I have such an affinity for skating pairs and wanted to start a thread on this favorite skating discipline of mine. So, here is a thread about anything and everything pairs. I am inspired by some of the pairs teams that post here (Team Arthritis -- love your sense of humor, NoVa and Loops, Lovepairs...and others ).

The objective here is to share pairs stories, share challenges, successes, give sound advice, and for no other reason, than to simply enjoy pairs. -- (and of course, this thread is for everyone, one doesn't have to be in a pairs team to post).


~sk8pdx

Sk8pdx,

Do you pair skate? Do you want to try? Have you visited:
www.adultpairskating.com

I found out something very interesting today, and that is that they have Pair competitions at the Special Olympics. I think I'm going to try to head out to Johnstown, PA in February to the Special Olympics Winter Games and see what these fantastic kids are doing! Another thing that I found out is that Special Olympics has a Worlds competition that includes Figure Skating. These folks are way ahead of the Adult Figure Skating community who don't have an "official" World Figure Skating Competition. Bravo to the organizers of the Special Olympics for providing so broadly for their community of skaters! Very impressive!

Hi Lovepairs,
Of course, you were helpful in introducing me to my pairs friends in Seattle. (namely, ahem.. Casey)ummmm... Are you feeling ok? ...perhaps just a little blonde moment. It is ok, I get those from time to time.

Good news about the special olympics. Let us know how it goes after your visit to Johnstown.

Oh, hi! I'm good at remembering names, but not so good at remembering skater's handles...sorry sweetie. Do you still want to skate pairs? Currently looking for a partner? Let me know if I can be of more help...you know where to find me.

Okay, a pairs story: Pairsman2 and I are looking high and low for the perfect red buttons for our new outfits. So, we go to this notions store, which is full of buttons from floor to ceiling, but they don't have what we want. Then we walk by this counter where there is the jacket laid on it with the exact buttons that we want! So, we say to the sales lady that we'll take those!!! She said, "we don't sell those, they came with the jacket, and the lady who ownes the jacket wants new buttons! We see the lady and her husband and ask her if they will sell the buttons to us, since she is discarding them anyway. These people were so nice and wouldn't hear of taking money from us after hearing that we wanted to use them for our pairskating outfits. So, in exchange for the buttons, we did a back-press lift for them out in the street! They were delighted, we were delighted, and now we have the "magic" buttons!

We wanted to look good for our programs this weekend so my wife wore my daughter's 8 yo Bat Mitzvah dress and I wore one of my son's sparkly high school party shirts. The kids, all grown up now yet they are STILL being embarrased by their parents
Lyle

Why are you trying to steal my beloved pairs partner away from me?!? Don't think I won't remember this...

We're currently sorting out coaching and schedules and planning to start being a lot more serious about pairs goals in mid-January. The distance between Portland and Seattle makes things challenging, but not impossible.

I think my favorite pairs skating experience was working on pivot back spirals (or whatever they're called). Pairs spins were fun too but it seems we've forgotten how to do them.

__________________
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

No worries, lovepairs. Yes! I still want to skate pairs. It is my passion . No need to seek further for a partner. Sounds like I am already spoken for:

...and yes, we are in the primary stages of training more intently on a steadier basis.

You must have meant "pairs magic" buttons. what a great story.

Oooo do share photos if you have any. By the way, how are those Pull-throughs coming along?

Well Casey and Mary...it would have been nice if someone gave me the "Good News!" The last I heard you two were no longer a team, and my heart was totally broken, since I gave birth to you in the first place! LOL!!! Just like kids, never to tell their parents what's goin on! LOL!!!

Great to hear you got it back together, and can't wait to see you two on the ice. Okay, now that you two are getting serious, can you say "yes" to having an "Athlete's Profile" page on the Adult Pair Skating Website?

Kisses,
Andrea

Mary and Casey

.....Yes, it would be awlsome to snap a photo of both of you together and post on www.adultpairskating.com !!!!!!! Can't wait to meet you!!!

pairman2

I don't have hubby convinced to go the pairs track instead of ice dance...I said we could get a coach over the summer up north and work on stuff. I think the fear factor has him leaning towards dance. (I think he just figured out the $$$ of another coach, ice time, and gas and that has him balking).

Our primary coach said she won't help us on pairs, she is not qualified. So for now we are just doing dance stuff.

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

I hope to get some photos soon, of course then I have to see how we really looked not how I imagine we looked

My wife screamed on the pullthrough in each show and the audiance loved it I started laughing each time which helped us keep loose. Boy those spot lights are blinding and intimidating!

Off pairs for a while - I just got back from taking my wife for her arthroscopic surgery for her bad meniscus, sheesh it was really bad, she's made of tough stuff!

My knee is only going to hurt less if I lose this weight!
Lyle

Pivot spirals are the only pairs move (as opposed to dance move) that I'll willingly do! We don't practice them often, as we don't normally put them in our free dances.

One move we do which is fun is we are holding hands, he's going backwards and I'm going forwards, he's in a teapot (shoot the duck) and I'm in a spiral, then without changing feet or anything, we change position so he's doing a back spiral and I'm doing a teapot.

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

Oooo what a neat move. That sounds simple and fun to try. You dancers out there have lots to contribute to partnering in skating. It amazes me how you are so dangerously close enough to trip over one another and yet still make it all look so effortless.

Way to go "Mrs. Team Arthritis" what an inspiration for strength and resilience!

Lovepairs and Pairman2, Thanks for the encouragements. ..will send an update through another venue.

Oh, here's a few questions for anyone in pairs...In addition to on-ice practice and actual lesson times, How often does pair team practice off-ice? How many hours are needed (minimum)? Thanks!

Pairsman2 and I practice together twice a week, for two hours on the ice each time, and about a 1/2 hour of off-ice each time. It's not enough, and I'm hoping that changes in the future.

Otherwise, I skate by myself two additional days per week (1 hour each time), and I think Pairsman2 actually hits the ice by himself three extra days per week. We both have lifting and cross-training regiments going on, too, that we do individually.

Then with the time left over we both try to earn a living--so, that we can get back on the ice! Gerbals in tread mills!!!

we have a hard time getting a freestyle empty enough to do the bigger things like just plain old stroking and pairs spins. One of the things we are having a hard time with, believe it or not, is simple BXO 8's through the center: My wife hates to lean, I like it, so the BO edge glide through the middle is a disaster as she won't hit an edge and goes flat through and I'm arcing away unable to tell as shes behind me and I'm looking ahead (imagine me on the BO edge waving my hand franticly trying to find her ) coach just smiles and says don't worry, she'll get it! So most of the time we had only 2 30min intervals where we could really work our pairs stuff.

We both like to workout off ice and I love practicing our little lifts in the gym. We also do footwork (here's me doing footwork ) off ice about once a week. So most of the time we are doing parallel play but We hope to get more pairs time when her knee heals.

Lyle (diet day number 4)

I find that doing pairs stroking is the hardest thing to do--not because I feel like I am going to trip, fall, and have partner's blade gouge me, but because there simply is no room to get enough speed, coverage, and extension when there are more than 4 skaters on the ice.

'Tis a shame; it's a very crucial part of pairs training.

__________________
Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

yeh and I like holding her hand while we skate
Lyle

any guys out ther who would like to try out with me? I would love to get thrown and lifted

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Tim David's Website

Good luck, that would be too cool to watch! Saw a great show with Scotty Hamilton being lifted and thrown once and it was a huge success.

I'm already claimed, LOL.
Lyle

Yeah, that would be cool! I'm still trying to get hubby to the gym for weight-lifting....he keeps putting it off. It isn't that I'm heavy (I weigh 130-135) or that we are going to do anything complicated, just last time we tried an off ice manuever, he kept dropping me!!! He has a weak grip.

What we were doing: He skates backwards and I'm forward, then I go into a position where my one leg is wrapped around his and (we are holding on with both hands) I lean back. Then he drops me accidentally...luckily, we havent done this on ice (I refuse until we get it right off ice). We are supposed to be cantilevered but we don't get that far.....oh well.

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

We've use to rent private ice to practice. One of our rinks had a great discount for 4 and fewer skaters. We'd have the ice at 6:45 am for an hour. Me and my partner, Scott Smith and another little kid. Then we'd often take the kids to school. It worked out well. Now the prices for this ice have doubled.

Our key to skating pairs on fs sessions was to be in control of ourselves, and not expect others to yield all the time. We actually got quite a bit accomplished. Stroking at full speed was not doable on these sessions but was when we skated with Calla and Rocky!

A favorite pair skating memory is skating at Rockefeller Center. For a few years we were invited to do shows. The rink is pretty small, and a throw or overhead would start at one end and end at the other. When they landed at the resturaunt end we could see the people dining, and them see a skater come flying towards them.

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Unfortunately, few of the rinks here have any level requirements for skating on the freestyle sessions. So you have to dodge kids wearing helmets and rental skates (or playing *tag* in the middle of the rink like 2 were last Sunday ).

And only one rink has a "mixed" or "couples" session--and those are populated by *several* ice dance teams (do I even need to mention that pairs and ice dance teams are immiscible like oil and water?).

Flo, are you still skating pairs?

__________________
Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

oops, well if it makes you feel any better, I've done similar things time or 3. Only thing I can do is yell "DOWN" just before the grip goes. (don't know why but this is the only thing my mouth will say in an emergency drop)

Lyle