Say,to all competitive skaters here. I just thought it would be fun to post this,and maybe hear from all of you in your own words what it is like for you,AS a competitive skater? I ask this because I've always been interested to hear from some in the own words what being a competive skater really is like for them. So please,do be shy. I really would love to hear. Please name your Discipline(s). Thanks.

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FSWer

This is a good Question

Gold mens Adult skater.. Won a few Lost a few

For me its all about the Show... I look at the rules to meet the requirements and place what is needed in the stucture of a programe after that its < Look out Babe,, Its all about entertaining people, Its all very nice to rack up the points and win events, but for me its about getting people on there feet and getting there attention, to do somthing different, to make the judges and the people in the stands go " WOW" . Even if i come dead last ,if they stand and applaud, thats a gold medal to me. ( " Even make em Laugh " ) Oberstdorf here I come.

" The greatest risk in life... is not taking one ..:

For me in order of the day its like this:

• Constant visits to the bathroom the morning of the event
• Making myself up to look the best that I can
• Getting dressed up (I never grew out of that)
• Meeting up with the pals that I only see in competition
• Hoping to beat my regular opposition although I love them dearly
• Skating a good programme without any falls
• Placing better than the previous time
• Seeing the look of pride on the face of my coach (this is the best)

Starskate6.0 - What a cool attitude! I'm competing in my first ever 'big' competition soon and expect to come last, but as long as I get off the ice feeling I've skated to the best of my ability, and given a 'performance' I will be happy. If just one person makes a nice comment about my skating/an element, that will mean more than winning a medal.

S xxx

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Well I only skated for a year and did one competition so let me get back on this one to you in a year or 1-2. But I've got to say, compared to the dancing competitions I did where basically only people who were somehow involved in the competition came watching, it's much more fun to skate in a competition where there's some audience (like friends of friends of people competing, friends of grandparents of children competing, etc)

This year: Women's Pre-Introductory Interpretive (4th place)
Next year: Women's Introductory Interpretive & Women's Bronze Free

I skated for a few years as a teenager but the chance of ever "going anywhere" with it was zip. When I started skating again just over a year ago (at age 56!) my friends talked me into entering the Adult Championships. It was crazy! I could hardly even stand up on the ice but I set that as my goal for the following spring. I worked my tail off for a year just to learn enough basic moves to put together a program. The feeling of stepping on to the ice at Nationals, hearing your name announced, and the cheers from the crowd is beyond words! When your program is done, the music stops, and the crowd starts up again you are on top of the world! There is such a feeling of accomplishment - you've actually DONE IT! Sure, I didn't skate my best - it was my first competition and there are things I should have done different - but to finish less than a point behind Bronze in a national competition in my first year skating gives a tremendous feeling of pride.

P.S. I forgot to mention how much all the stuffies mean to me!!! They are my treasures!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

I compete in Pairs, freestyle and interpretive. It's quite a feeling to be out there and take the audience along with you for a glide across the ice. When I think of my favorite times on the ice, I think of the performances first and then remember (sometimes) where I placed!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

The most fun you can have with your clothes on!

I say that, and it's true - but I usually end up in floods of tears after coming last yet again - although more recently we've begun to come off the bottom. Which usually has me in tears of joy!

We do improve - but so does our opposition, and our regular opposition has gone up to Bronze this year, which we aren't ready to do yet.

And I don't have an artistic/interpretive number this year as I'm out of ideas.

So am only competing pre-bronze couples dance (I could do solo dance, but don't like the choice of dances, plus Husband thinks Sonic and Mintypoppet would certainly beat me, so have bottled out). And we're doing Couples Interpretive at the Mountain Cup with our Free Dance, and we'll probably throw a very silly Artistic Pairs routine together for the end of June competitions, which will be 90% costume and acting (sorry, Flo!) and only 10% skating, if that.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Mrs. R - you under rate yourself. I saw your last interp. It was 100% skating...and fun!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

This silly one might be - indeed will be - fun, but I highly doubt there'll be much skating in it!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

i compete in pre novice singles! I love competing, even when I skate badly I usually have a good time chillng and warming up with friends, and I've gotten past the jealousy thing and i'm proud of my friends who place better than me!

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dont eat me

I compete in Adult Gold freestyle (My first competition was in Bronze, 3 years ago). I don't really like competitions because I find them very stressful, but I decided to compete anyway because I am a very goal-oriented person and my husband told me it would make me a better skater. He was right. Competing makes me a better skater because each competition gives me a "must not suck by" date and that is what makes me get up and go to the rink even when I don't feel like it, LOL!
I skate year round, but I schedule my training so that I work on new stuff right after Adult Nationals is over, then work solely on perfecting my program elements and presentation as I get close to Sectionals and Nationals. That includes a few local competitions and/or recitals just to get used to performing under pressure in front of an audience/judges.
I have little goals throughout the year, and as I achieve them it's very satisfying, but competitions give me a way to show what I've accomplished each year and see how I've progressed in more concrete terms. When I do well at Sectionals and Nationals, it's my payoff for all the hard work throughout the year (and all the stress of competing!).

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

I didn't even know I was a competitive type until I took up dinghy sailing when I lived in Asia. I loved to win those cups!

I didn't intend to compete in skating but was press-ganged into the first one by a friend. Hated the experience (since really there was no hope of doing well due to the numbers (18) and huge range in standard with me amongst the lowest but wanted to do better and the only way was to compete again.

The secret to enjoying competitions I think, is to stay focussed on your own goals. Go out to win of course but to be gracious in victory and to realise that if you don't win it's because you didn't skate well enough that time, so you need to go out and do better, rather than focussing on the skater/s who beat you.

Unfortunately I learned the hard way that some people will hold it against you if you beat them

Doubletoe - I love the 'must not suck by' date! My next 'must not suck by' date is the end of June so I've got my work cut out to make that deadline!

I LOVE it!

I agreed to do my first ever competition without really thinking about it and remember wishing the days and weeks before that for some reason it was cancelled, I was ill on the day or missed my train etc etc so I wouldn't have to compete. And I can't even remember the actual skate on the day. But I won. And that was fun! I thought maybe I liked competing because I did well (initially I did do well and I didn't come back from a free skating competition without a medal until this year) but actually even if I come first or last, I realised I just like competing and having something to aim for - the 'must not suck by' date. And I like doing better than I did the previous year etc etc. I am a competitive person so I like to do well but I only get cross with myself if I don't do myself justice in a competition - it doesn't matter if others beat me.

And of course at skating competitions you meet a lot of like minded crazy adult skaters. And it makes a change to be in a group of people who don't think you are mental for getting up at 5.30am to skate or to travel for 1min30seconds on the ice.

Skating is fun and competing to me is part of skating. It is the end result of all the hard work and early mornings!

I too love the 'must not suck by' comment! I am at the Adult Silver Free and I'm 43.

I love the adrenaline rush I get. Especially when I've skated well. I even feel it when I skate like crap. Sometimes even on my way to the rinx for practice! Sounds crazy, I know. I also love meeting other skaters. Sometimes though I would ask myself, 'Why, am I doing this? I get so nervous and prepare so long for 2min and 10sec pay a lot of $$' The answer is always because I love it and I love the rush!!!

Sonic
I am sure I don't know you but you sound like you have the passion inside you to skate into the ice and not on top of it, to make it your own.. ("thats the key ')
Entertain , and be remembered for giving the judges and your audience a performance they won't forget..

I am happy to hear you are doing your first competition. Where is it ?? What level wil you skate ??
What ever and where ever it is I wish you the best of luck and Ill cheer you on from syber space.. Your attitude is %100 in the right place to start with,, the rest will follow..

" The greatest risk in life ... Is not taking one "

Hmm I like competing because its a rush trying to do things under so much pressure, and trying to improve from competition to competition. I take some luxuries to rest before competitions (as opposed to practises which I'm usually rushing there from work)
So its like this grand little holiday for me (of course then there are the nerves that come along with it too... but I usually forget about them when its over )

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Tidesong

Wow, Kateskate, I relate so much to everything you are saying! I would like to add--especially for Sonic's benefit--that even though we are goal-oriented, the goal must never be to "win" because that is not something that is under our control. My goals are always to do something in competition that I couldn't do last season and to get a good video of my program that I can show family and friends (that's the elusive one; I have yet to skate a perfectly clean program, LOL!).

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

LOL, doubletoe, I know what you mean! When I was preparing for AN this year, I made a list of things I wanted to polish up in my program. I brought this list to a lesson to show to my coach, and prefaced it by saying "I have an intense desire to NOT suck at AN!"

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