Recap from Adult Nationals
Well, friends – my 3rd Adult Nationals is in the books. If you followed me on Facebook, you’ll already know the results from my two events.
The summary is that I did not skate my best and wound up placing last in both events. But, please don’t feel sad or bad because I am not upset. Quite the opposite, actually. Yes, I am disappointed that I missed a few elements here and there, but I really had a wonderful time. We had a great representation from our local club, and each of us was there to cheer the others on.
I reunited with old skating friends and met new ones, and the atmosphere was overwhelmingly supportive. We also kept joking that everyone in an event should buy a drink for the person who comes in last. That means that 14 people owe me a drink in my freestyle event, and another 5 in my dramatic event. Yes!
All kidding aside, I am actually pretty energized. I am excited to work on new elements as well as fine tune and improve my skating skills. I am motivated by watching others’ performances and would love to be a beacon for someone else in the stands.
Here are some highlights from the weekend:
- I got to meet and take photographs with Charlie Tickner and “Jumpin’ Joe” Jozef Sabovcik, who are both skating celebrities (I had met Jumpin’ Joe in 2014 at Adult Nationals there so it was cool to meet him again):
Charlie Tickner, 1978 World Figure Skating Championships Gold Medalist 
“Jumpin’ Joe” Jozef Sabovcik, 1984 Olympic bronze medalist - I met Rohene Ward, who was briefly in attendance on the final day of competition. He is Jason Brown’s choreographer and such a fantastic and amazing skater!
Rohene Ward, 4-time US National competitor and Jason Brown’s choreographer - I made the Raleigh News & Observer, which is the local Raleigh newspaper. Check out the video at the top of the page and you’ll see me at 1:13 and 1:29.
- I received a crazy amount of ‘tossies,’ which are gifts that fellow skaters throw on the ice after each performance. It was humbling to see how many people cared and wanted to show their love and appreciation.
- I also got to have several heart-to-heart conversations with some pretty inspirational people, and their encouragement and advice lifted me to want to become an even better person and skater.
Next week I’d like to tell you about our new club mascots. They were quite popular and certainly made everyone laugh!
