aehodman
March 24th, 2001, 12:24 PM
hello all!
Just got back from spectating at another USFSA event that had lots of adult skaters and wanted to share for our adult skaters here on the board.
There were five Bronze ladies, five Silver ladies, one Gold lady and one Masters Gold lady in the I/II-ish kinda combined division and 3 Bronze, 3 Silver and 1 Gold skaters in the III+ group. Most of the things I remember are from the I/II divisions so that's what I'll post.
The Bronze event had some REALLY great skating. The lady who won had straight 1s across the board. She was one of the fastest skaters in the group (actually she and the lady who won the silver had about the same speed of skating, but both seemed to skate faster than the rest of the group) and landed a HUGE lutz and very solid flip/loop combo. She skated with a lot of confidence and presence.
The lady who won the silver had a great layback combination spin and good, solid jumps, with a flip and loop and a few jump combinations, and some fast, complicated footwork. I really liked her program a lot. The competitor who won the bronze medal was very artistic and balletic on the ice, with some pretty choreography that was very, very sophisticated and advanced for a FS3 skater, but her technical level was not quite up there with the first two ladies. (This brings up one of the more interesting parts of the adult test and competitive track -- the adult Bronze test is prety much at about FS3 but the competitive level you see is more 4/5). She only did salchows and toe loops, a few upright spins (a FS3 changefoot that was a good try), and she did a beginner sit spin. She did place ahead of another skater who tried harder jumps, though, which proves that the judges are most certainly looking at more than just the technical elements and that presence, and a good and well choreographed program skated confidently, is also very important. The lady who finished fourth is one I've seen skate several times at Bronze and she had a very uncharistically bad skate for her. She usually does all the jumps up to the flip but it just wasn't her day.She did keep going and kept her energy up through the whole program though which was very admirable IMO. I don't know if I could have done that. I wish I could remember the lady who skated 5th but she was first out and I didn't take notes this time....:(
The silver flight was fantastic. The lady who won gold is a skater I have seen 3 or 4 times and is a great technician and a very fast, confident skater -- and is very consistent (she kind of reminds me of Kristi Yamaguchi in this way). My two favorite performances were the silver and bronze medal winners, respectively. The lady who won the silver skated an absolutely wonderful program -- her choreography, speed, jumps, everything hit the music and the mood of the music just perfectly. The lady who won the bronze medal was a also a very fast skater with an elegant line and really great choreography, especially at the end with some inventive moves that matched her music exactly. I don't remember much of the 4th and 5th place finishers' programs, except that to the best of my memory, all 5 skaters tried at least a lutz and most of them did at least one axel. There were a lot of combination spins and solid, fast skating.
The two Gold ladies both did at least one double jump and an axel, along with flying spins and gorgeous, fast laybacks. The Gold lady did a tremendously fast low sit spin which I would love to have (in my dreams maybe!) :/ Both she and the Masters Gold lady skated with a lot of speed and confidence and kept the energy level consistent throughout their programs. I love to watch the Gold ladies because they are so inspiring and really motivate me to get my patoot out on the ice and WORK so that someday I might be able to skate like they do.
The older ladies in the III groups in Bronze, Silver and Gold were really enjoyable to watch and prove that skating really IS a lifetime sport! One of the Bronze IIIs is in her seventies and still skating. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Anyway, that's it!
Just got back from spectating at another USFSA event that had lots of adult skaters and wanted to share for our adult skaters here on the board.
There were five Bronze ladies, five Silver ladies, one Gold lady and one Masters Gold lady in the I/II-ish kinda combined division and 3 Bronze, 3 Silver and 1 Gold skaters in the III+ group. Most of the things I remember are from the I/II divisions so that's what I'll post.
The Bronze event had some REALLY great skating. The lady who won had straight 1s across the board. She was one of the fastest skaters in the group (actually she and the lady who won the silver had about the same speed of skating, but both seemed to skate faster than the rest of the group) and landed a HUGE lutz and very solid flip/loop combo. She skated with a lot of confidence and presence.
The lady who won the silver had a great layback combination spin and good, solid jumps, with a flip and loop and a few jump combinations, and some fast, complicated footwork. I really liked her program a lot. The competitor who won the bronze medal was very artistic and balletic on the ice, with some pretty choreography that was very, very sophisticated and advanced for a FS3 skater, but her technical level was not quite up there with the first two ladies. (This brings up one of the more interesting parts of the adult test and competitive track -- the adult Bronze test is prety much at about FS3 but the competitive level you see is more 4/5). She only did salchows and toe loops, a few upright spins (a FS3 changefoot that was a good try), and she did a beginner sit spin. She did place ahead of another skater who tried harder jumps, though, which proves that the judges are most certainly looking at more than just the technical elements and that presence, and a good and well choreographed program skated confidently, is also very important. The lady who finished fourth is one I've seen skate several times at Bronze and she had a very uncharistically bad skate for her. She usually does all the jumps up to the flip but it just wasn't her day.She did keep going and kept her energy up through the whole program though which was very admirable IMO. I don't know if I could have done that. I wish I could remember the lady who skated 5th but she was first out and I didn't take notes this time....:(
The silver flight was fantastic. The lady who won gold is a skater I have seen 3 or 4 times and is a great technician and a very fast, confident skater -- and is very consistent (she kind of reminds me of Kristi Yamaguchi in this way). My two favorite performances were the silver and bronze medal winners, respectively. The lady who won the silver skated an absolutely wonderful program -- her choreography, speed, jumps, everything hit the music and the mood of the music just perfectly. The lady who won the bronze medal was a also a very fast skater with an elegant line and really great choreography, especially at the end with some inventive moves that matched her music exactly. I don't remember much of the 4th and 5th place finishers' programs, except that to the best of my memory, all 5 skaters tried at least a lutz and most of them did at least one axel. There were a lot of combination spins and solid, fast skating.
The two Gold ladies both did at least one double jump and an axel, along with flying spins and gorgeous, fast laybacks. The Gold lady did a tremendously fast low sit spin which I would love to have (in my dreams maybe!) :/ Both she and the Masters Gold lady skated with a lot of speed and confidence and kept the energy level consistent throughout their programs. I love to watch the Gold ladies because they are so inspiring and really motivate me to get my patoot out on the ice and WORK so that someday I might be able to skate like they do.
The older ladies in the III groups in Bronze, Silver and Gold were really enjoyable to watch and prove that skating really IS a lifetime sport! One of the Bronze IIIs is in her seventies and still skating. Pretty cool if you ask me.
Anyway, that's it!