Adult Sectionals Recap
Hello! I’m back from Adult Sectionals and ready to recap how the weekend went. The best part about these competitions is seeing old friends and meeting new ones. Since a lot happened, let me just summarize with some highs and lows from the weekend.
Highs
- Practicing at a nearby rink. I attended an hour-long freestyle and had a great practice. After it was over, I got to watch two world-level competitors skate their programs. The senior man attempted a quad lutz (!) and the senior lady landed a gorgeous spread eagle into a double axel. Mind=blown.
- Watching the championship masters junior-senior ladies. The woman who won landed two (!) monster double axels. She got a standing ovation after her skate, and it was well-deserved.
- Being there to cheer on my friends and see many of them walk away with medals and special achievement awards. I’m so happy for them!
- Earning positive GOE (grades of execution) on my Level 3 sit spin. I botched this at my last competition, so I was happy to have executed this well.
- Placing 15th out of a very strong group of 26 skaters (we had 27 originally but one withdrew)
Lows
- Popping my two planned axel jumps. I had been landing these with no problem during practices and warmup. My mind essentially blanked and my body didn’t know what to do.
- Experiencing the power outage. The entire town lost power and it affected one of the ice surfaces. The championship men’s gold event was supposed to go on around 6:30 but didn’t actually start until 9. I felt horrible for all those competitors who were supposed to skate on that ice.
- Seeing many of my peers have shaky skates. The rink was cold and the last skater in my event didn’t take the ice until after 10:00pm. I felt bad for her and know she did not skate her best.
I have about a month to go until Adult Nationals and plan on making a few more minor edits to my program to get it ready. Coach and I will be coming up with a game plan so that I can perform better next time. I am determined to finally show everyone what I am capable of doing.
