- Joined
- Jul 26, 2003
Please excuse me for using up a thread just about this, but I'm so excited, I'm about to burst. I passed my Adult Gold Freestyle Test this morning!!
Hubby was a sweetheart and drove me out to a suburb that is an hour away (so I wouldn't have the tension of trying to find it), and we got there in plenty of time to sit in the nice warm waiting area and watch other skaters test and practice. I purchased a 15 minute practice right before I had to go out for my test. My efforts were mixed, but it allowed me to burn off the extra adrenaline and get my wits about me.
This time I was first up in my flight, and I was the only adult they had the entire day. The ice was a lot larger than the one I've been practicing on, so I felt some extra pressure to make sure things were bigger and stronger. I did fall on my axel (darn, I've landed 38 out of the last 40 I've done), but I didn't let it shake me up at all and popped right back up before they barely knew I was down there and continued with the program.
There were definitely places in the program where I could have done better (I've done better performances), and at one point I even fudged a small part of one of my connecting moves (lost my mind for some reason and couldn't remember my footsteps!), but the judges didn't know that.
When done, the judges called me over and told me they'd like me to reskate the axel. At this point, I was breathing very heavily, more from the excitement of being just on the verge of passing than from the physical effort. So I asked them if it was o.k. if I took a few breaths first. Usually, skaters go back over to their coaches at this point, but I asked if they minded if I hung there with them. I guess I was thinking that I didn't want my coach putting any ideas in my head, even if they were good ones. I've been landing the axels rather effortlessly lately, so I didn't want to cloud up my thoughts.
And the judges were so FUNNY! They were joking with me about my earrings (skate blades) and telling me how well I had done, complimenting my artistic interpretation and my strength/speed. Gosh, that was nice to hear. When asked, I told them that I land axels all the time and that I was going to do a good axel for them, and they replied that that was just what they wanted. So I felt like they were rooting for me (they were!) and I went and did one with no problem. I was so EXCITED!!!
So it was all enough to pass and even get an extra little tenth of a point, so I'm very happy. I'm even happier for my coach who would have found me inconsolable if I couldn't get this off my plate right now, because we've been so busy at work that I've been finding it hard to concentrate on work AND skating.
Passing this test makes me eligible to skate in the Adult Nationals competition in Lake Placid in April, and to compete at regional and local competitions. (You'll recall that because of my childhood skating, I HAD to skate at Adult Gold level). I'm looking forward to all of you who have already achieved this and learning even more from you!
One funny note -- when we first walked into the rink, hubby (who has never seen me test before) was rather shocked to see how YOUNG everyone was and kept teasing me how I was not to accidentally crush any of these small children. He told me that while he watched me skate (from the observation room), he made sure to stand off to the side so I couldn't see him and get distracted or nervous and that HE was so nervous, that he had to keep looking away to keep calm!! Funny (wonderful) man!
So that's my story and now I feel like I've run a marathon or something and better get my strength back for bowling tonight.
Thanks for letting me share my experience. This is a goal that my coach and I set only a year and a half ago, and I think we're both a little surprised that we've made it!!!
Hubby was a sweetheart and drove me out to a suburb that is an hour away (so I wouldn't have the tension of trying to find it), and we got there in plenty of time to sit in the nice warm waiting area and watch other skaters test and practice. I purchased a 15 minute practice right before I had to go out for my test. My efforts were mixed, but it allowed me to burn off the extra adrenaline and get my wits about me.
This time I was first up in my flight, and I was the only adult they had the entire day. The ice was a lot larger than the one I've been practicing on, so I felt some extra pressure to make sure things were bigger and stronger. I did fall on my axel (darn, I've landed 38 out of the last 40 I've done), but I didn't let it shake me up at all and popped right back up before they barely knew I was down there and continued with the program.
There were definitely places in the program where I could have done better (I've done better performances), and at one point I even fudged a small part of one of my connecting moves (lost my mind for some reason and couldn't remember my footsteps!), but the judges didn't know that.
When done, the judges called me over and told me they'd like me to reskate the axel. At this point, I was breathing very heavily, more from the excitement of being just on the verge of passing than from the physical effort. So I asked them if it was o.k. if I took a few breaths first. Usually, skaters go back over to their coaches at this point, but I asked if they minded if I hung there with them. I guess I was thinking that I didn't want my coach putting any ideas in my head, even if they were good ones. I've been landing the axels rather effortlessly lately, so I didn't want to cloud up my thoughts.
And the judges were so FUNNY! They were joking with me about my earrings (skate blades) and telling me how well I had done, complimenting my artistic interpretation and my strength/speed. Gosh, that was nice to hear. When asked, I told them that I land axels all the time and that I was going to do a good axel for them, and they replied that that was just what they wanted. So I felt like they were rooting for me (they were!) and I went and did one with no problem. I was so EXCITED!!!
So it was all enough to pass and even get an extra little tenth of a point, so I'm very happy. I'm even happier for my coach who would have found me inconsolable if I couldn't get this off my plate right now, because we've been so busy at work that I've been finding it hard to concentrate on work AND skating.
Passing this test makes me eligible to skate in the Adult Nationals competition in Lake Placid in April, and to compete at regional and local competitions. (You'll recall that because of my childhood skating, I HAD to skate at Adult Gold level). I'm looking forward to all of you who have already achieved this and learning even more from you!
One funny note -- when we first walked into the rink, hubby (who has never seen me test before) was rather shocked to see how YOUNG everyone was and kept teasing me how I was not to accidentally crush any of these small children. He told me that while he watched me skate (from the observation room), he made sure to stand off to the side so I couldn't see him and get distracted or nervous and that HE was so nervous, that he had to keep looking away to keep calm!! Funny (wonderful) man!
So that's my story and now I feel like I've run a marathon or something and better get my strength back for bowling tonight.
Thanks for letting me share my experience. This is a goal that my coach and I set only a year and a half ago, and I think we're both a little surprised that we've made it!!!