On the public session yesterday, after my lesson, I spoke with a woman who was there with a group of tots & young children. She was wearing low end figure skates and was clearly doing OK. She told me I was an "amazing skater", whereupon I confessed that I'm really a relative beginner. You all know that I don't jump and can barely manage a one foot spin, so the most impressive things she might have seen me do were some F cross rolls and power pulls. Still, it made my day! I know we have all had those moments when it has taken very little to impress the uninitiated. What are some of your favorites?

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When I was at Pac Coasts at Culver City, I entered a solo dance event (14step). I had an ok skate, not great though. I got off the ice and was walking back to my mom when a woman with two young children (like 4 and 6) stopped me by saying "look girls, it's your favorite skater!" Apparently they had devided I was their favorite of the day. They were so shy and cute! I talked to them for a bit, and the older one skated and the younger one decided she wanted to skate after watching all the pretty dresses. Adorable!

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

Yes that's such a wonderfull feeling, dbny!

My favourite was when I was practicing my forward biellmann spiral and I was done and moved onto something else and then this mom with a little boy comes up to me, the son hiding behind her legs, and she says her son's too timid to ask himself but he thought that was an amazing thing and whether I could do it again? Needless to say I was glad to, and also glad to teach him the beginnings of a 2-foot-spin, which he pulled off rather nicely.

I found it funny (but nice) when I was practising my step sequence at public session and a woman approached me asking me whether I can teach her daughter. I explained that I can't because I am not a coach and I can't skate properly yet and she was so surprised that I am not a coach! She said that I was doing such complicated steps and soooooo quickly

I competed the solo Swing Dance....and this was when I was chickening out on my mohawks so I totally did not do any mohawks and got off time trying to turn backwards and had a moment of feeling like I'd like to just crawl off the ice but instead held my head up, smiled and just did the best darn back swing rolls I could....

Several parents who had no idea what the dance was supposed to look like told me how beautiful I looked...and just could not understand how I could finish 3rd against the book.

j

After one of my first shows, someone told me that I skated like I loved it. One of the nicest things I've heard.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

At my rink, when I skate at public, little girls of the 5-7 year old variety come up and tell me how wonderful I skate.
okay, so here's this short, stocky--yet strangely beautiful and graceful --middle aged woman who is the only grownup in public doing even basic figure skating--edges, chasses, 3 turns, swingrolls, mohawks--I must be quite a sight to the early elementary school girls who see the other adults doing little more than hockey skating or forward stroking.
I always tell them to ask their parents for lessons, that they could be skating really well with lessons.

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Great forum quotes:
On Falling: '...it doesn't matter, it's what you do AFTER you fall that's more important' ISK8NYC

Actually I had one this week. In my lesson, Coach said we were going to work on the Viennese Waltz. I'd just gotten on the ice & wasn't warmed up at all, so when he turned to chat for a moment w/ another coach, I seized the chance to kind of walk through one section of the dance, just to feel my feet under me a bit before we got started. So I was doing it slowly & at about half power.

Another adult dancer (who is a perfectly fine skater herself) said, "Oh, that was so pretty! I'd give a million dollars to be able to skate like that!" Which was so nice & totally unwarranted, but it made me feel really great! I had a really great lesson after that, I think in part due to the boost of confidence she had given me.

I think that what's great is that you can have these moments at any level.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

That's so true.

From learn to skate courses onwards, if I was getting a bit despondent with what seemed like really slow progress I would go and skate a public session. Very often some little kid would come and ask if I was a coach which just makes you feel great and realise that to most people who are just managing to stay upright, that even a few crossovers is impressive. Spins seem to be particularly good at attracting admiration.

Recently I started skating with a partner and we'd been doing some dance practice during a group skate lesson on public session. If it's quiet like it was then we use the whole rink but were only practising sections of dances.

Afterwards two little girls came up and asked us (on behalf of their friend who was too shy to ask apparently) whether we were Torvill and Dean!!!! Oh if only! Of course the TV programme Dancing on Ice was due to start so I guess they had that in mind.

Probably my favourite moment though was when I was doing a skate camp at our rink alongside all the kids and one of the mums who'd been watching said - "You skate just like the kids - I couldn't pick you out as an 'adult skater'" Yay! Finally my desperate attempts to not look like an 'adult skater' are beginning to pay off.

I was once asked if I was a professional and a kid wanted to take my photograph. I assured her I was not a professional, even remotely close to a professional or in fact really any good at all. And I assured her I most certainly was not in any way famous.

That did amuse me.

Now THAT is cute!

I was at a public session once and happened to be wearing a skirt that day (not a frequent outfit for me) and a bunch of homeschooled kids came on the ice after a while. A couple of them were all, "Are you a REAL figure skater? Do you do shows and stuff?" Lesson: skirts are a great way to fool anyone!

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"Go wash an elephant if you wanna do something big." -Baby Gramps

I was skating on a public session at a different rink from my home rink, not doing anything vaguely impressive, and after stopping to help a little lad who'd fallen just in front of me, he responded by saying "Aye, you're a well good skater you are!"

I thanked him and skated off smiling

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Level one Field Moves......PASSED 05.06.08
Level one Free dance.....PASSED 02.10.08

GOALS FOR 2009

• Level One Compulsary dances.......PASSED 19.02.09
• Level One Elements.....................PASSED 10.07.09
• Level Two Free dance.................PASSED 19.02.09
• Level One Free...........................
• Level Two compulsory dances.......

Loving it, Loving it, Loving it!!!!!

I had one kid who came up to me and ask if I "was... that skater that's on TV...Michelle Kwan?" I laughed and said "No, but thank you for asking!!!"

(Ummm... okay, so I have *some* resemblance to her face-wise. But last I've check, I got a good 15 years on her. Certainly don't look as skinny as her either back then.. )

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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 guess my favorite is when a coach at my rink assumed I had skated as a child and was surprised when I said I hadn't. "You don't skate like an adult skater." I did take this as a compliment.

Like flo, I was told that I was fun to watch skate. My old, old coach said that I looked like I loved it and was happy. I do.

teresa

I skate public sessions every Saturday & Sunday morning, so I am getting quite used to the "Are you a Professional?" and "Gosh you're good!" and "How do you do that?" sort of comments from recreational skaters. I have to say, it makes me feel gooood. It is a good reminder that what we do is incredible for most people.

I think that nicest comment I got at a public session was from a couple of other middle-aged women who commented on how good and how graceful they thought I was, and how much they'd enjoyed watching me. I pointed out that the teenage girls also in that session were far better than me, and they replied; "Oh, we weren't watching them, we were watching you!"
Ah, that's me, an inspiration to other middle-aged women. If a fat 49 year old can do that, then maybe .....

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Katz

Saved by Synchro!
I was over it, now I'm into it again !