The sweepers WERE hilarious (especially the girl with the brown hair and the huge smile).

Psst. . .hi, Brenda!! (it's Amber) I had no idea so many people I met at AN used this board.

I just got through watching the tape of our event that I purchased. The fog is everywhere! The guy who taped it, though, did do a good job of staying within close range of each skater, so all the elements could be seen.

AND, I discovered that Amy used program music that I used years ago for my intermediate short program. I couldn't hear it on the day of, since I was sitting outside the rink and they hadn't turned on an outside music feed yet.

I wish I didn't have to wait a year for another AN, pfft. This was the best vacation I've had in a long time.

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"Without Vision the People Perish"
שלום לעולם תמיד

I've been lurking on these boards for a couple of years and have finally decided to post. Congratulations to everyone who competed this year in Dallas! I was really bummed not to go this year, but had some of problems training because I moved from MA to FL in August. Three hurricanes later--my main home rink is still closed for renovations. I've been trying to pick up ice here and there at other rinks, but the times are not conducive. Oh well, I look forward to going next year to Chicago.

I was very glad to be able to watch on the web all my friends compete (especially PEDONSKATES & DAISIES). It made me feel like I was even there!

Everyone keep up the great skating! Hope to see some of you at Easterns next year at my home club.

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Christy

Last year, when we went to watch, we tended to introduce ourselves by our screen names as well as our real ones! We did try to organise a skatingforums get-together, but it didn't quite happen, so we just stood around and drank vodka....

It sounds as though everybody had a great time, in spite of niggles (and I've never been to a competition where there haven't been niggles, one way or another!)! Well done to all of you.

Now, onwards and upwards to what has been called the "European skating triathlon"!

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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 finally made it home frm Dallas last night (after quite a long day of travel).

While I didn't skate my best (10th, aka LAST, in Bronze 1), I had a ball meeting everyone and soaking up the atmosphere! I now know what I need to work on to strengthen up my program and I'm planning on working on an interp program for next year. I'm also planning on getting new skates this summer which should definately help me improve quite a bit (my skates are OLD and the rocker on my blade is almost non-existant).

Anyway, it was great meeting you all and everyone did a fantastic job!

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I've got mad salchow disease!

Congratulations to everyone! Especially my poor, abandoned pairs partner NoVa ; it must have been so frustrating to see so many pairs teams this year and not be able to get out there and skate! Hopefully we can be back in action next year...

And more congrats to InsideAxel for a stellar debut, to MusicSkateFan for HIS stellar debut, FrankR, icecatepairs, skatingatty, Stormy, lovepairs and partner (I heard you guys were AWESOME !), mskater whom I hardly ever get to see, flo and Rob, dani, and everyone else.

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Where are those knives when I need them?
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I need a detachable left foot!

Hey there,

Yup. I did go up to Mike and introduce myself. He was very nice and he had such a great skate. Edward was aware that Mike and I look a bit alike. I have to say that although we share some common features, Mike's quite a bit taller than I am and more built. Between Mike and my fellow competitors in Silver (Stephen and Jeremy) I tell people I feel like friggin' Frodo Baggins at the rink.

As for the Masters Men's event, all I have to say is WOW! So many great skates in such a short period of time. I thought Edward did very well. He was very speedy and his positions and line are unbelievable. His camel spin in particular is first rate (if I may be so bold as to borrow one of Uncle Dick's favorite lines. ) I can't wait to see his program again as well as everyone else's programs. I'm actually considering buying the footage of that event. It was that good.

Well I had a good first nationals. I only met a few people. I guess I was staying pretty focused on my event which was not until Saturday at lunch time. I was able to meet up with some musician friends of mine for a great dinner in Dallas on Friday night. (Fireside Pies...very good). All my practices and warm ups went well and I guess my program went fairly well. I was pleased(always room for improvement). The seven 1st place ordinals were great! Lots of time and effort went into my preparation for Nats. A super coach who put together a great program from music recomended by my best friend!
I skipped the party and went to a great steak dinner(Cool River?) and then met up with more musician friends from the Dallas Symphony for after dinner chocolate cake!(Trucklucks...very good too).
Well now on to Silver moves and Silver Free.....The timing of all this will determine Chicago....I just dont know if I want to push myself this hard another year....I may just take my time and if I dont make it to Chicago for Silver III then no big deal! I am planning on the Adult Clinic in NJ and possible ISU Germany in 2007 (silver).
My only regret? Not getting my picture taken in front of the Barbara Bush Middle School (it was right near the practice Ice arena)with an in-appropriate hand gesture!

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Why are you skating so slowly? Get out of my way!

If you skate faster, it makes everything look better!

Forcing??? Forcing??? It was all I could do to pry that bottle out of your hands! Maybe we should have just put in an I.V.

And, I had to drive 14 miles to buy it. The county that the event was held in could only sell beer and wine. At least that won't happen next year in Chicago. You can buy hard liquor in the drugstores and grocery stores there!

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Geriatric Figure Skating Crew - President for Life!
Georgia Figure Skating Club - President (again)
Facebook
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"I'm too old to die young, and too smart to be happy" - Kinky Friedman, The Mile High Club

2010 Adult Nationals - earning a gold - "Priceless"
2009 Adult Nationals - competing with a cold is not much fun.
2008 Adult Nationals - Too little sleep, too much vodka!

FYI: you can buy it in the rink. The Edge Ice Arena has a bar above the main rink!

The local folks were very nice, but unfortunately the venue was not what was needed for this event and I wondered how it won the bid. I was told that this facility was not in the bid, that the original venue was closed/unavailable due to multiple health violations.
There were several problems, and I'll send my suggestions to the USFSA. For the most part, outside of the usual whiners the skaters handled everything with style. In spite of no seating, freezing rinks, fogged up ice and plexi, and a garbled sound system, the skaters were there with support and showers of stuffed toys for all.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

LoopLoop and Nova, get back on the ice and show up at these important competitions--that's a direct order! We all really missed you two skating in the Silver Pairs competition! There are plenty of good pairs guys and ladies floating out there looking for partners. All I have to say is that when you have a good pairs partner--hold on to them with dear life! They are hard to come by!!!

Now, a huge KUDOS for those SWEEPERS in the North Pole rink! Thank god for these kids, they really made up for all of the rinks mistakes. Kept everyone happy and smiling !

Also, a huge congrats to Moves Guru! He wins GOLD MEDAL for two things:

1. Best Program in the entire competition
2. Best Costume award

Hey, when are these awards going to become real?

Congrats to everyone! Everyone skated so beautifully, bobbles, balance checks, falls and all...you always makes my heart grow larger! Adult Skaters Rock!

LoopLoop and Nova, get back on the ice and show up at these important competitions--that's a direct order! We all really missed you two skating in the Silver Pairs competition! There are plenty of good pairs guys and ladies floating out there looking for partners. All I have to say is that when you have a good pairs partner--hold on to them for dear life! They are hard to come by!!!

Now, a huge KUDOS for those SWEEPERS in the North Pole rink! Thank god for these kids, they really made up for all of the rinks mistakes. Kept everyone happy and smiling !

Also, a huge congrats to Moves Guru! He wins GOLD MEDAL for two things:

1. Best Program in the entire competition
2. Best Costume award

Hey, when are these awards going to become real?

Congrats to everyone! Everyone skated so beautifully, bobbles, balance checks, falls and all...you always makes my heart grow larger! Adult Skaters Rock!

Just a reminder: it is important for all of us to be able to post our thoughts about what happened in Dallas whether they be complaints, praise, or suggestions without being tagged as "whiners." The last time I looked it was a free country, and, besides, that's what these forums are for--to express our opinions, vent a little, celebrate and enjoy each others success!

third month of the year, third WEEK this year devoted to a major USFSA competition. Can I take April off? Oh wait, there's test sessions to trial, competitions to judge and spring show practice. Maybe next month...

And I just love everybody. Thanks to everyone for the cheers, kind words, plush, toys, booze, socks, fly swatters, the dances at the competitor's party and contact information so we can stay in touch. I was contemplating taking a year off from competing at AN, but who wants to miss out on the party?

FREESTYLE

The good
What can I say, I skated another program free of errors! I even landed my nemesis, the wonky sal/loop that usually gets popped open or turns into a lame sal/toe.

The kiss: I was so blessed and amazed to be skating at Nationals with all my friends standing by the boards, that I threw them all a big kiss as I was going up into my RFO spiral. And the picture series the pro took captured all their faces as I skated by.

The shower of presents: wow! I was planning on making a list of people to thank when I get home, but the rain of gifts on the ice kept me in my "I am Loved" bubble...

The bad
...that is, until I got the results. I need to sit and review my performance with a critical eye, but I was very discouraged by a 2nd year of finishing in the cellar. But I think I am capable of fixing what needs improvement. I know I need speed, a jump sequence, a spin combination. And of course, landing a lutz that doesn't look like I'm getting dental surgery.

When I went to pick up my music, the lady behind the desk asked for the usual information: event #, last name, etc. She got out the clipboard to me to sign off, saw my result, and thought it necessary to say "aw, you must have skated really bad." I was shocked and told her no, it was a personal best and she just shook her head pityingly, like I didn't really know the truth. NOT what I needed going into my interp, thanks.

And the ice had a very choppy open skate/hockey feel to it. I noticed it in the warmup, but don't think it affected me in the freeskate because I was zoned in.

And I don't know if it was the tennis shoes I wore or my muscles tightening up due to nerves, but I had a tendon on my right outside calf that was killing me. You could see and feel it sticking out. Thank God for Icy/Hot.

The ugly
Foggy ice, humid atomosphere, and my hair morphed into at least 4 different styles DURING my freeskate, finally ending as a Jiffy Pop afro.

INTERP

The good
I think I really got into this one, because I was determined to prove I was a good skater to the judges after a poor showing in the freeskate. As a result, I was much looser, and really pushed for speed, expression and using my arms more.

Laura caught me getting into my zone while in the warming area, and I made the USFSA website!

The ice was MUCH smoother and better to skate on.

Respectable finish, although I wish I had finished higher. And the gals I was skating against, what a nice bunch of people. And the rally 'round the nervous one was both heartening and touching. God love Century, who stopped me in the lobby to find out what was wrong. I told her, "make me laugh" and she did.

The bad
I can't say this was a clean skate though, as I became dyslexic on my footwork (right, not left, right?) and I had a bad landing on the loop jump.

I did have a brain freeze almost right off the bat, having a minute second of panic when I forgot what came next. Thank God for muscle memory, because my legs were doing what my brain forgot.

I also don't think the judges liked me skating to rock music, again. I'm trying a ballad next year.

After my "last place with dignity" freestyle, I was more nervous than I should have been for interp, and it took a lot to calm me down. I wasn't able to get into my zone very easily, and I fought for this program much harder than I should have. It's interp!

Again, thank God for Icy/Hot, as the tendon retightened.

The ugly
Don't want to say there was anything ugly about this event. Since I was supposed to be a storm cloud, I figured a "whoa!" hairdo was appropriate.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

Andrea, I wasn't able to commit to nationals early in the season due to family problems; there was a possibility that I would have been away for a substantial part of the winter.

In addition, I didn't want to go back to nationals in silver this season after the dream season we had last year, and given my family issues and some injury problems we weren't ready to test/compete in gold at nationals yet.

So please don't make unfounded assumptions as to why or why not people do not enter various competitions; we went to Peach, we went to Halloween, and we skated at Ashburn with very little practice time.

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Where are those knives when I need them?
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I need a detachable left foot!

Just one more thing........Wahington Figure Skating Club Adult Sakters ROCK!!

I think we were an impressive bunch.....we clearly have MANY dedicated adult competitors! I am proud to be included! Keep up the great work WFSC adults! Let's make that ADULT ONLY freestyle session happen!

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Why are you skating so slowly? Get out of my way!

If you skate faster, it makes everything look better!

Oh, that's terrible, Mel! I can't believe someone said that to you. How about just handing you your music with a smile? Sheesh!

From where I'm sitting (2 retries on Bronze MIF), just qualifying for AN is a huge accomplishment! I hope to fix these blasted power 3's and be there next year - hey, can you mentor us "2007 AN or Bust!"ers? I know you agreed to mentor us last year, but most of us need an extension.

OK, am I the only person who thought the judging was a bit, er, screwy. Some of the championship events placements (as well as other events) did not make sense AT ALL. Some judges were clearly not watching.

Ad why did they have only 7 judges for the championship events? I think 9 should be the norm?

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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.

Congrats to all who skated -- you guys are my heroes!!! Seriously!!!!!

And, Mel, poo on that lady -- not cool. You rock in my book!!!!

I spoke with Morry, who said a critical number of judges pulled out of the event, leaving him scrambling for panels throughout AN. I offered my services to help out with interp, but there's political hoops to jump through, and I couldn't just volunteer to be on a panel, I had to be approved, etc.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

Uh. So sorry they did that. How inappropriate.

Thanks for all the input guys. I couldn't make it to compete at ANs this year (would have been my 9th in a row!) but since I'm on the Chicago ANs committtee, I am taking notes of all the complaints and suggestions. As were many of the other Chicago skaters.

And just so he's not forgotten, congrats to DcDen in his 3rd place finish in Gold Men!

Like it or not, there were whiners. If the skate fits.....

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Alright, I'm done with my pity party - no fun being the only attendee:] I had a really good time in Dallas and thoroughly enjoyed my first AN's. I only wish I could have skated better but I was not in top shape so I can only blame myself - lesson learned:]

Big-Ups to InsideAxel on his Championship Gold victory! (((I want your lutz!)))

Thanks roomies - you guys are the best!

Warm-congrats to everyone else that skated...

-Cheers!

She always does, bless her - she's done it for me, too, as has Dotty.

Glad you had a good time, and don't worry about the placings. It takes some of us longer than others to get out of the basement. Some of us, indeed, wonder if we ever will...... But eventually, I think, most of us do. Wendy - the skater who knits the cute jumpers - sweaters, sorry - for the little teddy bears - is so thrilled to have finished 4th in her group & made the finals; I know she's been going to AN most years since it started, and almost always finished up last.....

If you were pleased with how you skated, that's all that matters. You know what you need to work on to improve.... and eventually you'll get there.

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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!

The teddy bears were too cute! The sweepers were lots of fun, and also helped keep the event moving.

Mel - you did great!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet