My first competition was with my coach (thank goodness!!!!) but the rest have been without (she had prior committments). I really miss her when she is not there. I know I am a big girl, but she does help me focus, remembers things that I don't, keeps me from freaking out (funny that I don't freak out for shows...)

Maybe one day I'll grow up and not need her as much...

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

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raye Annabel you are NOT THE WORLD'S WORST SKATER, and many of us who know you would agree with me. I was impressed at this year's Mountain Cup with the improvement you had made in the year since last year's MC, and I expect to be impressed again at MC07. You also have the biggest heart of any skater I know..... Please stop putting yourself down - you are awesome!

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Flying:

I passed my Level 1 Free today - what a relief! I can now forget about testing for a while and focus on a new programme for Bracknell.

Falling:

Just out of curiosity, decided to check out what I need to be preparing for next, and.....

Who put mohawks on a circle into new Level 2 Field Moves? What a cruel, ruthless, heartless being?

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My other car is a Zamboni

Start recording the pep speeches and listen to them on your iPod.

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I will third that emotion!

Annabel: You are NOT the WORLD'S WORST SKATER!!!

(That title went to me a while back b/c my basics STILL SUCKS... though not as bad now... )

Congrats to sceptique on passing your Level 1 test!

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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!!!

Flying:
-Dutch Waltz and Canasta Tango are coming together. I learned why I was running out of room for the end pattern on the DW.
-Learned the Rhythm Blues today - fun except for those scary tuck-behind things at the end
-Slide Chasses have improved.
-Foward X-Over Stroking Pattern is in good shape, and Back X-Over Stroking Pattern isn't too bad.
-Did some nice salchows and toe loops last night before a busload of kids arrived.
-Have lost weight from all this skating

Falling:
-My cat is trying to walk on my laptop as I type this
-Hips! I am having the hardest time trying not to "pop" them out on the Power 3 pattern. Need to work on keeping everything lined up over one side.
-Power 3 pattern in general - the hip issue, holding the tail end of the 3s while keeping good posture, and the step forward (I step too far out and end up coming up on my toepick to get around).
-5 Step Mohawk pattern feels awkward.

Flying: After my skate this morning, I took a tour through a new student center that just opened right across the street from the rink. It's GIGANTIC with a HUGE food court and coffee shop with a fireplace - and did I say right across the street from the rink? I'll have to skate twice as hard to avoid gaining weight!

Pictures of it are here:
http://www.ohio.edu/center/photos/

Falling: The feeling that skills go away overnight was with me once again this morning as I ran through some gold moves. Coach just shakes her head at my inconsistency.

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Bill Schneider

Ooooh, I know exactly what you're going thru...especially after I found out that there was gonna be a new Whole Food Market a block away from the rink. BAD BAD!!! EVIL EVIL!!! (Lucky for me, my GYM is also a block away too!!!)

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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!!!

Today was a day I just wanted to cry.
Let's see, I'm paying $10.00 (via punchcard) to skate on chewed up ice run amock by rugrats, some of whom are in the hormonal stages of life.
And this is NOT a public session I'm describing, it's a freestyle.
By the time my Monday lesson rolls around, the ice is soo chewed that you literally have to push to get any power. Today was especially difficult.
No matter how hard I tried, I could not get my moves patterns to where my coach wants them and I left the ice asking myself why I signed up to test, when I feel so unprepared.
What's even sadder, is well, I've told a few people here, but if I cannot pass Bronze moves, I may give up skating.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Oh no you don't -- this seems to be something that is going around on this site -- people wanting to give it up... I'm feeling it, too, but know that I will not.

Whenever I feel like this (which isn't often) I go back to the basics, whether it be Moves or figures, or dance patterns or just edges and turns and try to remember what it is that I like about skating. And I always come down to the same thing: it's the flow, the glide, that is totally addictive and is so very real, that nothing else really matters.

Who cares if you never get that jump, or that dance, or can't do Power 3s up to speed (my big nemesis) -- just enjoy the ride! Literally!!

I bow to all of you.

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

Your rink sounds like a real disaster! I have stopped attending freestyle sessions at one of my favorite rinks because they have become hazardous for some of the same reasons, but now I have my wonderful outdoor rink to go to daily.

DON'T QUIT! You said "if I cannot pass Bronze moves", but you didn't say "this time", so I think that deep down, you are willing to give yourself more time if necessary. Keep in mind that anyone can be completely ready and still not pass a test on a given day.

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So is this a campaign to not let Terri quit skating??? LET THE CAMPAIGN BEGIN!!!

Terri, look at how long it took me to learn to get thru Bronze Moves??? 4.5 FREAKIN' YEARS!!! Did I feel like throwing my skates away??? HELL YEAH I did!!! Did I have people tell me that I probably would never EVER see the day that I would finally make Bronze b/c my basic skatings SUCKS and I don't have the right coaches and I'm too old and too chicken??? HELL YEAH!!! But did I give up on it??? HELL NO!!! And even if I did try to, my coaches and DH wouldn't let me!!!

My coaches reminded me after the second retry on Bronze Moves that I came REAL close to passing this time and I did pass ONE judge who has a rep for being excruitiating TOUGH in judging!!! The secondary coach suggested that I do Skate SF "to have some fun." (Yes, a month before the comp I had to put together a program..... ) But guess what? If I had given up right then, I would not have WON Skate SF. I realized then that all that work that I've put in already would have been wasted if I gave it up right then... so I promised myself and my coaches that I would give it my all for the 3rd try. And well, as you see in my signature, I'm glad I didn't give up! I'm glad I went on and prove those naysayers that they're WRONG and I DO have it in me to make it!!!

Yes, you will have bad days with idiot skaters and rinks with less than perfect ice. (Yes, I have skated on ice that has not seen a Zam for over a day. Not fun, but I managed and lived...) But you know that on test day you should not have bad ice! And I remembered not too long ago you have much better ice and no crowds and did just fine!!!

Remember!!! AN 2008!!! Location to be determined (probably after Junior Nationals.) The Peanut Gallery ALL HANDS meeting is scheduled then!!! YOU BETTER SAVE UP NOW and you BETTER BE THERE, b/c you ARE a REQUIRED ATTENDEE from my Outlook email here!!! *stern look*

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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!!!

Give up? Quit skating? Is it contagious?????

For all the frustrated skaters everywhere, I think it's time for a

GROUP HUG !!!!!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Hmmm. wonder if it has to do with the phases of the moon...

Rusty Blades,
Thanks a bunch! I am beginning to feel better already. You rock!

Terri C, Don't you dare quit, what am I going to do with all that champagne in the cooler ?

Jazzpants, Thanks for your fire-y and feisty encouragement!

I shall go into my lesson tomorrow morning in better spirits!

Terri I agree with everyone here. I have seen you skate and you WILL pass that test. I know you can do it, and I know how tough it can be to overcome discouraging sessions.... We're all rooting for you.

(me and my purple butt are here to join in the group hug.... bad mohawk - bad bad evil mohawk!!)

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If you keep your eyes on God, you can walk on water.

Come on, Terri! Don't give up! First, the test hasn't happened yet - keep a positive attitude and remember that it's natural to have mistakes when a test or comp is approaching. In my last lesson before testing Bronze FS, I messed up the loop, back spin, sit spin, and toe loop - an official disaster. That was the week there was a tropical storm named Debby (note the different spelling, everyone ) and I remember hearing the weather guy on TV say that the storm wasn't a threat and "we're not going to see a lot out of Debby this weekend" - I thought...yeah, I bet my coach is thinking that too after my lesson last night - lol. But I did all the elements when it counted and I know you will too. You are prepared for this test - you've spent all this time practicing and your coach has prepared you well.

And if you don't pass, then try again. Like Jazz, it took me 3 tries to pass Bronze MIF. My goal is to pass Silver MIF on the first try, but after watching some Silver tests this weekend, I think I'm going to end up taking that test more than once.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

NO, Terri!!! We don't skate to pass tests, we skate because we LOVE IT!! Skating rules and test structures come and go (Remember compulsory figures? Remember 6.0?) but the constant is skating itself--the feeling of gliding on the ice and owning that ice like nothing in the world matters. Don't let the stupid test get you down!

Big hug!
Doubletoe

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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

Yup! Think of it this way... would you rather get the bad ones out of the way during practice before the test, or DURING the test???

And just to show I'm skatin' crappy but I'm not discouraged by it (b/c I love the sport!!!)... I give you my Monday night practice:

Falling:

• No camel! So much for that... I had two tries where I almost kicked a skater going into it. Of course, same said skater also almost ran right into ANOTHER skater who was about to go into the camel himself! (The guilty party is NOT a kid... but an adult skater who wasn't really paying much attention to anything...)
• No loops or flips either! Then again, I wasn't really trying much beyond maybe 2 or 3 of each jump anyway.
• Sit spin is not my best. My lower legs and back were stiff going into the session b/c it's COLD!!! By the time I'm warmed up, I had to leave and pack up for tomorrow mornings lesson.
• I'm not expecting much on the back sit either... though I certainly tried for it a couple of times.

Flying:

• I can (sorta) do a backspin change foot to a forward attitude!!! Now to aim for a nice back scratch!!!
• BO pivots!!! They're coming along... I think I need to start learning to get into it at faster speeds (i.e. faster than a slug) so I can get used to going into the toe loop entry at faster speeds.

Falling again:

• Have NO freakin' clue how to put the BO pivot to work on my toe loop! Or at least I have the concept of it, but I don't get the FEEL of it. I tried last week with my secondary coach and well, didn't quite get it... I'll leave it for tomorrow morning with my secondary coach.
• Most of all, I really REALLY am getting lazy here!!! It's COLD! It's FREEZING! I HATE COLD and I'd rather stay under the blankets and HYBERNATE!!! But you know what? Once I warmed up, I got more energy and I'm GLAD to be back on the ice after a 4 day break!

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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!!!

Hey Terri--

You can cry, you can get upset.. but you CANNOT quit! Skaters have hurdles to overcome.. and sometimes they include bad ice, other skaters who don't look where they're going, coaches who are more "direct" (mean) than they should be... but we all skate anyway.

Give yourself 15 minutes to just WALLOW in how awful it was, how terrible other people have been to you, how hard you have worked to get the moves to where they are now. Do you remember the first time your coach showed you what was on the Bronze test? Are you, like most, one of those who said "S/he must be crazy!!! I'll never get that!" And look how far you've come! Your coach obviously thinks you are ready to take this test otherwise s/he would not have said to schedule this test. You're just feeling nervous about the test.. which is perfectly normal. Everytime I do the wallow in how awful my skating is (and I admit I DO get VERY dramatic -- but privately and internally -- I end up with the giggles, thinking "Oh come on.. this is SKATING.. it's a sport, it's supposed to be fun, it's not life and death, it's not a cure for global warming, it's not even about what my bosses think at work." )

Remember, there are LOTS of people who skate who would be THRILLED to look like you and be able to do what you do on the ice. Remember there are people -- even on this board -- who are off the ice with injuries just dying to get back on... and you can still skate. They would happily trade places with you.

Think about the little kids who go stand on the spot in the ice where you just finished a spin. They think the spot is magic and will make them spin... but what made the magic was all the work you've put into skating.

Think of your favorite times skating. What did it feel like? Was it the wind in your hair, the fact that you could get across the rink in just a couple pushes, the dress and music you knew you should skate to? What could make you feel like that again?

Also go back and re-read Rusty Blades post about how she felt after her coach had lots of negative feedback and see what everyone wrote there to encourage her.

And think of that chewed up ice as your friend.. if you can push through that muck, you're building stamina.. which will make you feel like you're flying on CLEAN test ice. You'll be fine! And if by chance, you get the extremely tough panel of judges, just show them how adults skate when they are under pressure. You don't HAVE to pass this test this time. This isn't like an IRS deadline. You go, you do your best, they either pass or invite you to retry the test. None of that is fatal. We've all been there.. and we'll all hit those roadblocks again. The worst thing that could happen would be 15 years from now you start talking about the days when you skated.. and then you realize you gave it up. A friend of mine says you can either work on the obstacle and time passes.. or time just passes, which will it be?

Besides, you have lots of friends on-line and on the ice you would never have met without skating... don't you want to keep us? PLEASE don't reject us -- we have such sensitive feelings.

More hugs!

Thin-Ice

Awful to admit but I don't know. I do know that she tells me she is a way too feminine lady pirate which causes hilarity amongst the lost boys.

I see you were mentioned in iskate for rallying the forces at the adult championships.

Falling
I failed my bronze field moves test.

Of the 6 exercises I only got a passing mark for one although she said it was very close. She said I would find the next level too hard if she passed me on this one.

You need an average of 3.0 and a total of 18.0 to pass and I got 16.8.

Forward double threes - 2.8 - insides were a little scratchy
Back outside double threes - 2.9 - CCW a little stiff
Back inside double threes - 2.8
Double Mohawks- 2.8
Choctaws - 2.5 - very good on first side and very shakey on second side
Brackets- 3.0- only passing exercise

I sneaked a look at her score sheet so that's how I know what I got since you don't get a mark sheet, only a short comments sheet. General comments were that is was a little wobbly and scratchy.

Teacher thought I didn't deserve a fail and everyone else was shocked. The other girl doing the test passed and noone could really see a difference between my test and hers. I think she was quite a tough judge. She made a lot of people reskate although I was the only fail. Fair enough yes I could have cleaner more controlled turns but I don't think they were so bad to be a fail.

I'm more annoyed that I have to still practise these.

Flying
I was actually happy with how I skated the test. Teacher said I did it a lot better than she'd seen it and she was pleased. And I wasn't nervous which is good - maybe I'm learning to control my nerves

Had a good dance lesson today. Started work on my tango OD and test dances were a lot better. Teacher said I can put my papers in.

Free skating lesson also good - no break from the field moves though. Teacher spoke to the judge and so we were working on more flow generally and more confidence.

And my pictures is in ice link with all the other BAC medallists.

Yay!! Congrats on passing your level 1 free! As for the field moves, don't know about yours but my daughter recently passed her level 2 elements and free, and prelim field moves. She was shown some of the new level 3 exercises and they are HARD! One is LFO3 to RBI3 all down one side and then back up the other side on the other foot, and another is change of edge spirals. I passed inter bronze years ago but found the bronze exercises so difficult I semi gave up on them and had hoped the new moves would be easier....well, they're not!

Nicki

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www.myspace.com/insatiableskater

Oh no. So sorry you failed. They are so difficult though. I know there have been some serious re-skates and fails too at our rink lately on those and the inter silver moves. It looks like you are that close though. You should be able to get another go at them. Isn't it the case that as long as your test papers are in by the end of the year, you have till March to test on them again? I'm glad I've not been working on them to be honest. My friend has and is keen to give the test a go, but doesn't feel that confident, although personally I think she'll do OK. One can never tell though. Different judges look for different things and some are more lenient than others.

Nicki

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www.myspace.com/insatiableskater

yay! much needed. I'm still trying to pluck up the courage to skate this evening....

S xxx

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

Definite GROUP HUGS needed, I think.

Dianne - get well soon!

Sceptique - congratulations, and I hope this an omen - Husband tests his Level 1 Elements and Free next week! Hope he does as well.

Nicki - why do you think I'm so desperate to pass Level 3 Dance Moves - no way can I do that 3-turn exercise! Nor, at that, the spiral sequence they expect! If I don't pass (and I almost definitely won't, alas), I shall stop testing Moves!

(Those of you who were kind enough to say I'm not the world's worst skater haven't seen me try that 3-turn exercise!!!! But thank you, anyway).

Kateskate - again, so bummed that you didn't pass; but congratulations that you have your Level 6 compulsory papers in! Those, I'm sure, you'll pass with ease.

Terri C - don't you dare give up skating!

This is long enough, I'll post about today's practice separately!

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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!