rules

Looking back to plan ahead: tips for effective reflection on your season

Though 20 or so of the globe’s best synchronized skating teams are still gearing up to peak at the World Championships in just a few weeks, the 2012-13 competitive season is winding down for most team skaters. Watching my Facebook and Twitter feeds become flooded with try-out notices, I’m prompted to encourage coaches and skaters not to forget to spend some time reflecting on the past season before being carried away by dreams of what lies ahead. Whether your season was successful, dismal, or something in between, taking a hard look at what did and didn’t work over the past several months can help you make smart decisions about how to approach the coming year. (more…)

Incorporate your competition report card into your strategy for success

You’ve practiced. You’ve competed. You’ve gotten a score, maybe a medal, and a report card.

Now what?

Teams often find themselves asking this question after the first competition. There are an infinite number of different strategies a team can use to prepare for the next competition, and a chosen strategy may or may not change after you have a score and report card from two competitions, or three. No official can tell you which approach will lead to guaranteed success, but I do have a few tips to share to help you make the best possible use of your report card. (more…)

From skates to stationery: competition prep from an official’s point of view

I bumped into a former teammate, who’s still skating, at my local convenience store this afternoon. We were both there gathering competition supplies–she, make-up, and I, travel-size toiletries for my carry-on luggage–and it struck me that though I no longer compete as a skater, I can’t help but find familiar comfort in still having pre-competition rituals. Most other officials I know are the same. We each have our own individual ways of preparing (though the seemingly interconnected consciousness of our collective officials’ brains creates some eerie coincidental similarities), but most of us former skaters just can’t kick our old habits. The double, triple, and quadruple skate-check has been replaced by an infinituple paperwork and pens-check. An official, especially we technical officials, can NEVER have too many highlighters. (more…)

Nexxice rallies from behind to win gold and $15,000 at SynchroFest

After placing 4th in yesterday’s short program at the 2011 SynchroFest International in London, Nexxice was untouchable tonight, winning the free skate by a solid margin of 13.44 points, and finishing nearly 10 points ahead of silver medalists, the Haydenettes, overall. In addition to their gold hardware, Nexxice also took home $15,000 in prize money.

The final standings were as follows:

  1. Nexxice (CAN) 185.15 ($15,000)
  2. Haydenettes (USA) 175.44 ($12,000)
  3. Rockettes (FIN) 174.05 ($9,000)
  4. Paradise (RUS) 160.92 ($6,000)
  5. Les Supremes (CAN) 153.76 ($3,000)
  6. Crystallettes (USA) 142.51 ($1,000)
  7. Jingu Ice Messengers Grace (JPN) 118.03 ($1,000)
  8. Fusion (CAN) 112.07 ($1,000)

Detailed free skate protocols are available here, and if you missed the performances, you can still view them in the Skatebuzz archive. (more…)