I am trying to figure out what events to enter for our rink's upcoming competition (USFSA). Thing is, I am an adult skater and most of our rink skater are kids, and this is sort of reflected in the events that are available. There are events for Adult 1-4, Pre-Bronze and Bronze. (I am pre-bronze). So I have my PB program as a given, but I'd really like to do more than one event. Adult PB doesn't exactly have "compulsory elements" but last time they made up a compulsory event for us . . . they just picked three things that both of us (the 2 PB skaters) could do, and we did it just like the kids' compulsories. Now the other PB skater has moved up to bronze and I'm can't decide whether to push for compulsories again (let's face it, they're just not the most "fun" events around, but, it may just be one of those things that's "good for me" like eating vegetables, flossing, etc.) or just do a showcase event instead . . . anyone else in the same situation as being one of just a handful of adults, skating in a mostly-kid comp? How do you handle it?

Could you skate up to Bronze and compete against the other adult skater?

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I'm competing at a mostly-kids competition in March. I'm guessing my adult freestyle event will be cancelled like always, so I'll get put with the oldest group of pre-juv (usually high school age kids). I know a lot of these girls, we're on the same sessions. It's not my ideal competition situation, but I want to get my program out 2 weeks before ANs with my coach there so I can get the nerves out and so we can pinpoint what needs fixed for ANs. I don't really care about placement. They usually try to combine the few entries in adult bronze with adult silver, but the bronzes who sign up are usually on the weaker end of bronze (or are pre-bronzes skating up) and it's not fair to them. And I'd have to leave out harder problem elements (flying camel, axel) that are the whole point of me doing this competition in the first place.

Solo dance is always a mix of adults and kids/teens. Dance is dance. Age doesn't really matter as much. An adult may have more of a sense of expression on some dances, but a teen's pattern may be stronger.

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Heck,

I'm always the only adult skater at our rink! Not necessarily for competition, but at all practices. So, just DO it! I'm probably a freak compared to what most adult women would think...(just joking) , but as one young lady put it while talking to me today, "I know my mom couldn't do that"
so i am satisfied because I LOVE it! Let all those other moms sit and gossip and do whatever they do! I do what i like, and i KNOW i work at least twice as hard as those kids! lol

I skated at an ISI competition where I was the only adult skater at my level. My freestyle was against the book, my compulsories were against a 12 year old, and my stroking competition was against the 12 year old, a 9 year old, and a 5 year old. (Then the improv part was against another adult and an 8 year old)

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

I skated compulsory moves against some kids few years back -- it wasn't fun for me, but the kids thought it was great that I was out there with them. The judges of course put me last both times.

I also skated against kids in the interp/showcase event, because it was open to all ages, and I thought at least one adult would enter. It was me in 4th against kids again. After that year, they decided to create an adult event, which has been well entered since.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

I found another option - just "persuade" (bully) the other adults into entering interp along with you! "it will be fun!" "you don't have to have a routine!" "we'll just go out and have some fun with it!" So unless someone chickens out, we can have an adult interp class with 3 peeps in it . . . should be fun (particularly since none of us have ANY experience with this). I'm also doing my prebronze program (may be against the book, not a problem) and a showcase number . . . not sure how that one will be grouped, probably with some of the older teens, just mostly doing that one for fun & experience since I am using the same music I want to use for the spring show. That way, I'll have a mostly choreographed routine that I can just roll over to the spring show. ("Disney" theme - ACK!) I'm skating to Billy Joel's "Why Should I Worry" from Oliver & Co. (nope, no "princess" music for this AOSS skater!). The actual logistics of the program remain to be seen, but the music will be lots of fun to skate to.

I just found out there is a local mystery silver skater who signed up for our local competition in March, so I won't have to compete against kids after all, at least not for freestyle. I thought I knew all the adult skaters in our area, but I guess not. I guess there was only 1 gold so we'll probably be combined with her. I'm still against "kids" in solo dance, it's a mix of teens/young adults/adults.

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything