Recap from Sectionals, Part 3 of 3: On the Podium
After my poor showing in the Championship Gold Ladies event, I decided to just go with the flow on my final event and skate this program just for me.
I was chatting with some fellow skaters in the stands during the event before mine and all of a sudden heard the announcer call my name. I had to take the ice for my official warmup! I ran down the stairs, took off my skate guards and went on the ice.
My warmup felt OK, but my lower back was hurting. I think it was a combination of lots of things – the collision from earlier, the hard ice (making jump landings that much more painful), and having to sit on cold and hard bleachers.
Right before I took the ice, I looked up towards the heavens and talked to the friends and family I had lost last year. I was dedicating this performance to them and wanted them to enjoy my skate.
Then it was time to take the ice.
Again, I smiled throughout the entire program and just let the music and skates guide me. I didn’t think and simply tried to enjoy my 1 minute and 40 seconds alone on the glistening surface. Although I didn’t land my axel (dang that jump!), everything else went well.
Surprisingly, I placed 3rd in my group of 5 and earned a bronze medal! My teammate earned the gold medal, so the two of us represented our club well. I even received a 1st place ordinal from a judge. This is a big improvement from previous competitions, so I am definitely making progress on the skating front. As Coach B said, “you go to competitions to learn how to compete.” These few competitions that I have entered have definitely taught me a lot.
Adult Nationals is a few short weeks away, so I am busy preparing for that. I will be skating in two open events since I did not qualify for the championship event. I will be skating my Freestyle and Dramatic programs this year, and both events have a lot of ladies in the mix (there are 16 in my Freestyle and 13 in the Dramatic). I just want to skate well and continue to improve. If I make the podium, then that’s just icing and sprinkles on the cake!
