating, and thus concentrating on it, than panicking about the exam?

In this country we lose a lot of skaters when they reach year 10 in school and have to start concentrating on their GCSEs (public exams taken at age 16); their parents reckon that they must drop all their extras to concentrate on academic work. My daughter didn't start skating until Year 10, when it was one of the PE options offered by her school. And found working on her Novice (then =pre-Preliminary) test an excellent counter-irritant to her A levels (public exams taken at age 18, the results of which determine whether or where you go to university). We entered her for the test and said, well, if it's on the same morning you have an exam, you'll just have to postpone it - but it wasn't, she took it, passed it, and got good enough A level results to go to her first choice of university!

nerd_on_ice

11-16-2004, 11:22 AM

Wouldn't you be better skating, and thus concentrating on it, than panicking about the exam?

You may be right--one of my favorite things about skating is that when I'm doing it, I can't think about anything else. It rests the parts of my brain that I usually use. "Counter-irritant" is the perfect term!

NCSkater02

11-16-2004, 06:32 PM

However, after reading these stories I think I will NOT skate on the morning of my oral comprehensive exam in a couple weeks--unless I really think I'm going to tank and need a trip to the hospital to get out of taking the exam!

I had major surgery about a year ago. It was scheduled for 1pm, with an 11am arrival time at the hospital. It was my (then) regular Tuesday morning lesson time. I went to the lesson, and had told my coach that it was her job to keep me distracted so I wouldn't think about it. I also made sure we worked on jumps and spins, since they would be off-limits for six weeks. She did a great job of not letting me think about it, and we had a great lesson. Of course, we didn't have any for a month after that. :cry:

starskate6.0

11-21-2004, 10:46 AM

NoVa and Penny

Great job on passing your silvers, thats great news. " And now a message for Nova and Kelton " . DO THE GOLD TEST , Your both powerful skaters and Kelton Iv seen you skate in practice and an axel is no challange for you. NoVa I think Iv met you at the Halloween event and if you are the person i think you are , you too could pass this test based on the fact that you can do a better camel spin than most of us in the male race.

The moves will only make you a better skater, It took me three months to learn to do them well enough to do the test and I can only say my foot work improved dramaticly there after. Im looking forward to my first time at gold. :) You guys have the power and strength to do this by nationals Im sure. you would both be an asset to gold mens. See you at the golds :P I was impressed with both of you at the Halloween event and I know you could do this,
My quote :: " The greatest risk in life is not taking one. "

Ross

NoVa Sk8r

11-22-2004, 09:36 AM

You did indeed meet me at the Halloween competition. Thanks for your kind words on my camel spin, which is just about my favorite skating move. But one move does not mean that I am ready or even capable of competing at the gold level!

I do plan on eventually taking the gold moves test. Now that there are proposed changes being mulled and considered in the Governing Council (namely, to take out that pesky novice move), the gold MIF seems a little bit more palatable--not to mention the fact that a silver move may be added to gold (inside slide chasse).
I don't expect to take the gold free skate any time soon. Methinks I'll never quite land an axel--but I've *only* been working on it for 4+ years. Also, it would mean that I'd have to compete in gold pairs, and that is scary to even think about at this time.

These days, I'm focusing more on the basics--proper crossovers and good edging.

*Steve*

NoVa and Penny

Great job on passing your silvers, thats great news. " And now a message for Nova and Kelton " . DO THE GOLD TEST , Your both powerful skaters and Kelton Iv seen you skate in practice and an axel is no challange for you. NoVa, I think I've met you at the Halloween event, and if you are the person I think you are, you, too, could pass this test based on the fact that you can do a better camel spin than most of us in the male race.

The moves will only make you a better skater, It took me three months to learn to do them well enough to do the test and I can only say my foot work improved dramaticly there after. You guys have the power and strength to do this by nationals Im sure. you would both be an asset to gold mens. See you at the golds :P I was impressed with both of you at the Halloween event and I know you could do this. Ross

flo

11-22-2004, 10:04 AM

Nova,
You can do gold pairs! If ;) and I skate together, you can compete with us!

starskate6.0

11-22-2004, 09:34 PM

Hey NoVa

Yes I remember you well, you skated great. As for that axel. Don't get your nickers in a twist to much it will come. I have been working on the camel for over a year and even now its one in ten at practice, I got lucky in my gold test but only got one turn in the camel before I sat down to the sit spin, and as for spining on my right foot :frus: :frus: well you know what I mean. The axel has alway's been my problen jump as well, I think its a fact that even doubles are easyer that the axel, (mine looks like a dog looking for a fire hydrant ) I have been pullling mine apart for the last year and trying to do it differently, The goal is to be the first 45 or 46 or 47 or 48 year old adult skater to learn a double axel.
:lol: ( notice the progress in age if I don't make it at 46 ) :?? am I mad or what ?? It may never happen but can you imagine doing something you have only dreamed about and makeing it a reality. 8O "WOW"
"Hey I skated on stilts didn't I" and you should see me fall on those (" Iv fallen and I can't get up")
My quote : The greatest risk in life is not takeing one.
8O