Bronze Moves Test - "Retry"

My Bronze Moves in the Field test at Copper State Skating Club's test session today.

I arrived at the rink just before 2 p.m. (my warmup was schedule for 2:50 p.m.).  After checking in I was told that there had been a cancellation and we were running a bit ahead, so I texted JJ with this info.  

Went on for my warmup at 2:46.  They gave us a couple of extra minutes for our warmup since things were running ahead.  I did some stroking, ran through a bit of the power-3s, started the 5-step, and was just about to start some perimeter stroking when we ran out of time.  I was feeling a bit nervous but okay.

I was the last MIF test of 4 in my warmup group - ugh!  Finally it was my turn.  I skated out to the judges (I had Wilma, Deb and Ken) and they spoke to me briefly, then I went out and took my position.  I looked back to make sure the judges were ready and got a thumbs-up, so off I went.

• perimeter crossovers -- I was really nervous as I started and it showed in a bit of shakiness on the forward crossovers.  By the time I got to the BXOs I was feeling a bit better.  I pushed really really hard on the second BXO for some reason and was a little off-balance as a result, yikes :-(.  Overall I was reasonably happy with this move.
• power-3s -- These went about as well as they have previously, still kinda forced.  I was just glad I didn't put my foot down or do anything obviously disqualifying.
• BXOs to BO edges --  I thought these were relatively okay.
• circle-8 -- ugh.  The RFO was fine but I got really nervous and had a not-so-great push on the LFO with the result that I had a hard time holding on to the edge.  I did hold on to it though! And the FI edges were better.
• 5-step mohawk --a bit scrapey, as usual but relatively okay.  I remembered to pull my arms back on the BO edge so that was good.

After I was done I skated over to JJ (I had gone to him after each move to get water and calm down a little).  The judges said "Thank you" and I was done!

After a bit Walli came up to give me my results and said "I'm sorry, Gordon."  I was a bit short of passing.  I'm not in the mood to transcribe all the comments, but I will basically say that while some of it was definitely due to my nerves, the larger portion is that I just really need to refine some things in my skating -- more power on my crossovers, better control, and better 3s and mohawks.  I know all these things need work but I didn't think they were bad enough for me to not pass the test.  Oh well.  Here's a quick summary of the scores I got for each move (ordered by Deb, Ken, Wilma):

• perimeter XOs -- 2.4, 2.3, 2.4
• power-3s -- 2.4, 2.3, 2.3
• BXOs to BO edges -- 2.5, 2.3, 2.4
• circle-8 -- 2.5, 2.6, 2.5
• 5-step mohawk -- 2.4, 2.3, 2.3

So my totals per judge were 12.2, 11.8, 11.9 with 12.5 needed for passing at standard Bronze.

Some thoughts.... 1) if I had taken it as Master's and had gotten the same scores (impossible to know, of course) I would have passed. 2) as I expected my circle-8 was my best move; but not over the 2.5 mark except from Ken.  If I had done it the way I'd done it any other day that week (minus nerves) that would have helped, but probably not enough. 3) as I expected my power-3s and 5-step were somewhat weak.  4) unexpectedly, my perimeter XOs and BXOs to BO edges were not at a passing standard generally speaking.

After my test I did have a chance to talk to Deb briefly and she did reiterate/amplify some of her feedback, which was nice of her.  She also mentioned some issues with posture (often a problem for me) and being up on my toes a lot (very true).

I talked briefly with JJ afterward (I couldn't stay long).  I am going to be off from lessons with him (and somewhat with Lynne also) due to travel and other obligations for the next couple of weeks.  We will have to give some thought about when to retest; and this point I'm thinking sometime in the fall.