Congrats to everyone passing tests and doing well in competitions!

Bouncy:
-I LOVE skating after I've passed a test. All I do is fun stuff
-I played around with sit spins, trying to lower both my forward and back sit. I even tried some shoot-the-ducks (which was just funny! I'm sure my rear was sticking way up in the air! ). Then I tried doing back sits from a back spin entrance. Not very successful, but it was fun!
-Worked on the tricky, footwork parts to my program.
-Did some good back scratches.
-Worked a little on double 3s.
-I have something that (I think) resembles a twizzle. Yay!

Flat:
-Rink didn't bother to zam after a hockey game went over. Ice was icky.
-Session was really crowded, so I couldn't work on camels. I did a few at the start of the session that weren't too bad.
-My quads hurt already from all the sit spin/shoot-the-duck work! I'm gonna be in some pain tomorrow.
-I think the tongue on my right skate is broken down, or getting there. I have to keep relacing it.

Congratulations!

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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!

Finally got to catch a group class on Saturday morning with the jump & spin kids . . . both of my kids have been sick (mono, plus other assorted upper respiratory *crud*) and it has been very hard to get away to the rink!

And then I *tried* to go to a public session Sunday morning with figure skating DS, but all he did was complain the whole time, so we ended up leaving early and it was sort of a bust. Anyhow, here's the rundown:

Bouncy: Saturday lesson was fun . . . other than the fact that the other "kids" at my freestyle level were not very motivated!! When the coach says, JUMP, I keep doing so until she says to do something else . . . at some point I realized I was the only one jumping!! But waltz jumps were awesome . . . I finally realized that all this time, on the step forward before the jump, I have a bad habit of dropping the hip of my free leg and letting my leg turn out . . .which makes it next to impossible to "kick through" . . . because my free leg is wanting to go "around" instead . . . with conscious effort to keep my free hip "up" as I go up into the takeoff . . . works **MUCH** better! And the instructor asked ME to show one of the other students a toe loop . . . I was quite excited to know that this jump is now good enough to be *recognizable* and actually help another student!! LOL . . . the other girl was a teen and we actually did work together on some of the jumps while the instructor was working with some of FS 1 students . . . this girl had really nice height on the waltz jump but was REALLY unstable on the landing because of not getting a solid check on the landing . . . her arm just kept on pulling her around, and out of control. Whereas I can LAND a waltz jump perfectly, just can't get a lot of height, so we were a perfect match to work together . . . !

FLAT: I was all excited to go back and skate public session on Sunday but DS really dragged me down . . . he just wasn't in a "skating mood" and arrggh I was getting so irritated with him! And although there weren't many people there, so many of them were freestyle skaters that it was sort of hard setting up jumps, so I tried spins and . . .

BOUNCY: WOW!! the forward scratch is really ON right now . . . I managed to pull off some really nice, long, controlled CENTERED ones while DS watched . . . I even got a "thumbs up" from him which is really rare! But

FLAT: still gotta figure out the sit spin . . .I have gotten really good on those on the spinner off ice, but I'm doing something *different* on ice, and I'm not getting my weight over my center for some reason. WHich really makes it impossible for me to relax and sink into a good "sit." Will have to think about that and play around a bit on ice and see if I can figure out what's going on.

BOUNCY: whoa, all of my effort on stretching/flexilibity exercises is REALLY paying off with spirals . . they are so much more stable and high (and fun!!).

Congrats, Clarice! I totally love the cha-cha.

For last night since I was way too sore and broken to do anything...

[Flat]
While dodging one of the coaches who was demonstrating footwork to a skater (I was trying to the the CW power 3's for Intermediate moves), I ended up in the path of someone doing her program and we collided I fell straight on my left wrist and left hip, which now hurt like nothing else...they are better than they were last night though... Luckily, the skater I collided with is about my size, so while it sucks and now I'm bruised, at least no one got really hurt like if it was one of the little skaters who skates on the ice with us. I just feel bad because I am usually so aware of where I am going and others...plus, she is testing her novice free and senior moves today I really didn't want to mess her up...

[Bouncy]
Did a clean-ish program...the only thing I had to go back and re-do was my scratch/back scratch which just didn't feel right.

Lutzes were actually jumping most of the time...

Congratulations on the passes - glad to hear someone else is doing figures! [But I suspect many of your club members have taken/passed figures tests unless you club is very new!]

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

We're 13 years old, and I've been a member since the 2nd year. Nope, nobody's ever registered a figure test from our club. The coaches have taken them, of course, but none of the skaters ever have. It's been Moves in the Field for us from the beginning. No one here, including the test chair, had ever even seen a figure test until now. The judge walked us through, so now we know what to expect.

Wow, that is great!! I forget how long it's been since figures were tested regularly - as I get older the years just kind of run together.

I think the last time I saw a figure test on a test session was about 4 years ago at one of the area rinks - it was an Adult Silver figure test. I took my Adult Bronze with a single-panel judge during a quiet freestyle - we just roped off the end and I took the test. I think that was in 2004.

And who knows when we will see another one?

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

Flat: I went to the rink to practice yesterday, but it was too crowded to really do anything.

Bouncy: The mean skating mom was there skating with her kids-and I got to see her fall on her butt several times

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deannathegeek
"It's like trying to do a toe loop in hockey skates-you have to have the right tools for the job."

did you skate by her and suggest that she take some lessons, hmm?????

Oh, wait a minute, she would be TO FREAKIN' OLD FOR LESSONS, RIGHT???? Well, maybe her little darlings could teach the old lady a few things...

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

CONGRATULATIONS on passing your figure test! Very cool!!