Sk8r Survey

I posted this as a bulletin on MySpace but I thought I'd share it with the Web as well...


(Just for us sk8rs! --- GZ)

1. How old were you when you started skating?
39

2. How long have you been skating?
3.5 years

3. What do you like best about skating?
The feeling of freedom and exhilaration. The adrenalin rush of doing something well, or something that scares me. The wonderful people I've met skating.

4. What do you like least about skating?
Being cold. I know, how ironic.

5. Skating pet peeves?
Wow, this could be a long list!
- EZ-Skaters and the clueless kids piloting them at public sessions
- Little kids unattended at public sessions with no control whatsoever
- rinks that won't Zamboni in a 3-hour public
- when your coach always wants to work on whatever they last saw you working on!

6. How much/how often do you skate?
3 times a week right now, 2 freestyles and a public, so about 4.5 hours.

7. Your boots and blades?
Jackson Frestyle boots and Coronation Comet blades.

8. If you could have a nationally televised exhibition skate, what music would you choose?
That's really tough! Either Josh Groban's "Oceano" or Five for Fighting's "100 Years", I think.

9. Do you have a "signature move"?
Sort of. I learned a lunge-3-turn for a group number I was in, and some of my email skater buddies now call it "the Gordon" :-).

10. What's your worst skating experience?
I was skating once at Polar Ice Tucson on a summer evening; they'd had some compressor problems but were letting people skate anyway. There were huge puddles on the ice, in some cases 2 - 3 inches deep! Also many times (same rink) during monsoon season when there would be lots of fog and "ice stalagmites" from water dripping from the ceiling overnight.

11. Have you been injured skating?
Yes, I broke my right wrist in 2004. A couple of sprained ankles and a slightly sprained rotator cuff.

12. Ice dance -- challenging and difficult, or something for wimps who can't do freestyle?
It looks challenging and difficult to me. I prefer freestyle right now but if I had more time I would love to work on dance.

13. Figures -- did you ever learn them? Would you like to have learned them?
I never learned them... they are on my list of things I'd love to spend time on at some point.

14. What basic skill did or do you most struggle with?
Probably forward inside 3s... they are my nemesis still.

15. Do you do off-ice training?
I do Pilates 3x/week on days I'm not skating, and I do some off-ice jumping as well.

16. Ever thought about quitting?
Sometimes I get pretty discouraged, but I've never really thought seriously about quitting.

17. Favorite time of day to skate?
Midmorning or lunchtime. I'm not a morning person.

18. Ever skated pairs? Ever wanted to skate pairs?
I've never skated pairs, but always wanted to. My basic skating skills would have to improve a lot though!

19. Ever dated a skater?
No, although I've known some very interesting and attractive ones.

20. ISI or USFSA?
USFSA!

21. What skater(s) do you most admire, both among your peers and also national/international competitors?
Peers -- Nicole. She is such a beautiful skater, and so much fun to be around. I really miss her! National -- Michelle Kwan (of course) and Kimmie Meissner. And of course I really admire Katlynn McNab!

22. What's the most important thing you've learned from skating?
Wow, that's a lot. Perseverance, courage, fortitude. How to face my fears and (usually) overcome them. How to persevere in something that I don't have a lot of natural talent for.