Last weekend I had one of those experiences that simultaneously illustrated how far I’ve come and how much further I need to go when I participated in my first-ever competition. I was in the lowest event for adults - Adult Pre Bronze. This meant I was competing against other adults who can do the most simple single jumps (waltz, salchow, toe loop, and possibly loop and flip) and simple spins. I would say that my greatest bit of improvement this summer has been to get over my fear of jumping. Obviously, my jumps are pretty small anyway, but fear of falling has been holding me back and causing me to hold back to the point of stopping at the entrance of jumps. About a month ago I realized that I was thinking about improving my jumps rather than avoiding them — a big deal for me.
Watching the video below I see about a million things that I obviously need to improve. I’d say speed, extension and looking up at the top of the list. Even so, a year ago I was having trouble doing any of the jumps in this program even from a stand-still, let alone from a skating entrance. The other great thing was discovering that I actually enjoyed skating the program and have lots of things I’d love to add as I improve. So, here it is, my first program skated in a competition. Onward!
Watching the video below I see about a million things that I obviously need to improve. I’d say speed, extension and looking up at the top of the list. Even so, a year ago I was having trouble doing any of the jumps in this program even from a stand-still, let alone from a skating entrance. The other great thing was discovering that I actually enjoyed skating the program and have lots of things I’d love to add as I improve. So, here it is, my first program skated in a competition. Onward!
