2005 achievements

[aussieskater]

Well, it's almost the end of the year (!! - where did that go??), and I thought I'd start a thread to let people discuss what they've achieved in their skating over the year, and what they missed.

I'll start - at the beginning of the year, I wanted to have all my forward 3-turns (in and out), and all my inside mohawks (closed and open). My last lesson of the year (yesterday), I managed them all. (Wheee!) Not very good ones, but the coach agreed that there were no feet down and no scraping. (Now as for the body position on some of them...) I even got the forward inside to out chocktaws on both feet, which were not on my list.

I missed out on getting them at speed and with flow, and I missed badly on getting them in the middle of anything else (eg: XO, XO, FO3, back XO, step forward etc.)

How did everyone else go?

[jenlyon60]

Testing the Tango 3 times.

Getting Retries 3 Times.

Falling on the Tango the most recent time.

Training the Tango... Training the Tango... Training the Tango...

(Still like the dance but am getting darn tired of training it...)

[blisspix]

woohoo aussieskater!

My achievements... finally getting new skates in March and getting back on the ice regularly in August, 4 years after I was last on the ice and 7 years since I was skating regularly (twice a week, testing etc). That's enough for me :)

I'm still working on regaining a lot of my strength and fitness (as I did almost no exercise in the break and was diagnosed with asthma) but am looking forward to 2006 being healthier than I started the year.

Oh yeah, and I got to skate at Central Park in NYC and Millennium Park in Chicago outdoors in my new skates, that was a nice achievement :D

[prettyinpink]

i passed my senior moves in the field and 2 of my gold dances! :)

[Michigansk8er]

Accomplishments:

Skated a clean program at AN
Actually competed at AN
Passed Bronze dances


Lost Causes:

Finding my AWOL loop, flip and lutz
Gold moves
Ever competing at Silver...........but at least I passed the test!!!!!

[Figuresk8_katie]

let's see....think back to last January...

Well...I believe this is what was accomplished:

Sr. Silver Dances:
Blues (failed once last year)
Starlight
Kilian

Gold Dances:
Quickstep (failed twice)
Viennese
Silver Samba

Skills:
Sr. SIlver Skills

Artistics:
Bronze Interpretive
Silver Interpretive
Gold Interpretive

Freeskates:

Sr. Bronze Part 2
Jr. Silver Part 1

And as of next week i'm hoping to be able to add at least one of Sr. Silver freeskate part 1 and Westminster Waltz!

eeek! nerves setting in already!

-Katie

[Mel On Ice]

I thought I'd post a link to last year's thread:

http://www.skatingforums.com/showthread.php?t=16278&highlight=years+resolution



And one big step that was not on my list for 2004 was beginning the process of becoming a test/competition judge.

As for my goals for 2005, some of them cannot be mentioned here *yet* as I have some big, life changing decisions to make in the next few months, but I can lay down a framework here:

flip, lutz
work on camel to become consistent
camel-sit
pass freestyle 4
actually medal in the summer event I usually enter and walk away with 0


big unmentionable goal for 2005 - I moved back to Michigan about 3 months after that was posted

flip - check!

lutz - check!

camel - still working on it, but I have already moved onto camel/sit and camel/back sit

pass fs4 - check!

medal at summer event - check.. BUT I came in 3rd out of 3 after falling on my assets twice. flying~camel was there to see the results of that debacle. What I learned from that episode made me feel a million times better about me and my relationship with skating. I didn't fall due to a lack of practice or inner toughness, because I don't have an inner champion, or because I'm a loser. I fell because this is a SPORT and that's what happens sometimes. How can I explain landing a flip and lutz beautifully for the first time in competition, then tripping myself on a spiral, a move I have been able to do since my first learn to skate class? I was the last skater of the event and last skater of the competition, and after I finished my program, skated over to my coach, shrugged it off, then said "I've got to prove it to myself I can do this." I went back out and did the spiral sequence through the jump combinations to the camel spin that I also fell on in competition. Did it all perfectly that time. f~c and our other competitior went out with me and we all performed our mulligans for ourselves and each other, not the judges. So there.

becoming a judge - check!

Other highlights of the year included competing at AN for the first time and the hokey pokey dance;
not coming in last at all my ISI events right after testing 4;
finishing the synchro season with my team before I moved away;
and meeting more of my online skating friends in person.

I was surprised to have several "hey ma" episodes. I got to see my picture on the USFSA website, the latest issue of ISI magazine and had a small piece published in Skating magazine too.

[Debbie S]

Thanks for the link to last year's thread, Mel!

Oh, I'm feeling :oops: But then again, do you ever really achieve all of your goals exactly when you plan to?

My goals for this year were:
1. Land loop, flip, and lutz consistently and get a combo with a loop on the back end.
2. Improve spins, especially camel-sit. And get more than 2 revs in position on my backspin.
3. Pass Bronze MIF and FS.
4. Do well at New Year's, and try to compete Bronze at Chesapeake Open and/or Wilmington and not finish last.
5. Get a new program.

Well.....
1. Ha! OK, my loop has gotten more consistent. I'd say I land it about 75% of the time (I guess that meets the definition of "consistently", right?). After taking 2 months off from skating, I pretty much gave up on the flip. I suspect I've got some bad habits with it, so I want to wait for my coach to look at it, which I haven't done yet due to my work to meet goal #3.
2. Hmmm, well, I can now do (not always) 3 revs on my backspin, which has probably been my biggest accomplishment this year. My sit spin feels lower and I can hold it for more revs, and my forward scratch is consistently getting about 5-6 revs - better than the 3-4 I was doing this time last year. As for the camel or camel-sit, I gave up on the camel after my hiatus from skating until I have more time to devote to it, which probably won't be until I can get my Bronze MIF and FS tests passed, which leads me to....
3. Well, I tried Bronze MIF and passed some of the moves. Unfortunately, you do need to pass all of them, so it's back to work on perimeter stroking. And since Part 2 of goal #3 was contingent on achieving Part 1, both parts have been rolled over into '06.
4. Well, I skated OK at NYI, not my best, but hey, there's another goal for next year! Since I took some time off and eased back into things somewhat slowly, there were no summer comps for me. But there's always next year....
5. OK, I'm happy to report that this is now being accomplished. I got my music cut last night and will start on the choreography soon. I'm also in the process of ordering my new dress. Hopefully, everything wil be ready by NYI.

This was a mixed year, with some setbacks but also some good achievements. I must thank (trying not to sound like I'm at the Oscars - lol) Terri C, jazzpants, flo (and skating friends), sk8pics, NoVa, and Loops for their encouragement and support throughout the year. :bow:

For next year, my goals are:
1. Pass Bronze MIF and FS. (finally!)
2. In the jump category, get a flip, a better loop, and maybe (at least try) a lutz. In the spin category, continue to improve my back scratch, get a sit-change sit, and maybe (who knows?) a camel.
3. At NYI, I'd like to land all of my jumps and do well on my spins, and not fall or otherwise make a fool of myself on the 8-step mohawk in the Bronze MIF event. I have no idea what other comps I'm going to do next year, but I'd just like to do well and start climbing my way up the Bronze ladder (whenever I test up).
4. Get an interpretive program.

[NoVa Sk8r]

3. Well, I tried Bronze MIF and passed some of the moves. Unfortunately, you do need to pass all of them, so it's back to work on perimeter stroking. And since Part 2 of goal #3 was contingent on achieving Part 1, both parts have been rolled over into '06.While it's nice to strive for, you don't need to pass all the moves. You just need your total for all the moves to be at the passing mark or above.

To wit: In silver moves, I never passed the 3-turns in the field, but luckily, my spirals made up for it (well, maybe it was the judges taking pity and boosting that move way up that did it!).

Anyway, you've come a long way, so I'm looking forward to the post from you that reads, "I've PASSED bronze moves!" 8-)

[mikawendy]

I didn't post in last year's goals thread, but I remember the big one I was trying for was to pass Pre-Bronze MIF and FS (check and check). An ongoing quest for me is to eventually learn (and then master) all of the one-foot and two-foot turns. This year, I learned RFO rocker, RFI rocker, and LFI-RBO choctaw (well, it's still a shock-taw, but it's a start!)

My goals for this year:
--Compete at New Year's, HC, and perhaps others
--Test Bronze MIF and FS
--Improve flip (better rotation and height), start working on lutz, and improve my combos involving loops (as in land some of 'em clean!). I'd eventually like to start working on axel and walley, but that's probably way down the road...
--Improve backspin, including as part of change foot spin
--Learn sit-back sit
--In general, improve what my left foot can do! (Now if skating involved two RIGHT feet, then I'd be good to go! :D :D )
--Perhaps do an interpretive program
--Learn more one-foot turns
--And most of all, have fun!!!!!

[jazzpants]

Oh, dear!!! :oops: Well, at least this year I stayed reasonably healthy. At the beginning of the year, I finally skated again in my current pair of purple boots after recovering from my shin injuries... only to find myself on the unemployment line again!!! :frus: In the end it was a blessing. I finally found a job that I can have a reasonable sane schedule with. As long as I get my work done, I can pretty much do whatever I want! (That includes skating in the middle of the day, which is an optimal time for me to skate since, during the school year, it's usually not crowded at all....and I am AWAKE for that!!! :twisted: )

Well let's see...

What happened this past year:

I made a second try at Bronze Moves! I was actually very close to passing this time around. My overall skating improved noticably this year, according to both my coaches but it still didn't make an impact on those judges! :cry: (Well, except for the one judge that did pass me... who turns out to be one of THE tougher judges -- in fact, tougher than the one that didn't pass me!!! 8O ) Their comments, of course, leads to...
My current training on my crossovers... especially my back crossovers! I'm really working hard with the secondary coach to get those back crossovers right, while at the same time I'm still working with the primary coach on my Bronze Moves runthroughs. Took a month to get most of them back after a brief break from the Bronze Moves test to work on...
Skate SF. I actually started landing my loop more consistently and decided on throwing in the flip just to say that I've attempted it. Well, the loop had a slight toe tap but was otherwise landed. The flip this year became my UHT! But ... I FINALLY got my first GOLD MEDAL (and with straight 1 ordinals in a FS event too!!! OMG!!!! 8O )
Right after that, I took a break from jumps and concentrated on moves again... b/c I had overdid my loop jump practices to the point where my lower back was hurting and my chiro had to adjust me again. After that and a brief rest, I was back doing jumps again and am starting to land more loops and flips again! Sadly, it just feels like I'm back where I am from last years and it's frustrating!!!
Spins: well, I'm happy to say that this year I've added a backspin to my skills. It's not perfect yet though. I still fall into the inside edge at times, but for the most part, it spins and it's more than 3 revolutions consistently.
Jumps: I'm also happy to say that I'm playing around with the lutz as of this year. It was unofficial until one day my primary coach asked me to do a half lutz... and I ended up overotating to the point where I'm almost landing the darn jump!!! (Oops!! :oops: ) Primary coach says "I asked for a half lutz, but since I could see that you can pretty much rotate well enough, let's see you do a LUTZ this time!!! :twisted: "
I'm going back to NYC. The only difference is that this year, in addition to taking lessons with the guy that I took lessons with last year, I will also be taking a couple of lesson with Edward at Ice House!!! Scary, scary!!! 8O :lol:
Power 3's are better this year... though I think it could be a lot faster to deal with.
FI mohawks... still mastering them, though looking a lot better this year. (Thank you, Ice Dancer Guy #2!!!) :mrgreen:
Goals for Next Year:

Same as last year...get that Bronze Moves and Bronze FS test passed. (SO, so close and yet so far...) :frus:
Spirals. Secondary coach said it's possible if I stretch at my old age to get myself flexible enough for it. But since I'm her oldest adult student, I get to be the guinea pig!!! (Oh, joy!!!) Dare I say that I want my spirals good enough to do the spiral move in the prelim moves test? Well, my secondary coach is making me do them too, so...
Get a consistent loop and flip, maybe at least one <something>-loop combo (Wishful thinking! :roll: )
Get a pretty decent lutz. (MORE wishful thinking!!!)
A decent camel spin (Even MORE wishful thinking!!!) Maybe from there a camel-sit (BWHAHAHAAHAHA!!! I've only suggested it b/c one time I did have a decent enough camel to try for that camel-sit...)
(I'll settled for just that first bullet goal! It's all I ever wanted!!!) http://degiorgi.math.hr/forum/images/smiles/eusa_pray.gif

[sceptique]

Well, I started the year with the determination to keep exercising to make sure the pounds I lost in 2004 don't creep back on. So eventually it brought me to a rink, and in April I started classes, just with a goal to learn to skate backwards and do that cool step when skaters cross one leg in front of the other when going around the circle.

So, I just think I got a bit carried away, because by now I completed my Skate UK Passport and my coach thinks my Novice Field Moves are perfectly passable, so I'm just waiting for the test to be scheduled.

So, I'm going to the new year with the following under my belt:

- FO, FI, BO 3 turns; mohawks; cross-rolls - still to be improved and polished, but ok for my level;
- FU spin (not as good as I would like yet!) and come conceptual attempts at sit and camel spins;
- waltz, toe loop (love that jump!), salchow - all clean and consistent;
- loop & flip - alas, still lacking proper exit and very unpredictable;
- a 1:35 programme that I still mess up every other time.

I guess my next year's goals would be:
- get all my singles and at least 3 different spins + backspin
- pass NFM and NISA Level 1
- start competing in pre-Bronze
- and maybe start thinking about axel and doubles?

[Raye]

My goal for 2005 was to travel to as many Adult competitions as I could manage. Back in January I had no idea how life-changing that goal would be. Now I am looking back on the year I have just had; I have been to so many wonderful places and met so many awesome people!

2005:
BC Provincial Adult Challenge, Chilliwack, BC
Western Regional Adult Challenge, Kamloops, BC
Canadian Adult Nationals, Charlottetown, PEI
The Mountain Cup, Villard-de-Lans , France
ISU Worlds, Oberstdorf, Germany
ISI Worlds, Anaheim, California
Peach Classic, Atlanta, Georgia
Figure 8 Autumn Skate, Ottawa, Ontario
Vancouver Island Regional Challenge, Nanaimo, BC
Skate San Fransisco, San Fransisco, California

Hope to see everyone again at a competition sometime, somewhere during 2006!!!

[TwirlGirl10]

I did it!
~Well I went from not being able to do a loop to working on double loops and landing them (mind you not consistently!) and woking on double flips. Definatly good because one of my goals was to get started on atleast half my doubles.
~Skated clean and got 1st at my first competition!!!
~Got my flying camel!!
~tested up to preliminary and am able to compete in it. ( meaning that to test up to preliminary you don't have to have 2 doubles but to compete you do)
~Working on pre-juv field moves!!
Missed
:cry: I wanted to be able to do a nice layback but I missed that by a long-shot can't really do one at all

I would have to say I had a pretty good season!

[sk8pics]

I don't think I had actually written down any goals for this year, but looking back, I have made some good improvements!

1. Back outside edges-- finally! And they feel so easy I often warm up with them, which I find so hard to believe.
2. Alternating back crossovers to back outside edges! See #1 above!
3. Salchow all on one foot! I was so thrilled the first time I managed that, and my coach was grinning from ear to ear, too.
4. Skated in Germany at the ISU Adult International competition. Skated my program the best I could have done at the time. When my coach saw the DVD he was very proud of me. It was all unbelievably fun!
5. Did my program on a session with 25 people in Oberstdorf and didn't freak out or bail out of anything (which I am notorious for doing)!
6. Right power 3-turns. Could never do it before without putting my foot down before stepping forward, but now I can.
And the most important thing...
7. Finally can do a decent one foot spin! I have been so rotationally challenged it's been pathetic, but finally made good progress, and I did the best spin of my life at HC at the very end of my free program. 8-)

I guess that's pretty good for me for this year! Now I'll have to ponder some concrete goals...

And I'll second Debbie and thank everyone for their support!

[flying~camel]

Accomplishments:


Passed Bronze moves & freestyle so I can go to ANs!
Got my flying camel about 75% consistent
Got my lutz back about 75% consistent
And, as of last night, got 1-2 revs on my 1st ever tries at a foward catch foot spin! :o
For next year:


Start working on Silver moves (I don't necessarily want to test, but I do want to get the ball rolling on this).
Get my lutz and flying camel to 100% consistency
Land the darned axel (this might just be a pipe dream!)
Get my spins better and more interesting positions
Oh yeah, and skate moderately well at all of my competitions ;)

[Scarlett]

Accomplishments:

Late summer/Fall, starting skating with a coach and purchased real boots and blades. Starting working consistently with goals as opposed to just stroking around the ring and taking a group lesson when I could get it to fit in my schedule. Now have a nice waltz jump, decent backspin, and can actually do forward edges and 3 turns from a standstill.

Goals:
Land a loop
Have a consistent forward spin
Test/pass Pre-bronze MIF/FS
Attend an adult camp/clinic

[Kelli]

My coach and I set goals for the time our main rink is open - end of August through May. We (and by that, I mean she) decided my goals for the season are to pass Novice moves and Juvenile free. As of yesterday, I'm half-way there. :D I would have loved to pass Juvie free as well, but my Axel took a break for a good part of last season. We're shooting for February with that test. My other goal is to pass the prelim dance test and maybe pre-bronze dance test. I guess by the end of 2006, I'd like to pass Junior moves.

[skaternum]

I time my skating goals with Peach Classic. My "year" tends to run August to August. So last year I wanted to work on ...

spins: camel, layback, sit-change-sit
jumps: axel
moves: pre-juvenile

I passed the moves test in August. Hooray! I made significant progress on the spins, and moderate progress on the axel. At the time I stopped skating because of my knees, I still hadn't landed one, but I was much closer.

Next year's goals:

Just skate. Get the knee fixed or stable enough to get back on the ice.
New program. Finish the choreography and do it somewhere. Contingent on the above.


My original goals had included Adult Nationals, resuming pair skating, and the @#$%^! axel. Now I'll just be happy to get on the ice at all.

[phoenix]

Last year: Finished standard silver dance test, which was a long hard road, and became much more confident that I can do this standard track. Passed my first pre-gold dance as well!

Did my first competition in years with a 2.5 minute solo free dance, skated cleanly, and had a lot of fun with it.

This year: Maybe 2 more pre-golds?? And I really should set a date for my intermediate moves so I'll be motivated to work on them. And maybe another solo free dance for competition (how about planning ahead better so won't be so rushed to finish the choreography!!)

Partner & I have planned to compete the 06/07 season, so we'll be starting to work on programs for that at some point too.

[Mrs Redboots]

At the end of last year/beginning of this, I wrote:

We can't quite manage lifts or a pairs spin yet, but hope to do that next year. Still can't do the pairs spin, but we have one very respectable (and easy!) lift, and are working on a second.

But we were last every time... it is becoming a triumph of hope over experience. Maybe 2005 will be the year we finally make it.... then again, maybe it won't. But who cares? It's such fun to try, and we are improving very fast just now We made it! We still finished last in all but one of the compulsory dance competitions we entered - but we got our first-ever first-place ordinal at the British Adult Championships, and in fact, it was how the marks worked out, rather than us being tailed off. We were very sad not to finish 3rd in the Adults, but despite 2 3rd place marks in the free dance we had to settle for 4th out of 4. But in Scotland we were 4th out of 5 and at Bristol, although we finished last, we had at least one 2nd-place mark.

And, above all, we began to see what we were doing wrong, and exactly what needed to be worked on (mainly, but not exclusively, timing - although what can you do when, for once, you aren't out of time but one of the judges thinks you are and marks you accordingly?), so we improved all season, which was fantastic!

And in Scotland we got our first-ever non-default Dance medal, finishing 3rd out of 4 in the Free Dance, and, best of all, at Oxford, the final competition of the season, we finished 2nd in the Free Dance, ahead of our dearest rivals!

We also passed our Level 1 Bronze Free Dance tests, although only just - well, we both had new blades and wouldn't have chosen to test on them, but if we hadn't tested then, we'd have had to have put it off until this winter, as it was more than time to start bringing the dance back up to competition level.

I've just about finished losing weight, although I still need to tone up and lose all that loose skin on my tummy! And I know my skating has improved over the year - but in this sport, one is never "good"!

[doubletoe]

Good thread! This reminds us how far we've come since last year instead of just focusing on what we can't do yet, LOL!

Here's what I've accomplished in the past year:

- Gold medal at AN (definitely exceeding my goal of making the top 10!)
- Got my flying camel
- Got my back sitspin consistent
- Passed my Adult Gold MIF test
- Passed my Adult Gold Freestyle test
- Entered my first competition at Adult Gold
- Landed my first double in front of judges (even though it was just in the warmup, LOL!)

[flo]

Hmm,
Got my boots worked on. Still didn't fit. Went back to old broken down boots. Went to 11th nationals with my adapted Novice to silver program and new painted dress. Bad boots and all I had fun learning something new. Got new boots. Got new boots fixed....

Went to a great Pairs camp with my "blind skate" partner. We met at the airport and were on the ice an hour later. It was wonderful and I had the opportunity to do a death spiral with Oleg.

competed at the Halloween classic - lots of fun and had a good interp pairs skate.

Teaching more and more, had progress on double sal in spite of boot problems. Got my music in to start working on new interp program.

Have had the chance to see lots of friends progress!

[mikawendy]

Skate SF. I actually started landing my loop more consistently and decided on throwing in the flip just to say that I've attempted it. Well, the loop had a slight toe tap but was otherwise landed. The flip this year became my UHT! But ... I FINALLY got my first GOLD MEDAL (and with straight 1 ordinals in a FS event too!!! OMG!!!! 8O )


jazzpants, what's UHT? (I think I've heard of this for milk--ultra high temperature for pasteurization, but I'm sure this isn't what you mean....) :)

[Skate@Delaware]

I got a private coach, but the biggest thing was getting the Salchow!! Then it was beginning to work on the loop. I settled with my coach about testing and competing (which was a big deal of concern to me). Got my power-3's up to speed (for the show)! 3-turns were fixed once my blade was moved to the right spot. Waltz jumps got some height to them. Spins started working better and getting centered. Crossovers slowly improved. Hubby started working with me (instead of against). My health stayed good (not great, but not worse which is ok). I feel more comfortable on the ice and have fallen more :D (which my coach says is good!)

[Lives to skate]

I passed both the Intermediate FM and FS test today! I guess I can hold my head high and say I am a legitimate Masters Skater. Of course I have to do a longer program now! So I guess I will skate AN in Masters Novice and Masters Championship. I will have to get my entry form in. Look out Masters Men the sandbagger has moved up from Gold! :D hehehehehe. Burton

[Debbie S]

Congratulations, Lives to Skate!! :bow:

[jazzpants]

jazzpants, what's UHT? (I think I've heard of this for milk--ultra high temperature for pasteurization, but I'm sure this isn't what you mean....) :)LOL!!! Good one though!

UHT stands for "Unidentifiable Hoppy Thing" (Those of you who have been around RSSIR for a very long time may know who this came from... apparently not me, I learned it from Mrs Redboot!!! :P ) It's to describe a jump that totally goes wrong to the point where the skating judges can't even identify what jump you're trying to do. :twisted:

[Terri C]

Ok, time for me to chime in:

My achievements for 2005:
Started to work on the Bronze moves in earnest- finally figured out what the continious axis is!
Managed to skate and train these moves, despite dealing with my mother's illness and passing this year.
Flew to a competition for the first time, 2005 Peach Classic. May I add that the best thing to see on the trip was my skatebag coming on the baggage claim carosel at Hartsfield Airport!
Competed in Adult Interp for the first time at New Years Invitational and then again at Peach Classic. Now, can I get another position in the skating order besides first???
Last one- skated up to Bronze at CRC- and getting killed- won't be doing that for awhile.

The Goal for 2006:
Pass my Bronze moves and free and gear up for Chicago, 2007!!!

[Casey]

I LOVE this thread. :D

I'd forgotten all about last year's thread. My 1-year skating anniversary was a month ago, and here's my journal post from the date (for context, I had bought a pair of rollerblades a couple months previously and had perhaps a week or two worth of experience on them prior to going ice skating):

"Date: 2004-11-07 19:57:00
I went ice skating at a rink called Castle Ice yesterday for about 3 and a half hours. I'm going again today. It's a good bit trickier than inline skating - the skates have less traction so they can turn easier or slide sideways - the footing isn't quite as certain so you have to be more careful. But it's easier in some respects, too. You can get instant traction when you want it with a sideways blade, assuming you can figure out how to harness it (I can't yet). Some people can be going quite fast and stop very quickly by turning both their blades sideways and leaning away from them. It's also helpful that the ground is ice instead of pavement. While it is still hard, it's not as pokey and scratchy if you fall (though it's bloody cold, even though I only fell twice, I'm wearing gloves next time)

It's one hell of a workout. I'm all sore and cramped up today, and the limits of my flexibility became very noticeable in the rink.

But I'm going to go again today anyways. Unless I have really good excuse not to, I'm going to go every Saturday night and Sunday midday, because that's when it's open for public sessions. It's open during the week too, from 11am - 3pm, but I have to work then. I already ordered some skates on eBay for myself. I'm going to inquire about lessons, because I really suck and I would like to get better.

I LOVE this sport, and it's great exercise and an excuse to get out of the house which I need."

Ahh, nostalgia. Here's what I had set forth in those early days. I remember thinking these were very ambitious goals...:

My skating goals for 2005:
- Not giving up, keeping up with the 5 public sessions a week I've been doing.
Well, there's been a few weeks where I've only skated 2 or 3 times (and a very few where I only skated once), but I'd say the average for the year was 10-15 hours per week, which is pretty close. I only missed skating for more than an entire week once even during my low point.
- Refine refine refine...work on proper arm and body position, more graceful moves, better edge control...
Considering what I was thinking then, definitely done. I have to continue to focus on this though. :)
- Stretch every day, increase flexibility a lot.
Erm....oops! FAIL!!! *crash, burn* I only stretch when the mood strikes, which isn't very often at all...I am a wee bit more flexible though...
- Lessons! Get a private coach starting in late February after my public lessons run out.
Ahh...yes yes. Well I was without lessons for some months, and am taking them now rarer than I'd like, but this is accomplished anyways.
- Pass FS1.
Check!
- Learn to spin on one foot!!
Check!
- Pass FS2.
Check! (not tested, but I'm at an FS3-FS4 level now)

I'd consider that overall a pass. Woo hoo!
http://www.chrisfuller.org/images/016.gif

...and without further delay, more ambitious goals:

My skating goals for 2006:
- Backspin that doesn't suck.
- Axel or any double jump.
- Sitspin.
- Camel spin.
- Daily exercise - on days I don't skate I intend to do stretching or upper body exersizes. Skate most weekdays.
- Pass pre-bronze and bronze tests. Maybe pre-preliminary and preliminary too?
- Stay motivated and focused, even when the summer comes (I wonder if I have reverse seasonal affective disorder).

There, if last year's weren't ambitious enough, these should certainly keep me busy.

[Perry]

I passed my last gold dance and first international, but more importantly, I got in to Dartmouth (early decision) and will be skating for them next year!

[techskater]

Wow! Congratulations Perry! Dartmouth isn't an easy school to get into...

[luna_skater]

I don't think I posted goals for last year, but here's what I did!

Accomplishments
April - Passed gold skills! When I started skills in the fall of '03, gold seemed like a far-off dream. Sooo proud of myself for this. Much more satisfying for me than my gold dances the year before.
May - Started free skate! I learned some basic free skate as a kid, but didn't progress past the loop, and quit free skate looooong ago to focus on synchro.
By the end of June - could land all my single jumps!
By end of July - Could do all jumps in combo with toe and loop.
Recent - Within the last two months, my forward spin has improved a lot, and I think I can actually say that I have a backspin! It's not awesome, but it's there. Have also made some "two steps forward, one step back" progress on sideways leaning and layback spins.


Plans for 2006
Get a really good backspin so I can start attempting axels and doubles.
Learn more spins...just re-started with sit spin, and need to re-visit the camel.
Single jumps all faster, bigger, higher!
Learn, test, and pass the Rhumba.
Improve brackets and double twizzles.
Maybe start testing Interpretives? Eek!

[Mrs Redboots]

UHT stands for "Unidentifiable Hoppy Thing" (Those of you who have been around RSSIR for a very long time may know who this came from... apparently not me, I learned it from Mrs Redboot!!! :P ) It's to describe a jump that totally goes wrong to the point where the skating judges can't even identify what jump you're trying to do. :twisted:It was originally posted by a judge who used to post on RSSIR and on the old uDel mailing list; I don't think she coined it, but I have a feeling that she read it on her neighbour's comment sheet, enquired about it, and adopted it!

[mikawendy]

It was originally posted by a judge who used to post on RSSIR and on the old uDel mailing list; I don't think she coined it, but I have a feeling that she read it on her neighbour's comment sheet, enquired about it, and adopted it!

Thanks for the explanation, Mrs Redboots and Jazzpants! I've had plenty "UHTs" in my lifetime. The funniest was when I had my first ever harness lesson, to try to get the loop jump landed on one foot instead of two footed or not jumped at all. Another skater asked me later, eyes wide, "Were you working on the axel?!" ....which told me that my loops in the harness must not have looked very much like loops!!

And Perry, congrats on getting into Dartmouth!!! I think that school has its very own ski slope, too, right?

[MissIndigo]

I *finally* passed Bronze MITF on my third try, sometime in March.

Next year I just want to find time to get back on the ice. Shortly after passing the Bronze move test, I came down with pneumonia and haven't been on the ice since. It took well into the summer to get my strength back.

[jazzpants]

I *finally* passed Bronze MITF on my third try, sometime in March.

Next year I just want to find time to get back on the ice. Shortly after passing the Bronze move test, I came down with pneumonia and haven't been on the ice since. It took well into the summer to get my strength back.Not skating related, but don't forget your *BIG* achievement -- finally getting your PhD!!! :mrgreen:

Bronze MITF... :roll: :frus: ('Nuf said...)