Well I'm a male figureskater and have been for a very long time. And for years and years there has been only me as a male skater. We had a few a few years ago but they all got injured and so on...

But in the last year we have ahd 3 guys join the club....young skaters but they say there gonna stick with it in the end and I think this might be a change for the better, becuase if you do the math.

1=me
1X3=3

that mean that the amount of guys in the club has tripled!

so is this happening anywhere else or is this a cowincedence

__________________
Lets Boogie!

I'm hoping this is a trend. I am noticing a lot more young boys at our rinks and also more in the teen-adult range as ice-dancers. In fact, sometimes there are more boys and men than girls/women at our dance sessions!

Awesome!

__________________
Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Maybe the guys are starting to get a clue and paying attention to where all the best-looking and in shape women are. :: ::

Seriously though, there's actually a good many guys who skate at my rink, but only one I've seen who's better than me (keeping in mind that I'm not very good) at the new rink, and 2 at the old rink, a half dozen more if kids count. Generally if they're better than me they're better by a long shot. What does seem strange is that I've only come across two people (both female, as it were), who are at even close to the same level as me, everyone else is just skating recreationally or is very good. To put it in perspective, I think I'm the only person who can spin more than a single revolution, but not hold it for at least 10 or 15 revolutions...

It's like there's a big huge gap between the beginners and elites, and somehow I have to try to cross it. :/

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Yep--

You're at that point where people either get frustrated and give up.. or they're in it for the long-haul... and we can tell which kind you are!

Hopefully! I do have my doubtful moments! And then those times when I feel like I'm too old to be getting into this anyways and I'll never get as far as I want to and *whine whine whine*. Then I think about all the other adults here and on other forums/mailing lists, lots of which are older, and I feel stupid for feeling old

It's great encouragement.

When I had only ice skated for a couple weeks, my ex-roomate told me I'd be doing jumps and spins and I didn't believe him and told him that I wasn't even interested, I just wanted to learn to skate decently. Then I learned the waltz jump, then I got a coach, then... None of those then's would exist if I gave up along the way, and I want more then's to come later, so I might as well suck it up and keep trying.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

One of the (adult) guys at our rink says that he doesn't understand why a guy would want to play hockey and hang out with a bunch of smelly men when he can figure skater and hang out with a bunch of beautiful women!

__________________
"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

At my rink there is only one male figure skater, and he skates so well.
Its quite nice to watch, plus he helps my sister and I sometimes on our jump techniques!

~kittie

At my rink, there are quite a few men. I don't know if they're elite, they're certainly not heading into the Olympics, but I think they're pretty good. We don't have many beginners though, for some reason. Not men anyway, there are tons of female beginners of all ages. Maybe it just depends on the area you live in? It also seems that the older a man gets, the less they care about looking "girlie" while figure skating.

We got LOTS of guys in figure skating... many of them adult men!!! Sorry to say for the single ladies here, most of them are gay.

Ice dancers are about 40-60 in favor of women here... well, maybe more 30-70, but much better than the lone guy and 10 women.

__________________
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 agree there.

One of my co-workers who is much younger than me sez he has a hard time meeting women. There is too much competition at the bar and club scene he tells me ( I wouldn't know after being married for almost 29 years). I told him to take up figure skating. You will meet women alright and have very little competition. He gave me that look one gets when you suggest figure skating to a male and I just shrugged my shoulders.

I went to the dress rehersal for our rinks ice show last night (I am the curtain man) and I noticed we do have a lot more young boys this year in the show. I have been doing the show for 6 years now and there was a definite big jump up in numbers this year.

As far as adults are concerned, we do have a few male ice dancers but I am still the only male adult freestyler and I don't think that is going to change. I am the only male in ice sessions I am in both at my rink during the winter and in the next town over rink in summer. The only time I have other adult males on the ice is at Adult Skate Week in Lake Placid. Last year I think there were 7 of us.....and about 45 ladies.

__________________
Keeping School Figures Alive!!

My arena has four boys. . .One is a novice nationals placing skater, one is I believe 9th placing skater and junior nationals skating at intermediate, there is a young boy yet to compete, but at the age of 8 is landing triples, and then myself, at 18, just now landing my waltz, walleye, and axel. I like the range of skill represented at my club, I just wish it was multiplied as far as numbers of people at those skill levels. But I look around, and I see a big wave of boys and men learning to skate, and as they "learn", they find they truly enjoy it, and dive more and more in. I won't complain on the shortage for now. . I need as few competitors as possible if I will make it to sectionals.

Do you have your other singles as well then? I thouhgt you just started recently, no? It would just seem odd if you have the waltz and the axel, but no other singles.

I just started six weeks ago yes. I have a solid waltz, an iffy walleye, a shaky axle, and a decent salchow and toe loop.

Wow you are talented! I'm a boy too but a little bit older than you; I've been skating for almost 2 years and just started learning the axel and have only landed one that was fully rotated, usually you learn lutz loop beafore but if you can do axel you will probably have no trouble in starting to learn doubles very soon.