Today is exactly one week before my pre-bronze MITF and freeskate test, so we did a dress rehearsal and mock MITF test. This was my first time in full skater regalia - leotard, skirt, tights (and thank goodness coach said I can wear my skating jacket for a test). I really felt different, a real skater, albeit a very cold skater. It was weird not to be able to pull my skating pants over my boots when I put them on (I dislike OTB tights).
It took a long time to get ready though. Everything had to go on in a certain order, I actually had to think it through before putting things on (good thing I remembered to think first otherwise I'd be freezing half-naked). Because I was wearing a leotard and not just a top, I had to get the tights on first. But then before that, I had to put the silipos gel sleeve on first. Then I had to put on two pairs of tights (and yes, I was still cold), then the leotard, then the skirt, and finally my skating jacket. And then I had to put my hair in a bun. Looking like a skater takes too much effort!
My mock test went well besides having to dodge every other skater as I did my perimeter stroking. I even remembered to smile and present. It went well all the way... until the dreaded waltz-8 (okay I admit the back edges were a little iffy).
I don't like the waltz-8. And it didn't help to have a really bad start. Really bad. As in I pushed off, then a split second later, I tripped over my toepick and went straight down on my knees. Of all the days, this happens on the day that I'm not wearing my knee pads. Ouch to both my knees and my confidence. So I start over again and to make matters worse, there's now another skater in my way! I wobble through while dodging her and even though I manage to finish the pattern, it was awful. I'm okay with the three-turn and the backward edge, it's the step forward that I just cannot get. I either keep turning and turning or I lose my momentum.
I'm skating three more times before the test - one practice and two lessons (one of which is on the morning of the test). I really want to pass this test!!
You'll do great! Trying to do a pattern is so much harder when you're dodging other people, I'm sure you'll be so much more focused when you don't have that preoccupation interfering with things.
ReplyDeleteI've never skated in a skirt before; I wonder if it'll be a foreign feeling. More than the coldness, I'm worried that I''ll feel nervous and uneasy without all the protective padding. I hardly fall on my gel pads, but I think just knowing they're there helps a lot mentally.
Good luck on your test!
Thanks Sarah! I wasn't nervous without the padding, because I was only doing things which I (supposedly) would not be falling on, since I'm testing them next week. Yes, I did still fall but that was totally unexpected. I did not do anything with a possibility of falling such as practicing loop jumps or flip jumps. So maybe if you wait till the last few practices to try out the no-paddings, you'll be comfortable enough.
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