Hi everyone, Christmas day is almost here and this week for most this
their last week skating until the New Year rings in. Like most of
you, I was involved in my club's Christmas skating show.

Being an adult skater, I had to do the baking for the bake sale that
went with it, make a donation box, and at the last minute fix the
signs for the show two nights before hand, so that when the local CBC
radio station came to do their radio show on Friday and sponsor a
Christmas skating party, they'd be able to get the details on our
show. Well, it worked. They did tell people about the show. CBC
interviewed me about my skating and also a prenovice skater with whom
I share ice live. My interview was on ice and I was asked to
demonstrate my Broken Leg Sitspin (only did three rotations on it so
that I wouldn't take up too much air time.) The prenovice skater had
her interview off ice with her coach sitting beside her in the
hallway next to the rink but didn't show any of her skating.

I watch most of the other skaters after I skated in our Christmas
show but a few times in between, I was hunting down the skaters who
were to warm up next for the show. After our show was done, we had
family skate and I helped an autistic child.


Question for those of you who have done Christmas skating shows, do
you get warm up time before you get to do your program? We did in
groups like it was a competition. It was weird because when I skated
with Windsor FSC, we had warm up the hour before the show was to be
and not in between each group of skaters. Even at Riverside SC, I
warmed up the hour before and not just minutes before my actual
performance.

How did it go for me in my performance? Well, I performed my
interpretive number, When You Believe. I started out well doing a toe
loop to open, then Broken Leg Sitspin but it wasn't until I did my
first forward spiral (3rd element) that I got applause. I must have
had my freeleg up pretty high, I guess. Couldn't see where it was or
feel where it was. They also loved the second one which was a back
spiral which had me draw my hands from infront of me towards my chest
in a praying position ( words indicated praying in the song). After
that I started to skate too fast and was ahead of my music. I had to
wait forever at the start where my footwork sequence starts doing
pivits until the music caught up with me. My footwork sequence was
bang on including the toe work just before the travelling two foot
spinning into my forward upright spin with my right foot crossed in
behind my left and out to the left. Somehow near the end, I slowed
down a bit too much and found myself doing my ending spin not where I
had planned it but with the music (easy to feel when and where to do
the elements because of my musical background). I warmed up the
crowd as I was the first to skate. Got the audience in the mood to
watch figure skating. I was also one of a few skaters who bowed in
all the directions to the audience watching. Some skaters didn't bow
at all. I learned that I'm going to have to practice my interpretive
and FS this year thinking that an audience is watching all the time
so that I learn to pace myself and so that I don't skate too fast for most of the performances because I'm excited to perform for crowds. I had a little extra push in me today that practice doesn't give me. It's my ham gene I guess. ROTFLOL

Merry Christmas group!

Brigitte

__________________
"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

We had our show yesterday. It went really well and the parents enjoyed it. I got to help choreographing "Jingle Bell Rock" with the little kids and skated with them on the ice. A friend jokingly made a comment to me that my skating had really improved!!

However that morning when I went skating, someone had pulled out of "Shake your tailfeather" Blues Brothers numberand I stepped in at the last moment - easy choreography and had a good time. Got to do my corkscrew spin. I think I amazed myself that I could do it.

In relation to your question about a warm-up skate, we got one for 15 minutes about half an hour before the show.

And afterwards we had a party with lots of food that people brought.

This year has been very positive with skating and fundraising activies and relations between skaters, coaches and parents have never been better. After many years of numbers decreasing and political problems, the year has really ended on a high!!!

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The club itself doesn't have a christmas show, just the one at the end of the season. The learn to skate program which I'm in has a christmas show, but per usual, and even with many of the adults saying they wanted to do it, we were not offered any parts yet again this year.

Adults at our rink don't get much offered beyond the basics, I've tried to take stroking clinics, freestyle programs, artistry in motion, and some of the other clinics they have. Every time it's been "kids only" It's been a major annoyance of mine in trying to do more things.

Hope your show went better!

Steven

__________________
"A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson
"Got Edge?" - Steven J. Arness - Coachless, two years and counting.
"He who carves himself to suit others will soon whittle himself away."
"Sometimes you get what you want but loose what you have."

Sounds like you need to change clubs Steven. If your club is going to treat your money and you like dirt, they don't deserve either.

Brigitte

__________________
"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

Maybe you can suggest that they add an Adult Workshop class for all levels above Delta. Might even poll other adults as to whether they would sign up first.

I know a lot of rinks have a hard time filling adult only classes and often us adults are out of place in a kids class (although I have taken several).

In our Adult Workshop the coach let's us chose what we want to work on as a group or if we can't think of anything, she'll suggest something.

__________________
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

Our Winter show was this past weekend. I think it went pretty well.

I skated with the adult Synchro team, we closed the show. Hubby said I looked about average for the group (which is all I wanted, LOL!) I did get socked in the side while trying to line up for our opening footwork, then I was tripped when we get out of a forward, two-foot turn and then take off backwards. The woman behind me knocked my left foot out from underneath me, but I managed NOT to fall and did get back into line with only the smallest of pauses. I think everyone's nerves were a little raw, LOL!

Steven--
I wonder if it could be called age discrimination for your rink to exclude adults from skating workshops at your rink based solely on age, not skating abiility. Some rinks I skate at have disclaimers in their lesson sign-up forms saying that they don't discriminate based on race, disability, or gender. I think that age is also a somewhat protected status. I'm not suggesting that you sue, but if you brought it up from this perspective, perhaps rink management might let adults sign up for these workshops provided that they have the skating ability required for anyone else in the class. I have sometimes been one of the only (or the only) person taking a stroking class, but I have always been treated as an equal class member.

Also, does the skating club at your rink sponsor any of these classes/workshops that you've been excluded from, and are you a paying member of that club? I'm asking because some skating clubs' constitutions say that the mission is something like furthering the skating endeavors of all club members, including children and adults of all ages. So, if the club is excluding certain people from its classes based on age, it could be going against its own constitution.

And I agree with garyc--you might want to find out if other adults are interested in the same opportunities. If so, you might be able to show that there's an interest and might have more sway with management (and after all, if the rink is turning away adults for these classes, they're really turning away $$$$).

Dunno if any of this would help, but I hope you are able to take some of the classes that you want to. I know that every edge class or stroking clinic that I've been to has helped my skating IMMENSELY.

Cheers,
~mikawendy
(a.k.a. edge class addict)

Edited to say sorry this is off the topic of the original question. If replies about this mini-thread grow, we could start a new, separate thread.

Hmmm, yes, should try to stay more on topic eh?

I'm involved in two different things, one is the learn to skate offered through the rink, the other is the actual skate club, they are entirely seperate things for the most part.

As for clinics, the club itself has not had enough interest from the members to hold one. The rink has clinics and such, but adults are restricted to only take LTS sessions on one day, none others. I do agree with you on age discrimination over ablity mikawendy, I did a stroking clinic at another rink in the summer with no age restrictions, or even ability restrictions, anyone could do it. May have to look into that part of it and see if I can get some chnages made on that point.

As for other adults, I'm unsure, I know of a few that are dismayed at not being able to skate on their own ice and having to go around all the kids and such afterwards or during other public sessions.

I loved the stroking clinic I did, it pushed me to do more then I could think of at the time, the teachers were great, and was about the best times I've had.

Thanks all for the input,

Steven

__________________
"A sure sign of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." - Albert Einstein
"A free society is one where it is safe to be unpopular." - Adlai Stevenson
"Got Edge?" - Steven J. Arness - Coachless, two years and counting.
"He who carves himself to suit others will soon whittle himself away."
"Sometimes you get what you want but loose what you have."

Just curious- are these town-based (i.e. municipal) rinks, or privately owned? My guess would be that a rink that receives tax money would be less likely to restrict programs to kids without offering an equivalent for adults, simply because I think you could get into legal issues with that. I'm not sure private rink that receives no tax money would necessarily be obligated to accomodate adults. It seems stupid not to; all they're really doing is alienating potential paying customers. Why they would make that business decision is beyond me. I can understand not offering separate adult classes if the interest isn't there in big numbers, but I don't know why they wouldn't welcome an interested adult who's willing to pay into the regular program.

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!

Steven - about 7 or 8 years ago where I am we had no competitions or anything for adults - you had to compete against the kids. Then one of the clubs set up a Masters Cup competition for adults and it started off with 16 competitors. The competition has since grown to have lots of competitors and you can do group numbers and duos. In fact the adult skaters are a real force to be reckoned with at our rink.

It is a shame that adults don't seem to be encouraged where you are. However does the show accept group numbers which people put together? Because if that is the case next year get together with the other adults and work on a number yourselves. You could even hire a coach to help get it together. It is so much fun. Why wait to be offered parts?

BTW - how many other adult skate at your rink who would be interested in doing that kind of thing? Because if you have the numbers you cannot be ignored.

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384 pictures from my club's Christmas Show.

http://www.northcountyphotos.com/pic....asp?picture=1

.... and I'm not in any of them.

__________________
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

No fair, Gary! We'll just have to have a skater from the STL area do a little Candid Camera work so we can see you in action

I wasn't in the Christmas show, but I was standing right next to the photographer throughout the entire show. He had his chance to take my picture, but I think he was afraid it might break his lens.

Don't tell Mel-on-Ice that you're looking for pictures of me. She sees me during my Saturday group lesson while I'm trying to do things I can't do.

If you ran into my blade while I'm doing a spiral, you'd probably have a cut on your kneecap.

__________________
Many go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. - Henry David Thoreau

Gary - no fair!! How can you post pictures without one of yourself

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