Some questions about being a Pairs Skater (in terms of the girl) [Archive]

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pet_lover48

07-10-2010, 09:56 PM

Hi! I'm interested in possibly being a pairs skater. I'm 16 (a girl) and a strong singles skater. 2 pairs teams practise at the rink that I train at, but I still had a few questions. :?:

Firstly, any overall comments, thoughts, about being and doing pairs would be great, (especially from current, or previous pairs skaters would be super.) What do you think of it? Do you recommend it? The pros and cons? Also, anything else you can think of.

Also, if anyone could maybe answer any of these specific questions, that would be super too. :D

- Is it difficult to get along/communicate with your partner sometimes?

- Is learning the pairs elements difficult (ie. lifts, throws, twists, pairs spins, side by side stuff, etc.), even if you are already a strong singles skater? I mean I know learning them and mastering them takes time and practise, just like anything else, but does it takes as long as let's say getting a double axel (which takes most a while)?

- How do you know what to work on with your partner when not in a lesson? How do you work it out between you and your partner?

- Is it scary (for the girl) to do lifts, twists, throws, etc. even when you trust your partner pretty well, or is it just a little scary the first few times you do it and then you get used to it?

Anyways, all comments/answers/thoughts/replies Greatly appreciated. :mrgreen: I will follow the thread and make sure to read all responses and will reply too, (ie. your response won't be for nothing.)
Thanks,
Kaylee
(Pet_lover48)

Skate@Delaware

07-11-2010, 12:07 PM

I'm fairly new to pair skating, just got into it this past year. I'm 48 and my pair partner is 74 but don't let that fool you we tear it up on the ice :D!! I actually skate better doing pairs than singles! Even my coach said something about it.

First, you should be evenly matched as far as skills and build. My partner and I are close, altho I'm ahead of him in the skating skills. But, we've been working on low-level stuff so it's ok for now. Height-wise, we are good, he is taller than I am (I am 5'6" and he is taller so we are both happy).

- Is it difficult to get along/communicate with your partner sometimes?
We set out ground rules before we stepped onto the ice-very important in any relationship. If there is a misunderstanding, we hash it out. No pouting or sulking. Clarification. If he says something that I don't understand, I ask him what he means and visa-versa.

- Is learning the pairs elements difficult (ie. lifts, throws, twists, pairs spins, side by side stuff, etc.), even if you are already a strong singles skater? I mean I know learning them and mastering them takes time and practise, just like anything else, but does it takes as long as let's say getting a double axel (which takes most a while)?
We have only just started learning pair elements so I can't really say how long it takes to master. I'm guessing it takes as long as it takes. If you work hard and get lots of practice time it won't take as long.

- How do you know what to work on with your partner when not in a lesson? How do you work it out between you and your partner?
When we skate together (which isn't that often in the summer) we specify: let's skate solo for the first 45 minutes then we will get together and work on: stroking, crossovers, then some jumps and spins, etc. If we are going to have a lesson, it's typically the same, and following the lesson we work on the stuff we just learned, just to reinforce the lesson. It's pretty mutual.

- Is it scary (for the girl) to do lifts, twists, throws, etc. even when you trust your partner pretty well, or is it just a little scary the first few times you do it and then you get used to it?
Ha! Ha! This is where we usually disagree! My partner used to race cars so he is more gung-ho and wants to just "go for it!" but I'm more cautious...and want to run it out off-ice first. So far we've done it my way (off-ice) because the instructor agrees that safety is #1. Maybe once we start working on double throw jumps, we'll do them with the harness and be ok with that.

The first few times doing throw jumps weren't scary, just exciting and exhilarating. The first few times skating fast in killian hold were scarier than anything i've ever done-he tends to step wide and i thought we'd go down for sure!

I hope this helps answer some of your questions. Some of the other ladies on the board also pair skate so I hope they pitch in and answer your questions-they've been pair skating longer than me.

Good luck!

RachelSk8er

07-11-2010, 03:16 PM

I had a dance partner at one point so I can speak for a few of your questions:

--Make sure you are working with someone whose work ethic, goals, and personality mesh well with yours. Sometimes two people may be a good match in terms of skating ability, size, etc--but their personalities clash. And that shows when you are skating together. (Former dance partner and I did NOT get along at all, and had very different goals and things we wanted out of the partnership. It was so obvious to anyone who watched us...and no surprise that our strength was tangos where it was OK for me to look and act like I didn't like him. For lack of a better word, he was a total creep. But then again we were not a good match in terms of anything else either, I was a shade taller than him and 4 levels higher in moves, and he had the minimum test for the dance level we competed whereas I had the maximum at the start of the season and had to hold off testing to stay elegibile.)

--As far as knowing what to do on the ice when you are practicing, you can approach this several different ways. Have your coach tell you what needs worked on between lessons, get together before you skate (even just get to the rink 15 minutes earlier to discuss your game plan for practice so that you don't waste time on the ice), or take turns leading/guiding your practice sessions. Or if one of you is a stronger/more experienced skater than the other, that person may take over more of the practice-guiding responsibilities. (There is a pairs team @ my rink that seems to be working that way when not in lessons--she's new to pairs, he has had a few partners, and he seems to be guiding her through their practice time; it was the same way with my old dance partner--I was the stronger/more experienced skater and I pretty much ran our practices.) Once you get going, you'll probably have a set warm-up routine down and order in which you like to work on things, or days you work on certain things (i.e. one day you focus on spins, the next is jumps, always spending a certain amount of time on each session on your program), etc--stuff like that is no different than what we do as singles skaters when we get into our groove.

Skittl1321

07-11-2010, 07:50 PM

- Is learning the pairs elements difficult (ie. lifts, throws, twists, pairs spins, side by side stuff, etc.), even if you are already a strong singles skater? I mean I know learning them and mastering them takes time and practise, just like anything else, but does it takes as long as let's say getting a double axel (which takes most a while)?

I've never done pairs- but we have a few teams in the area. In terms of "is it difficult to pick up" if you are a very strong skater already- it might not be too bad. I can't speak for the girl, or necessarily a typical boy- but there is a junior guy at a nearby club who went from "never did pairs" to his junior test in just over a year. I think he had tested to novice after just a summer.

- How do you know what to work on with your partner when not in a lesson? How do you work it out between you and your partner?
When you are new- I'm guessing you're going to rely on your coach to tell you what to practice. Just like you would in singles. Work out a schedule with your partner at the beginning, and stick with it.

flo

07-11-2010, 08:43 PM

Hi,
I compete at gold pairs.
It's really not scary to do the elements as long as you trust your partner. it's really important to have an experienced coach and one who has your best interests at heart. It is good to have someone close to your ability level and style. It makes things run much more smoothly!

Set realistic goals and go at your own pace adn be safe! Unfortunately there are teams and coaches out there who are too focused on upper level skills too early, and the result is injury.

Once you have a few lessons, you will know what to work on, and hopefully this will begin with learning to guide to one another and basic pair skills. Once yu have these you will be amazed at what you can learn! Enjoy.

pet_lover48

07-18-2010, 06:15 PM

Hi! Thanks so much for all the info everyone. It is really appreciated. :) (Sorry for the late reply, though. We had internet connection problems and actually ended up having to get a whole new modem to fix rhe problem.)

Anyways, I think I've decided I would definately like to at least try pairs (ie. some off-ice lifts and maybe some on-ice stuff) even if I don't end up getting a full-time partner.

Here's some more info, though about the whole partner thing. I'm the strongest girl at my rink (jump wise and overall skating wise.) The only others are the 2 boys.

In regards to finding a partener, I haven't listed myself on icepartenersearch.com yet because I might be able to partner eventually with a boy at my rink that my coach, coaches. He was doing pairs until about the end of May, but his partner, was unfortunately injured. So, she hasn't skated now for about a month and a half and then won't be ablt to jump for another 2 weeks. She is back now, but is very 'rusty' and is not even sure yet if she'll continue the pairs.

However, (personally) I believe she wasn't strong enough (singly and jump wise) to be doing pairs with this boy anyways. He has a good, clean and pretty consistent double axel and is landing 3S and 3T's too. His partner, however, could only do to about a 1A, 2S and possibly a 2T, or so.

I skate with the boy quite a bit. We are at the same level, so are on the same sessions and I have a few group lessons with him (since we have the same coach and stuff.)

Anyways, that would so cool if I could get to do pairs with him, but it's really all based on what happens with his current partner. Either way, I'd still at least like to try pairs, even if it was just for a little bit/a few times. I'd like to know what's it's like and get to experience it.

Anyways, keep the comments/replies coming. They're really appreciated! :)
Thanks,
Kaylee
(pet_lover48)

rlichtefeld

07-19-2010, 03:47 PM

Do you 2 share the same coach? If so, ask him/her about approaching the boy.

Most of us pairs guys don't mind showing girls other than our partner some of the elements. It would be good to try several of the elements off-ice, and it would be really good if a coach would watch and spot you.

Rob

Hi! Thanks so much for all the info everyone. It is really appreciated. :) (Sorry for the late reply, though. We had internet connection problems and actually ended up having to get a whole new modem to fix rhe problem.)

Anyways, I think I've decided I would definately like to at least try pairs (ie. some off-ice lifts and maybe some on-ice stuff) even if I don't end up getting a full-time partner.

Here's some more info, though about the whole partner thing. I'm the strongest girl at my rink (jump wise and overall skating wise.) The only others are the 2 boys.

In regards to finding a partener, I haven't listed myself on icepartenersearch.com yet because I might be able to partner eventually with a boy at my rink that my coach, coaches. He was doing pairs until about the end of May, but his partner, was unfortunately injured. So, she hasn't skated now for about a month and a half and then won't be ablt to jump for another 2 weeks. She is back now, but is very 'rusty' and is not even sure yet if she'll continue the pairs.

However, (personally) I believe she wasn't strong enough (singly and jump wise) to be doing pairs with this boy anyways. He has a good, clean and pretty consistent double axel and is landing 3S and 3T's too. His partner, however, could only do to about a 1A, 2S and possibly a 2T, or so.

I skate with the boy quite a bit. We are at the same level, so are on the same sessions and I have a few group lessons with him (since we have the same coach and stuff.)

Anyways, that would so cool if I could get to do pairs with him, but it's really all based on what happens with his current partner. Either way, I'd still at least like to try pairs, even if it was just for a little bit/a few times. I'd like to know what's it's like and get to experience it.

Anyways, keep the comments/replies coming. They're really appreciated! :)
Thanks,
Kaylee
(pet_lover48)

pet_lover48

07-19-2010, 11:28 PM