Different sharpening 2 weeks before the test - WWYD?

[renatele]

I know it's ultimately up to me, but I'm unsure of what I should do in this situation... I have a test session coming up on 21st, and have recently been skating on harder ice than before, which combined with just slightly dull blades made me slip around a little. I went to my sharpener last Saturday. Without asking me first, he put a smaller roh (deeper sharpening) than I had before. I had 7/16", now it's 3/8". I like him to take the bite off my edges, so this 3/8" is dulled down a little and doesn't feel terribly bad now, but I did have some tougher time during this week adjusting to it. Some things do feel quite better (where my technique isn't as good as it should be and I was slipping on the edges before this sharpening), but then on some moves edges also feel a little too grabby for my taste, forward spin is more difficult (but still above pre-pre FS passing level), and I've caught an edge several times, not to mention that I feel slower.

I'll get at most 5-7 hours of skating before my test... My options at this point are: a) try to fully adjust to this sharpening in that time - could be possible and b) go back to sharpener today to get 7/16" back, and perhaps slip around a little. If I want to reverse the change, I HAVE to do it today, or I won't get a chance till next Saturday, less than a week before the test.

What would you do? Arrgh! I'm just so undecided... Both options aren't the best, and I was thinking of trying out the deeper grind, but AFTER the test, not less than 2 weeks before it. I'm just very annoyed that he changed the roh without asking/informing me of it first. VERY wrong timing. Sigh.

--Renata
yet another skating blog (http://www.livejournal.com/users/renatele)

[jazzpants]

Tough call... the change of ice is already a factor, so I personally wouldn't want to go and change my ROH to adjust to the ice too... certainly not two weeks before a test. (I like keeping things steady at least a month (and preferably two) before I take a test. It's just too much change in too short a time.

Good luck with the test! You'll do fine!

[Mrs Redboots]

I'd stay with how it is now - I shouldn't wonder if you don't feel completely used to it next time you're on the ice. You'll be fine. Good luck with the test.

[TaBalie]

Agree with Mrs. Redboots. Leave them be, you will be used to them in no time (way before the test)!

:)

[stardust skies]

I would stay with the sharpening until you pass your test, and then go back and have it resharpened (for free, because he SHOULD have asked you) to your usual 7/16 and ask him kindly not to make any more changes to your blades without getting your go ahead first because he really put you in a bind by changing your hollow two weeks before your test. I wouldn't go back to the same sharpener after that personally, but it seems like people here tolerate a lot more from their fitters/sharpeners than they really should have to, so that part is debatable. I personally would be furious and have it changed right away because I know what I like to skate on, but since the bite's been taken down and you were having some slippage problems before, the 3/8's might not to be too bad for your test. An edge that grabs is better than an edge that slips on a test, even though neither are good.

Some food for thought though, is that there's really not much of a reason you should slip on a 7/16...I know everyone is different, but it seems unlikely. You might want to look at your blades for any rust, or see that your sharpener is giving you a TRUE 7/16 (there's no 7/16 increment on the grinding wheel, it's in between 1/2 and 3/8 so sharpeners have to guess) and that he is not stoning down your edges after sharpening.

Good luck on the test!!!

[renatele]

Thanks for your replies! I did leave the blades as they are. Hope I'm not going to regret it next week :roll:

stardust: he IS slightly stoning down the edges after sharpening, as I hate the grabby feel of freshly-sharpened blades. My sharpenings don't last very long because of it, but it's something I'm willing to compromise on, and slightly dulled 7/16" has worked perfectly for me on softer ice. It's the much harder ice than before + somewhat dull blades (and bad technique in some cases) that caused slippage. I did tell him that I was slipping a bit, but still, he should NOT have changed it without asking me (the more I think about it, the more angry I get). I think I'm willing to stay with him though, as in September I will be back on the softer ice and I know exactly how I like my blades to be done for it and he does excellent job for that.

Now... anyone have any tips on how to stop being paranoid about the upcoming test? LOL.

[Casey]

For what it's worth...

I just had my blades changed back to 7/16" last night - I had them at 5/16" before (3/8" being right between them).

I had absolutely no problem at all skating today. I doubt I'll ever go deeper than 7/16" again, because it just seems like overkill and I don't think it really helped me much at all - I can still get plenty of bite with 7/16". At the same time I don't think it really hurt, the only real downside I noticed with the deeper hollows were that the blades were noisier.

[Raye]

Now... anyone have any tips on how to stop being paranoid about the upcoming test?


Just enjoy yourself! You know you can do it. :) :) :)

[Thin-Ice]

You've practiced everything on the test endlessly.. and obviously your coach thinks you're ready to test or wouldn't have put you up for the test. Go and show the judges what you can do. They really do want you to pass! The change in the ice and the different sharpening should feel better by test-time.
But next time, I'd have my blades sharpened 3-4 weeks before a test.

And remember, the more often you test or compete or have a judge critique you, the less anxiety-producing it is (unless you feel unsure about your ability to do the elements on the test.. in which case, see if you can delay it a month).

By the way, which test are you taking? Good luck!

[renatele]

I've skated twice after the weekend, and the blades indeed do feel way better now. I'm not so worried about the deeper sharpening anymore :D

Thin-ice: I'll be taking pre-preliminary FS & preliminary MITF. Coach insists that my skating generally is above preliminary moves level, but several elements freak me out - FO alt-3s especially :twisted: I also have self-confidence issues, not just in my skating but in everything I do that involves other people focusing all their attention on me and just me. Something that stems deep from my childhood... I did notice that I'm not nervous with my coach and skate in his presence about as good (or bad, one could say, LOL) as I normally do, although I've had just 5 lessons with him so far. Hope that having him at the test and not having other people I know (ie. my husband) watching me will do the trick ;)

[Thin-Ice]

Don't worry about the Pre-Preliminary FS test.. At the top of the judges' forms it says "THIS IS AN ENCOURAGEMENT TEST" -- so they're even told in writing to be NICE to you. Go out there, smile before you start, then tune them all out and do what you know you can do. As for the Moves, take your time doing the elements, remember to breath and again SMILE. The judges are always more relaxed if they think you are relaxed and confident. When I took my Bronze moves test, I actually had to skate over to the judges and tell them I was having a brain-fade moment and couldn't remember how to do an inside 3-turn. :oops: One of the judges made a face at me :roll: , the other two smiled or laughed and gave me a minute to recompose my brain... and then I went out and passed the test.

Oh, and you're lucky you don't get nervous in front of your coach. I almost always ask my coach to leave after the warm-up because she makes me more nervous than the judges do! And there have been competitions where I've actually banned her from the rink! (or there's my other trick, I just don't tell her I'm entering and come back the next lesson and tell her how I did. She doesn't have many adult competitors, so chances are she's not going to be there for my events anyway. Although, one time one of the other coaches with competitors at an event told her how I did, before I had told her I was competing... and she called me and said "so I hear you skated really well at last week's competition..."

[jenlyon60]

They're not expecting perfection on the alternating 3-turns at Preliminary MIF.

In my neck of the woods, generally it's expected that the cups of the turn will be at or very close to top of lobe and the skater will hold the edge back to or close to the starting point. And not too much wide stepping to start the next turn (the wide stepping coming from not quite returning to the starting point)

Also the entry half of the lobe and the exit half should generally be the same size (which shows some control of the exit edge). If the exit edge makes an almost straight beeline for the starting line/axis or spirals in on itself a bit, then obviously the skater doesn't have very good control of the edge.

Each lobe should also be about the same size going across. I've seen tests where the size of the lobes for the first couple turns was drastically different than the size of the lobes for the last turn or so.

Finally, one thing often considered in the assessment of a test (generally MIF) is "based on what's being demonstrated now, how hard will it be for the skater to successfully complete the next level." If the test is very rough, it can appear that the skater doesn't have full understanding and ability to perform those moves, which can mean that that skater could very well struggle to do the next level. In the long run, it can actually be fairer to a skater to get a Retry on a MIF test and spend a bit more time working on those elements, than to get a Pass, then spend twice or three times as much time training and testing the next level. Especially at the lower levels.