Bank Holiday:

Daughter and I were daft enough to get up early on a Bank Holiday to go skate (because afternoon patch was cancelled for a hockey match!) Wouldn't have bothered except daughter has a skating test on Friday and needs the practice. At 8am there were only 4 skaters and 1 coach on the rink including us and the other two were good friends so it was lovely.

Managed a great loop jump in lesson and even managed 2.5 revs in a backspin (complete with proper exit) which is a first for me.

Bank charges:

Nothing much really as lesson was good and skating was fun today. Only bleak spot was the interbronze field move number 4 but even this seemed less impossible today than before, though I still cant do it properly.

Tried a Lutz but this is still an eville jump and I do wonder if I'll ever manage it. Keep practising I guess.

Bank Holiday: Practiced the Pro routine today; no problems at all, just need more speed. I even practiced the other skaters' parts, so that when (not IF) I get moved around to make room for someone else, I won't get rattled!

Bank Charges: As usual, my shoes made my skates hurt my feet. I hate foot cramps! Really had only 20 minutes to skate, so I didn't get a lot done.

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Was suppose to be a Bank Holiday but it turned out to have Bank Charges. It was suppose to be my first day back on a club session of my own but when I got to the rink, no cars were in the lot. I then went in and found that both rinks were dark and no other skaters or coaches were around. I then went to the rink office to find out that my club cancelled the ice one hour before I got there for all the Mondays in May. Not enough people registered for Mondays. But on the bright side, because I forgot to grab my skating clothes bag with my change of clothes and the club's and my music leaving it at home, not having any ice today on which to skate is a Bank Holiday, ROTFLOL

Brigitte a.k.a. singerskates

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"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

Bank Holiday:
The freeskate program keeps coming right along!


Bank Charges:
Now, if the rink wouldn't be so crowded, the program would be perfect. With May Day and our rink having a ISI competition next weekend, the next week or so, things are going to get a little crazy on the ice!

Coach tried to get me to lower sitspin, now that's consistent- she jinxed me!!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Bank Holidays The backward one-foot glides are still improving, as are the alternating FI and FO edges (when I remember to get my body turned between edges ) - coach is happy with both. Still working on my weaker left leg. Coach started me with 4 laps around the rink, 2 in each direction, skating on the left, stroking with the right and then commented on how much improvement she sees New exercises to add are FO alternating edges and backward stroking on the circle. That ought to keep me out of mischief for a week or so

Overdraft There aren't enough hours in the day! My job is interfering with my skating With a 45 minute a day workout (courtesy of my off-ice trainer) added to 6 hours a week skating, the poor ol' bod' is too pooped to even complain!

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

Bank Charges:

• We had 100 people on the ice this evening!!! Needless to say, I'm not going to be getting that much practice on Bronze Moves tonight. (Lucky for me, I got in a lot of practice Sat. and Sun.)
• Got the spin part of the camel down. Now trying to get a nice spin position and stay spinning for more than 2 revolutions (and I want the spin itself to stay spinning fast too!!!)

Bank Holiday:

• Weather is nice and warm, so my muscles and joints are comfortable!
• Landed a couple of loops clean. I think primary coach caught one of the clean ones too b/c I saw this on his face... (Of course, it could also very well be b/c I was going right passed him too!!!)
• Landed a slew of flips
• Scratch spin, sit spins and backspins were clean!
• Lastly, happy to see someone in the Pre-Bronze Peanut Gallery breaking our "Retry" curse. Hopefully this means the next person in the Peanut Gallery who takes the Bronze Moves test will also pass. (*ahem* that would be me...) Of course, given how much my coaches yell at me about my moves... don't count on it being any time soon! (Terri C will probably likely pass it before I do at this point...and no, it ain't for a lack of trying on my part.)

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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!!!

Bank Holiday: Lesson okay this morning, Coach actually complimentary about 3 of our dances. Not, alas, about the Swing Dance, although he did admit (grudgingly) that it had improved since last time we competed it (which would not, truth be known, have been difficult!). But he thinks our Dutch Waltz, Rhythm Blues and Canadian Cha-cha are competitive now. Yayyyyy.

Friend who hasn't been on the ice for ages because of health issues reappeared this morning, which was great. Another friend is also back after injury.

Fairly good runthrough of our respective programmes - Husband is in mad panic mode about his, which is silly, it's not that bad! Mine is pretty dire, but I'm not fussed - with Interp, it's all about what the judges like on the day. Last year they liked Raye's kitty, the year before they liked BlueIIIMoon's Snoopy & my Master of the House, and the year before that they liked my Jake the Peg, so..... maybe they'll like my Sandra Dee, maybe they won't, and there's precious little I can do about it either way!

Bank Charges: Coach most uncomplimentary about our Swing Dance. Didn't get time to run through the free dance, but with only a fortnight to go, that can wait. Right now the compulsories for the MC are the most important. I suppose we ought also to work on the Fiesta Tango for Bracknell, too, but there wasn't time.

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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!

Nobody else skated during the last 24 hours, then?

Bank Holiday: Started off my lesson today, as threatened in yesterday's couples lesson, with stroking, designed to make me focus on pushing with my pelvis to improve my posture. "Slow and steady, please," he says. So I do - and for the first time ever, I managed to do 1.5 laps of the rink with 4 pushes down each side! Husband and I have been doing that in hold in our warm-up, but it's the first time I've managed it solo, and I'm so pleased!

Cross-cuts beginning to improve, but now feel worse than they did, as I'm getting a bit of an edge on them. Cross-rolls now officially passable!!!!! but "We want to get them really good to give you a bit of leeway."

Programme okay, except for the end, when someone was slightly in my way and I wasn't sure if she'd seen me (that skater doesn't always notice people). Anyway, the elites were watching and were amused by it, so that's a good sign.

Bank Charges: Nothing, really, except that I couldn't do a dress rehearsal, as I'd hoped, as the car was still at the garage and it's AP tonight so I needed to take my skates home, and didn't want to lug dresses, etc, too.

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Bank holiday - wheee! School holidays are over, the kids are back at school and I'm back on the ice, for the first real time in more than 3 weeks (wearing jeans towing a four-year-old around in a mass of schoolies wearing hire skates on chopped-up ice does *not* count!). Any wonder I say "Wheee!"??

More bank holiday (gotta love holidays - except when they fill up the rink with schoolies... ) - just before we left for holidays, coach asked DH and me to do a swing dance. It wasn't good; it wasn't even bad; it was "recognisable". (Hey, that was high praise for that dance a month ago.) When we did it today, some other adult dancers came up to us and actually commented that it was getting smoother and much curvier. What's more, they recognised it as a swing dance when they didn't know that was what we were trying to do. I'm hoping that that means we're past "recognisable" and can move beyond "execrable", through "appalling" towards "needs work - especially on extension".

Bank fees (gee, they charge a lot) - in my eagerness, I signed up for a double session = 4 hours on ice with a 30min break. Oooh, my quads! They were s-o-r-e, and I'm guessing they will be sorer tomorrow. And tomorrow night our synchro coach is running a group "kill drill" class for 2 hours (he means what he says by "kill drill" - just leave the corpses on the ice for the zamboni to remove in due course).

Also, discovered that my blades were seriously blunt (I knew stopping shouldn't be that easy when I skidded on every turn I tried ). So they're now in for sharpening - just in time for kill drill. .

Bank Holidays:

• (Well, a day off...) Secondary coach wanted to see me do forward stroking and she did noticed that I did lower my arms are lower, but my shoulder and neck is still scrunched up. (Help! How do I look like I'm relaxed on the ice when I'm obviously NOT?) It's a bank holiday though, since before BOTH my arms and shoulders are scrunched up...
• Then secondary coach says "A little birdie (*cough*WeirFan06*cough*... you little snitch!!! ) told me that you can do crossovers like 'nobody's business.' So let's see 'em!" I did alt. back crossovers and well, the first set she liked the left over right crossovers and not the right over left crossovers. (I think she meant the other way around b/c I then did more left over right back crossovers b/c she didn't like 'em as much.) When that got fixed... I did my second set of alt back crossovers. Secondary coach said "That was the best ones I've EVER seen you done!!!" (Thanks, WeirFan06!!!)

Back Overdraft

• Those POWER 3's!!!! I still have problems now with the choctaw on the RFO3's side. It's still a headache to get a clean edge out of the push into them. LFO3's are pretty clean and very smooth though, thankfully!
• Still nervous about my upcoming test session (assuming my test forms have gotten to the test chair.) Secondary coach says "Well, after panicking that first week, do you feel like you just have to get out there and say 'I gotta do this! I gotta get this job done!!!'?" Yup! That's about where I'm starting to head right now mentally. I got a job to do!!! Gotta push for it!!!

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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!!!

Bank holiday

• Yay, I have edges again! I'd gone too long between sharpenings and was sliding all over the place my last two sessions and now I'm happy again.
• Did a clean double sal for the first time in a few weeks, AND it was during the lesson with my secondary coach, who hadn't seen it yet.

Bank charges

• I'm competing in 10 days and still haven't managed a clean axel in my new program. I usually end up popping it, so I think my goal will be to at least rotate it; one-footed or two-footed landing will be less important.

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

Bank Holiday: Yesterday I did a whole pattern of Killian to the music with my coach. And survived to tell about it.

Today the beginning of Blues was stronger than in the past.

Bank Charges: Can't get my Blues choctaw entry timed right to the music because I've practiced it too much without the music. So my body isn't yet used to setting up for the turn in only 2 beats of music vice the 4 or 5 beats I seem to have been using the equivalent of in practice.

Killian choctaw needs to be smoother... I need to turn out my right leg/foot quicker after the "cross-in-front/cross-behind."

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Great job! It is much easier w/ a partner, isn't it? I've done it w/ my coach w/ music, but not at full power--maybe half. That wall really looms as you're on the 2 beat RO edge!

I've only got bank charges today, as coach was sick so lesson was cancelled, so didn't even get to skate today.

Now that I understand the tracking, yes it is much easier. This was at about half of coach's power and probably 75-80% of my power. But it is a start!

Since I normally test adult track, I was joking with my coaches that the Killian might be one dance that I can completely skate solo at full tempo (eventually).

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Today was all Bank Charges:
My rink has this wonderful idea to cut the freestyle sessions on Wednesdays by 30 minutes and replace it with puck shoot! Coaches had lessons booked and skaters arrived at 5pm expecting to get a full 50 minute session in!

Thus, my coach had to move everyone earlier and I was hustled onto the ice and into a 5 minute competition warmup. Of course, everyone that could got in my way!
Then on program runthrough on lesson, I nearly had not one, but two collisions with a coach and another skater! Said program ended with a fall on the ending loop and a very angry me, so angry that I did something I've never done in skating- had a bit of a tantrum.
While I know better, it was very frustrating to have your music on and on lesson and people look right through you!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Bank Charges:
Lesson today was eh. I was slipping everywhere. Even on something stupid like swizzles on a circle my edges sliding out from under me. Needless to say, I left them to be sharpened. I had about 9 hours on the blades (cheap blades) and usually walk in them, not guards, so I hope thats fairly normal. I am having 3 turn issues. We are doing FO 3-turns and when I do it correctly I can get them about 70% of the time (the other times I put my foot down- I never check out of them all that well) but most of the time I am ready to turn and I realize I'm trying to turn the wrong way. I have no idea how to remember which way I'm going.

Bank Holiday:
I get to go skating again on Friday And instead of back swizzles to my heel while on a circle my instructor had me start doing them to my toe so I can get ready for cross cuts. While I'm excited about it- wow it threw me off. And my back stroking was complimented AND I found somewhere to take lessons this summer before my move, after my current rink closes

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Bank Holiday:

Well I'm skating again, which is pretty significant. I skated maybe 5 or 6 times this year before this week. My suffering has paid off though, I've got a renewed love of the ice and have paid off a loan that was costing me a minimum of $113/month for the last year (more money for skating, wheee!).

Yesterday, I went to the Comcast ice rink which I've only been to a few times despite it being a nice rink. I found out that their 6-month deal is good any time and lasts for 6 months from the date of purchase, and there's 6-hour public sessions every day. So I bought it - yes, now I can skate all I want for the next 6 months, for a mere $90. Wait, I need to say that a little louder... I get to skate all I want for the next 6 months, for a mere $90!!!

My skates felt really dull when I got there, probably from sitting so long, so I proceeded to do a quick sharpening myself and got the best edge quality I can remember skating on ever. So, screw paying for sharpenings! I'm going to avoid having my skates sharpened for as long as I possibly can.

Met a really friendly skater (and a better one than me, to be sure) at the rink who went to the trouble of introducing herself since she hadn't seen me around before. I haven't met many skaters here that will go through the bother of that, unfortunately, so it was a nice change of pace.

Bank Error Not In My Favor:

Well somebody stole my bicycle, so getting to the rink that's 10 miles away involves driving a car and paying for gas, but I'll hopefully get that rectified with a replacement used bike or something sooner or later.

My skating has gone downhill as one might expect, but less so than I feared. I need to get my jumps and spins back to their previous consistancy, but they're not too bad all in all, comparative to before.

My stamina is gone!!! It's creeping back, slowly... but I get tired so fast now.


Good to be skating again, in any case.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Bank Holiday It seems my backward balance was on holiday tonight (Oh yea, this is supposed to be the GOOD stuff!) Well, my coach was pleased with the improvement in the strength of my left leg - it BETTER be getting better! I have been knocking myself out working on it. I also forgot to take my stretchy pants for skating when I left this morning so I bought some shorts - MUCH nicer to skate in than pants! Soon, very soon, a practice dress and I can pretend to be a REAL skater

Bank Charges I must have been too pooped 'cause not much was working well tonight. The backs of my knees are sore from working on my one-foot backward glides (though I am ALMOST to backward edges), my backward balance was absolutely TOAST and the same two girls kept skating into my path when I was trying to do backward glides and alternating forward edges. One of these days I am just going to pretend I didn't see them and run them down! (I am twice their size - you'd think they'd be a little more careful about WHO might fall on top of them! )

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

Good to hear you're back...where do you live so that I can move to get 6 hours per day ice for $15 a month??? That's what each *session* costs us down here, plus a further $3 if you need to hire their crappy skates. I am so jealous.

I remember some months ago you posting about your Graf (?) boots falling apart, and you were going to send them to be replaced (?) Since you're skating again, I guess you've got skates that work, so was just wondering whether Graf rebuilt them or replaced them?

Still the same skates. I have serious concerns about the job my fitter does, and while I won't go into a big rant, I've been promised a free replacement set of new boots from Graf for over 6 months now (the fitter offered one day without my asking even). Every time I bother to ask him the status, he says Graf hasn't sent them because he hasn't yet bothered to mail off the last few pairs of skates that they already sent him replacements for, out of laziness. Each time I'm promised a phone call when they come in, and never hear anything. I haven't bothered checking on them in about 2 months now. Since the skates are now over a year old I don't know if the Graf replacement is even an option anymore. They're still separating from the soles but it hasn't really gotten much worse so I'm just ignoring the problem. The excess foam padding that extends to the sides of the tongue was disintegrating and becoming super-sticking and coming off on things (think about used chewing gum stickyness), so I ended up just cutting it all off, and honestly I think the boots are better with out it. I also stuck some replacement insoles back in and this helped dramatically, because my feet fit a bit more snugly now, and don't slide forward and back since the insoles are shaped to my feet.

I bought them from Sole Custom Footbeds, and I highly recommend them. I find them especially suitable for ice skates, because you heat mold them to your feet, and then they harden after a short while and are nice and firm and allow full edge control without compromise (don't want squishy in skates). Today I actually tried putting the Graf insoles back in to see if it made a difference (just been using the replacements since I started skating again), and proceeded to toss them directly into the garbage bin after realizing how much worse they were (because they allow my feet to slide, there ends up being a lot more pain in my toes which get mashed up in the fronts of the boots, whereas with the replacements, it's almost like the boots fit properly because my feet stay in place at the rear of the boots).

I do dearly want to replace them whenever I can afford it, am still leaning towards Klingbeil though have been reconsidering SP Teri as well.

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Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

Bank holiday: My new blades are here! (My old ones were six years old.. and so flat, well, let's just say I should not have been able to skate on them.)

Bank cheques: My new blades are here.. and I'm having serious readjustment issues now that I have a rocker again! I feel like the Tiny Tot who was accidentally allowed on the High Freestyle session.

Yesterday I needed my coach to hold me up while I did FO 3-turns. (I was starting to feel semi-comfortable on BI 3s with the old blades.) And there was some difficulty holding a RO edge either forward or backward.. my foot/ankle/knee/hip had to fight hard to stay on the outside edge and there was a slight grinding noise when I was on it. My coach and one other skater also heard the noise when I was on a RO edge. I managed a teeny-tiny little waltz jump and 1-1/2 revolutions on a one-foot spin... and that was the GOOD one! (I had been doing lutzes and scratch spins with 15-20 revolutions, as well as other spins. BUT NOT NOW! )

I had the right blade moved over slightly, so I'm hoping that will fix that problem. I'll find out when I skate again today.

I know it's not just the blade though. I also need to work on my posture since I have a tendency to pitch too far forward and go right over the toepicks! So I'm dedicating the month of May to getting used to the new blades. Good thing I wasn't planning on competing/testing until September or so!

All bank holiday for me, for a change.

I am feeling really happy, and positive about my skating. I had a fabulous 2 sessions on the weekend, and again last night. It isn't that I am skating that well, although I have finally started landing flips again. It just feels good, and like I'm making progress, and I'm enjoying it.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

Bank Holiday

Started work on my new programme today - the first programme with my new coach. People have criticised said coach in the past for not being very good choreographically but I love what he has done so far with my music. Now I just need to be able to do all the things he has put in (though he has promised I can take out anything I dont like). Still a long way to go though but I love my music and it makes me feel in a holiday/cheerful mood so hopefully that will show in the skating and make it easier to SMILE and skate at the same time!!!

Bank Charges
Spent most time on making up programme but also tried Flip again and it wasnt' working at all well.

Good luck with the alignment. Yeah, definitely try the blade alignment out and see what happens. The other thing to see if you still get frustrated with the blade is whether you might have the right blade size. I had a similar problem doing RFO edge too and started hearing crunching noise. The blade alignment (after getting a few tries) sorta helped. I guess it's a blessing in disguise when I lost my first pair of purple boots, b/c the second and current pair had new blades and they were about 1/4 size shorter than the old ones. Needless to say, the alignment and the blade size change definitely made a difference. (I still want my first pair of purple skates back though. I would like to at least my old boot back since they did work well and I want to have an extra pair of purple boots for next time around (but you can keep the blade.) )

And just to cover the "DUUUUUH" factor, make sure your blades are screwed on securely!!! (Just spotted the "Screw loose" thread and thought "Oh, I better cover that part too...")

Good luck with it and please be careful! This isn't a fun thing to go thru! Been there! Done that! And I can totally sympathizes!!!

__________________
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 can totally relate, Thin-Ice! When I got my new skates (customs for the first time), I needed to get new blades that were 1/4" shorter than my old ones, which I wouldn't have thought would make a big difference, but wow! I skated at the rink where the shop was so the person who mounted the blades could check the alignment and I nearly fell over doing back crossovers! Forward stroking and edges were OK, then I did a mohawk and tried to go backwards - it was as if it was the first time I tried to do those.

I skated over to the skate guy (forward of course) and said "My back crossovers are usually MUCH better than that, honest!"

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