2015 US Adult Championships Part II

by Mary on July 12, 2015

skating out for rose program

skating out for rose program

I haven’t been sure what to think about my rose program from Nationals but here it is:

I ended up feeling better about my rose program performance at Sectionals than this one. Yet I heard good things about it from other skaters, and I loved that they made the effort to give me feedback. One skater recognized that the music was Patrick O’Hearn and asked me the name of the piece. Others told me they experienced the program as beautiful, heartfelt, or touching.

 

beginning rose program

beginning rose program

With my skate being first after the warmup, I was not able to relax as much as I wanted and I feel my skate had somewhat of a rushed, stressed-looking quality. I had worked on my speed in the six weeks between Sectionals and Nationals. I’m not sure that skating faster ended up being a net positive what with the loss of some details that I’d wanted to put in and the increased sloppiness.

I’m not sorry that I put in the effort on this program. Ty helped me a lot on my posture and choreography. I hope to keep improving my posture, I notice that in this skate it is sort of crunched at the neck. I need to engage those neck muscles.

skating rose program

skating rose program

Men and women were combined in our competition group, and I placed fifth. The first place winner was a man. I don’t feel I completely understand what the judges are looking for, and I need to figure out how much I care about what they’re looking for versus what I just want to skate.

I was sad after my skate to be finished with that program because it’s dedicated to my dad and keeps him in my mind in a good way. That may just mean that I will have to skate this program again in the future.

my opposite side Ina Bauer

my opposite side Ina Bauer

I have to resolve my attitude toward the judging. When I watch skating, my favorite skates are not always the ones that are ranked most highly. Then why do I compete, and why do I care how I’m ranked? The judging does mean something to me, I do care how it turns out. It is hard especially to be ranked at the bottom. But when I watched the silver skaters in my age group some of the skates I enjoyed the most were ranked in the middle or near the bottom.

It’s something I will continue to think about. I have worked hard on some skills solely because they are important to ranking highly in competition. And yet what I really want most of of my skate is that I ‘look like a skater.’ I want to be able to perform, to look graceful, to have a program that flows and hangs together as an artistic whole.

end of rose program

end of rose program

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Eva July 13, 2015 at 1:42 pm

Your program was beautiful, Mary. I enjoyed watching it live and saw all the emotion you poured into it. I am in the same boat as you when it comes to judging – it’s hard to figure out what the judges are looking for in these programs, but I believe I did uncover something: the category is called Dramatic Entertainment. It didn’t fully replace the “Artistic” event from years past, so part of the description still says “Entertainment.” In the end, the judges want to be entertained. They want to see something that is exciting to watch. In other words, if a skater’s program was being broadcast on television, would they be willing to sit down and watch it? If not, then that skater will get lower scores/placement. I did vet this by a local judge, who confirmed this so I hope it helps! 🙂
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mary July 14, 2015 at 10:15 pm

Hmm, the idea of skating it faster was so that it would be more exciting, though speed didn’t seem to factor into the judging as far as I could tell. Fast is the way that I want to skate, though, so it is something that I want to work on for me. One of the ways that folks in my group entertained was more use of their props: shooting arrows, ‘flying’ with wings, etc. And more use of expression, dancing, posing, etc. I don’t have a natural personality for performing, but being in events like this is a great way to work on being more expressive.

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Jo July 14, 2015 at 2:39 am

I really enjoyed the program, Mary. I especially liked the way you used your facial expression (and kept your head up)–this must have really engaged your audience. Very musical too!
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mary July 14, 2015 at 10:04 pm

Thanks, Jo, I am glad you liked my expression, I felt it looked kind of blank/stressed at times so it’s good to hear some positive feedback. My goal was to start by interacting only with the rose and then expand to include the audience, my way of being with the past and then also the present. This music has a nice steady beat so it was easy to skate to.

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Melissa July 14, 2015 at 3:27 pm

I was lucky enough to see this performance live, and it was wonderful! I hope you will skate this program again someday, Mary, but you will always have the memories no matter what. I can’t believe Adult Nationals was 3 months ago!

I am often perplexed by the judging, too, and have to constantly remind myself to skate my program for myself and the audience. The results really don’t matter, although getting a medal is fun for a few days. The experience and sharing with other skaters is what really lasts.

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mary July 14, 2015 at 9:45 pm

Thanks, Melissa. You are right that we have to skate for ourselves and the audience, it’s the only satisfying way. And thanks for the reminder that I will always have the memories whether or not I skate this program again.

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