Summer

I have decided not to do the Hershey competition after last year's... experience. Just thinking about last year's competition makes me think of bad water and spinning rooms. Nope, not this year. That being said, what have I been up to? Well, elements come and go. A good Swing Dance on Monday results in a bad Swing Dance on Tuesday. I have begun to ride my toepick on the left back outside edge before stepping into a jump, a habit I have not done since I first learned to jump. Not sure where or why that popped up again. Personally, I think it sucks. My waltz jump is tiny, super tiny, like an ant jumps higher. I'm not a big fan of loop jumps from an inside three turn, mostly because, as you know, if the three turn is bad, the jump is not forthcoming. I do loop jumps from an inside three turn, make your own decision on that. And don't get me started on my Salchow, which will visit for several days, only to suddenly go away. My flip jump is so grounded that I usually wonder if I've left the ice. And it's not fully rotated. What? It was always fully rotated, just not always landed cleanly. Every day small steps towards improvement. If you recall my one time skating the 6:00am session, well I've decided to revisit that. I really need to get to bed much, much earlier. Lately, I've been watching the Instagram stories of other adult skaters. Most are in their twenties, which... ummmm.... I am not. They seem to improve so quickly. Elements are learned today and successfully executed the next day. There appears to be no struggle at all; of course there probably is, it's just not posted online. However, it can be frustrating, especially when someone IS my age, began skating yesterday and is already popping off double jumps. Yes, that is an exaggeration, but that's how it feels. And don't get me started on people who can't hold a back outside edge after landing a jump, but are working on double loops. All I see with that is an accident waiting to happen. As long as it doesn't happen on a session I'm on, go right ahead. I sometimes feel as though I've held back. Some of this is my own fault. Let's not discuss weight and injuries right now. I was never actually taught a backspin until much, much later in the process, like I had already learned a camel-sit-scratch and suddenly someone said, "let's see your backspin". My reaction was "what's that?" Now I am struggling to catch up. I had a backspin, went to a summer adult week and returned without it. It hasn't returned. To be honest, I don't practice it as much as I should. Can anyone tell me how to obtain more than one revolution on one of those spinner things? If I get around once, I consider that an accomplishment. Watching people spin like tops on those things always make me scratch my head. Maybe it's core strength. I had a coach that told me everything was core strength and then she told me I didn't have any. Thanks. No need to point out the obvious. With that being said, I am trying. I work hard on every session, usually end up sweaty and then have to go to work. I asked one of the male coaches how much would I have to weigh to be put into the harness for jumps. Bless his heart, he said he could lift me now. The heaviest person he ever lifted was 250 pounds and thank heavens, I am nowhere near that. I still plan on losing some weight before I ask again. I've always wanted to try the harness. First I was told I was too tall, then too fat, then too tall and fat. I can't do anything about my height, but my weight I can control. Recently, one of my rinks closed for a week. No real reason; they do it every year. They're back up this week, only to cancel my sessions the week after for hockey. If I ever have enough money, I will purchase a rink and then cancel hockey for figure skating. And have all adult sessions, but with different levels. One rink had this wonderful summer adult camp-like program that was every Saturday. You had 45 minutes of ballet/stretch/yoga, followed by off-ice exercises for jumps and spins. On ice, we had a group session where we did ice theatre moves. Afterwards we were divided into two groups: axel and above, or no axel. We then had (sit down for this) 100 minutes of freestyle. It was wonderful. Then some of the lower level skaters joined the camp and complained that it was too hard. They didn't like the ice theatre moves. They didn't like working on different types of spins. They didn't like being divided into two levels. They complained, demanded their money back and destroyed the program for the rest of us. The program still exists, but it's become more of a Bridge program. No jumps higher than a loop. No change foot spins or combination spins. Ballet/stretching/yoga has been eliminated. No ice theatre. No division of levels. Also, the freestyle session is gone, but the cost has increased 35%. I am a proud snob. If a program isn't for you, find one that is but don't ruin it for everyone else. The two years I participated in this program, there were approximately 30 skaters. The last time I inquired about it, there were approximately 12 signed up. It's too bad; it was really good, felt like camp and was a lot of fun. There's a rink that I haven't skated since I moved almost five years ago. I discovered that they have an early morning session that I will skate on Fridays. I'll have to take a cab to get there, but that's okay. If it's a good session, not too crowded, one person not hogging the music and no parents screaming instructions at their kids from the stands, then it's worth it. I'll tell you all about it next time. Meanwhile, off to do kickboxing. I have a harness to fit into.