Ice show: boys and adults

[Kitten23]

Kitten23, I'm speechless about the way they handled enthusiastic adult skaters, strictly based on age and prejudice. Do they have tots in the show? What about beta and gamma / basic skills skaters?
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It's been a few years, but I seem to recall a group number with kids a little older than tots.  I guess they were about 6 years old, maybe FS1.  That was the number I got up to use the restroom.  Couldn't take everyone cooing over watching back crossovers.

[SkateToronto]

Yes there are less boys then girls by far still but the number of boys in the sport has grown over the years.

[Dreaswi]

most adults in our area are lower level.. there is one silver and the rest are bronze or lower.. the coach who is doing the choreo for the holiday show makes his best effort to include any adults that want to participate. he is even adding a part in for an adult that is currently benched due to a shattered ankle. around here money dicates if adults are included "if you pay, you can play" regardless of level. i find it nice as im barely at pre-bronze but get to feel like i am part of the skating community. i think i am the lowest adult level in my city. if i was told no because of my level i would be very discouraged and not want to assist the club in any other ways.

[sk8lady]

Adults are apparently not permitted to participate in the holiday shows here.  I asked last year and was actually laughed at.   

I think I posted last year about my former club's disinclination to encourage adult skaters. The end result of new show rules was that adults could participate in all-adult numbers, which would not be divided by level--so they would include all adults who signed up, from LTS to silver. Only one adult soloist is now allowed, must be pre-bronze or above, or have passed pre-juvenile or above at standard level, and the highest level skater would be awarded the soloist position. The adult soloist is not permitted to skate in the opening with the other 6 soloists.

The end result was that none of the adult skaters who have belonged to the club and tested there for many years even tried for the solo--it was awarded to one of the adult coaches for the club's home rink. Two of the adult skaters did a duet number and were apparently mocked and made fun of by several of the kid skaters. There was also supposedly some difficulty in their being allowed on the ice during at least one of the rehearsals (for which they traveled several hours).

Only one of the adult skaters from my area rejoined the club this year.

[Dreaswi]

there is never an all adult number as the adults don't want to do it. i am the only adult that shows an interest and i am in group numbers with the kids. i have yet to see and negative behaviour from the kids in regards to me skating beside them. who is in what number is based on what you want to skate in. each number has different skill levels. everyone gets a small highlight. almost al of the kids look to me as a second mom and the other moms like having me around to keep an eye over things and expect me to let them know if something is going on..

sorry for the highjack of the thread.

[AgnesNitt]

I think for adult group numbers it helps to have a coach who can come up with imaginative choreo that lets each adult shine, or at least participate. I've mentioned that I've been 'Death" in a zombie number several times. The coach sets up choreo that even Basic 3 or 4 can do (turns, gestures, bending, some swizzles) for the group, then 'zombies' who are skilled skaters go out and do a jump or a spin and I (Death) would either chase them back into the horde, or 'control' the horde with a hockey stick.

It's the coach that makes this number through preparation and originality. She even sent out DVD's to the skaters so they could practice the turns gestures, bends and so on at home to the music. This means practice is spent doing the routine as a group rather than learning the routine.

I saw a group adult number that was very much an adult swizzle train number recently. The lack of preparation
(DVD) on the coach's part meant that people's gestures weren't coordinated to the music. I think he had recycled it from a tot's number.

. Two of the adult skaters did a duet number and were apparently mocked and made fun of by several of the kid skaters. There was also supposedly some difficulty in their being allowed on the ice during at least one of the rehearsals (for which they traveled several hours).

And it's always the kid skaters who can barely get six inches above the ice who do the mocking, isn't it?

And if I'd paid a fee to be on the ice for rehearsal, I'd be mad enough to say something.

I don't blame adults for quitting the club.

[jjane45]

I arrived at the rink early and our highest level group were practicing RFI death spirals apparently for the first time.

Amazing that we have five (!!!) high level boys to partner the girls, but wow they really need solid pivots to make this happen! pivots are not happening at all and poor girls wiping the ice all over.

cough cough the show is in ten days and this is the last rehearsal before the prelim run thru next week...

[mamabear]

There are two shows a year at our rink and all LTS participants are given a form to fill out if they want to participate.  There are usually 1-2 group numbers although this past spring there was some type of problem with ice time and so no group number.  I don't know the overall number of skaters at the rink-in the show I believe there are 2 boys skating.  1 is a teen who does both figure skating and hockey.  He has done solos in the past but I think is just doing a group number this time.  The other is a very beginning skater who does his routine in hockey skates.  When we do LTS I see very few boys.  There are a couple of adults signed up for solos and duets and I did one last spring.  No rule against it.  I do think they might specify that to do a solo you must be at least BS 4.  Or at least, I think that was the rule one time, not sure if it is now.

[nicklaszlo]

There are usually 1-2 group numbers

We have 15 group numbers.  Two are are all male, three are mixed, and I think the rest are all female.