Summer skating started off well in June. I took advantage of a few club sessions after work, a morning session and did an adult drills class. I was set to pass Junior Moves before the next season; the "retry" spurred me to move my buns a bit faster! I think skating in the afternoon when I wasn't half asleep helped too.
Sadly, as my moves improved the ice steadily deteriorated. It started with a layer of water on the ends from the Zam, which then became a layer of water across the entire surface within a matter of weeks. I called it "Jesus skating" since we skated on a large puddle and thin layer of ice. My boots would be soaked through to my socks at the end of practice. Our ice has never been great, but combined with the extreme heat and people coming and going all day for summer practices the compressors couldn't keep up. Finally, the paint and sand started appearing on the surface and by mid- July the rink closed for repairs. The repairs dragged on for four weeks.
The skaters planning to compete at regionals were able to go to Indianapolis, Cincinnati and northern Kentucky to get in some practice ice. However, I stayed in town for work despite wanting to combine a skating trip with the IKEA in Cincinnati. No taking Junior MITF this weekend as planned, I'll have to learn the new moves.
In the big skating world, the juniors who passed their moves when they were like 9 and doing triples will start competing this week. The first event of the ISU Junior Grand Prix takes place this weekend in Courchevel, France. It's finally cooling down, but the skating is heating up!
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