Freak Out Concern #1: Judges
First off, the judges truly want to see everyone do well and have fun, even if they do look a little bit scary or too serious. Keep in mind that it takes a lot of concentration to judge skaters. If you still have a problem worrying about them, just find your happy place and when you’re out on the ice, imagine you’re on the best practice ice session: you’re the only one in that rink and the only one out on the ice.

Freak Out Concern #2: How You’re Judged
Most people have probably experienced some “unfair judging” while at a competition. And who knows? Maybe there was some unfair judging taking place. But also keep in mind the things judges look for while watching your program.

I recently read “From the Judge’s Perspective: Tips from the Judge,” an article written by Carolyn Clausius, a National Freeskating and Pair Skating Judge. Clausius wrote that a skater is given two marks: a technical merit mark and another mark based on presentation. She wrote that the technical merit mark includes all the required elements you complete and your speed during the program as well as confidence.

The second mark, or the presentation mark, is as equally important as the first mark. The first mark actually only counts for half of your total score. Judges consider how well you skate to the music as well as the choreography. And, as if you didn’t have enough to concentrate about, they’ll also pay attention to good timing and expression for this mark.

So, what you perceive as unfair judging might really be a criticism of your presentation.

Freak Out Concern #3: “Unfair” Judging
I found it extremely interesting when I read the last paragraph of the article. Clausius wrote that if your results are all over the place, it means that your event was difficult to judge. If the technical markings on the skaters in the event are similar, then the skaters with the best presentation will often rank higher.

SynchroMom: Can You Help This Mom? Synchronize Skater Slips out of Rink

Ice Girl Blog: Don’t Let Figure Skating Judges Freak You Out

Ice Mom: Commandment Three: Figure Skating Parents Should not Coach from the Stands

Of course, if you’re on the IJS system, you don’t have to worry about judges’ rankings. But you do have to know that they’re not out to get you, so don’t spaz out.

So, don’t worry when it comes to competitions. Practice the way you want to perform and you should be good. Always end with a strong finish and be proud of yourself that you skated your best. You might also bring something lucky or sentimental with you.  I bring a stuffed animal Ice Coach gave me and I think it brings me luck.

And when in doubt, laugh it off. This is for fun, remember?

What do you think? Do you worry about the judges? How do you take your mind off the judging process?

If she’s that nervous after 3 days, she’s putting too much pressure on herself. The need to skate, because she’s afraid of what might happen if she doesn’t, just feeds that anxiety. If she really has her Axel, she’s not going to lose it after 3 days.

As parents, we need to talk to our skaters about what is best for them and why, and not let the skater (or overzealous coaches) dictate to us what they want or think they need. She might be empowered by how well she skates after a short break. It might give her confidence that would carry over to other areas, in and out of skating.

Fear should not be her motivation to keep on skating…the joy of skating should be. Joy is not determined by whether you have an Axel or not.

It’s not fear that sends me back to the ice after a few days’ break. It’s muscle memory. I’m learning new skills and the complicated arm and leg movements can’t be replicated on land. Visiting museums or taking a jet boat ride aren’t going to help with my muscle memory, either.

Muscle memory is when a person’s body learns something by repetition. Over time, the movement becomes as natural as breathing.

After a break, I haven’t been on the ice practicing the stuff I’ve just learned. Without that repetition, that muscle memory isn’t as strong. If I practice something the wrong way when I get back out on the ice, it takes more time to correct it. That can hold me back from my skating goals and frustrate me. You spend all this money to skate to your full potential and then you leave the ice for a while – you’re going to have a set back.

However, taking a break can take all the pressure and stress away. A skater can come back to the ice and focus better. Everyone’s different. Some people respond well to time off. I don’t.

Ice Mom: How to Respond to Figure Skating Poor Sportsmanship

SynchroMom: How Do You Keep Track of the Synchronized Skating Schedule?

Ice Girl: Figure Skating Muscle Memory and Time Off the Ice

My advice to figure skaters on vacation: Skate a couple of times, if you can find a rink and your parents are willing to take you. Otherwise, do off-ice jumps and training. Do jump walk-throughs. Run through your program in your head. Step through programs with choreography. Possibly bring your skates, put your guards on, and walk around a little bit. You might use PIC skates to train.

This mom writes that I should skate for the joy of it. Well, I do. However, I’ll tell you: skating isn’t enjoyable when I work hard for something and then lose it. That’s frustrating. I have skating goals. Achieving those goals is satisfying. To achieve those goals, I need to be on the ice.

Sure, I’m happy to be just to be out on the ice, but skating around at random isn’t what makes it fun for me. Pushing myself and reaching my goals is fun. That’s training.

Not having goals can be fun, too. That’s exercise.

It’s fine to figure skate for exercise, if that’s what you want out of the sport. It’s also fine to train. I need to be on the ice for that.

What about you, skaters? How do you feel about what the parent said about taking time off of skating? Do you agree with me that time off messes with muscle memory or are you cool with a week away from the rink? What about your goals? Are you in it just for fun or do you want the fun plus a challenge? Share what you think in the comments!

The Bosu Ball. This is an exercise ball, but it’s only half of it. The flat bottom is like a platform and the rounded top is a blue semicircle. Bosu actually means both sides up, so you can have the platform or the ball on top and use it. You can use both sides for balancing. I use it for practicing spirals. I stand on the rounded side at first because it’s easier and I do my spiral. Then I flip the Bosu ball over to use the platform side because it’s like a balance ball. When I use the platform side, it really works my core and also it helps me balance better on the ice. I’ve also practiced landing positions on both the rounded and flat sides. To practice jumps, I stand on the rounded side with both feet on the top of the ball. I start out with a half rotation and work my way up to a full rotation, using the Bosu ball to launch myself into the air and onto the floor. We use it for core strengthening, too, like sit ups or balancing in the Superman/swimming position. I like the Bosu ball because I can use it for just about anything and it’s just very entertaining; very fun to use The Bosu ball costs about $100.

Balance board. A balance board is made up of a flat, wooden platform on top with a detached wooden cylinder roller underneath. At off-ice, what we try to do is to see how long we can balance on it and find our center of balance. We also try doing squats on it. This works on strengthening the body, but it also focuses on being balanced. I like it because it’s challenging and it makes me want to try to outwit the balance board. I think it helps me balance my spins and footwork because you really have to focus on being centered during a spin. A balance board costs about $50.

Stretching. During off-ice sessions, I have two favorite stretches. These stretches help me reduce the pain in my wrists and shoulders. The wrist stretch. What I do is I kneel on the mat, I lean forward and put my hands in front of me, just under my shoulders. I turn my hands toward my knees and I slowly start to sit back until I feel a stretch in my arms. If I can’t go back on my legs, I scoot my knees closer to my hands. I like this stretch because it helps me relax my wrists after push ups and handstands against the wall at off-ice practice. The shoulder stretch. I sit on the floor with my knees bent up in front of me and my arms and hands behind my back, even with my shoulders. I bring my hands as close to touching behind my back as I can. Then I scoot my rear end toward my heels. It stretches my shoulders and upper arms. I like it because it reduces pain from arm strengthening workouts. Stretching is free.

Ice Coach: Accelerated Class for Figure Skaters

Synchro Mom: Synchro Off-Ice Training

Ice Mom: Ice Mom’s Solutions to Tricky Figure Skating Problems

Boxing punching bag. A punching bag is, well, that big thing that hangs in the gym. People punch it. It’s fun. My trainer brought my training partner and I boxing gloves so we could punch the bag. Our trainer showed us how to punch the bag with the tops of our fists up and a strong jab to the bag. We alternated arms and it was so fun. We hit a tire, too. In between punching the bag, our trainer trainer had us jump up and down on a ledge. One of our feet was on the floor and the other on the ledge. Then we punched some more. It was so amusing and a great way to relieve stress. It was tiring, but fun. Cost = gym membership or off-ice trainer cost and some begging the trainer.

What’s your favorite training exercise or equipment? Do you do something fun at off-ice training? Share in the comments!

If you have a question for Ice Girl, you’d better send it to Ice Mom. She’ll forward it to Ice Girl. Really.

Photo credits:
Punching bag: ToTheRoofPhotography on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Bosu ball: darmorrow on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Spinning ride: KB35 on Flickr.com Creative Commons

“Persevere, be patient and have perspective. It’s going to be a rough road, but if you really want it and you work really hard for it, to persevere and to be patient are the biggest factors in being successful.”

I think Cohen is right about this. I find it interesting that she doesn’t mention talent at all. But I also agree that skating takes more than talent. In my opinion, anybody can skate, talent or no talent. But it’s the ones who work hard, love it, and persevere who become great skaters.

The ones who who have a lot of talent in skating, but don’t work hard, are not the most respected people at the rink. They seem full of themselves and way too confident. These are the kids who have early success, but they don’t stick with figure skating when it gets hard. They’re used to having things come easy to them and they don’t want to or know how to work when it’s no longer easy.

Cohen’s right, too, about the rough road. A lot of skaters who are friends of mine have told me that skaters quit skating while learning their Axel because it’s a long process. It takes a long time to figure out the jump and get it consistent. It’s very frustrating and many skaters don’t ever get it. They just quit. And from personal experience, I agree with my friends. I felt like dropping out at one point while learning my Axel, but I stuck it out. It took months before I finally landed it consistently.

Today is Rinkformation’s joint posting day. Check out our other posts about competing

Ice Coach: Test Track vs. Well Balanced

Ice Mom: Figure Sakting Competition Etiquette

Synchro Mom: Make-up for Synchronized Skating Competitions

The most frustrating thing for me is balancing my skating life, school work, friends, and responsibilities. It’s hard to keep up with my school friends when I’m always at the rink. My friends do things together and I can’t always join in because I have practice, off-ice, or I’m teaching. I try to keep up on Facebook and texting, but I have to limit my time because I have homework and chores, too. I’m not terrific at balancing everything I need to do, but I don’t want to cut  my time on the ice, either. Balancing everything in my life is much harder than working on any jump.

This week’s Ask the Expert: Summer Camp expert and National-level coach Diana Ronayne. This Wednesday, April 28 on IceMom.net.

Mostly, it’s that feeling of accomplishment that keeps me going. Even when I have to give up so much for figure skating, it’s worth it.

How about you? Is skating a rough road for you? Do you persevere? How do you balance skating and the rest of your life?

Do you have a question for Ice Girl? Do you have an idea for a blog post? E-mail me at icegirl@icegirlblog.net

Have you entered our April contest yet? Submit your embarrassing rink story to: info@rinkformation.net Deadline: 4/30/10

Schneider-Farris, J. “Sasha Cohen Advice – Advice For Young Figure Skaters From Olympic Figure Skating Silver Medalist Sasha Cohen.” About.com: Figure Skating. http://figureskating.about.com/od/getstartedfigureskating/qt/sashacohenadvice.htm Accessed 4/25/10.

Photo credits:
Lonely texter: iansand on Flickr.com Creative Commons
Texter in Paris: malias on Flickr.com Creative Commons

When I’m on the pole harness, Ice Coach doesn’t really help me at all. When I’m on the ceiling harness, she helps me at first, but when I start to get the hang of it, she starts backing off. After a few days on that harness, we switch to the fishing pole and we start moving with the jump. The ceiling harness we mainly use just to get the feel of the jump, like the rotation and the air positions. We use that one to correct and we use the fishing pole for consistency.

Today is Rinkformation’s joint posting day. Check out our other posts about jumps

Ice Coach: the jump harness

Synchro Mom: do synchronized skaters jump?

Ice Mom: the jump harness is pretty amusing, I tell you

Ceiling harness

The ceiling harness is a pulley that’s hooked up to the rink’s ceiling. The harness and pulley move back and forth along a cable at one end of the rink. One end of the pulley’s rope has places for the coach to hang on and pull. The other end has a harness with straps that fit over a skater’s shoulders, back, and natural waist. The harness is adjustable to fit the skater.

How it feels. At first when I’m on the harness, I have to do a couple of jumps with my coach pulling on the other end of the rope so I can get used to the feeling. I feel sort of weightless when my coach pulls on the rope to help me get in the air. It doesn’t hurt at all; I just feel weightless and I feel that I’m being pulled up.

After effects. It’s kind of annoying when my coach wants me to do the jump after I’ve just been on the ceiling harness because I get used to the feeling of some of the weight being taken off of me. Even if my coach isn’t helping and she’s just holding on to the end of the rope, I still have the thought or the feeling that some of the weight’s taken off of me. As soon as I get off the harness, all the weight comes back and I feel like I can’t get high enough into the air, even if I can.

Good/bad stuff. I look forward to harness lessons because I don’t stress out as much about having to do the jump by myself and I feel like it’s just another day to get used to the jump or correct it, but I don’t feel any pressure to be consistent. The bad thing is the weightlessness thing. It throws me off. It gets annoying when my coach wants me to do the jump right away off the harness. I don’t want to say no to my coach, but I know that the jump isn’t going to go well because all the weight’s all back on me.

This week’s Ask the Expert: World-level Coach and Pole Harness expert Nick Perna. This Wednesday, April 21 on IceMom.net.

Pole harness

The pole harness is like a big, huge fishing pole with the straps from the ceiling harness attached to the bait end and my coach on the end where a reel would be. Since my coach and I skate around the rink with the fishing pole and I’m not tied to just the straight line of the ceiling harness, it’s easier to get the feel of the jump’s entrance when I’m moving. If the jump has a backwards entrance, I can get more speed and get the feeling for how fast I need to be going and whether or not I need to change my jump entrance.

For example, when I first started working on my double Salchow, my coach had me enter the jump on the ceiling harness from a forward outside three-turn. When we started moving with the fishing pole, we changed the entrance to a back outside three-turn  from the opposite foot with a Mohawk, and then I went into the jump. That entrance made it easier for me to control the jump and stand up straight while jumping. I wouldn’t have found that out on the ceiling harness because on the ceiling harness, I skate in a straight line. When I’m on the fishing pole harness, I can skate in circles, which is how I would usually enter the jump. That makes it way easier to adjust the jump entrance.

How it feels. The fishing pole harness feels like I have all my weight on myself. The harness is much shorter than the ceiling harness, so I have the impression that my coach is helping me more with the jump. In fact, she really can’t help me as much on the ceiling harness because my coach is short and can’t lift me very well on the pole and she lets me fall instead of keeping me up. With the pulley system, it’s easier for the coach to lift the skater. On the fishing pole, it’s much harder to lift me.

Being on the pole harness is kind of annoying at first, because I feel like I’m going to jump on top of my coach by accident. It feels weird because I don’t want to hit my coach when I land. I have such a short amount of space between myself and my coach on the other end of the pole, unlike the ceiling harness where she stands pretty far away from me.

After effects. After I’ve been on the ceiling harness, I feel like I can’t practice the jump without the ceiling harness’s help and without my coach hauling me up into the air. After I’ve been on the pole harness, I feel like I have something to work on when I’m not in the lesson and I feel like I can do it myself because I’ve been jumping with all my weight. I feel more confident and  like I can actually work on the jump without needing the harness.

Good/bad stuff. The pole harness is good for getting the speed, the consistency, and the confidence to jump. The worst part is how I feel like I’m going to jump on top of my coach. When I land she’s at arm’s length and I feel like I’m going to hit her.

Bottom line

Is the harness worth it? Yeah, I’d say so. It helps the skater get the feel of the jump when the jump is brand new to them. It builds confidence for the skater that they can land the jump without the coach’s help.
Is one better than the other? I’d say if I had to choose which one I’d want, I’d probably say the pole harness because I get the feel of moving with the jump more than with the ceiling harness, but I like using the combination of the two harnesses. With the combination, I can do both corrections and get jump consistency.

Do you have any experience with figure skating jump harnesses? Do you have a preference? Do you think they help you figure out how to rotate and land a jump? Let’s discuss our experiences in the comments!

Have you entered our April contest yet? Submit your embarrassing rink story to: info@rinkformation.net Deadline: 4/30/10

We practiced hair styles that we might want for the competition, which took forever. We did one another’s finger nails and watched movies. We went on the computer a few times. Before we knew it, it was 1 a.m. That means we had four or five hours of sleep before we had to leave the house.

The next day, we were late for practice ice and sleepy all day. We weren’t focused and we forgot things at home.

The night before a comeptition, DON’T DO THE FOLLOWING:

• Sleepovers. You can promise you’ll go to bed on time, but it’s not going to happen. Having someone else around means you’ll probably forget what you need to do the next morning because the bathroom’s too crowded or you’re goofing around at breakfast instead of just eating.
• Staying up late. Even if you’re up late packing your skating bag, make sure you get your Zs, because you’re not going to get any sleep at the rink.
• Don’t swim. The chlorine can make you itchy. The extra exercise can wear you out. The hot tub over warms your muscles.
• Drink soda. Cut the sugar. You want energy foods, not sugar.
• Freak out. Just relax and remember why you like skating. Take a shower, do your nails, text your friends, listen to the radio. Draw. Read. Keep to a normal routine.
• Toss and turn. Falling asleep can be difficult, so try to replace any negative thoughts with positive ones. Picture yourself at the competition and watch yourself skate a perfect program. Imagine how that will feel and let yourself drift off to sleep.

Of course, my mom and my coach both tell me these things, but sometimes I just have to learn them the hard way.

What kinds of thing have you learned not to do before a competition? What do you do to prepare yourself the night before the big day? Share in the comments!

Do you have a question for Ice Girl or an idea for a post? E-mail me at icegirl@icegirlblog.net.

Have you entered our April Rinkformation contest? You should! Click here to visit the contest page and share your embarrassing rink story!

Skater: Your mom is a well known cheapskate. How did you get her to pay for your tickets last year?

We didn’t pay for our tickets. We volunteered to give a presentation about skating dresses and the fabrics to a bunch of Girl Scouts who came to the show. The Girl Scouts ended up earning a badge and we got free tickets.

I wore my blue velvet figure skating dress with tons of crystals that my mom made. It was one of my first figure skating dresses. It was cute because the little girls kept asking me if I was a skater from the show. Um, no.

We also got to watch the practice ice before the show. We have a really good skater in my figure skating club and I watched the skaters and thought “Friend can do that. Friend can do that. Friend can do that. Friend can’t do that.”

It was also cool that people who were way down in front by the ice got showered with snow (mostly from Michael Weiss).

Skater: My dad says I can just watch skating on TV. I don’t need to go to watch it live in an ice arena. How can I tell him that it’s better to watch it live?

Watching it live is a whole different experience. On TV, just watching it, you can walk away from it, go grab a soda or a snack. Even though the TV camera gets very close to the skaters, you’re distant from it. You’re removed from the action.

When you watch it live, it’s completely different. You don’t want to leave your seat. You want to watch every bit of it because it’s so fascinating. You can hear the blades on the ice better than you can on TV. You get the full effect. You can practically see them sweat (Michael Weiss). You can hear them breathing and talking. You get sprayed with snow. When they skate past, you can feel them rushing past you and you get a gust of wind. I had to put my hair in a pony tail! There’s no hockey glass, so you’re really close to them skating. If you’re close enough, it feels like you’re standing at the boards while they skate. When we went, though, there were no boards. People were even sitting on the ice.

Watching it live, it hits you that these are real people. They’re not two-dimensional, like on TV. You can see their personalities come out in their skating. When I went back to my home rink, I had more drive and more energy in my skating. I guess watching real people skating in such an amazing way proves that real people can get that far.

Skater: Who was your favorite skater from SOI last year and why?

My favorite skater was Yuka Sato. Her personality came out in her skating. She seemed to really love it and skate for herself. She looked like she was really having fun.
It’s good to have a favorite skater because it gives you motivation to do better. Having a favorite skater gives you a goal to shoot for. That person is like your idol, so you want to be like that person, practice hard, and have fun.

Have you ever been to Stars on Ice? Did you have a good time? Did you have good seats? Who was your favorite skater? How did you convince your ‘rents to take you? Was it worth going? Did you feel more energized when you went back to your own rink?

Do you have a question for me? Is there a post you’d really like to see on this blog? Let me know! E-mail me at icegirl@icegirlblog.net

My thought on this? My mom is crazy to think this. Of course, however, my dad is on his best behavior for the first couple minutes… but when it’s time for my mom to “remove the glasses along with her secret identity to become Super Monitor”… my dad turns into the goofy dork my mom decided to marry.

My dad likes to make fun of me all the time!  He does “spirals” in a goofy way in the bleachers while flapping his arms like a demented bird, and when he gets near the microphone in the hockey box, he calls people over to have their music played…and disaster strikes, well, for me at least.

When my dad announces the skaters’ names.. but he does it in the silliest way he can think of, for example, a Darth Vader voice…

Last year at one of my very first competitions, it was just before my practice ice for my compulsory program when my dad decided to give me money for a hot chocolate. He told me to put the money in the pocket of my warm-up jacket. And, silly me, I followed his directions. When I got on the ice, I completely forgot that the money was there. My coach told me to go do a scratch spin, and I did so. Next thing  I knew, there was a ton of change flying out of my pocket. The change hit two skaters as it fell to the ice.

You know that having objects on the ice other than blades and skater’s behinds isn’t a good thing. Skaters can skate over the coins, slip, and then I would have been to blame. The coins could have ruined a blade, too. So everyone had to take time to pick up the change and I gave it to Ice Coach. Ice Coach was standing at the rink’s door, looking like she wanted to find a place to hide.

My dad threw his head back and laughed. I was so embarrassed.

The three of us (Ice Girl, Ice Mom,  and Ice Coach) will all post on the same topics on Mondays. So, you’ll be able to read about competitons from the points of view of a figure skater, a figure skating parent, and a figure skating coach.

Ice Girl is also going to write about questions you might have about making friends at the rink, what to do about rink bullies, and how to balance your ice life with your social life. (I think texting, Facebook, and IM have a lot to do with it).

Have a question for Ice Girl? Want to write a guest post? Have an idea for a post topic? Awesome! E-mail Ice Girl at icegirl@icegirlblog.net

We’ve come up with a tag line that I really like: rinkformation. It implies information from the rink and that’s what we’re planning on giving you.

Each post on the three sites: IceMom.net, IceCoach.net, and IceGirlBlog.net, will have a purpose. It won’t be just a list about how our day was, what we had for lunch, and whether or not Ice Girl cleaned her room (nope). The posts will be a little personal, but most of all, they’ll be useful.

Do you have a topic that you’d like to see on Ice Girl Blog? Send it to Ice Girl! icegirl@icegirlblog.net.