September 2002
Week of September 1, 2002
Another Season Begins
I finally got back on the ice this week after only skating twice since the end of June. My season began with a few tentative steps, a couple of laps of two-foot slalom and lots of moves in the field and edge work. I had to adjust to my skates again and the feel of the ice. As competent as I have become on freestyle inlines, they are not ice blades and have a slightly different way of interacting with the skating surface. Building speed and executing turns is so much easier on the ice! I missed the freedom of uninhibited movement, able to turn and navigate readily without worrying about catching a rubbery wheel and falling on asphalt.
Since spinning is my favorite skill, I longed for it the most, and luxuriated in forward spins that adopted no particular position. I simply hit the rocker and stood there, free leg and arms extended, rotating on the sweet spot for an indulgent number of revolutions. Each spin centered remarkably well considering my recent lack of practice. The backward sit spin was the only dramatic exception. Could not hold the edge and nearly toppled sideways. I have not explored the more difficult spins very much yet, including the flying camel and layover. I ordinarily do laybacks without much thought and certainly without any discomfort, even when striving for a deeper backbend. Since I have done so few laybacks this summer, the first trials actually left a pinched sensation in my back. It hurt, but it didn’t travel.
All of my basic jumps were still there, though most had shrunken considerably. Last year, my flip jump flew a good three or four feet, but the first flips of this autumn covered a discouraging third of that distance. My salchow, toe loop, and loop had not devolved significantly. However, my lutz and stag half-lutz degraded into wimpy little steps. The poor condition of my flip and lutz elements might be due to summertime inline work with the half rotation versions. They feel different on ice skates and wheels, and I could not convince myself to perform real single jumps on roller skates.
Unfortunately, my stamina has also diminished. I pride myself on being able to skate for three hours at a stretch, often displaying greater endurance than girls half my age. After about two hours, I was exhausted. As much as I exercised during the summer, nothing seems to work the body in quite the same way as ice skating. Stroking drills and Besti squats left my thighs sore. I anticipate investing a couple of weeks to regain my conditioning.
Week of September 8, 2002
A Slow Start
The new skating season is off to a slow start. I only skated once this week, though I planned to go to the rink another time. Motivation has been a struggle. On a positive note, I managed to skate a full three hours, so my stamina is returning. My moves in the field still lack speed and will require more effort to revisit last spring’s unremarkable zenith. I am spinning well, but not at peak performance. However, my flying camels have not abandoned me. Amazing how thoroughly engrained that supposedly difficult skill is in my muscle memory. It is probably the most reliable move I perform. I had no trouble laying over the backward camel but lost the completely inverted position after only a couple of rotations.
Except for the simple salchow, none of my jumps cover as much ice as they did in June. I am slightly tentative and not attacking at full speed. Regular practice will build the confidence required to leap from the ice when skating fast. My loops are fairly decent though they could be bigger, but I easily popped off combinations of three in a row. Obviously, I have not tried a double salchow yet, though I thought about it and convinced myself it was too early in the season. I am not back in shape for a challenge that might result in disaster, especially since my doubles were never very secure anyway. A little girl falling out of an axel and hitting her head sealed the deal. Maybe next week.
Over the summer, I explored gliding positions on my inline skates planning to incorporate more graceful movements into my ice skating repertoire. Upright arabesques and attitudes are simple, versatile extensions that enhance the beauty of a performance. Landing a jump on a running edge and adopting a pretty attitude position demonstrates control while providing an interesting transition between elements. A non-rotational hop adds dimension to a basic backward glide, transforming it into a skill of substance. My silly Besti squat is becoming genuinely good, if an odd angular pose can be considered good.
After two months with very little practice, my backward inside three turns have slowed to a pathetic crawl. At least I can do the stupid turns! Surprisingly, my counterclockwise back inside three (LBI3) is better than its evil clockwise twin (RBI3). My left side seems more receptive to footwork, regardless of direction. If I only master one skill this season, I would like it to be these infuriating turns. Anyone who can throw a decent flying camel should be able to negotiate a simple backward three turn. Anyone but me, that is.
Week of September 15, 2002
Why I Hate Skating
In general, I love skating. Even the recent scandals have not dimmed my enthusiasm for the encroaching competitive season, though I usually do not care who wins anyway. I am more emotionally involved with my own skating. In spite of bad backward inside three-turns and overall frustration with footwork, I maintain jurisdiction over my own progress. Effort invested leads to results. The factors that drive me crazy are those that are beyond my control, namely the attitudes of other people at the rink, the ineptitude of management, and what I perceive as lack of respect for adult skaters.
My fall skating season has only been underway for three weeks, and I am already disgusted anew with the crap that goes on at the rink. Last spring, I griped heatedly about apprentice coaches taking over public sessions with their lessons and routines. This problem has only gotten worse. Two young women (college age) are aggressively preparing for eligible track tests to further their coaching potential. These girls give lessons at the rink and are allowed free ice time. They have no respect for the patrons who paid to skate on the session. These public sessions used to be ideal for adult, beginning, and recreational skaters. The junior coaches might have attended a couple of times per week, but are now testing with a vengeance. They have become just as nasty and disrespectful as a spoiled little snot who misguidedly thinks she has Olympic potential. One of them shot me a dirty look, rolled her arrogant head around on its swivel, and kicked a disgusted foot at the ice when I could not bail out of her path in time.
Yes, skaters flying around distract me. I prefer sessions better suited to my level of expertise. This used to be one of those sessions. I respect other people’s lesson space, doing my best to stay out of the way. These girls are training advanced moves in the field and difficult programs. They are everywhere and it is frustrating to always be on the defensive. Long after their lessons have concluded, these two girls continue to monopolize the cassette player, repeating their program selections over and over as though they had bought private ice. As far as they are concerned, no one else merits consideration. As employees of the rink, I believe they should be more considerate of paying customers rather than plowing us down and making ugly faces.
To make matters worse, word of this underutilized public session has apparently spread. Coaches from other rinks are starting to bring their students, and competitors have begun to supplement their training time with cheaper sessions at this facility. One of the adolescent competitors is particularly selfish with the tape deck. A fellow adult skater told me this child recently asked a group of adults to clear the ice so she could rehearse her program. Fortunately, I was not there that day. I think I might have said something unretractable. Surprisingly, the adults complied, allowing the little bitch uninterrupted practice ice. When a coach came out to give lessons to the adult skaters, she was astonished to find her polite students waiting by the boards as this princess ran through her routine. The coach finally turned off the music and taught the kid some manners.
Concerned that I have simply become a cranky middle-aged fart, I discussed my feelings with a couple of other adult skaters who agreed these sessions have definitely deteriorated. One woman decided complaining would accomplish nothing. If safety were an issue, the management would simply change the session to a freestyle. The junior coaches would still skate for free, plus more competitive and test skaters would hear about the session and bring their coaches (or vice versa). The situation would get worse and we would ultimately pay more. A friend and I are planning to try our luck at an outdoor rink as soon as it opens later this fall. Maybe we can find greener pastures elsewhere.
Week of September 22, 2002
Left to Run Its Course
I have been skating for about ten years and have put up with all kinds of garbage along the way including normal developmental plateaus and frustrations as well as the snotty attitudes of other skaters and rude treatment from rink management. Maybe I am burning out. Maybe skating is not worth the lengthy commute and the nonsense I face almost every time I go to the rink these days. I started to feel restless last season with my own footwork shortcomings. I often dreaded the tedious warm up period and obligatory practice of aggravating skills. However, moves in the field improvement almost demands a nose-to-the-grindstone mentality that I am finding difficult to maintain. Perhaps, this adult skating syndrome naturally runs its course like a common cold given ample time, in my case, upwards of ten years.
Last spring, a very pleasant session that I attended regularly with a group of fellow adult skaters was cancelled due to drought (or so the management claimed). The session still has not been reinstated. Therefore, I am skating public sessions at a rink even further away. Although I used to attend these sessions on an intermittent basis, they provided a change of scenery rather than a regular diet. Now I feel confined and limited by lack of palatable options. Putting up with all of this crap has made skating far less fun, and I often have to drag myself to the car and force myself to drive to the rink. I am not alone in this misery. Other adults are also complaining about the deterioration of enjoyable adult skating time.
This week, I went to a public session hoping to meet a friend I have not seen since June. She is suffering from the same affliction and can barely motivate herself to skate, something she used to savor and anticipate. Her reasons match mine: good adult ice is simply going the way of the dinosaur. Rinks, eager to make money, refuse to accommodate small adult groups. There simply are not enough adult skaters to support a session. My mature skating friends and I have reached a consensus that we no longer feel comfortable on the public session since wannabe coaches and young bargain seeking competitors have commandeered it for use as a training camp. One woman recently left angry because she felt unsafe with self-absorbed high freestylers whizzing passed her. Another person mouthed off (and rightfully so!) at a youngster’s request to step out of the way.
I am not ready to quit yet. I hope to try an outdoor rink as soon as it opens for winter, and maybe I will travel further afield in search of decent ice. Maybe I will seek an acceptable roller palace. I have scheduled an ice dance lesson for next week. Possibly my apparent freestyle impasse invites a change of discipline. I honestly do not know what would fill the gap in my life if I decided to give up ice skating.
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