Just this morning?

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Oh, come on. This wasn't a slam on Terri, who knows I love her. Did you miss the smilie faces?? Jeez.

But seriously, since you're getting all snippy (thanks for the unprovoked personal snark, Stormy ) ... Adult Nats for most of us is an Open event and our coaches don't get any boost to their ego, status, resume, or pay for coaching a Bronze or Silver lady. Everyone has to "qualify" by taking tests. It's a wonderful, fabulous competition, but it's still just an Open when you get down to it.

(Alright! I'm not being snarky here. I just being silly here and think this whole "snark" thing is funny. Yes, I have a strange sense of humor... )

Terri, your choice! I probably would put in both coaches, even though they won't be there, "just because..."

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I'm sure we're all guilty of being snarky at some point or another!

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Not debating that at all... and sometimes the snark is deserved even!!!

I think a lot of people are taking this whole AN experience WAAAAY too seriously!!! Yes, it's a REAL accomplishment and we all should be PROUD of our skating accomplishments!!! That said, let's just say I don't see myself giving up my day job as a software engineer for skating anytime soon. (Oh, wait!!! That's should be for me!!! )

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

It's an accomplishment to get there - open or not. For those events with initial and final rounds I've always felt that you qualify once you get there. Qualifying or not, you test, you prepare, you skate. It's like an entry into a jump - what you put into the entrance you get out of the jump, or as one coach use to say, junk in = junk out, or quality in = quality out.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Hey after dealing with my head when it comes to the Bronze free test, my primary coach of almost ten years (this February!) deserves some credit!!

That being said, I will most likely put both coaches down on the online form. Primary coach likes getting, as her daughter calls them, "the leashes." What a way to score free souveniers for both coaches!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Beautifully stated, Flo!

And there are some days when just the thought of not being well-prepared to skate at AN and skating in front of the friends I see only once a year, and not skating as well as I might have if I had prepared better, is ALL that gets me to the rink! So while it may be "just an open", to me it's also an incentive to practice on the "even before I get to the rink, I think this is going to be a waste of time and money" days. So for some of us just getting there IS an accomplishment... and at least in my case, my coach deserves a lot of credit for that.

I have never considered ANs to be "just" another open competition. It's really represented something so much bigger to me, and I can't believe how much richer my life has been since I started competing at this event.It's given me goals, friends, and the opportunity to be a part of something bigger than me and the chance to give back in ways I couldn't have imagined 10 years ago in learn to skate class, on the same ice many of you will be skating on this April.

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

Wang chung!

Mel, you put it into the best words! I feel exactly the same. ANs is the competition many of us work our asses off for all year, it's the time to see friends and have a blast. Not to mention the enormous amount of work the LOC puts into it, and yes, I have been on an ANs LOC! It's NOT just another open, it's one of the biggest competitions USFS holds. So to hear it described as "just an open" belittles everything we work hard for all year and what the LOC does in preparation.

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Even though there was an earlier discussion about how much the entry fees are for sectionals this year, I just got around to looking at the application for Easterns. (Wasn't sure if the knee would allow me to enter, so I waited until the last minute.) $60 for a second event?? $60 just to do 3 jumps in a jumps only event?? No way! And I don't even have to pay travel expenses, since it's in my backyard. I'm stunned.

Well, I'M BUMMED that I can't go to Sectionals this year (in VEGAS!!!) b/c I won't have enough vacation days and I'm saving the $ for AN. But I keep telling myself that it was just not in the cards this time for me not to go. Besides, I need the break to concentrate on continue working the impossible task of working my basic skating and starting on Silver Moves and just to give the pocketbook a break. (The coach's cost is $$$ )

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Just registered for Easterns Non-Qual, I love that they let you use PayPal and since I had some money just sitting in there I used some of it pay for Easterns. I am totally in agreement about the sticker shock, so I just am doing open Gold I and nothing else for Non Qual. Still need to register for Championship Gold for Easterns, open Gold and Interp at Nationals and NYI. Dontcha just LOVE how all these expensive comp registrations are due right after Christmas??

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

I just thought of my registration fees for Easterns NQ and AN as my Christmas present to me!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Excellent present! I just registered for Easterns NQ this morning myself (thank God I ran into the organizers this a.m. or I might have forgotten about the deadline).

Pretty sure I'm not doing AN because I don't feel ready flip-wise and I don't have a lutz...I wish the deadline for that were later! I feel like I may have these by the end of February but am not sure. I'd hate to try and come up with the money for travel, fees, etc. if my skating isn't where it should be, grr. I know I'll regret not going when the time comes...

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Revised Official 2010 Goals checklist
Skate __
New boots __
(lowering the bar for 2010 as I haven't skated in a year)

Whee! Just entered! The USFSA should really invest in their web registration interface. I found it to be clunky and not easy to use at all. But at least I'm all set.

Flights to Grand Rapids from Boston don't look too bad. A bit over $300 for a round trip ticket. I suppose I have to check my skates. I might try calling ahead and requesting permission to bring them on.

You shouldn't have to check skates any more. I flew 3x last year with skates (Cleveland-Nashville & back, Cleveland-Providence RI and Cleveland-Boston) and had no issues with skates. They looked at me like I was strange for even bothering to ask if skates were ok....and then they confiscated my half-empty toothpaste b/c the label said 3.6 oz.

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

Amen to that!

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Todd
Creative Director
The Official Guide to Vail

The only time I have EVER EVER EVER checked my skates is when I did synchro and the team made us check skates. And someone's pair got lost on the way to.....wait for it......Grand Rapids. She had to borrow a pair from someone else.

I've never had a problem carrying on skates in Boston, Atlanta, Providence, Newark, Dallas, Midway and a bunch of other airports. I wouldn't risk checking them. Hannahclear, you will have no problem at all carrying them on at Logan. 95% of the time they don't even ask to look at them as they go through the scanner.

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Good to know. I won't check them unless I have to. I didn't realize that you could bring them on.

OH CRAP!! Huge problem, trying not to panic. Since of course I waited till the last second to register for Champ Gold at Easterns, I logged into Members only to do it right now. And it's not showing up as a competition I can enter, just Nationals! I think it's because I haven't passed Gold Free, it thinks I'm not eligible. BUT I have passed Juvenile, which does qualify me for Gold. Of course USFS isn't open today for me to call, I hope they're open tomorrow so I can get this fixed! Otherwise I don't know what to do. There's no paper entries, right?

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Even if USFSA's not open tomorrow, don't panic. You're obviously eligible; their system is just messed up (it's already been noted on here that things are a little screwy with respect to adult eligibility - like testing Int after Gold). If you can't get anyone tomorrow, contact them next week and explain the problem, and they should let you register - after all, it's their problem, not yours.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

My gold free test has not shown up on USFSA Online, yet I was still able to sign up. When I was registering for pairs, I noticed that there were a few glitches. After a few tries, the system was working properly. So I'd say try again tomorrow. If it doesn't work, you'll need to send an urgent message to USFSA (or maybe contact Kevin Leonardo) because the Jan. 2 deadline is firm.

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Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

I know, that's what is worrying me so much is I know the deadline is firm. Even if it's not my mistake, I know they won't make an exception for me if I can't resolve this tomorrow. My friend Julie might be in the same boat since she has the same tests I do, Juvenile but not Gold. I sent Lexi Rohner a message asking if she knew if USFS was open tomorrow and explained my dilemma, so she'd at least be aware of the situation. I'm e-mailing member services and Kevin Leonardo now, thanks for that suggestion NoVa. Granted, I shouldn't have waited till today, I know. It just never occured to me that the system wouldn't reflect rules that have been in effect for a while now.

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Mine isn't showing up either. I have juvenile pairs and compete gold. What do they do for partners who are below gold?

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet