My Skating Peers’ Blog

I’ve asked my skating peers to share their experiences at various events and competitions and to spotlight their achievements and accomplishments. I want to provide a platform of expression for their diverse views and opinions on any skating topic that is important to them.
I hope their stories will teach and provide further motivation and inspiration to my students, parents, and readers.
ENJOY!

Competting at 2019 Excel Nationals

My name is Camryn Aprilante, I am 14 years old and I have been skating for 6 years. This season, I competed in Excel Pre-Juvenile Plus and I skated to Someone in the Crowd from La La Land. The Excel series was a new series that started this year so going into it, I had no idea what to expect. With a new scoring system and a new goal to qualify for nationals, I was very excited to compete. This year's Nationals was held in the Panthers Ice Den in Coral Springs, Florida. In order to qualify for the Excel Series nationals, I had to compete in two qualifying competitions and place within the top 6 of my section.

I skated two qualifying competitions for Excel Nationals. The first was at Morris Open and the other was at Southern Connecticut Open, which placed me 3rd in the Eastern Section. I was super excited to qualify for Nationals because my practice’s leading up to nationals were filled with many run throughs of my program, working on getting it consistent every time. The week before I left for nationals my practice’s were inconsistent but overall, I left feeling ready to skate in Florida.

Getting to Florida was very exciting! The first day, there was a camp for all of the skaters that qualified. There were 3 different classes that we attended. The first one was an on ice class to help with presenting while we skate. This class was taught by 3 members of Team USA. Next, there was an off ice hip hop choreography class, and finally a ballet and stretching class. All of the classes were a lot of fun and gave the competitors a chance to get to know each other.

Finally, it was the day of the competition! I had to wake up super early to get on the practice ice and then compete. Before my practice ice, I was very excited but still, a tiny bit nervous. But after my practice, I felt ready to put out a good program. When my turn came to do my program, it was not perfect, but I was still happy with how I skated. Although I missed points on important elements in my program, I now I know what I need to work on and fix for my next competitions. In the end, I got 14th out of 18 girls.

From start to finish, the opportunity to participate in the first Excel National Festival was something I will never forget. Getting to meet skaters from all over the country and learn from members of Team USA were some of my favorite moments from the trip. It took a lot of hard work to get there, but it was all worth it!

Journey to Success

My name is Shreya Tanna and I am twelve years old. I started ice skating just for recreation when I was five. After learning some basic skills, I tried out and made it to a synchronized skating team. That is when my real love for ice skating began.

When I was ten, I was introduced to ice dancing. I have been learning and performing Bollywood dance since I was four, and playing the piano since I was five, and I absolutely loved to skate. Ice dance was a perfect combination of all three and I enjoyed it from the get go!

When I was eleven, I decided to compete in the National Solo Ice Dance Series. At my first competition, I placed fourth. I knew then that if I wanted to make it to the Nationals, I would have to work harder. I started skating three hours a day, perfecting my edges, stretching daily, and powering my pushes. My hard work definitely paid off when I won silver in the next two competitions.

After losing to first place twice by less than one point, I was determined to win my upcoming competition, Chesapeake Open. I focused all my attention on skating and when the time came, I got onto the ice and skated my personal best. I won gold by nine points! I was so proud of myself. The last two competitions before Nationals, I won a bronze and pewter medal. I was second on the East Coast, which meant that I qualified for the 2018 National Solo Dance Finals! At ten years old, I was also one of the youngest competitors!

For the next month, all I thought about, dreamed about, and did was skate. I worked on deepening my edges, adding more expression, and just feeling the music. Until finally, the day that I had been preparing for all season arrived, the National Finals!

I felt confident, strong, and ready to compete. Yet, just a few minutes before my performance, the nerves kicked in. I paced back and forth, trying to remember all the important pointers my coach had given me. Just then, my dad came up to me and said, ‘Don’t worry about the results. You have worked hard and already made it to Nationals. Now, just go out there and have fun. The results will take care of themselves.’ And when I got onto the ice, I did just that. All of a sudden, all my nervousness went away and I just smiled and skated my heart out. The whole world disappeared. It was just me on ice, enjoying my dance! When I got off the ice, the judges announced that I was currently in first place! I felt a rush of excitement. Though I knew that I still had one more dance and the scores could change.

When it was almost time for the second dance, I suddenly got so nervous, worrying that if I did not skate well, I would not maintain my position. Then I reminded myself of what my dad told me, and yet again, the same thing happened! I just enjoyed myself, not worrying about the results or anything around me. It was just me and the ice. I was so happy when the judges announced that I had kept my position in first place. This meant I had just won nationals! The very first year I started competing!

Later that day, when I looked at the final results, I saw that not only had I won gold, I was ahead by seven points! I was overwhelmed with happiness! All my hard work paid off. I couldn’t believe it! I was the 2018 Preliminary Solo Dance Champion! But, even if I had not won, or even placed, what was more important was the fact that I had given my best shot to the sport I love so much and am so passionate about! This experience strengthened my belief that hard work pays off!