Also New Here

Also New Here

Hi Everyone!

I'm 45 years old and came back on the ice in March after a "brief" hiatus of 30 years! I skated for 7 years as a kid, solo and pairs. Went through ISI(A) testing up through Freestyle 7, Pairs 5, and Dance 4. I quit because I wanted a "real" life in high school and then life intervened.

Now I'm madly, passionately in love with the sport and have started the USFSA testing. In July I passed my Adult Pre-Bronze Freestyle, in October I passed Adult Bronze Moves, and yesterday I just passed Adult Silver Moves.

So now I'm working on both my Bronze and Silver Freestyle programs, and as of Tuesday will start hacking away at the Gold Moves.

I'm mainly looking to give to and get support from other adult skaters and to discuss issues like flexibility, stamina, etc.

I hope this is the right place and look forward to learning all about everyone here. Any guidance as to how to best use this discussion group is welcome and appreciated!

Re: Also New Here

Welcome aboard....

I too returned after a 30 year hiatus...

I am 57 and am working on pre-pre and freestyle 1.

It is slow going since I have a rebuilt left knee which means I had to learn to go CCW instead of CW since I really shouldn't land on that knee.....

I will be satisfied to get to the Bronze level since that is about all my frame can take. I started to do
a lot of patch since that is great for my coordination and not as taxing as jumps...

Sounds like you are doing great...

Re: Also New Here

Wow, that's fabulous! Best of luck to you on your next tests and congrats on all your successes so far. That is just wonderful. Welcome to the board!

Re: Also New Here

Hi Cinderella On Ice! Welcome to GS. I am also a old skater (43) and have been off the ice for years. I live in a area that doesn't have a ice rink, but I am moving soon to a area that does. When I move I am going to start skating again, I can't wait.

Re: Also New Here

Thanks for the welcome, everybody. I look forward to getting to know all of you.

Figureskates, I'm totally impressed with your comeback. Especially the fact that you've changed direction--I'm lucky I can remember things in the SAME direction as before! When I first started back, spinning made me so nauseated, I had to take Dramamine for two months till I got used to it! I can't imagine trying to jump in an opposite direction. Good for you. Have you tried any ice dancing and might that be something to work at if/when you have to give up the jumping?

KwanFan1212/Heather, thanks for the kind words and encouragement. Tell me a little more about you--are you a skater, for how long, and what are your goals here?

Dlksk8fan, how exciting about your move!!! I can't believe that I've been living in this area since 1982, with 3 gorgeous rinks within 13 minutes of my home, and my feeble brain didn't get the idea to come back to skating until this last March. Sheesh! When are you scheduled to make the move and will the skates be one of the first things unpacked?

Re: Also New Here

Cinderella-where do you live. Where I am moving (San Diego, CA) I have 3 rinks to chose from too.

I would like to get a new pair of skates, but my old ones are practically brand new. They are really too stiff for me. But I know the more I skate in them the softer they will become, but new ones would be nice

Re: Also New Here

Hi dlksk8fan,

I live in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. The Wagon Wheel Skating Club (which used to be in Rockton, IL and where Janet Lynn--firner Olympian silver medalist is from) some number of years ago moved up to Crystal Lake, so I'm fortunate that there is a hotbed of skating right in my backyard.

San Diego is an incredible city, so you'll get the best of a nice city AND some great skating.

What kind of skates are your old skates and are they just stiff because you haven't used them enough yet?

I'm very nervous about getting new skates as they have changed SO MUCH from when I bought my last pair in 78 or 79. I worry that they'll be so much stiffer than what I'm used to. I'm having a hard enough time getting my axels and spin combos back without worrying about breaking in new skates too!

Tell me more about your skating.

Re: Also New Here

Cinderella-Hi again! Since you asked, I can fill you in a bit about me. First off, I have to admit that I am not a skater (except recreationally when I can find the time. The last time I skated I did manage to skate backwards for a while and not kill myself so that I consider that my greatest skating accomplishment! ), I am from Cincy, OH, and I am 27 years old. I actually have been thinking about skating lessons this year but know that isn't going to happen right now due to financial reasons. I danced for years so the idea of using some of that background on the ice is really intriguing for me. I have been kinda looking into this section to see how everyone was doing with their own skating and was very excited to welcome some new members here. There are a lot of great people here and I hope that you find some helpful things for your skating. I am extremely inspired to find so many people who are taking up skating at later ages rather than at like 5 or whatever. Someday I hope I can join in and share some experiences with everyone. Now, all I have to do is win the lottery, get out of debt, and get skating....LOL :lol:

Heather <><

Welcome Back

Hi Cinderella on Ice. Welcome back.

Like you, I had a brief hiatus from the sport (21 years). I skated as a kid for about 9 years, tested through ISIA 6 (could have done 7 but never did). Quit in my junior year of HS to have a normal teenager's life (sound familiar?). I returned last February.

Also like you, I have to skate at the Adult Gold level for USFSA. (You have to skate at the master's level, which will only really come into play if you want to compete at sectionals/nationals). I wanted to be able to skate at Adult Nationals in April, so I had to take all of my tests right away. I took Pre-Bronze through Silver freestyle at one session in August (before the rules changed to require MIF's), then took Gold MIF in October and Gold Freestyle in November.

Just skated in my first competition since 1981 yesterday. It was scary and fun. I did ok, especially considering my program is only a few weeks old and I've been fighting an injury.

I went ahead and got new skates in November, and I love them. Don't worry about the stiffness - if you get a good fitter then your skates will be ok for you. I went with Klingbeils and they're absolutely great.

How is it going getting your jumps back? I'm having a love/hate relationship with my axel. I'll own it for a week, then lose it completely. I'll land several double toe loops one week and be totally unable to do them the next. Haven't managed to land the double salchow yet. Sigh! I've got this mental picture of a kid skating, but now that kid is stuck in this 38 year old body!

Anyway, welcome. Also, HI YAZMEEN (saw you on a different thread!)

Re: Also New Here

Hi Cinderella-

When I was 28 yrs old I started skating again and bought me a new pair of SP-Teri's. Not too long after I started skating in my new skates I got pregnant and had to stop skating at about my 5th month. So the skates never really got broken in. I just realized that my skates are about 15 yrs old! Good excuse to get a new pair

Re: Welcome Back

Hi Sk8er1964, sorry I almost missed this post. I had clicked on the thingie at the bottom to get email messages, but somehow they were all clicked off again and I just though to look here tonight.

Our stories are very similar, except you had a couple more skating years when you were a kid and not quite as many off before returning. Since I'm now 45, I decided not to try any of my doubles until I worked on getting all the basics back. My main goal is to avoid injury so I can skate until I'm 94! My axel is just like yours--on again, off again. I've got height and power like I've never had before, but every other week I develop some odd leaning thing or other problem. How about this--my latest problem was that I was over-rotating to the point where I almost landed a double axel! That is something I've never even tried, so it was kind of amazing.

You sound like you have made SUPER progress. I hope to see you skate in Ann Arbor. I haven't figured out how to turn my PM on, but will do so, so that we can chat more. In the meantime, keep up the GREAT work! You're my new idol!

P.S. My spins are more of a problem. The sit and camel came back with no problem. Oddly, the flying camel is better than the regular. I'm working on combos. The fast toe is good but not centered. And then there is the back spin--sheesh if I don't blow it as much as nail it. When it's on, my back scratch is really fast and impressive. When it's not, I look like a beginner. No in between. Haven't figured out quite why.

Re: Also New Here

Ha ha, Dlksk8fan, I loved your reasoning about why you should get new skates. Did I mention in one of my other posts that my entire boot separated off of the bottom and blade? So, yes, I highly recommend a new pair. That glue doesn't last forever!