September 1999
September 4-10, 1999
Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia
Unfortunately, I did not have an opportunity to skate during our vacation in Nova Scotia, Canada. My husband and I go to Canada every year and have visited the Maritime Provinces three times. We take vacations primarily in the summer, and I have noticed that many Canadian rinks are closed during summer months. Even the smallest Canadian communities have an arena. Some have both a skating facility and a curling club. Of course, I have not visited every Canadian city and town, but those that I have seen include at least one ice arena. In my experience, this is not the case in the United States. While larger American cities may have more than one privately owned rink, community arenas are not common in the parts of the country where I have lived. In contrast, I cannot recall ever seeing a roller rink in Canada. However, roller rinks are common in the United States due to the historic and continuing popularity of roller sports with young people. Roller rinks must also be less costly to maintain than ice arenas.
This photograph shows the entrance to a curling club in the Mahone Bay area. The members of this club have well defined priorities. Notice the assigned parking spaces. Who has the better space, the ice maker or the president?
Mahone Bay is a fantastically beautiful area of Nova Scotia’s South Shore. We enjoyed a magnificent view from our room at the resort. The condominium we rented had an enormous living room uncluttered by furniture. In the absence of ice, I practiced jump rotation and positions in this room. Although I have learned to complete floor axels in the most confined spaces in our small home, being able to leap freely in this cavernous living room resulted in an excellent training experience for me.
I worked on a technique to extend the distance of my waltz jumps that I am eager to apply on the ice. In a basic waltz jump, counterclockwise skaters lift into the air by springing off the left leg and reaching the right leg forward as the arms assist in lifting the body. Once airborne, the skater should raise his left leg to give the jump a greater illusion of height. I concentrated on stretching as completely as possible while in the air and reaching far in front of myself for the landing. In an ideal situation, this would result in a split position. I noticed this increased my floor jump by nearly two feet.
We enjoyed our trip to Mahone Bay and plan to visit later in September next time so I can take advantage of the considerable number of rinks in the area.
I have included several links to places we visited in Nova Scotia. The scenery is beautiful.
Week of September 13, 1999
The term “traveling camel” conjures images of a camel spin spiraling unintentionally away from the desired center of rotation. However, a traveling camel is a spectacular move in which the skater crosses the ice in a camel position, similar to the movement achieved in a series of stars. Unfortunately, the traveling camel is rarely seen in present-day figure skating. As the proud owner of a solitary artistic roller skating video, I know the traveling camel is a more common element in freestyle roller competitions. The travel usually culminates in a centered forward camel spin or change to a centered back camel.
Years ago, I asked one of my first instructors about this move. She told me she did not know anyone who could do a traveling camel, including her husband who was a show skater in the 1970s. She said the move was extraordinarily difficult. That was the limit of my exposure to the traveling camel for about seven years.
Recently, I brought up the subject with my present coach, who is a master of the traveling camel as well as many other unusually spins and combinations. Since that initial lesson (described in "Various Species of Camel"), I successfully completed only a couple of revolutions in the traveling camel position. This was weeks ago when a young skater played Glen Miller’s In the Mood for her program music. The lively rhythm was ideal for covering the ice in a camel position. After the music stopped, I never did another traveling camel.
After missing lessons for at least four weeks due to my own vacations, my coach’s vacation and the inconvenient schedule of the intercession week; I returned to my lessons. We spent most of the time on the traveling camel. The traveling camel is a sensationally difficult move, in that it is not truly a spin. It more closely resembles a series of three turns performed in a camel position. I learned an exercise to achieve the rhythm of the travel in a more facile position. As a clockwise skater, I perform forward spins on my right leg and practice this exercise on my right foot. The exercise consists of a series of uninterrupted three turns on the right foot. Commencing with a forward right outside (RFO) edge, the first turn is a RFO three turn (RFO3) which occurs as the skater rocks to the ball of the foot at the apex of the turn. Once on the right back inside edge (RBI), it is necessary to rock to the heel of the blade and lift the front of the blade completely from the ice. Since the turn is executed on the heel of the blade, it is not truly a RBI three turn. After completing the turn, the skater must place the blade back on the ice and push forward to continue the momentum of the travel and initiate the next RFO3 followed by another heel turn and so forth. Rocking strongly and continuing to push with each transition maintains the speed of the turning sequence. The free foot may not be placed on the ice to assist in turning, as required for a star series. The pattern made on the ice is reasonably straight. Once understood, the rhythm is enjoyable and exciting to perform to music. A traveling camel is executed in the same manner, except the body attains a traditional camel position. The traveling camel may be performed from an initiating step sequence or may emerge from a centered camel.
Counterclockwise Traveling Forward Camel Spin Tracing
By the end of the skating session, I had learned the three-turn exercise and completed a few smooth traveling rotations in the camel position. My thigh ached from exertion and precise control of the turns, but I was on my way to mastering a move that was once too difficult to even consider.
Week of September 13, 1999; Part Two
As ice skating increases in popularity, more people attend even the daytime sessions when most of the world is either working or in school. I was surprised to see a new youngster at the morning open freestyle session. Her mother sat with her in the lobby while she put on her skates. Since I skate at a multi-rink facility, the adults on the open session are generally separated from the competitive young people who skate on another ice surface. I assumed this child attended a private school that allowed her the flexibility to skate during the relatively empty morning sessions.
One of the coaches approached the girl and her mother. It appeared to be their first meeting, or at least their first scheduled lesson. The coach smiled and had a discussion with the mother and daughter. Suddenly, I heard the child’s voice exclaim to her parent, “I’m not working on that! You have to be on crack if you think I am going to work on that!” The coach was taken aback. Her mouth dropped open and she turned away from the spectacle repeating aloud, “Oh, dear!” as she paced around the lobby. The woman undoubtedly wondered how she would work with this child.
The mother’s back was turned to me, so I could not see her expression. From what I could tell, she did not say anything to the adolescent, who appeared to be about thirteen years old. Either the mother was shocked into silence or routinely browbeaten by her own child. I never would have dreamed of treating my elders with such disrespect. My parents would have slapped me across the face. They would not have considered their various options before slapping me, the action would have simply been a reflex. No one could have blamed them either.
I saw this girl again in the arena at the beginning of the session. As I re-laced my boots, the girl and coach walked toward the ice. The girl’s shrill voice complained, “It’s cold in here! Aren’t you cold? I spent the summer at skating camp and it wasn’t so cold there.”
The coach shot back, “Well, you are here now.” Realizing the curtness of her reply, the coach continued more softly, “Did you enjoy summer camp?”
“Oh, yes,” the child gushed. “I loved it.”
I stepped passed them onto the ice. I expected this child to take off across the ice weaving between the adult skaters and warming up double jumps on her way to triples. I was surprised that she had chosen to skate this session rather than in the freestyle rink across the lobby. Then I saw her skate. This kid with a nasty mouth who talked like she was an upcoming champion, did a more remedial waltz jump than most adult beginners. She could not center a spin or lock a camel position. Her legs swung wildly to achieve a recognizable salchow. She attempted a flying camel, to my surprise. In my opinion, a flying camel is too advanced a maneuver for a skater who cannot center a scratch spin or spin in a forward camel position. The flying camel was hideous, but I have seen enough pathetic flying spins to know what she intended.
At the end of the session, the mother sat in the stands and called to her daughter to do a sit spin. The kid crouched in an awkward sit and flopped onto her backside. The mother insisted she perform a recognizable
While I try not to devote too many journal entries to the foul behavior I observe in ice arenas, some of the events are so astonishing that I want to share them.
Week of September 20, 1999
Ordinarily, I take sixty-minute skating lessons once per week. I prefer longer lessons, because the additional time allows me to work on several elements during one session and devote a sufficient amount of time to each. This week, my coach (who I shall name Geoff, for the purpose of this journal) and I worked on four freestyle skills.
Axel
Double Salchow
My double salchow is not bad. I land short of rotation but am more comfortable achieving the backspin position in the air than I am when attempting an axel. I also don’t find this jump intimidating like the axel. The axel enjoys an awe-inspiring reputation for difficulty. Every skater wants to do an axel. No beginner takes up skating and declares his ultimate goal to be a double salchow.
Traveling Camel
Death Drop
The body achieving a horizontal position in the air with the legs scissoring above the plane created by the torso characterizes a good death drop. Transitioning quickly into a back sit spin position is also critical. After a couple of sessions working on the death drop, I realize my primary difficulty results from hesitation before the flip to the sit spin. I appear to get stuck for an instant in a back camel pose before pivoting into a sit spin.
Like all new moves, this one left me sore. My left leg aches from landing the jump, flipping over and centering a fast back sit spin. New elements work muscles in ways that have never been tried before. However, with rest and continued practice, the body adapts. Soon my two new skills, the traveling camel and death drop, will hopefully be painless and beautiful.
Week of September 27, 1999
After skating, I enjoy peering through the windows to the ice surface where the competitive skaters practice. It is not unusual to see double axels, various triple jumps, intricate dances and dangerous pair lifts. One young girl struck a pose as her music began. Experiencing a Pavlovian response, a woman rose automatically from her seat in the lobby and hurried to the windows.
“Is she your daughter?” I asked knowingly, but interested in starting a conversation.
“Yes,” the woman replied as expected.
“She’s good. How long has she been skating?”
“Five years. Since she was nine.”
This truly impressed me. While children follow a different learning curve than adult figure skaters, this girl seemed extraordinarily accomplished for a child with five years of training. Curious about the life of a talented and possibly promising skater and her family, I continued to titrate the woman for details. Belinda was more than willing to discuss her daughter and the family’s commitment to skating.
After exhausting the coaching options in their community, Belinda sought superior training opportunities elsewhere. In order to enroll her child in a comprehensive program, she decided to make the two-hour commute three times per week to the rink where I usually skate. She committed to home-schooling her child, which would leave the mornings available when few people occupy the ice. Unfortunately, the girl suffered injuries that curtailed her skating for several months. Although Monique passed the test allowing her to compete as a junior level skater, she was struggling to regain her double axel and triples following her recovery.
It fascinated me that a skater could reach this high degree of ability after only five years of coaching. I do not believe this is the norm even for young athletes. Belinda told me her daughter mastered the axel within two months of learning to skate. Although she had a background in dance, she did not have any experience with recreational skating on ice or roller skates. Her first coach noticed Monique's talent immediately.
“She is a race horse,” the coach said to Belinda. “I must teach her very quickly the skills she needs to get to the finish line.”
In his opinion, she needed jumps. While this theory had value and the coach successfully taught the child all of the triples and the double axel within five years, she lacked artistry. Judges, other coaches, and onlookers warned Belinda about this. The girl’s competitive record was inconsistent with her command of the triple jumps. Faced with a coach who still did not understand the value of skating’s other aspects, Belinda researched facilities that could offer training in her daughter’s areas of weakness.
As I watched Monique’s performance, I became aware of her deficiencies. While she could execute a double axel and other difficult jumps, the landings were insecure and uncontrolled. She did not glide easily out of her jumps, but fought with her edges or stood nearly immobile on her toe picks. These problems may have been due to lack training during rehabilitation. However, her flying camel was no better than mine. While my flying spins are fairly good, I expect a significant difference between my flying camel and that of a
It took about seven years of adult skating for me to land an axel, while Monique completed one a couple of months after lacing her first pair of skates. My axel has come and gone since then. It was never big, fast or spectacular. After a several week hiatus, my sad little axel returned again and my double salchow is on the verge of becoming a reality. Belinda said she regrets that Monique did not start skating before the old age of nine because her dream of competing at nationals might have a better chance of coming true. Yeah, I know the feeling.
The content of this site is copyright by "Kay" K. J. N., 1999 - 2001
Traveling Camel
Disrespect
Four Part Skating Lesson
Geoff told me that next summer I won’t want to go on vacation because the break in training resulted in loss of the progress I had made on my axel. I have not landed one for about a month. In order to re-familiarize myself with the feeling of correct rotation; I practiced axels in the jump harness. There is nothing more delightful than doing an axel in a harness. The risk of injury is almost nonexistent and fear presents no limitations. I do a fantastic axel in the harness. After this lesson, I felt more confident and committed myself to the jump. The axel is finally coming back, although I have not landed a clean one yet.
I have done salchows for twenty years, first on roller skates and as an adult on figure skates. I have always initiated them from a right forward outside three turn preparation (counterclockwise skaters would use a left forward outside three turn). To reduce the curvature of my preparation and strengthen the check position before take off, Geoff suggested I try the salchow from a mohawk turn. While I felt awkward with this preparation, it taught me the importance of controlling the inside take off edge until the instant before jumping. To make the exercise more difficult, Geoff asked me to attempt the salchow from back crossovers without any turn whatsoever. This was significantly more challenging than the mohawk. Geoff assured me this is the most difficult method to enter a salchow. Practicing these preparations independently, I realized that I never truly understood the salchow, which probably explains why it was never a strong jump for me.
The traveling camel is a new move for me. Geoff showed me how to enter a traveling camel from a series of stars then center the camel at the end of the sequence. He made it look easy but spectacular. I experienced limited success with this skill during the lesson. I would like to learn additional impressive elements that fill the rink, like the traveling camel. Since a triple jump is most likely an unreasonable goal for me, I plan to focus on moves that look sensational but are less dangerous to master.
I never attempted a death drop (also known as an open axel sit spin) before this week. The death drop is closely related to the flying camel, as the take off and air positions are similar. Actually, the leg kicks higher into air to initiate the jump than in a flying camel. Upon landing, rather than finishing with a back camel, the skater flips over into a back sit spin. I do a decent back sit spin, but entering one from a death drop doubled my speed.
Race Horse
