Sectionals Recap (Part 2)
I am back this week with the second part of my Sectionals recap. With the pairs and age group events behind me, I refocused on skating well in the Championship Gold Women event. I had an amazing practice earlier in the morning and went back to our AirBNB to rest up.
During my official warmup, I was having trouble with my camel spin again. I did everything in my power to remember the techniques my spin coach taught me so that I could have a solid entry into the spin. Mentally, I must have started freaking out because some doubt crept into my thoughts, and that was the beginning of a challenging program.
I “competition cameled” again, and I fought hard to save that opening spin. I was unable to execute the headless upright spin and had a weird exit because my body wasn’t aligned. The rest of the program felt shaky, as I didn’t skate with confidence and lacked the attack that I had executed all season long.
Guys, this just wasn’t my day. I had trained so hard for this moment, and I mentally just wasn’t there.
I ended up placing 11th out of 17 (with one withdraw, so technically there were 16 competitors). However, here is what I am proud of this season:
- I successfully earned credit and landed 90% of my axel attempts! Last season, my completion percentage was 60%, and the season before was 0%. I’ve come a long, long, way, and I am so proud of this progress!
- I earned TWO personal bests this past season and proved to myself that I belong on the podium. I started scoring in the 30s, which is a huge accomplishment for any Gold level skater.
- I earned TWO level three spins this season – one on my change foot combination spin at my home rink competition in September, and one for a change foot upright in the Championship Gold Women’s event. I have proven to myself that I can spin well!
Next season, I am planning a brand new program. I am hoping it’s a bit unexpected, because this type of music isn’t something that I have been comfortable performing to.
In the meantime, here are videos from my pairs event and Championship event. I’m not sharing the open age group event video because it’s not worth watching. 😉