Would this maybe work? Am I too tall?

Hi! I have decided I would like to try pairs and it would be great if I could find a partner and compete in it. Anyways, today I was notified of some news to do with one of the pairs teams at my rink - the boy dumped his partner.

Anyways, before I get into it any further, maybe you should first know some background info, to help you better understand.

The top skaters at the rink where I train are 2 boys and myself. We are all at about the same level and then below us there is really no one. Anyways, both boys were also doing pairs too. However, both were doing it with partners that, let's just say in my opinion, were not strong enough even singly to be doing pairs with either of these boys. Both these boys have clean double axels and are working on making their 3S and 3T's more consistent. Their partners on the other hand, had only a single axel, 2S and possibly 2T and were weaker just overall in their skating.

By watching their pair practises together, I can see why the boy dumped his partner because it was very boring and frustrating for him because his partner was so much of a weaker skater than him. Also, he is a hard worker and doesn't like to fool around (like me), but his partner was more of the social type and often likes to stand around and 'diddy dottle.'

Anyways, him and I (and the other pairs boy too) have the same coach (who coaches both pairs and singles) and I would really like to give pairs a try and I think this boy would have no problem working with me - I am at about the same level as him and am a strong singles skater and take my skating very seriously (don't fool around), we also skate a lot together and have group lessons sometimes together, so are pretty comfortable/get along with each other fine.

However, the only problem is my height. I am almost as tall as him. (I mean I'm not taller, but we are pretty close in height.) I'm 16 years old and am about 5' 4" and I'd say he's about 15 and 5' 5", or so. Now, I am a bit tall, but I am light weight and have a very small build. My coach (who has coached lots of successful pairs teams) has said that I should be a pairs skater, so doesn't think my heights a problem, I guess.

Anyways, the boy will get taller, as he is about a year younger than me, but I guess what I was really wondering was if you think it would be a problem with us being almost the same height? Like I said, it will probably only be for a bit, until he gets a bot taller, but what do you think?

I have seen quite a few pairs teams (especially at the Intermediate/Novice levels) where the the girl is almost as tall as the boy and it doesn't seem to be a too much of a problem, but I wanted to knows what you thought?

Let me know. All comments/replies/responses greatly appreciated. I will reply and follow the tread, (so your posts won't be for nothing.)
Thanks,
Kaylee

pet_lover48 said:

Anyways, the boy will get taller, as he is about a year younger than me, but I guess what I was really wondering was if you think it would be a problem with us being almost the same height? Like I said, it will probably only be for a bit, until he gets a bot taller, but what do you think?

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The boy may grow but that isn't a given and you can always grow more too - this is why pairs is hard to predict. A one inch height difference is not the best idea for pairs. A height difference (usually of at least 6-8 inches) is required in order to complete twists, lifts, etc. With him only being 5'5 and likely of slim build, I wonder if he would be able to do any lifting. How big was his previous partner? What pair elements could they complete besides the SBS jumps?

If you really want to be a pairs skater and be serious about it, ask your coach what she thinks about the height difference, as she will be able to give better advice than anyone because she knows what type of skaters you both are and what body types you have. You may have to look for a taller partner. Good luck!