Distant Memories

This post is long overdue, but I wanted to go ahead and write about two skating competitions that I attended with my skaters back in January. The first one was Shining Waters, a competition for my CanSkate/lower level skaters, and the second one was Whitby Invitational, a competition for my STARSkate/higher level skaters.

SHINING WATERS
Shining Waters Interclub was hosted by Norwood & District Figure Skating Club this year; I had six kids competing, four from Tweed and two from Quinte.

There was a lot of drama surrounding our Tweed entries - one of our registration packages was received a week after the deadline, and they weren't going to let the majority of our kids in. The worst part was that most of the kids who were going to be turned away were our CanSkaters - this was going to be their first competition, so they had gone out and purchased new dresses, Tweed jackets, etc. and it looked like it was all going to be for nothing. The other concern was that this competition is often what helps hook young skaters in, they experience a fun competition and can't wait to do it again. About a week and a half before the competition, an error in the scheduling was discovered, and we were informed that our skaters would be allowed to compete - so it all ended well, it just caused a lot of stress for a few weeks!

One of my favourite parts of the day was when my little skater Ella, who is only five, placed third in Individual Elements. This was the first time she won a medal; and leading up to the competition, her mom told that if she won a medal, she would give her a toonie! So, when her mom lifted her up to show her the results sheet, she looked at her mom and said 'Do I really get a WHOLE toonie now?!'

Another highlight was having another skater, Alyssa, place first in both her Individual Elements and her FreeSkate. This little girl works so hard, my older kids could really learn from her and the work ethic she has! Anyway, she said to me after she found out about the gold in Individual Elements, 'That was my goal, because last year I was second, so this year I wanted to get first!' Way to set goals, Alyssa! :)

It was the first competition for one of my Quinte skaters, Kaitlin, so when she placed third in her Individual Elements she was VERY excited (as were her parents)!

Unfortunately, two of my skaters placed last, or second to last, in all of their events...that is always really hard to handle as a coach. It's not that they skated poorly, they went out and did their best, it's just that they had some stiff competition. They have another competition in two weeks, and I certainly hope that they do better there - I made some changes to their solos, and they get to do a different set of elements, so hopefully that helps.

WHITBY INVITATIONAL
I had four skaters competing at this competition, all from Tweed, and it was a great competition...well, for three out of four of them, anyway.

My first skater of the day, Britteny, didn't skate her best - she is usually a very powerful skater, with lots of speed, but she was hesitant and looked slow at the competition. The main components of her solo were done well, but she skated it slow and ended up finishing just behind the music. She was devastated, and really hard on herself, even when she found out that she placed fifth out of ten. I had never seen this side of her, probably because this is the first time she hasn't placed in the top three - but, this is also the first time that she has faced this type of competition. It was a good lesson for her, even though she doesn't know it yet :)

My second skater of the day, Jillian, is the one who didn't fare so well - she ended up placing seventh out of nine. This poor girl is just not meant to jump, she's been working on three main jumps all season, and still can't land them. So, unfortunately, I knew going into the competition that she wouldn't do well. Prior to this competition, Jillian, her mom and I had had a little meeting, and we discussed the struggles she has with jumps, and the three of us decided it might be best to take a break from them for a bit, so she doesn't just get frustrated and want to quit skating - so, now that the competition is behind her, we've been choreographing an interpretive program, and she seems to be having a lot more fun.

My next skater, Kate, had a great skate and like Britteny, placed fifth out of ten.

And finally, Leah, she is my 'loose cannon'...I just never know what to expect from her when it comes to competitions. But, she skated a great program, had one of the best axle attempts I've seen her do, and ended up placing fifth out of eleven.

So, three fifth place finishes...at least they're consistent!

This was the last competition of the season for these girls, so I'm glad that it went well for them.

Now, it's time for them to focus on Dance and FreeSkate for an upcoming test day.