Setting Goals

[AndreaUK]

Hi

After my return to skating at the beginning of February I have put in many hours and progressed very quickly and have at last just graduated out of the Skate UK program. I have a new coach who mainly focuses on dance but he is able to take me down the path of an ice dancer or freestyle.

Now, Im 32 (beginner) and I just dont know where to go with my skating. It has become a serious obsession, Im now spending 3/4 days per week on the ice and I think its time that I perhaps set some goals for myself, but I just dont know what is realistic for an adult who started skating at 32.

Im not sure either what discipline I should continue to skate in. Can I do both dance and freestyle? or do most adults pick one or the other?
What is available for adult skaters in the UK, what could my options be?

I know that there are opportunities to compete in adult levels but is there realistically anywhere else I can go with my skating? Would assistant coaching eventually be an option? or skating in some kind of show?

Would be nice to hear from adult skaters of your experiences and what you think could be possible?

Andrea xx

[Team Arthritis]

Welcome to AOSS Andrea, sounds like you have a bad case! Goals are great and I'm one of those who tries to do it all but never does it well, oh well. The advantages of this approach are that when you get bogged down in one area, you can leave it be and go do something else. The disadvantage is that sometimes you leave things for "later" at which you should ideally keep plugging away! I'm always amazed how things interrelate, eg. in the thread on three turns I discuss a posture problem that is crucial for my spins and nascent Loop jump.

It is also helpful to be flexible in your interests because you can often pick which discipline can get the maximum use of the ice by watching what the other skaters are doing and see what fits in (eg forget dance patterns while people are practicing their programs but do them when they are working Moves or Spins. Then again, you will need more coaches and more lessons for more types of skating :) Have fun
Lyle

[Morgail]

It's great to set goals! I have many (maybe too many!) skating goals. Pick goals you feel like you can reach, but that also challenge you. It also helps to stagger them (ie. land toe loop this month; land waltz-toe loop by end of year), so you are continually able to meet a goal.

Right now, my ultimate goals are to get an axel and a double salchow, along with a variety of spins. Those seem reachable to me, but not too high (like a triple lutz or something). For this year, my goals include: land my flip and maybe my lutz, get a decent camel spin and a faster backspin, pass the first six dances, pass Bronze moves and Bronze FS, and maybe pass Silver Moves. I have a variety of general improvement goals too (ie. better posture, lower sit spin, less-scratchy mohawks, etc.)

And you certainly don't have to choose between freestyle and dance. I ended up expanding my lesson to an hour so I could fit both in. :) I'm SO not good at dance, but I'm doing it anyway because I like it :lol:

I'm not sure what opportunities there are in the UK, but I'm sure there would be some kind of coaching you could do somewhere down the line.

[dooobedooo]

The first thing is to set a budget for (a) time and (b) money for your skating. And stick to it! Don't bankrupt yourself and let the rest of your life go to pieces for skating. Pace yourself and your skating will be more enjoyable for longer, without burnout.

The basic unit cost of skating is (a) one half hour lesson, (b) two hours skating for practice and (c) transport to the rink. That will probably cost you around 24 GBP. Then there is clothing, skates, and test costs. If you have a good income, you will probably want to start out on two of these units, plus one or two extra practice sessions (say 65 GBP per week).

If you are doing this, you can either pick (a) all free skating or (b) all dance or (c) one lesson of each (with different coaches). There may also be some useful group classes for intermediates which you can do. You could expect to be testing Level 1 within 2 years, quicker for dance than for free. Join your rink's club and find out about club competitions as well. Let your coach be your guide - at this stage you need to be improving all your elements, so that you can eventually put them into a programme (say 6 months off).

There are various adult competitions in the UK which you can enter, one of the most popular is at Bracknell in June. I would recommend that you watch it this year, and compete next year. Join NISA, and checkout their website and newsletter for adult competitions www.iceskating.org.uk .

[Mrs Redboots]

Hi, Andrea. :bow::bow: on graduating from SkateUK - those passports are totally not easy.

I would say, definitely take both disciplines if you can afford to. They'll both feed off each other in terms of skating ability. And yes, many, if not most adults do both - even I do just enough freestyle to enable me to do artistic most years (not this year, I'm uninspired).

There are plenty of adult competitions, and adult classes at Open competitions, both here and abroad. Slightly more competitions for dancers, including the Recreational League matches. I don't know if your rink fields a team for these, but you can ask at your dance club. Probably not worth joining your dance club until you can do four or five dances (which won't take you long to learn), but you'll have enormous fun when you do and learn a lot. I, personally, don't enjoy RIDL matches, but the Husband loves them, so I go.... I prefer Open competitions.

More serious competitions for adults include, but are probably not limited to, the Mountain Cup, Oberstdorf, Vana Tallinn trophy (all held in various European cities in late May, early June each year), Bracknell Adult Opens, the British Adult Championships and Oxford Seniors (dance-only). There's often a dance competition at Solihull, too.

[dooobedooo]

I just read your post in more detail, and you asked about shows and coaching.

These days, you don't have to be a very accomplished skater to coach. You just need to follow the NISA coaching courses and qualify as a coach (level 1 basic, up to level 5 international star). It's not cheap, and you need to be committed to make up the necessary coaching hours. But if you love teaching, then you can start by helping out with your rink's Junior Club or weekend LTS sessions. Contact NISA for a coaching pack.

You can also judge. For rink internal competitions, you just need to be an experienced skater. For any other open competitions, you will need a minimum standard of level 6. This standard is achievable for dance for an adult, but probably not achievable for free, at any age over about 25.

You can also skate in your rink's Christmas show. These can be a lot of fun.

[sk8_4fun]

well done for making such a determined return after your nasty accident!:bow: I second Mrs Redboots, those passports are hard!!! Did you do dance, free, or both?, if so which did you enjoy the most?