She got disoriented on the rink in competition!!

[jumpingbeansmom]

OH....so heartbreaking to watch.   My 9 yo, at her debut at the juvenile level started out with this awesome level 3 spin...ended facing the wrong way, and then confused herself.   She skated horribly after that and started missing jump landings and even stopping dead a couple of times trying to get back her head where she was supposed to be!   The poor thing...............the good news is she got good scores on the elements she DID do.   

[phoenix]

Poor thing!!

Just chalk it up to another learning experience, which is what competition is all about at the lower levels. Eventually everything that could happen will happen, so this one is now checked off the list! 

[Skittl1321]

Oh I'm SO sorry to hear that  

Even the best do this sort of thing- at a dance competition (and dancers generally only face "front", even more so than skaters try to face judges) one of our teams BEST dancers got disoriented during her solo (we were in a basketball arena, not on a stage) and did the entire dance facing backwards.  She ended up getting 2nd place, a huge bummer since it was for a $5,000 scholarship. 

But it showed us that everyone, even the best make mistakes.  And it taught me to practice my program from every possible "side" on our rink!

[isakswings]

OH....so heartbreaking to watch.   My 9 yo, at her debut at the juvenile level started out with this awesome level 3 spin...ended facing the wrong way, and then confused herself.   She skated horribly after that and started missing jump landings and even stopping dead a couple of times trying to get back her head where she was supposed to be!   The poor thing...............the good news is she got good scores on the elements she DID do.   

Yes it is! BTDT! My daughter did that in competition in February. She came up out of her sit spin and like your daughter, ended up facing the wrong direction and got completely disoriented! Her coach signaled to her and she figured it out and ended on a good note(and on time!) but it is still heartbreaking to watch happen. It is a good lesson for them tho. IN our case, my daughter is not and was not skating at the level your child is, but it is still heartbreaking none the less. Poor kid!!!

[jumpingbeansmom]

Yes it is! BTDT! My daughter did that in competition in February. She came up out of her sit spin and like your daughter, ended up facing the wrong direction and got completely disoriented! Her coach signaled to her and she figured it out and ended on a good note(and on time!) but it is still heartbreaking to watch happen. It is a good lesson for them tho. IN our case, my daughter is not and was not skating at the level your child is, but it is still heartbreaking none the less. Poor kid!!!

She actually DID fix it, but it shook her confidence, and I could see her questioning herself the whole way through....poor thing...must have felt like a LONG 2.5 minutes!

[isakswings]

I bet it did feel like a long time! How was she after she skated??

[jumpingbeansmom]

I bet it did feel like a long time! How was she after she skated??

Dissappointed but very mature about the whole thing considering her age and experience level.  I was proud of that.  Though, when we took her and her sister to the go cart track later in the day, she seemed a bit aggressive in her driving......

[isakswings]

That's good! Too funny about being agressive later! Good for her for showing good sportsmanship! It won't always be like that and she has a goal for the next competition!

[jumpingbeansmom]

That's good! Too funny about being agressive later! Good for her for showing good sportsmanship! It won't always be like that and she has a goal for the next competition!

Thanks, competing in NYC next weekend!  We told her the good news is it would be hard to get a worse score next time!! LOL.  She also did get level 3 on the opening spin--- not bad for 9 huh?

[jumpingbeansmom]

Good news!  I got the opportunity to have her skate in a show this weekend (strange rink), where she had to do the program backward and with spotlights and strobe lights-  she did it!! No confusion, and made 4 of the 5 double jump elements.    Now she knows to scope out her direction and how to do it!!

When the show came up, I said yes because I thought it would be better to get the chance before the competition this weekend!

[isakswings]

Good for her! I bet that boosted her confidence!