Hey all!
I just felt like starting a positive, feel-good thread. In all your time skating, whether it's been two months or ten years, what stands out as the best moment you've had? It might have been the ultimate breakthrough, or something someone said or did, or a competition, show or test, or something else. Share the story!

Ok, I'll start. I thought about it and I think the best skating moment I've had so far was landing the loop jump for the first time. It was my last ever lesson with the coach I'd had for the past year (he was leaving to teach at another rink), and I really didn't want him to go because he was great (not to mention drop dead gorgeous ). In the few lessons before that, we had been working on the loop but I hadn't managed to land it on my left foot (I'm CW) - they were all either two footed or landed on my right foot like a half loop. Before my lesson, I told myself I really really wanted to land it because it was my last lesson with him. After several unsuccessful tries, I finally did it, for the first time! I was so happy. My mouth dropped open in shock and excitement, and my coach did a crazy happy dance, gave me a big hug and told me I'd made his day. It was a great moment!

Anyone else?

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"It’s never too late to skate at any age." - Alexei Mishin.

Mine was in May '01. It was a great spin combo. Spinning is my strength anyway, but this was too good. It consisted of 4 changes of foot and a few changes of position. It was centered, smooth and fast. I wrote an entry about it in my journal:
www.skatejournal.com/may01.html
The entry is called "One Perfect Moment".

Kay

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Visit my figure skating journal
http://www.skatejournal.com/

Hmm. I may be the exception but I often feel best AFTER I skate, when it's gone well and I feel very calm and centered. I'd say there are 2 stand out moments - the first time someone ever compliment my RFI spiral and then just yesterday this very advanced younger skater said to me "nice spiral" hmmm seems I really like praise. :-)

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Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.
Maurice Setter

In order:

1. Passing Intermediate Moves
2. Winning the silver medal in Pre-Silver dance (two dances) in a difficult field at a club competition last summer
3. Landing double loop for the first time

#1 will be replaced when I pass my Novice moves :-)

Jocelyn

I've really had to think about this one....

When I was a kid, it was winning gold at my first ever USFSA competition (I had skated ISIA up until then), when everyone was telling me beforehand not to expect too much on my first time out.

As an adult, I'd say there are two:

1 - I was really worried about passing my Adult Gold test, because I had to pass it to be able to compete at AN. The test was not my best effort, and they didn't ask me to reskate my axel (which I had a slight touch down on). I thought I had failed, and would have to drive to Cleveland (3 hours away) to retest before the AN deadline. I was hiding out in the locker room waiting for my coach to tell me the bad news - he walked in and said "Sorry...you don't get to go to Cleveland!" Woo Hoo!!! (Although at first I thought the "sorry" meant that I had failed - he got me!! )

2 - I have circular footwork in my program that I really have to work hard on - several fast double 3's and the like. Last week, as I'm struggling with my new program, I received two unsolicited compliments on that footwork, one from a young man who has these huge double axels, and the other from a young lady. Made this "old lady" feel pretty good!

I had to dig way back but my most memorable moments are...

1. My best moment ever had to be when I unexpectedly landed my first 2axel during public session, and my coach jumped up and down screaming like a crazed woman. Sigh that moment seemed like eons ago.

2. My coach said that I would get $100 if I can land a 2axel during lesson. I hung on to the landing of that jump for my dear life.

3. I've only landed a 2loop-2loop once in my life but I loved that combination.

My favorite moment was winning a gold medal skating up a level against a skater 17 years my junior.....what made it so sweet was how totally freaked out I was mentally, and the warm up was beyond horrible. In fact I left the warm up after 3 minutes, and I was the first to skate. I don't know how I pulled it all together to skate a clean program, but the feeling was pretty great!

My second favorite moment was doing a dance number with a group of teens for a Christmas show. These great kids accepted me into their group, and that just made me feel special.. I didn't skate my best, but I made it through!

Purchasing my very own pair of skates with my own earnings. My parents had given me my first pair of skates when I was 11, but I wore them only twice before outgrowing them. I was supposed to take lessons in them, but I ended up getting really ill before my first lesson, enough to land me in the hospital for a month. After recovering from my illness, I was only able to wear my skates twice. After that, due to financial issues, it was out of the question to ask for another pair of skates, so I was not able to continue with skating. It wasn't until I had graduated from college and used my own earnings to buy my skates that I was able to pick up skating again. They were only Riedell 270's with Club 2000's attached to them, but the feeling of lacing them on and taking my first first spin around the ice was exhilarating. Of course, I was falling down every minute, tripping on my toepicks, but you couldn't wipe that smile off my face!

Emily

Landing my lutz. That was just amazing because I'd been trying to get it forever, and I always two-footed it. I don't think I've even had it a month yet and it's already HUGE!

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- Ashley

Last Year: Skating in the same summer exhibition with Tatiana Totmianina and Maxsim Marinin, and Viktoria Volchkova, last summer. These Russian elites train here in Chicago with Oleg Vasiliev.

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This space has been put on hiatus for retuning....

There are several terrific moments, but probably the best one was last year when I was finally able to convince my left foot to crossover the right leg in a scratch spin. Another skater was telling me how important it was to keep your shoulders and arms balanced, and while she was talking I tried and it worked! She got so excited while I was spinning (it was at least 7 revolutions) that I tried to do it the other way (CCW) and that worked too! I'd been trying for a year to get those feet to move over and they finally listened to me. They were even beautifully centred.

Okay definetly
1- Landing my double axel on December 23 2002 for the first time! Lol I remember the date! It was amazing and its been there since (knock on wood) It that feeling when your like"Why was that so easy, it that it"
2-Sectionals at Bowmanville this year when I serverly doubted myself making finals and didnt work on my short to much..Then I made finals and really surprised myself. I couldn't sleep but I loved every minute of it 12th or anything it was by far the BEST moment or actually a seris of moments in my life!

Ok everyone....I know this is not what this thread has intended, but please allow me to have a "mom moment"

I don't skate, but my daughter does, and although I watch her almost everyday, at each lesson, test, competition, once in a while, she seems to absolutely shine, either during her solo, at a comp., or during dance, with a partner, and something just wells up inside me, almost to tears, and I think.....wow.....that is my child out there, looking so graceful, confident, talented, and powerful all at the same time!!

It has all been worth it!!

Happy to have you participate in this thread Norlite....and you're bringing a tear to the eyes of all us skatemoms

I think one memorable moment was the day when, pottering around the rink while my daughter skated, I thought, "Hey, I can do this!" ("This" being moving forwards without holding on, but even still!). That was the moment I got hooked!

But the absolute best moment was winning the Ladies Interpretive III for the 2nd time at the Dune of Flanders Cup! The first time was great, but somehow I never really believed it..... This time, it was even better.

Actually, having said that, having to skate a "dance-off" at the World Challenge last summer was pretty terrific, too. Even if we didn't make the final in the end, and even if another dance did allow 5 couples in the final (why, oh why, didn't ours???). But it still felt great.

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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!

Getting toeloop and salchow fairly easily on my first few tries in my new boots and blades...

Hearing my coach tell me I'm "so much more advanced" than I was a year ago at this time!!! Have I learned a ton of new skills? No, but everything is better, I'm improving old skills and getting new ones quicker and I finally have the right skates for me. PROGRESS!!!!

I don't think it has been my best experience on the ice but I remember I started to learn the salchow and I found it so hard. I would jump off the ice to earlier so I couldn't do it. Then one day in my lesson I did it and I felt really excitted! I had a beaming smile up my face and I was so happy But the salchow isn't consistent yet. Then a couple of weeks later I landed the toe-loop!

A couple of things come to mind. One was at the masters pairs competition at Adult Nationals on a Saturday night with standing room only. We skated a beautiful program, and after our death spiral the applause was so loud that we couldn't hear the music. We really felt like everyone was having a great time. We ended up with the silver and were really pleased.
The other was after a performance of my time program. Right after the last pose, and just before the bows, I just smiled at how good it felt to skate.

I have a few, like the first time I landed a jump, or when someone complimented me on something that I had really worked on...But the most recent best moments:

1) landing a double-double combo just days before my 31st birthday.

2) landing a double flip for the first time literally as the last thing I did in my last lesson with my coach before moving to another state. (haven't landed it since, but oh well!)

3) Passing my Novice Free test this past January, not because I passed it but more because it was the first time I ever skated in a test or competition and felt "on" or in the"zone": no nerves, no wooden or shaky legs, and everything was almost perfect! Solid landings, edges, spins, big grin and all. It was like I owned the ice, and was daring the judges to find a reason to fail me! I don't know how I got to that point or mental state, but if could bottle that formula, I'd be a wealthy woman! (now if I could only replicate it for Sectionals...)

BEST MOMENT: During my very last lesson with my coach of almost two years (I was moving away) I finally managed to land a clean loop jump for her. I had been struggling with the loop for most of the time we had been working together and on that day I managed to land my first (and only!) loop.

RUNNER-UP: The ISI Finale comp in 2001. I was ready to retire my very first competitive program and its final performance was the best I could ever have hoped to skate it.

My most recent "I finally did it!" moment is always the best.

These are in my memory book as favorites:
1. The first time I landed my axel AND my skating friend saw it. Hearing her scream, "It's a miracle!!!" added to the moment. =-)
2. Doing a GOOD backspin for my coach and having it feel EASY. The look of shock on his face was priceless.
3. Landing my 2 sal.
4. Doing double 3's on both sides.
5. Perfectly centered cirles after a fast spin. This is always a good feeling.

Chico

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"I truly believe, when God created skating, he patted himself on the back."

I had a fairly reliable toe-loop long before I had a decent salchow. Still do, for that matter. But I remember one night on the ice I couldn't not land a Salchow! It was quite extraordinary. A young lad who also had lessons with my coach (he now has a physical job as a gardener, so no energy or time to skate, alas) was having the same sort of day with his double Salchows, and I think the energy he and I were giving off infected each other..... I have never done them so well before or since!

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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 found the toe-loop easier than the salchow. I started learning it after the salchow and landed it a couple of weeks after I landed the salchow so it wasn't so hard for me!

Count me in on the toe loops being easier than the salchows. I can land a double toe but haven't had any success with the double salchow (YET).

sk8er1964 - you will get the double salchow soon! think positive, that's what i try to do!