March 2003
Week of March 2, 2003
Subtle Improvement
It has been months since I have skated three times in one week. I noticed a difference immediately. Not that I suddenly became a significantly more competent skater, but I did retain what I practiced earlier in the week and was physically ready to build up on it. Adults often skate infrequently, with twice a week being a reasonable quota. However, limited practice spawns limited improvement. Of course, other conflicts occasionally reduce twice to once, making skill maintenance a challenge. A couple of years ago, I skated four times per week on a regular basis and my skating blossomed accordingly. This is when I landed my best jumps, completed first quality spin combinations, and had the courage to tackle ominous multi-revolution aerial tricks.
On my third skating day, I ripped through all of the basic dances in my arsenal, skating so swiftly that I ran out of ice in my Dutch Waltz. My blades ground loudly as I cut the final corner of the end pattern. My Swing Dance is moving along respectably. Hopefully, next week I will be able to resume lessons. The last dance in the beginning set is the Fiesta Tango, and I need a new challenge. I am excited about progressing toward more complex dance patterns. Even as a neophyte dancer, the concept of advanced dances is less intimidating than breaking the axel barrier.
On the freestyle side, my backward attitude spin has become more consistent. It still rides the toe pick more than I prefer, but the number of rotations has increased and the position is easier to attain. I plan to develop this element into a backward layback. I learned the standard layback similarly, first mastering a forward attitude before leaning back. Finally somewhat secure in a back attitude, I attempted to arch into a curve. My initial attempts resulted in an awkward backward camel, a familiar pose my body apparently seeks. Consciously avoiding the comfortable camel posture, I attempted a backbend and succeeding in doing little more than sticking my chest out like a pubescent girl convincing her mother she needs to wear a bra. This move needs more work.
Improving my split jumping skills also ranks among my immediate objectives. My jumps are unbalanced due to a low trailing leg, a technically unacceptable flaw. A mohawk turn initiates my traditional split, and I am presently concentrating on pushing off with the picking toe and trying to lift the leg. A ninety-degree angle separating the legs is considered the minimum standard. My leading leg flies freely, but the follower remains almost magnetically attracted to the ice. I have applied these principles to the stag half-lutz, which seems to be a more natural split adaptation for me. Split jumps offer a range of possibilities. Splits may be attempted from various entrances and may achieve a variety of interesting leg, arm, and body positions. Requiring virtually no rotation, the key to these elements is achieving sufficient airtime to attain an observable pose.
If I can continue to skate three times per week until the end of the season, I will enjoy subtle improvement of these target skills.
Week of March 9, 2003
A Beautiful Site
Almost as beautiful as an empty arena is the location where a new one is being built. I have monitored this construction site since last year, whenever I happened to drive by. Of course, the place was supposed to open this season, but is still a long way from complete. However, apparently the site work was more difficult than anticipated. Many large bounders had to be removed, the ground leveled and excavated. Huge concrete pipes disappeared into the earth, probably to supply the facility with water for flooding the ice surface and to provide for more mundane needs. I recall big pipes like this as playground equipment in my childhood schoolyard. We used to sit inside them and climb atop them, jumping off and rolling commando style in the sand. Now I prefer that they be buried beneath a rink supplying its grimy bathrooms with toilet water.
This future rink would be indistinguishable if not for a “coming soon” sign. From the road, it looks like little more than a pile of steel beams, prefabricated building materials, and an enormous yellow truck-monster with tires the size of small asteroids. I was surprised to see the steel girders stacked in the snow. This has been a particularly brutal winter that halted all progress. These materials were probably delivered with the intention of beginning work as soon as the weather breaks when workmen will scurry about erecting this glorious mecca. I hope it will be finished in the fall.
While every skater is always interested in finding another place to skate, I am particularly stimulated by the prospect of this new resource. It would cut my commute time in half and eliminate travel on the insane highways. Getting to the rink will no longer be such a chore and commitment. Driving to this arena for a shorter session will not be unreasonable. Every trip will no longer be a major investment of time, gasoline, and personal energy.
As skating grows in popularity, and more arenas open, rinks will be forced to provide better service in order to compete for patrons, even adult skaters. Since we do not spend as much money on our skating as the parents of budding starlets, rink management generally devalues us as an unavoidable pain in the backside. I have skated at too many pompous rinks whose policies seem to be based upon having their clients by the proverbial balls. Rink monopolies force committed mature skaters to swallow an unpleasant amount of mistreatment. This is particularly annoying to those of us who go out of our way to skate. The promise of another option makes this snow-covered expanse of land a truly beautiful sight.
Week of March 16, 2003
Lesson Anxiety
Three months have passed since my last skating lesson. Between the holidays, my husband’s illness, lack of training time, and bad weather; I have not met with my coach since December. Regardless, I have carried my booklet of dance diagrams onto the ice with me for every session and have dutifully practiced without music. I do not have my own dance cassette, though it is probably time to buy one. I have learned all of the steps and need to perform them to a beat, something that will be difficult for someone as musically inept as me.
Anticipating a lesson, I ran through the basic dances, only taking a couple of minutes for some warm up spins. I think I was actually nervous because steps that were never uncomfortable before suddenly felt awkward. The moment of truth drew near. Was I making any progress or had I been skating these patterns incorrectly for months? With the music playing and Cynthia following along behind me counting and calling out instructions, I probably skated faster than I would have independently and struggled to keep time. “Push, swing, together!” “Push, one, two. Swing one, two.” “Progress!”
Considering how little instruction I received on the ChaCha, it was not especially bad. However, I inserted a forward inside swing roll in place of a standard forward inside edge. While I execute the Dutch Waltz technically well, I cannot hear the waltz beat on my instructor’s tape, and am skating at a random tempo. In contrast, my Rhythm Blues keeps time with the music and covers the ice properly. The beat for this dance is very obvious and audible even to a tone-deaf individual who dropped out of the elementary school band.
Cynthia had barely introduced the Swing Dance during our last couple of meetings, but I included it on my daily practice agenda anyway. This dance is in a miserable state of disrepair, in spite of sincere effort. My push is too wide after the mohawk and I need to skate more powerfully into the end pattern. While I can land a praiseworthy flying camel, I still balk at a simple mohawk taken at speed in the wrong direction. Such are the joys of adult ice skating. At least my backward swing rolls and chassés passed inspection. My problems focus on rhythm and precision rather than content. At least I am aware of these faults and can work toward correcting them.
Hopefully next week, I will be ready to move on to the last of the beginning dances, the Fiesta Tango.
Side Note:
There are obviously bigger problems in the world than my sloppy Swing Dance or anyone else’s skating concerns. During a session this week, all activity in the rink ceased and everyone looked up at the rafters like turkeys in a rainstorm. Military helicopters flew over the rink, which is housed in a very large mall. It offered a bleak reminder of the world’s turmoil outside our frozen Shangri La.
Week of March 16, 2003; Part Two
On the Fourth Day
I skated four times this week for a grand total of nine hours on the ice. Combined with two aerobics classes, and various stretching sessions, I grossed over eleven hours of exercise in a five-day period. On the fourth day, I almost skipped going to the rink. Previous workouts, including a lesson, left my thighs very sore. However, I decided to make the trip anyway. Summer is coming, and soon decent ice will be scarce. I was so happy I went! The first hour was somewhat hectic with little kids falling all over, but the crowd left early, and I enjoyed another hour-and-a-half of pleasant ice time. After my usual warm-up drills, I goofed around with whatever came to mind.
I used to skate between eight and ten hours per week on regular basis, but have not done this for at least a year. Practice time is absolutely critical to improvement of skating technique. With so many disciplines and elements to review, at least three two-hour sessions are required. I need time for moves in the field, especially the backward three-turns. I have also resumed work on brackets. Though these counter-rotational turns are a long-term undertaking, they break up the monotony when the rink is busy or I am too tired to exert myself with higher impact skills. I have five dances on my daily rehearsal agenda, though on my last skating day, I was really too exhausted to push effectively into each step. I omitted dancing in favor or freestyle. Yes, in many cases, I find dancing more rigorous than jumping and spinning. Freestyle elements require a burst of power, while dance patterns demand sustained momentum.
By the end of the week, my jumps were quite good. I hit lutzes with speed, and concentrated on lifting into splits and stags. I practiced combinations including multiple toe loops, salchow-toe loop-loop, and salchow-half loop-salchow. My favorite jump series is the stag half lutz-split-flip. Following months of disuse, it still felt great as I crossed the rink diagonally reaching, picking, and leaping.
Rarely do I avoid performing a set of basic spins on any given session. In general, my spins remain in good condition regardless of other challenges. However, limited time does not permit a run-though of every combination in my repertoire, and many have been neglected for a long time. My camel-change-camel was sufficiently strong to encourage the backward-to-forward analogue, which is considerably more difficult, but I executed it competently. I landed several flying camels, tacking a back sit or back attitude onto the end. I depleted my energy before plodding through all of the combinations requiring attention.
If I wanted to devote significant effort to every move in my inventory, I would skate a lot more than nine hours per week. Since this is usually not possible, I set priorities and insert other skills as a treat or dalliance. The butterfly is a prime example. These are fun but not necessary. However, throwing in a few butterflies provides variety and stimulates my interest. Serious as I may be about improving my basic skating skills, I still like to play on the ice. Besides, what good is great skating if I can’t punctuate it with a really neat trick?
Week of March 23, 2003
Shady Coaching
I have never regularly skated at a rink that I personally believed was run in an upright professional manner. Rinks always seem a little sleazy, a little half-assed. Whether it is incompetent administration, poor treatment of skaters, or unsanitary restroom facilities; I have never frequented a rink that I honestly thought was well managed. I assume this is because rinks tend to have the market cornered. They earn a reliable amount of revenue from school hockey teams and leagues. They welcome the public to chaotic weekend skating sessions and pack the ice with freestyle madness. If you don’t like it, there’s the door. Don’t let it hit you in the backside on your way out. Catering to customers is not important at rinks. They apparently do not seek out the best-qualified candidates, and they probably do not offer attractive compensation packages.
All of this aside, one rink on my list sunk to a new low this week. A fellow adult skater who was complaining about the relatives of coaches skating for free, told me two of the fourteen-year-old gratis ice hogs also give lessons. When I was fourteen the only lucrative opportunity open to me was babysitting. Kids needed a work permit to be employed before the age of sixteen. Maybe these children do possess proper documentation and are legally qualified to hold a job. However, figure skating coaches work largely without supervision. They are independent agents who pay a commission to the rink for each lesson taught at the facility. I question whether any individual at the tender age of fourteen is mature enough to handle this level of responsibility.
As a friend and I left the building, we saw one of the youngsters, clipboard in hand, meeting her class of learn-to-skate preschoolers. She was not working as an assistant to a more experienced, adult mentor. The girl appeared to have sole authority over the class. I wonder about the legal implications of this situation. Coaches are also required to carry insurance, in case a student is injured while under the instructor’s tutelage. Could this fourteen-year-old child have such insurance or is she covered under the rink’s policy? Furthermore, is this high school freshman officially on the staff, requiring the rink to file income tax paperwork for her as an employee? Perhaps she is paid under the table or no money changes hands at all. The girl may volunteer in exchange for free ice time, during which she blasts the cassette player and bolts all over the rink with no regard for anyone else.
If my child were in this group class, I would be seriously concerned not only about the teacher’s credentials but about the legality of her employment. The parents probably assume the young lady is rightfully employed and undoubtedly older. I certainly do not know all of the details of this arrangement, but it seems terribly shady. The sport of figure skating seems to maintain absolutely no quality control over who can and cannot declare himself a coach. Rinks seem to have no integrity in this area either. I have seen many a so called pro who could not skate her way out of wet paper bag, but at least those people were adults.
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