Let's see....

I started working on doubles. I'm trying up to the flip, but my 2 loop is my best. Two toe is the hardest for me.

I changed coaches.

Working harder on moves and I think their improving. I am doing more difficult skills.

Working on a camel/sit/back sit. Working on a camel/back camel. (hard!)

I have a pretty good catch foot attitude spiral for ME. =-)My new coach was impressed.

Chico

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

2003:
Got my 2 sal to finally land consistently and while competing
Got my 2 toe
Combo spin finally spins, especially the camel part

2004:
Skate clean programs with all the jumps and spins with speed and confidence at Mids and AN's including the 2 loop that's really close right now and both jumps mentioned above

Another 20 pounds (I lost close to 30 since starting my new job in September)

Land my 2 flip

Start on the 2 lutz and 2 axel

Pass Intermediate Moves

Last year I said:
1. Make my sit spin actually look like a sit spin.
2. Get my lutz-loop combo to have "run out" on the exit.
3. Get a layback.
4. Make progress on an axel. (Notice I didn't say I'd "get" an axel. Not stupid enough to say that!)
5. With the help of new Klingbeils coming in February, which I pray will fix some of the problems with my right leg, get my pre-juvenile moves passable. (This goal is optional!)


I'd say I accomplished 1 & 2. I'm almost there on 5. (Well, they're probably passable, but I want them to be better than that.) I really just started working on 3 & 4 again. (I'd put them aside because of my back problems.) The Klingbeils helped a lot with the leg & back problems.

So this year my goals will be:
1. Have a decent freeskate at Adult Nationals.
2. Improve my spins, especially my wanna-be-layback.
3. Put together an Interp program for the first time.
4. Make some progress on the axel.

This past year (2003) has been mixed for me skating wise... Initially, my overall skating seemed like it was improving and I was starting to do power 3's on both sides.

Then came my new job...and my new secondary coach, who gave me a reality check... and it ain't nice!!! (Plus just before I took her I started losing my forward power 3's again.) And well -- short version of the story of my skating life is that I have to start from scratch again and learn how to really skate again from scratch.

However, I feel that towards the end of the year, my skating has improved a bit. I've had some rough spots but I am starting to see some consistency and some steady improvements on my basic skating.

My accomplishments for 2003:

• I was finally landing the flip. Not consistent, but I am landing it once in a blue moon. (Last year this time I wasn't anywhere near getting all the way around. Sometimes it was downright scary!!!)
• There are more days now where I would have no problems landing the loops and days where I would two foot the landing. (It depends on how chicken I am and how cold and stiff this ol' body is that morning...)
• My scratch spin and sit spins are a little bit more polished and noticably faster than last year, though there are still days where those spins would have the FITS.
• I occasionally would get the camel spins and I finally did my very FIRST camel-sit spin combination this year.
• More power, more power...(*grunting noise*) I am skating a bit faster this year...at least enough that my primary coach definitely noticed. (Okay, at least going forward I'm going faster!)
• I think I finally conquered the FI mohawk, at long last!!!!
• FO3's have significantly more good days than bad. (Last year it was 80/20 (bad/good)!!!) And I think I'm getting closer to being able to do that LFO3 at a faster speed (and get the RFO3 a bit closer to what my secondary coach wants.)

Happy Skating New Year, everyone!!!

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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 didn't really get to do my own skating in 2003, just teaching, so for the coming year...

• get to skate FOR ME!
• get the elusive loop and lutz back
• keep stretching and weight training regularly
• try and get spins back
• get spiral leg higher
• improve the left footed three turns
• keep enjoying being on the ice
• choreo a Junior Bronze Freeskate Prog and an Intro Interp

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Known as IrishDancerAndSkater/Azlynn at FSW

the Good, Bad and the Ugly for 2003

"Skated the Program" for Interp at AN the way the coach wanted it.
Never saw her so jazzed and I was rewarded for it.

Had a nuclear melt down in the free skate at AN. I should have stayed in bed.

There are few things uglier than skating poorly and still getting rewarded by the judges. I hate the feeling of getting an award and knowing I didn't deserve it.

2004 Challenge

Time to live and skate "in the moment" instead of having "out of body"
experiences at competitions. You know the feeling, when you get off the ice and can't recall if you did the program correctly or not cause your so busy worrying about something else you did out there.

No more "apologetic" looking skating!

- injured in January
- came back
- passed Junior Moves - March 18
- Silver at Worcester Open - sometime in April
- landed double axel in April but only a few times
- boot problems in April
- Competed in July, but in warmup I fell and sprained my wrist, got 2nd to last ... oh well
- Passed Junior Free August 26
- Did nothing all fall, but double axels
- Still didn't land any
- Did Senior Moves and nothing else from November 20ish - Dec 16 and then failed them ...

That's all ...

The Good
*Finally became consistent.
*Triple Salchow became consistent
*double axel is ALMOST there
*Found two more coaches that are GREAT and FUN to work with
*Passed novice free and moves.
*Skated at different rinks and met some REALLY good friends
*Learned to have fun on the ice

The Bad
*Skated poorly at regionals
*lost my jumps for 3 weeks when I broke in new skates
*grades went down.
*eating habits became unhealthy
*Had some rough times at the rink because of music issues

The Goals
*Find a pairs partner and compete in Novice or Junior Pairs at regionals
*Have triple flip by regionals
*Skate clean programs
*Eat more healthy
*Make top 6 in novice finals at regionals
*Pass junior moves
*

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~MiZrAh~

A very modest year compared to what others have posted. I'm most proud of the muscles in my legs, I was strongly urged to get back to skating as a way of building muscle mass to support my rebuilt knees. It works. If you don't jump, skating is a very low impact activity.
I got over my fear of falling on my kneecap. It just doesn't happen at all (I fall on all the other parts of my body).
I learned a lot of things and do them all badly. I'm happy with that.

Next year:
More speed and to be able to skate without noise. Learn more dance patterns, I get frustrated at hearing some of the music and have no idea what I should be doing and the beat is enticing.

Last year's resolutions...and the outcomes are in italics...

1) Test and pass Bronze Moves (get my first crack at it Feb 9th!)
Hahahahahaha...failed it...TWICE. Don't even go there, don't even go there...I am bitter

2) Test Bronze Free...sometime.
No time.

3) Get my sit spin up to the level of my camel and layback. It's passable but not good enough.
Again, no time.

4) Get my backspin faster.
Uh, still no time.

5) Make my flying camel bigger...right now I'm more like hopping ...Had to stop work on that one when my hand was cast this past August.
Well, my hand isn't cast any more, but, repeat after me, NO TIME.

6) Compete at the Peach Classic this year! I really, really want to do this.
Didn't make it, and you guessed it, NO TIME!!!

Just will take things one at a time, I suppose!
Now that, I did do.

This past year's highlights included taking on a new coach and acquiring a like-new pair of Klingbeils for nearly a song. Since then, my speed has improved, my power has improved, and I am so much smoother on the ice. For the latter half of this year I have put 75% of my effort on moves, a tactic I don't regret since I enjoy edgework anyway.

The major setback was failing the moves test twice, with the first time I think justifiably failed and the second time, well, like I said, I won't go there. Another setback was illness last January and March, taking me away for two weeks both times.

This year I hope to return to some more freestyle elements and get the spins going even better. I can coach myself somewhat on the techniques of spins through the layback, and hope to begin work on the flying camel again. Maybe I'll get a flip too, and my freestyle coach is optimistic that I can begin work on an axel later in the year.

So it goes, but my main goals this year are to pass Bronze moves (retesting in seven weeks) and Silver moves, hopefully before I graduate. Still, I really gotta save some money this year for things other than skating, so we'll see what happens.

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All that glitters has a high refractive index.

Miss Indigo -- Hang in there! 2004 will be better, I'm sure.

PS - just going for a PhD is a wonderful accomplishment in itself. I've always dreamed of going back for a PhD - maybe when I retire.....

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

2003 for me was a non-starter as far as skating went.
I didn't get the end of my programme made, I split with husband and lost the will and finances to carry on skating.
I've been back a few times - only to see if I can still do parallel spins.
Hopefully this year I'll get my butt in gear but I'm quite happy to let my daughters skate for me this year!!

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MEL
Absolute Skating