Withdrawal symtoms

Way back on the 12th of January I finally got back to having a coached lesson with Coach A.  That was also the last time I was able to get on the ice.  The following weekend was the three day MLK weekend and I was out of town.  This week has been eaten up with snow storm preparations.  I was looking forward to a spot of practice during the Friday 3:30-5:30pm public when the city posted this:

CHANGE IN FACILITY STATUS: The Bowie Ice Arena will be closing at 2 pm today and will remain closed through the weekend.

For updates you can call 301-262-6200 or visit us online at www.cityofbowie.org

What a kick in the head! Yesterday they indicated that they'd trim off the last 30 minutes of that session and close at 5pm so that rink employees could safely get home.  Fair enough.  But that was then and this is now and the storm's predicted to arrive a tad earlier than previously thought.  Pesky storms!  The earliest possibility for me to stagger out onto the ice, assuming they re-open Monday, would be the 9:00am public, which is a lovely session but if the rink is open, so too will my lab.  Sigh.

The good news is that coach A. seemed pleased that I hadn't lost as much ground as I'd thought and so we worked on back edges (never one of my strong suits) and then ran through the three low end dances that I've been working on since, since, I don't know, probably since Moses was a mess cook.  Progress seems so glacial. Since we're talking ice maybe that's appropriate.  I'll think that over on my way to the liquor store.  It appears the only ice I'm destined to see this weekend is that in my glass and whatever plops on the ground outside my house. 

As we're now deep into competition season, coach's schedule is chock-a-block full and I'm living for the rare cancellation by one of her other students.  My next shot at a lesson isn't until the 16th of February.  This is what happens when you're clumsy and do a big face plant--you lose your slot in the coach's calendar.  Double Sigh.

So, that's all I have to report other than the ice halos which I ordered weeks ago for myself and diaristdaughter have finally cleared Canada Post and crossed the border and have been handed off to USPS, and may actually beat the impending snow storm and arrive today. If so, I'll wear mine while going up and down the stairs!  It's the best I can do under the circumstances.  Stay warm.

An Infinitely Useful Blogspot

I recently tripped over Jaya Kanel's skating blog  Ice Artistry.

While the blog's focus is devoted to compulsory figures there's lots of meat to be had for "figure" skaters working in the other skating disciplines .  For example if one pulls down the tab labeled "it figures" and opens the posture "perfect" entry there's lots to digest.  I've just begun to explore this blog so I'll leave you to do the same.

For the overachievers in the audience

Santa didn't bring you the kitchen sink?  Don't despair.  Instead watch this video and be thankful:

 http://www.flxnyc.com/pages/free-video

 I keep waiting for the youthful demonstrator to launch herself through those big windows...

Want more?  Go to youtube (of course).

Asleep at the switch.

This is what happens at my home ice the morning after Xmas when I decide to sleep in and bag the 7am Free Style session:  "Three time US National Champion and Olympian Ashley Wagner stopped by the Bowie Ice Arena today! Pictured here with Bowie ISI team member Alexa Cruz and her coach Rebecca Robertson."  Photo credit:  BIA.  Can U believe it?!  Sigh...truer words where never spoken--Ya snooze, ya lose.

 

Skating 101 with Meryl and Charlie

Skating 101!  Freshman intro to ice dance lifts?  Ha, this seems more like Skating 604--a graduate level seminar, but that's just me talking.  The two kids, Alina Letova and Dakota Delcamp, are not your typical birthday party kid skaters.  These two are obviously battle hardened veterans who probably started skating seriously at, oh, age four or so.  Having said all that, this little video is fun to watch and has some useful coaching tips for lunkheads like me to think about.  A little Xmas Bon-Bon.  Enjoy!

 

Ice Halo update

In the recent past when I visited the Ice Halo website I could not find mention of their products complying with any test standards.  People told me that this statement of fact was buried somewhere on the site, but try as I might, I could never find it.  The other day I went back to the Ice Halo site and there it was right on the page which describes the standard Halo: "All our Ice Halo Products are tested in one of the top impact testing facilities in the world, using the Hockey Helmet Standard (CSA Z262.1-09 (April 2009) Annex A, Impact Drop Testing). Our products pass the standard requirements for front, side and back impact."  I guess enough others must have voiced their hesitation such that the manufacturer of the Ice Halo decided to place the test statement in a more prominent position.  But don't take my word for it, see it yourself.  

CSA stands for Canadian Standards Association which is a non-profit organization dedicated to product testing for consumer safety and protection.  The CSA is much like the ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials.

Knowing that the Ice Halo complies with a reasonable standard (one deemed appropriate for hockey helmets) gives me a little more confidence to try out this product.  As I pointed out in an earlier post my current skateboarding helmet while adequate does tend to draw my eyes towards the ice rather than ahead and one must cinch the chinstrap fairly tightly in order for the helmet not to move around on the head.  So, I will now place an order for an Ice Halo and see if I like that any better than the  Bern Watts helmet.  Stay tuned.

And we figure skaters think getting a good fit in boots is important...

Principal Dancer Megan Fairchild discusses the importance of good fit for pointe shoes.