Practice Thread

[Bunny Hop]

Rumour has it that the Preliminary edges test that one needs to pass before being allowed to do any other tests (including dance tests) is going to be changed in a way which means I may have an outside chance of passing it some time in the next century. Crossing my fingers this actually happens.

 

[antmanb]

My practice last night was similar to the week before. Jumps not really working at all. Again issues with even just the salchow which were incredibly frustrating. But spins were working well. So i'll take the rough with the smooth.

Because of all the snow the roads were fairly empty so I ended up getting to the rink early and went into the shop on the off chance that they sell Riedells (i'm having so much trouble trying to find anyone that stocks them) and sure enough they do. They said they don't advertise that they do because they find them very difficult to fit because the stock boots have so many customisable options that it rarely works for skaters that haven't skated in them before.

The lady looked at my boots and determined that a squiggle I hadn't noticed before was actually a "W" which denotes its a wide in the ball of the foot. Good job I checked as I'd never have thought that from looking at the sole of the skate. I've been in these boots for 12 years to be fair I only skate an hour a week, at some points it's been maybe 3 hours a week max. They don't feel particularly broken down but the tongue padding is really patchy at this point in time and if I do a lot of spin practice I start to get a strange pain in my right Achilles as I hold the RBI preparatory edge. The blades have plenty of life in them so I can just swap them over. The boots are £370. If these last me 12 years too then it's a drop in the ocean, however, it still gives me pause

 

[Clarice]

My rink's ice show is this weekend! Ridiculously early, I know, but they wanted to schedule it before all the schools took their spring breaks. Last night was the last session with the learn-to-skate numbers, and it went very smoothly. Tomorrow morning is the dress rehearsal. I'm the show director, and I feel super organized. This could be a bad sign. What have I forgotten? What disaster might still befall us? Come Sunday evening, I will have earned a glass of wine!

 

[artika]

Hello everybody!
I joined the forum to find emotional support when I feel alone and discouraged in my skating. I enjoy reading about all your efforts!
My family and friends don't skate and my skating friends from the ring all have different goals/approach then me. I started skating as an adult, before 40, taking just FS group classes mostly for enjoyment and not practicing much. Then, I realized I could actually learn "the thing". So I started private lessons a year and a half ago, and I skate 5 days a week and it often feels as "work", hard work and not too much fun.
I do just moves and dance now, I cannot find time or energy to train FS too. My goal is to get to look and feel as if I started as a child, meaning to have some speed, flow and confidence. To keep organized and motivated I decided to test, standard track... to get the same skills as the kids The majority of skaters around me did skate as kids and they are not focused on learning something new, but of maintaining and enjoying what they already have, some of them do a new program each year and compete. They all encourage me but I still feel somehow on my own.
At this point I work on Pre juvenile moves and the back 3turns are still occasionally wobbly, coach said more speed would help, and i don't come around on the back circle 8 inside edge on one side. Otherwise, I need more power...
In dance, I'm close to testing the Willow Waltz, I already tested the Hickory Hoedown and I'm working at Tenfox. Of course, coach wants more power, well, that would be flow in dance and he says it's all there if I would just relax and be confident and let it happen.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

I also started skating as an adult, at age 30. And I have the same goal as you - to look, as best as I can, as if I started skating when I wasn't an adult. The nice thing about starting as an adult is that you always have something to work up toward. Once I can't go any further in freestyle or moves, I plan to test free dance, for example.

 

[gkelly]

Welcome, @artika. Have fun with your skating!

I did start as a kid but I only got up to preliminary level. (Approximately equivalent to what's now pre-preliminary in the US.)

Some things came back easily and others not so well, and I did learn new skills as an adult.

But I was a lot more athletic in my 30s and 40s than in my 50s, let alone in my teens. It's very frustrating that I am now losing the ability to do some very simple things, like FI threes even in my good direction!
Yesterday I fell on a FO three (I was trying to do a double three but didn't make it that far) -- my bad hip is not happy.

However there are some harder skills I can still do and improve on. Performance quality in entertainment programs, and pattern dances at adult or eventually masters standard.

 

[clairecloutier]

@artika It sounds like you are doing really well, considering you started as an adult!

 

[MadMac]

Hi, @artika! I'm pretty new here, too, and am also an adult skater--I skated as a kid but I stopped when I hurt my ankle and then took 16 years to get back on the ice. Honestly, I think I'm skating better at 33 than I was at 16 because I love it now infinitely more than I ever did then.

It sounds like you have made absolutely incredible progress. I'm wildly proud of you just from reading your post, and hope that's only a fraction of how YOU feel!

 

[artika]

Thank you all for welcoming me
@GarrAarghHrumph, @gkelly one thing I don't envy on those that started as kids, is how frustrating is for them to loose some abilities, mostly jumps it seams... And I'm looking forward to have my first program, FS or solo dance, maybe not this year but it's something I'm excited about. Will see about performance quality later...
@clairecloutier, @MadMac
thank you, day by day I'm very quick in forgetting what I improved and even quicker in getting frustrated, but trutfully I am happy with how I'm doing.

 

[misskarne]

Rumour has it that the Preliminary edges test that one needs to pass before being allowed to do any other tests (including dance tests) is going to be changed in a way which means I may have an outside chance of passing it some time in the next century. Crossing my fingers this actually happens.

Oh? What are you hearing? (Please tell me they will also remove the forward inside three turns from the Elementary test? )

 

[Bunny Hop]

I haven’t heard anything about Elementary I’m afraid. All I’ve heard is that the Preliminary test might change to being edges down the long axis of the rink (half a length of each type) instead of across the rink, and no full circle at the end. And adding forward and backward crossovers.

 

[misskarne]

I haven’t heard anything about Elementary I’m afraid. All I’ve heard is that the Preliminary test might change to being edges down the long axis of the rink (half a length of each type) instead of across the rink, and no full circle at the end. And adding forward and backward crossovers.

That would make sense as that would bring it in line with the higher level pattern tests, which all require long-axis patterns.

 

[treesprite]

Welcome, @artika. Have fun with your skating!

I did start as a kid but I only got up to preliminary level. (Approximately equivalent to what's now pre-preliminary in the US.)

Some things came back easily and others not so well, and I did learn new skills as an adult.

But I was a lot more athletic in my 30s and 40s than in my 50s, let alone in my teens. It's very frustrating that I am now losing the ability to do some very simple things, like FI threes even in my good direction!
Yesterday I fell on a FO three (I was trying to do a double three but didn't make it that far) -- my bad hip is not happy.

However there are some harder skills I can still do and improve on. Performance quality in entertainment programs, and pattern dances at adult or eventually masters standard.

I guess we are more similar than I realized, since the only USFS tests I took as a kid were preliminaries. That was the only USFS test session here during all the years I was skating. But as a returning older adult, I feel lucky about already having tested at the level I know is all stuff I can re-learn, without having tested skills I am sure I will never be able to do again. If I ever want to compete, I can do it at a level I can manage, without doing any testing.

So, back to the topic of practice.
I skipped today, because the schools were closed for, of all things, windy weather. The session that would have been almost empty was crowded, so I passed on it. I did guard skate today at a later session, but due to the crowd, was not even able to fit in simple edges.

 

[Bunny Hop]

That would make sense as that would bring it in line with the higher level pattern tests, which all require long-axis patterns.

And also in lne with the first test level in other countries.

 

[misskarne]

Lesson night! Opted to do pattern test practice. My three turns are still dodgy as heck but there was some minor improvement this week and it wasn't totally demoralising like other weeks. Good Things.

T minus 4 days til competition.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

Got to enjoy 2 empty back-to-back sessions yesterday before the rink closed due to the weather. Easterns starts tomorrow and I have a schedule conflict so I can't do the official practice tonight, so I was glad to have this opportunity to run through my program and drill my elements distraction-free and without having to compete for space on the ice.

Enjoy this lil' layback I was goofing around with yesterday! https://youtu.be/u_pWygIJBWY

 

[treesprite]

Very nice. I could do it 30 years ago.....

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

I was practicing my program today pretending there were no boards. I've never skated without boards. Should be interesting.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I was practicing my program today pretending there were no boards. I've never skated without boards. Should be interesting.

I'm biased because PSCHS is my home base, but I have a harder time with the size. It's only 5 feet shy of an NHL rink, but I always feel like I have to work a little harder with the precision of my program layout when I'm there. When I go away to other rinks, I'm always like, "WOW, this place feels downright enormous!"

The fun part of skating at PSCHS is that you can jump off the ice if you're in the way of a skater at any point (save for the Zamboni bay and the mirror side)!

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

It's smaller than an NHL rink? Oh, for goodness sake.

Well, it'll look like my program really fills up the ice, I guess.

 

[SmallFairy]

It's smaller than an NHL rink? Oh, for goodness sake.

Well, it'll look like my program really fills up the ice, I guess.

Good luck! The curling ice at my rink is barely used, so now our coach is hiring it for adult lessons, to get us more ice time. The size is weird, and no boards, so it will be fun. No run throughs that's for sure.

 

[Deleted member 53443]

Had my second lesson today. My coach was like "let's do turns and edges today" but I wanted to go through the basic stuff we did at the first lesson to get it right. We ended up not getting any further, too much to correct lol.

One problem is I am getting too much speed into everything. Coming from hockey, I push and dig too hard into these basic edge drills. She told me to warm up with some forward stroking and crossovers, and when I passed by all I heard was "too fast". She did say though that it is a nice problem to have haha.

 

[artika]

I'm happy with this week practice, last week I wasn't. I'm fortunate to be able to skate at noon and early afternoon. I skate monday through friday, my rink has "adult figure skaters only time" 3 times a week and the practice ice on the other 2 days is not crowded, kids being still in school. Last week, every single session was crowded (post winter olympic syndrome?) and I didn't get any good runs on the dance patterns. This week I decided to be there earlier, be the first on ice, warm up quickly my dance moves (stroking, chasses, progressives, swing rolls, dance 3 turns and mowhoks), 5 min warm up, put the dance music on and hopefully fit in the dance patterns before the other skaters wake up and speed up. I suppose the fact I was rushing actually helped me to get more flow and speed. Then, my thursday dance lesson went well too... Happy! Note to self: remember to stay mentally flexible and adjust as ice situation requires...

 

[misskarne]

Went away to an artistic comp interstate yesterday. Placed 3/4 with my new artistic, which I was actually pretty pleased about because a) wobbly with nerves b) first outing of program c) first interstate comp d) on a full size ice-rink (ours is smaller) and one I'd never skated on before.

We didn't get any scores - I think they were using 6.0 for it anyway - so I can't tell how far behind the two in front I was, or anything like that, but I was good to get out of the way, and I'm fairly pleased with it.

 

[ioana]

Finally started doing runthroughs this week since I am competing in 2 weeks at a local event and then doing (nonqualifying) Nationals. Have done lots of program sections, which I guess must have worked because the few runthroughs were not a (total) disaster. Clearly high expectations! Plan of action is to get through the program as best as possible -and use this to be better prepared for next year. Hopefully work schedule also improves next year and I can actually practice some more, but that remains to be seen. For now, am excited to have a a semblance of a program and get a chance to compete locally. Is anyone else doing (US) adult Nationals?

 

[Clarice]

Yes, I'm going to US ANs. I just got back from Adult Mids, where I competed in solo dance events. I was really pleased that I was able to control my nerves much better than in previous years.

 

[vesperholly]

I'll be at Adult Nationals. Pre-Gold solo dance and Silver 2 light entertainment.

 

[Deleted member 53443]

Had a pretty awesome fall today, I was going for a little speed on the stroking and when I let up the toe pick worked its magic. Hurt in the knees but I got up and continued. #wegetup

For everybody's entertainment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu-hBpsRHvM

 

[artika]

Had a pretty awesome fall today, I was going for a little speed on the stroking and when I let up the toe pick worked its magic. Hurt in the knees but I got up and continued. #wegetup

For everybody's entertainment:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wu-hBpsRHvM

Was something in the air today? I took a silly fall too, I bruised a little the left knee and hip but also my confidence

 

[Deleted member 53443]

Was something in the air today? I took a silly fall too, I bruised a little the left knee and hip but also my confidence

Gotta wear the falls like a badge of honor! After my fall I went over to the guy sitting taping his stick and told him see, that hurts, unlike when we fall in all that gear. This sport is for the real tough guys and gals.