APEX Madness and Bronze Ideas

I went to APEX tonight for their public session so I could get some time in with my newly sharpened blades. I always like to do this on a public session rather than a freestyle because I honestly look a bit inept for the first 10 minutes after a sharpening. So yeah, blades are sharp and they feel pretty good. I'm not sure if my last sharpening back in April was poorly done or if this one was just done really well but I feel like everything is just so much easier now! My spins were great and my LFO even felt easier. Neat!

But...APEX was an absolute zoo tonight! Luckily, the skate guard put out the cones but there were five of us figure skaters trying to practice in the small area in the center. We were all very courteous though which was nice. We were very aware of when the others were lining up for a jump or setting up for a spin and gave them their space. Even though it was all very civil, space was limited and I couldn't really practice the things I needed to. Mostly, I just did individual elements where and when I could. Lots of spins and lots of individual jumps but nothing whole. At least I put some time in and got acclimated to the way my blades feel so there's that.

Also, I feel like I need to really start thinking about Bronze free skate. I updated the links on the right-hand side of this blog to reflect the new rules that went into effect on September 2nd. I am very pleased! With the previous set of rules, I felt like my physical handicaps would prevent me from passing the test. Now, I feel confident that I can pass! I have an idea for music and I even found a dress that would match so now all I need to do is pitch my ideas to Christopher to see if he's on board with it all since he'll be choreographing the thing. I also need to get back to working on the flip jump since that has been put on the back burner so I can focus on the geisha program. For Bronze, I would like to challenge myself by doing a salchow, loop, flip, and waltz-toe for my jump elements. For spins, I would like to work on getting a solid camel and a decent backspin. I worked on some backspins this evening and was able to get 3-4 revolutions but they were not in the crossed-leg position. Incorporating this into a program will force me to work on it. So yeah, I have a concept for my Bronze free skate but I'll announce it once I get coach approval. Stay tuned! 😉