Pac Coasts Adult Sectionals schedule can be found at: http://oregonskating.org/

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

Thanks! I wish they would be kinder in their scheduling of the open Gold and Championship Gold events. Sigh. 1:00pm for Gold III and 4:40pm for Championship Gold is too far apart to stay warmed up but too close together to warm up again. . .

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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

Yeah, I wish they'd switch the Masters Interp event with Gold III. An Interp program would be a nice warm-up where a FS program takes a lot more out of me. Oh well. At least our event isn't at 7:00am!

Yeah, considering the train wreck that was my 7:00am competition skate on Saturday, I am grateful for that as well! In spite of skating three 6:30am sessions per week for the past two years, I have not succeeded in becoming a decent morning skater. Must be hard-wired.

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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

doubletoe - will you be doing any of the interpretive events on Sunday?

I probably won't be around for the Saturday afternoon portion of the competition, but will be there all day Sunday...

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

No, on Sunday I will be juggling a busy schedule of viewing/cheering and wine tasting, heh heh. See you in the stands?

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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

Well, you may see me up on the judge's stand! (yup!) and on the ice for low-test figures .

I'll be around. Have a good time when you are in Oregon! We will pray for beautiful weather (March-April are really on some level our prettiest months because all of the flowers/greenery start hatching...)

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

How cool! Yes, I love the Pacific Northwest in the springtime! (I am a proud Washington Husky!)

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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

No championship masters men?!

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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.

A perfect example of why they should get rid of Sectionals.

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*NINE* starts in the High Figures event....!

(I know, not a typical piece of Sectionals, but still)

I actually kinda agree with the idea of adding a Champ Qual round to AN. It'd cut down on travel expenses immensely, and while I adore Sectionals, they're expensive.

Sorry, manleywoman, but I respectfully disagree with you on eliminating Sectionals all together. It's one of the few opportunities left for No-Test/Pre-Bronze FS skaters to compete. I would agree to eliminating Sectionals all together ONLY if they allow No-Test and Pre-Bronze FS skaters at Nationals... and we know that's not gonna happen anytime soon. (Of course, THIS is not the thread to start that whole "Pre-Bronze at AN" topic... so if you wanna debate about it, start another thread! )

I have no problem with moving the qualifying events to Nationals and just have qual. rounds there. I guess my point is that we need to promote competitive adult skating... and we need to start from the bottom level skaters on up. Limiting the lower level skaters on their options to compete is not going to help get more adult skaters and we need to encourage more adult skaters to compete and move up the ranks, especially the men!!!

And NoVa... re: Masters Men... I have NO CLUE what happened with Ted Gradman. Mike Dianda isn't competing anymore these days (he's not skating much) and primary coach has "retired" from competing again. I haven't seen Boise Ding in years either... I don't see anyone in Championship Adult Gold Man moving up either. (Speaking of which... how is Nick Chou and his back??? I hope he's okay this year to skate. I am thinking of him as we're getting close to Sectionals and Nationals.)

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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 not saying you can't still organize a competition there. Have as many competitions as you like. There's just no point in having SECTIONALS there. Some sections don't have enough people to bother, and the ones that do are being forced to spend money, spend vacation time, and juggle families to fly somewhere to qualify, even if there are only two of them in an event.

But feel free to have as many lower-level competitions as you want. Nobody is saying that should end. Simply remove the qualifying events.

I am very pleased to hear there are nine entries in the figures event! I had asked Mids to hold a figures event, and while they liked the idea, it was too late to organize it. Perhaps other local competitions that include adults can start to offer it.

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Actually there are 12 entries - 9 in "high" figures and 3 in low.

That's great that the Mids organizers liked the idea - hopefully this will lead to more events like this!

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

I'm envious -- we here out East don't have even a tentative schedule for Easterns yet...

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Tim David's Website

I know this has probably been discussed ad nauseum on other forums, but why are the Championship events (which I believe are qualifiers for AN) judged on the 6.0 system when they will be judged on the IJS system for AN?

Is this correct? Are they qualifiers?

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

I saw Boise at the rink last week for the first time in quite awhile and he confirmed that he is not going to Sectionals or Nationals this year. Nick Chou is sitting out this season as well, although he is now skating once or twice a week (and looking good).

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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

Time and resources don't allow it.

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Rogue Element, Inc

Hmmm? I wonder who the Gold Men are this year then... Gary K. is sitting out this year for Gold too. ("Been to Lake Placid too many times...," he says )

Hmmmm? Andy Schell and Gilbert Chang are the only two I could think of here that might do Championship Gold at PCAS then... I don't think a lot of our male skaters at my rink are going to AS or AN this year. It's almost like a flu bug going with about AN this year. Sad! (However, we do have at least one new Championship Gold Ladies competing with you this year...)

Say hi to Nick Chou and let him know that I've been doing a few waltz-loops and sal-loops for him! (He suggested to me the last time I saw him to start doing loops attached to my existing jumps... Loop-loops are already in my FS program, flip-loops are only when I feel either lucky or suicidal, and I don't have enough of a lutz to even think of trying a lutz-loop now.... ) And nice to know that he's at least skating and looking good.

And let's hope that AN 2009 is at a locale that I can afford going to and there's some sightseeing. I'll bet if it's LA or Vegas that we'll get more people to go!!!

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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 reiterating what manleywoman said ... "Sectionals" is the qualifying "Championship" events. The No-Test/Pre-Bronze events -- as well as Silver and Bronze, and all the non-qualifying Golds and Masters, Interp, etc. -- are an open, all-adult competition, not Sectionals. That is why there are two separate announcements -- one qualifying, one non-qualifying.

So when manleywoman advocates doing away with "Sectionals" -- and I agree with her, btw -- it's the qualifying aspect of it. Remember, before we had adult sectionals, we had the West Coast Adult Open ... "Sectionals" was just tacked on to it for the Pacific Coast. No reason it can't go back to be the West Coast Adult Open!

I have no problem with that then... (The "going back to the West Coast Adult Open and the qualifying round at Adult Nationals instead..." part.) Yeah, I know what you mean about the expense of traveling part. I mean, I haven't gone to any of the PCAS myself b/c of the expense either (other than the one in Oakland and only b/c it was local to me and I had a program to skate to then.)

I just read "do away with Sectionals" and I thought "no more Pacific Coast competitions! Where are the lower level skaters going to skate?" Sure, there are local comps in my neck of the woods and probably some in LA... but a lot of the more local comps that I've seen announcements for don't have many Pre-Bronze skaters. They all get lumped at Bronze. (I'm lucky that I have Skate San Francisco where there's more adult events and there's not so much "lumping other adults in a group" thing.)

*sigh* I wish there was some way of getting more "new blood" into the adult skating community though... I noticed a decline this past Skate SF of adult skaters compared with the year before and the year before that, particularly with the MEN. Me thinks it's probably the economy thing...

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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!!!

WINE TASTING?? Oh man...that's not fair. I'm stuck skating at the end of the day. Do you think my coach would mind if I showed up a little tipsy for my event?? It's comedy anyway...I would probably perform better with a little Oregon Pinot in me!

THAT'S IT! I'm coming up there to join 'ya guys on the stands!!! (Just kidding!!! I'm a tee totaller... but I do wonder what would happen if I came on the ice at my event a little tipsy? I don't think Jay would mind, would he? )

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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!!!

Hang tight fellow Easterns peeps, the schedule will be out soon enough.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"