2017 Sherwood Invitational Figures Practice Ice

My experience at the figures competition of the Sherwood Invitational today.  This post is just for practice ice, the actual events will be posted above.

I had figures practice at 7:15 a.m. (half an hour) with Kelli. I don't remember what we've done in previous years, but we were assigned a practice patch that was the same as our patch for the warmup for competition.  I was kind of hoping we could pick our own patch, so that I could try to get a patch that was the same or close to where we would be competing (Zamboni end of the rink, vs. lobby).  As it happened I was assigned patch 4, which was conveniently right by the door.

I did an FO8 first just to warm up, then a couple of FI8s.  They were a bit rough but serviceable.  Then we ran the waltz-8 a number of times.  They were quite rough and I was skidding and scraping around and having a hard time getting back to center.  They did improve, though.  Sherwood's ice is like glass -- pretty but quite hard, and it was 50 degrees in the rink (by the time we competed it was 48!).  I was actually doing relatively well on the R side, but the return to center on the left was still giving me a lot of grief. I was also having a hard time staying in my patch -- I was not a good patch-neighbor, alas.

By the time we had to get off the ice (7:45 a.m.; figures events were at 9 a.m.) I was feeling a lot better. Not that I felt confident in general, but I felt I probably wouldn't fall.  Realistic goals :-)