Why do I skate? | Golden Skate

Why do I skate?

sk8kirsty

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 24, 2019
Hi there. I am a competitive figure skater. But what is figure skating to me? This may seem long and cringey but I needed to get it out there.
The minute I stepped onto that ice for the first time, something just hit me. A wave of assurance that this is me. Skating is what I want to do. It's what I was born to do. And the moment I discovered that was one of the most important moments of my life.
After that, I started to come to the rink more regularly to public sessions. Then got my own skates and started on group lessons. I started doing privates. And before I knew it, I was competing.
Sometimes, when I have a bad practice, or a bad competition, I ask myself, why am I skating? What's the point in this?
Well, figure skating is what makes life so worth living. When I skate, it feels like nothing else matters except me and the ice. It's like all the stress, all the worries, bad times, tough times, scary times, they all seem to disappear. I feel on top of the world. I feel free. I feel like I can do anything, take on everything.
Sometimes it can be hard to keep going. Skating is a sport, its physically and mentally challenging. First off, the amount of injuries I get is crazy, I'm always in pain because of skating injuries. And mentally, it can be difficult to keep motivated. Sometimes you just want to go home and sleep.
But in figure skating, we're always trying to improve. To land that jump. To skate that clean programme. We're constantly looking to get better. And I know that all of you, no matter what level you are at, how old you are, how long you've been skating, all of you will have gone through a bad practice. Or felt like you're not good enough. Or you've lost your strength to keep going.
But I also know that all of you want to be the best skater you can possibly be. So if you want to land that jump, skate that clean programme, then you've got to get up. Stop lying around. Even on those tough days when you want to quit, don't. Keep going. You'll get there. I know you will. But you have to work for it.
And when you have worked for it, and you finally land that jump, it will be a wonderful sensation of happiness. All the pain, everything you've pushed through, it will all be worth it.
So before you put on those skates tonight. Before you step onto that ice for the biggest competition of your life so far. Just remember the little you who put on their first pair of skates, and fell in love with this sport the minute their feet touched the ice. That little version of you is still in there. So when you compete tonight, skate for them. And skate for you.
This has been what figure skating means to me. Please let me know why you skate. I'd love to hear all of your feelings and stories.
Thank you for reading
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Thanks for sharing your passion. :rock:

I will transfer this post to the Cafe section of the forum, where we share our personal activities and experiences.
 

Ic3Rabbit

Former Elite, now Pro. ⛸️
Record Breaker
Joined
Jan 9, 2017
Country
Olympics
Hi there. I am a competitive figure skater. But what is figure skating to me? This may seem long and cringey but I needed to get it out there.
The minute I stepped onto that ice for the first time, something just hit me. A wave of assurance that this is me. Skating is what I want to do. It's what I was born to do. And the moment I discovered that was one of the most important moments of my life.
After that, I started to come to the rink more regularly to public sessions. Then got my own skates and started on group lessons. I started doing privates. And before I knew it, I was competing.
Sometimes, when I have a bad practice, or a bad competition, I ask myself, why am I skating? What's the point in this?
Well, figure skating is what makes life so worth living. When I skate, it feels like nothing else matters except me and the ice. It's like all the stress, all the worries, bad times, tough times, scary times, they all seem to disappear. I feel on top of the world. I feel free. I feel like I can do anything, take on everything.
Sometimes it can be hard to keep going. Skating is a sport, its physically and mentally challenging. First off, the amount of injuries I get is crazy, I'm always in pain because of skating injuries. And mentally, it can be difficult to keep motivated. Sometimes you just want to go home and sleep.
But in figure skating, we're always trying to improve. To land that jump. To skate that clean programme. We're constantly looking to get better. And I know that all of you, no matter what level you are at, how old you are, how long you've been skating, all of you will have gone through a bad practice. Or felt like you're not good enough. Or you've lost your strength to keep going.
But I also know that all of you want to be the best skater you can possibly be. So if you want to land that jump, skate that clean programme, then you've got to get up. Stop lying around. Even on those tough days when you want to quit, don't. Keep going. You'll get there. I know you will. But you have to work for it.
And when you have worked for it, and you finally land that jump, it will be a wonderful sensation of happiness. All the pain, everything you've pushed through, it will all be worth it.
So before you put on those skates tonight. Before you step onto that ice for the biggest competition of your life so far. Just remember the little you who put on their first pair of skates, and fell in love with this sport the minute their feet touched the ice. That little version of you is still in there. So when you compete tonight, skate for them. And skate for you.
This has been what figure skating means to me. Please let me know why you skate. I'd love to hear all of your feelings and stories.
Thank you for reading

That has always been what it is for me too. All the crazy injuries and everything just make it more worth it in the end.

Good luck! :)
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
When I skate, it feels like nothing else matters except me and the ice. It's like all the stress, all the worries, bad times, tough times, scary times, they all seem to disappear. I feel on top of the world. I feel free. I feel like I can do anything, take on everything.

Ohhhh, I know this well. There was a week last year that was probably the craziest, most hectic week of my life up until then. I had this absurd situation at work involving a lot of writing and lifting that just completely destroyed my hands and arms, plus my cat was in and out of the ER for a few days, so I was toting her around all over. I ended up admitting her overnight and going for a freestyle session. That was probably the longest I'd been able to rest my poor hands and arms that entire week, to say nothing of being able to forget about work and the uncertainty over my poor kitty. The cat pulled through (knocking wood!) and is sleeping under my chair as I'm typing this, and I made some great improvements on my jumps at that freestyle session.

Before you step onto that ice for the biggest competition of your life so far. Just remember the little you who put on their first pair of skates, and fell in love with this sport the minute their feet touched the ice. That little version of you is still in there. So when you compete tonight, skate for them. And skate for you.

Or in my case, long before ever getting on the ice! I started skating because I was already a huge fan. My earliest memory ever is of Viktor Petrenko! (Sorry, parents.)

But yeah, when I finally do get the money and means to compete, I'll try to remember to think of the little 10-year-old girl still giddy from the drama of the Winter Olympics who tried to jump an Axel her second time ever on the ice. :laugh: (I'm glad I didn't know what popping is back then, because I totally would have gone around bragging that the teeny waltz jump I managed was a popped Axel.) I had a heck of a lot of talent and very, very little opportunity back then (small, new-ish rink with no figure skating club, medical problems, etc.). That's why I insist on doing everything standard track instead of adult track. Whatever I could have been if I'd started skating at age 3 in a rink full of elite coaches, I want to get as close to that as I possibly still can. If I change my mind later, so be it. For now, leave me to my pipe dream of getting a 3A or a quad someday in peace! :drama:
 

sk8kirsty

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 24, 2019
That has always been what it is for me too. All the crazy injuries and everything just make it more worth it in the end.

Good luck! :)
Yeah, I think when you love something so much you just do it anyway and forget about the pain : )) thanks! [emoji4]
 

sk8kirsty

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 24, 2019
Ohhhh, I know this well. There was a week last year that was probably the craziest, most hectic week of my life up until then. I had this absurd situation at work involving a lot of writing and lifting that just completely destroyed my hands and arms, plus my cat was in and out of the ER for a few days, so I was toting her around all over. I ended up admitting her overnight and going for a freestyle session. That was probably the longest I'd been able to rest my poor hands and arms that entire week, to say nothing of being able to forget about work and the uncertainty over my poor kitty. The cat pulled through (knocking wood!) and is sleeping under my chair as I'm typing this, and I made some great improvements on my jumps at that freestyle session.



Or in my case, long before ever getting on the ice! I started skating because I was already a huge fan. My earliest memory ever is of Viktor Petrenko! (Sorry, parents.)

But yeah, when I finally do get the money and means to compete, I'll try to remember to think of the little 10-year-old girl still giddy from the drama of the Winter Olympics who tried to jump an Axel her second time ever on the ice. [emoji23] (I'm glad I didn't know what popping is back then, because I totally would have gone around bragging that the teeny waltz jump I managed was a popped Axel.) I had a heck of a lot of talent and very, very little opportunity back then (small, new-ish rink with no figure skating club, medical problems, etc.). That's why I insist on doing everything standard track instead of adult track. Whatever I could have been if I'd started skating at age 3 in a rink full of elite coaches, I want to get as close to that as I possibly still can. If I change my mind later, so be it. For now, leave me to my pipe dream of getting a 3A or a quad someday in peace! :drama:
Oh no! That sounds tough! But yes, sometimes even just going for one session can be enough to improve and also even just being on the ice can make you feel better : )
Awh I'm glad your cat's alright! [emoji4]
 

sk8kirsty

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 24, 2019
Ohhhh, I know this well. There was a week last year that was probably the craziest, most hectic week of my life up until then. I had this absurd situation at work involving a lot of writing and lifting that just completely destroyed my hands and arms, plus my cat was in and out of the ER for a few days, so I was toting her around all over. I ended up admitting her overnight and going for a freestyle session. That was probably the longest I'd been able to rest my poor hands and arms that entire week, to say nothing of being able to forget about work and the uncertainty over my poor kitty. The cat pulled through (knocking wood!) and is sleeping under my chair as I'm typing this, and I made some great improvements on my jumps at that freestyle session.



Or in my case, long before ever getting on the ice! I started skating because I was already a huge fan. My earliest memory ever is of Viktor Petrenko! (Sorry, parents.)

But yeah, when I finally do get the money and means to compete, I'll try to remember to think of the little 10-year-old girl still giddy from the drama of the Winter Olympics who tried to jump an Axel her second time ever on the ice. [emoji23] (I'm glad I didn't know what popping is back then, because I totally would have gone around bragging that the teeny waltz jump I managed was a popped Axel.) I had a heck of a lot of talent and very, very little opportunity back then (small, new-ish rink with no figure skating club, medical problems, etc.). That's why I insist on doing everything standard track instead of adult track. Whatever I could have been if I'd started skating at age 3 in a rink full of elite coaches, I want to get as close to that as I possibly still can. If I change my mind later, so be it. For now, leave me to my pipe dream of getting a 3A or a quad someday in peace! :drama:
Awh I love this! : )
Yup, maybe not the best idea to try an axel on your second time skating lol [emoji23] but at least you got a waltz jump out of it, it took me months before I got my waltz jump [emoji23]... yeah, sometimes it can be difficult when there aren't really many opportunities/good coaches, it can be hard to really push yourself, but you'll get there don't worry. And if you keep on working hard, don't give up and always keep going, you never know, maybe you will land that triple axel or quad some day [emoji4]
 

sk8kirsty

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 24, 2019
Thanks for sharing your passion. :rock:

I will transfer this post to the Cafe section of the forum, where we share our personal activities and experiences.
No problem, I'm happy I shared it! : )
Okay sounds good! Thanks!
 

Seren

Wakabond Forever
Record Breaker
Joined
Dec 21, 2014
This is lovely. Thank you so much for sharing.

I love skating because it is the one thing in my life that erases everything else. It is joy. When my depression was the darkest it was the one thing that could help me see through the fog, even when everything else in my life was gray. When you are trying to do a bracket without changing your edge it's hard to focus on anything else!
 

hanyuufan5

✨**:。*
Medalist
Joined
May 19, 2018
When you are trying to do a bracket without changing your edge it's hard to focus on anything else!

Haha, I think you hit the nail on the head about a big part of why skating is by far the easiest way for me to completely forget any troubles: because no other method has anywhere near the same risk of falling. :laugh:
 

sk8kirsty

On the Ice
Joined
Aug 24, 2019
This is lovely. Thank you so much for sharing.

I love skating because it is the one thing in my life that erases everything else. It is joy. When my depression was the darkest it was the one thing that could help me see through the fog, even when everything else in my life was gray. When you are trying to do a bracket without changing your edge it's hard to focus on anything else!
This is so true! [emoji4][emoji960]
 
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