I passed both the Intermediate FM and FS test today! I guess I can hold my head high and say I am a legitimate Masters Skater. Of course I have to do a longer program now! So I guess I will skate AN in Masters Novice and Masters Championship. I will have to get my entry form in. Look out Masters Men the sandbagger has moved up from Gold! hehehehehe. Burton

Congratulations, Lives to Skate!!

LOL!!! Good one though!

UHT stands for "Unidentifiable Hoppy Thing" (Those of you who have been around RSSIR for a very long time may know who this came from... apparently not me, I learned it from Mrs Redboot!!! ) It's to describe a jump that totally goes wrong to the point where the skating judges can't even identify what jump you're trying to do.

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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!!!

Ok, time for me to chime in:

My achievements for 2005:
Started to work on the Bronze moves in earnest- finally figured out what the continious axis is!
Managed to skate and train these moves, despite dealing with my mother's illness and passing this year.
Flew to a competition for the first time, 2005 Peach Classic. May I add that the best thing to see on the trip was my skatebag coming on the baggage claim carosel at Hartsfield Airport!
Competed in Adult Interp for the first time at New Years Invitational and then again at Peach Classic. Now, can I get another position in the skating order besides first???
Last one- skated up to Bronze at CRC- and getting killed- won't be doing that for awhile.

The Goal for 2006:
Pass my Bronze moves and free and gear up for Chicago, 2007!!!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

I LOVE this thread.

I'd forgotten all about last year's thread. My 1-year skating anniversary was a month ago, and here's my journal post from the date (for context, I had bought a pair of rollerblades a couple months previously and had perhaps a week or two worth of experience on them prior to going ice skating):

"Date: 2004-11-07 19:57:00
I went ice skating at a rink called Castle Ice yesterday for about 3 and a half hours. I'm going again today. It's a good bit trickier than inline skating - the skates have less traction so they can turn easier or slide sideways - the footing isn't quite as certain so you have to be more careful. But it's easier in some respects, too. You can get instant traction when you want it with a sideways blade, assuming you can figure out how to harness it (I can't yet). Some people can be going quite fast and stop very quickly by turning both their blades sideways and leaning away from them. It's also helpful that the ground is ice instead of pavement. While it is still hard, it's not as pokey and scratchy if you fall (though it's bloody cold, even though I only fell twice, I'm wearing gloves next time)

It's one hell of a workout. I'm all sore and cramped up today, and the limits of my flexibility became very noticeable in the rink.

But I'm going to go again today anyways. Unless I have really good excuse not to, I'm going to go every Saturday night and Sunday midday, because that's when it's open for public sessions. It's open during the week too, from 11am - 3pm, but I have to work then. I already ordered some skates on eBay for myself. I'm going to inquire about lessons, because I really suck and I would like to get better.

I LOVE this sport, and it's great exercise and an excuse to get out of the house which I need."

Ahh, nostalgia. Here's what I had set forth in those early days. I remember thinking these were very ambitious goals...:

My skating goals for 2005:
- Not giving up, keeping up with the 5 public sessions a week I've been doing.
Well, there's been a few weeks where I've only skated 2 or 3 times (and a very few where I only skated once), but I'd say the average for the year was 10-15 hours per week, which is pretty close. I only missed skating for more than an entire week once even during my low point.
- Refine refine refine...work on proper arm and body position, more graceful moves, better edge control...
Considering what I was thinking then, definitely done. I have to continue to focus on this though.
- Stretch every day, increase flexibility a lot.
Erm....oops! FAIL!!! *crash, burn* I only stretch when the mood strikes, which isn't very often at all...I am a wee bit more flexible though...
- Lessons! Get a private coach starting in late February after my public lessons run out.
Ahh...yes yes. Well I was without lessons for some months, and am taking them now rarer than I'd like, but this is accomplished anyways.
- Pass FS1.
Check!
- Learn to spin on one foot!!
Check!
- Pass FS2.
Check! (not tested, but I'm at an FS3-FS4 level now)

I'd consider that overall a pass. Woo hoo!


...and without further delay, more ambitious goals:

My skating goals for 2006:
- Backspin that doesn't suck.
- Axel or any double jump.
- Sitspin.
- Camel spin.
- Daily exercise - on days I don't skate I intend to do stretching or upper body exersizes. Skate most weekdays.
- Pass pre-bronze and bronze tests. Maybe pre-preliminary and preliminary too?
- Stay motivated and focused, even when the summer comes (I wonder if I have reverse seasonal affective disorder).

There, if last year's weren't ambitious enough, these should certainly keep me busy.

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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

I passed my last gold dance and first international, but more importantly, I got in to Dartmouth (early decision) and will be skating for them next year!

Wow! Congratulations Perry! Dartmouth isn't an easy school to get into...

I don't think I posted goals for last year, but here's what I did!

Accomplishments

• April - Passed gold skills! When I started skills in the fall of '03, gold seemed like a far-off dream. Sooo proud of myself for this. Much more satisfying for me than my gold dances the year before.
• May - Started free skate! I learned some basic free skate as a kid, but didn't progress past the loop, and quit free skate looooong ago to focus on synchro.
• By the end of June - could land all my single jumps!
• By end of July - Could do all jumps in combo with toe and loop.
• Recent - Within the last two months, my forward spin has improved a lot, and I think I can actually say that I have a backspin! It's not awesome, but it's there. Have also made some "two steps forward, one step back" progress on sideways leaning and layback spins.

Plans for 2006

• Get a really good backspin so I can start attempting axels and doubles.
• Learn more spins...just re-started with sit spin, and need to re-visit the camel.
• Single jumps all faster, bigger, higher!
• Learn, test, and pass the Rhumba.
• Improve brackets and double twizzles.
• Maybe start testing Interpretives? Eek!

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

It was originally posted by a judge who used to post on RSSIR and on the old uDel mailing list; I don't think she coined it, but I have a feeling that she read it on her neighbour's comment sheet, enquired about it, and adopted it!

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

Thanks for the explanation, Mrs Redboots and Jazzpants! I've had plenty "UHTs" in my lifetime. The funniest was when I had my first ever harness lesson, to try to get the loop jump landed on one foot instead of two footed or not jumped at all. Another skater asked me later, eyes wide, "Were you working on the axel?!" ....which told me that my loops in the harness must not have looked very much like loops!!

And Perry, congrats on getting into Dartmouth!!! I think that school has its very own ski slope, too, right?

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Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

I *finally* passed Bronze MITF on my third try, sometime in March.

Next year I just want to find time to get back on the ice. Shortly after passing the Bronze move test, I came down with pneumonia and haven't been on the ice since. It took well into the summer to get my strength back.

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All that glitters has a high refractive index.

Not skating related, but don't forget your *BIG* achievement -- finally getting your PhD!!!

Bronze MITF... ('Nuf said...)

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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!!!