My Best Skate to Date

My competition 2009 - 2010 season began with the West Coast Competition hosted by the Tri Valley Figure Skating Club in Valencia, CA.  Competition is supposed to be fun and exciting for adult figure skaters.  It is a necessary evil in my opinion.  I live to learn and grow in knowledge and techniques on the ice.  However, the thought of my joy extensively scrutinized and measured against someone else's performance fills me with fright.  I was so nervous that I wanted to cry before I stepped onto the ice.  My coach is an excellent motivator, emphasizing my passion for the sport, many hours of preparation and readiness for the performance.

The announcer called my name and I skated into place.  My music began and with my heart pounding through my chest, I skated as if my life depended on it.  I had planned a scratch spin in the beginning of the program but I didn't feel secure enough to pull in and remained in the upright position.  I fell behind the music.  My second spin happened after the music stopped and didn't count.  I supposed I could have increased my speed on my crossovers or on my cross rolls but I was not sure how far behind the music I was... Now I know how to make the adjustment.

YouTube Video West Coast (Figure Skating) Open 2009

I skated my best ever in the high stress, anxiety filled competition environment.  Considering that I am too old to go to the Olympics, I do not worry too much about my scores or ranking.  I am happy to skate a clean program without falling.   I was extremely excited to see that one judge placed me first yet I earned a solid second place.   I will work diligently to improve my timing for the next performance.

Oct 1-4	West Coast Open	Valencia, CA
Oct 23-27	Southwest Pacific Regional Championships	Scottsdale, AZ
Nov 1	Arrowhead Open	Ontario, CA
Nov 6-8	Skate San Francisco	San Francisco, CA
Nov 17-22	Pacific Coast Sectional Championships	Jackson Hole, WY
2010
Jan 14-24	2010 US Figure Skating Championships	Spokane, WA
Mar 3-6	2010 US Synchronized Skating Championships	St. Paul, MN
Apr 13-17	2010 US Adult Figure Skating Championships	Bloomington, MN