Meet the Newest Adult Gold Skater!

Yup, I passed Adult Gold Freeskate today. I didn't think passing this test would feel like a big deal since I'd already passed Juvenile which is basically the same set of moves with a higher passing average, but it's really cool to pass a gold test. And I love being able to say that I'm officially an Adult Gold skater preparing for Sectionals and Nationals!

The test session was during public skate from 9-11am, so I got to skate the 8am freestyle to give myself time to work through the nervous jitters. I did several laps of russian stroking and simple edge patterns. Those always help me get down in my knees when I'm nervous. Then I ran through spins, jumps, and footwork. Everything felt fine. In fact, my axels felt huge. I did forget a few steps in my straight line footwork when I did a run through with music, but I was almost glad because perfect warm-ups freak me out. I only skated about 1/2 hour of the session because I wanted to leave everything feeling good.

I was the very last skater to test today, so I had to wait for about two hours. I wore my "angry monkey" pajama pants and my fleece jacket to keep warm. And I did lots of pacing. I think pacing is my nervous hobby. It also helped keep me warm. Have I mentioned this rink isn't heated? My six minute warm-up went fine. My first flying camel was a bit off, but I did it again and it was quite good. I landed both of my axels on the first try (still thanking skating jesus for that). I even had time to practice my COE spiral.

I did have a few bobbles in my test, but considering I've only been doing this program for about a week, it was pretty darn good. I messed up the step between my split jump and my flip jump. I usually land the split on my L toe, push into a RFI mohawk for the flip, but today I sort of forgot that I had to pick the left toe up for the mohawk. I guess it looked like I two-footed the landing, but I didn't have to reskate because there was a baby split falling leaf in my footwork which they counted instead. I also let my axels get a bit more around than I have been lately. I think I hesitated just a second on the entry which gave them time to curve. They were both complete, but I know that I've done better ones. And, I did mess up my final flying camel. I tend to get so excited at the end of my program that I don't time the jump into the flying camel quite right. I made the required 4 revs, probably closer to 5, but it wasn't as fast and well-positioned as usual. According to my coach, it looked like "a camel that had been out in the desert for awhile."

My nerves didn't bother me today nearly as much as they have at past test sessions. I think I'm starting to get used to skating under pressure. And I really do love performing, even if the audience is three judges, my coach, and my mom and grandma.

Now I have four months to add some doubles to the program to get it ready for competition. I really can't wait. :)