My 4th And 5th Ice Skating Competition

 Recently, I have performed in even more ice skating competitions! I competed in my fourth competition on April 29, of this year, and my fifth on May 14th of this year. Both went pretty smoothly for the most part, and I am proud of myself for the performances I demonstrated to the judges and everyone else. 

My fourth competition was a little different from the rest, as I had to travel and spend the night in a hotel to compete. I competed at UTC ice in La Jolla, for La Jolla open. I competed at the same level (Excel Preliminary Plus) with the same program as my last competition. 

Two days prior to this competition, however, I fell on an entry into a spin, and slammed my elbow onto the ice...twice in a row. It did hurt to move it, but it was HORRIBLE. I am pretty sure I bruised my bone, along with having my joint stick out a little more than usual due to swelling. However, my elbow felt better, and I was able to compete though it was not completely healed.

My performance this time around, I feel was about the same as the competition before, as my jumps were a little more stiff, yet my spins and artistry was improved. My two axel jumps, one single, and one in combination, were both lacking flow and a little messed up. However, my lutz jump improved a good amount. Last time, I got called for an unclear edge takeoff (lutzes require takeoff off the outside edge, yet it is incredibly easy to jump off the inside), however, this time I did not get called and got the base value of the jump. 

My total component (skating skills/performance) score totaled to 9.81, and my technical (jumps/spins) score totaled to 9.72, having a combined score of 19.53, a new high score for me. For my last competition, I scored 17.12, so I improved a good amount. I do feel like this time I was able to relax a little more, as I knew more of what to expect out on the ice. I ended up placing 3rd place, out of 6 people, again ending right in the middle of everyone. I did receive a medal, yet am proud and skeptical of how I preformed. 

After my competition (which took place in the morning, around 10), my mom, sister, and I went to Sea World for a few hours as we were in San Diego already. It was fun seeing all of the animals and riding some of the rides, yet got kind of repetitive and boring having already seen it many times. Besides that, it was still really fun and I loved all the food I got to eat there.

My fifth competition took place at my home rink, East West Ice Palace, and I was really happy to be competiting at a rink that I was so comfortable with. Not that the rink itself did anything, but I think that because it was my home rink, it helped me perform better, being extremely familiar with the layout and properties. I feel that this competition was the best out of all the others, and I truly did enjoy the ice and let go of my worries. 

I landed all of my jump elements, and executed my spins okay, they could have been held longer, but it was a large improvement from my other performances. My new goal for my future performances would be to work on my performance and expressions a little more, to hopefully bring my component score up however. Also, my totaled score somehow was less than the La Jolla competition, when I personally felt a lot more confident and strong in my elements and performance this time around. When comparing my scores, my technical score was higher this time, yet my component was lower, which is why my score decreased. 

For this competition, I received 4th place out of 9 girls, so I slightly moved up from being the center of placers. I did receive a medal, and it was probably the best one I have got so far. It was pretty heavy for the size, and had an indent of the name of the competition, and the year on the back. 

I should also mention that this competition took place on mother's day, so I really wanted to try my best and perform a decent performance for my mom. But, at the end of the day, she is proud of any accomplishment I make, and was proud of my performance and score that I received.

All in all, I am incredibly grateful to have been able to participate in both of these competitions, and I am glad that I am getting for experience on the ice alone. I am proud of myself for both of my performances, and hope to see a good amount of improvement as the days go by.