MY OTHER LIFE
USFSA - Adult Gold Moves, Figures & Free
USFSA - Gold Figure Skating Test Judge
Those of you who know me, know that in my other life I am known as Margaret Szymanski, figure skater. This sport became my passion shortly after witnessing Brian Boitano's programs at the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary. At first I was consumed with watching, then, coinciding with my marriage in 1990, I began taking lessons myself. I began as a way to get in shape and my goal was just to look as if I had been on skates all my life. I never really thought about jumps and spins, just flow. But, from the first lesson it became a passion. And from the first jump I became addicted to the feeling of flight. I worked diligently to achieve the technical aspects of the sport so that I could then enjoy the freedom of flight across the ice. My coach until 2005 was Gloria Howley Swanson, a pupil of Gus Lussi and an exponent of the "old" school of figure skating, who grew up and trained with Dick Button. She had me on the straight and narrow with my training from the beginning. I was trained in school figures (now becoming a lost art) in addition to the free style levels and Moves in the Field. I joined the USFSA late in 1990. Since then I have passed all the tests through the 3rd figure test, the Intermediate Moves test, and the Juvenile Free Skating test on the regular USFSA testing track. I have also passed the Adult Bronze, Silver and Gold Free Skating and Figures tests and the Adult Gold Moves In The Field test.JANUARY 27, 2008 - I have passed my Novice Moves!! This was a big accomplishment for me and I am just thrilled - YAY!!
COMPETITION The USFSA includes separate Adult levels for us "old folks". I competed at and won many local competitions and I won the North Atlantic Regional Championships in the Adult Junior and Adult Senior divisions, prior to the current competition structure. I landed my very first axel in the competition at North Atlantics in 1994. As an Adult competitor in those early years, the biggest frustration for me was being forced to compete against skaters who had been skating all their lives and just happened to be over the age of 25. There is a HUGE difference between re-learning a jump you knew 10 years ago and learning that same jump when you're over 30!
In 1994, the USFSA recognized the Adult Skating community by creating new competition levels determined by prior skating tests. (This has helped a great deal, but there are still some of those "child" skaters who never took certain tests when they were kids and who can still get away with competing at a level lower than they actually should - in the Adult Skating community we call this "sandbagging".) With these new levels, came the first-ever Adult National Championships, held in Wilmington, Delaware in April 1995.
The biggest moment in my skating career was winning the 1995 Adult National Silver Class I title that year. In a field of 43 competitors I came in first! I was a National Champion! It was a wonderful night!!
Here I am with Didi Marquez (2nd) and Ann Orsolini (3rd)
1995 Adult Nationals - Wilmington, DEDetermined not to be a "sandbagger" I went ahead and passed the 3rd figure test in June of that year. (With the rules in place at that time passing that test meant I was automatically bumped into the Adult Gold category.) The following year I didn't compete because I was on tour with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA - and then later that year I broke my hands!! Yes I was skating, but it happened in a power stroking class with a bunch of 10-year-old kids, an activity I have not done since then. This slowed me up a little, but I was back at work playing the flute within 6 weeks of the accident (I'm a fast healer), back on the ice after 9 weeks and back out tour with PHANTOM again in the fall.
I did my first competition as an Adult Gold skater in March of 1997. (I hadn't passed the free skate test yet, but passing the 3rd Figure test automatically bumped me up to Gold.) I was disappointed to find myself at the bottom of the heap. I kept thinking that all I needed were the double jumps. So I kept trying to put them into my programs even though I couldn't land them. Although I won a Bronze medal in the Adult Gold Figures, at the 1997 Adult Nationals I only placed 8th out 12 skaters in the Adult Gold Free Skating. This was disheartening and forced me to rethink my goals in skating. I refocused on the figures, and began taking the Moves in the Field tests. (These tests were designed in 1994 to take the place of school figures and are very helpful in developing strong edges, footwork and correct posture at full skating speed.) I find that the best combination of training for me includes both the school figures and the Moves. That summer the jump requirements were reduced for the Adult Gold Free Skating test and I was able to pass it with my single axel as the hardest element. I planned to compete that fall in the Adult Gold Championship round at the 1998 Sectionals (a qualifying competition held at Adult Nationals in addition to the open round). Unfortunately, I had a back injury that October, which then resulted in a stress fracture in my right foot. I competed anyway - but ended up 7th out of 9 skaters. I spent quite a bit of time off the ice that year, just trying to heal. I did compete in the 1998 Adult Nationals and won another Bronze medal in the Adult Gold Figures division.
Here I am at the 1997 Adult Nationals in Lake PlacidMoney and injuries kept me from being competitive for couple of years, but I went again to the 2000 Adult Nationals, held in Lake Placid, NY. I competed in Class II Adult Gold Free Skating - a huge group of women - 18 in all - and I skated in the first group of six. This is a disadvantage because as the event goes on it becones harder and harder for the judges to remember the earlier skaters. My goal was to place 9th - at least I'd be in the top half. I really skated my best, landed a good axel and even made a solid attempt at the double salchow. I used two cuts from my new CD for my music, and it was a very emotional performance for me. I ended in 7th overall, 2 places better than I'd hoped for! I felt very satisfied with that result because even though many of the women had solid doubles in their programs, the judges liked me enough to keep me up there in the standings even without those harder elements. I was nervous for the Adult Gold Figure event and only placed 4th. That was the last year for Figures at Adult Nationals. I feel their loss deeply and wish that the event could be reinstated.
Here I am at a competition in Wilmington - March 2000
JUDGINGWithin the skating world I have also followed another track. In order to become an official USFSA judge, one must spend their own time and money, stand with the official judges at test sessions and have their marks compared with the official results. It is a very time consuming and lengthy process. As a test judge I judge local, non-qualifying events in addition to the test sessions that are run by the local clubs. In 1996 I was appointed a USFSA judge at the Low-test level (now called Bronze level). I received my Silver Judging appointment in 2000. My goal of acheiving Gold Test Judge status was realized this June (2007) and I now feel I can give back to the sport in the best way possible for me.
Here I am - 6 months pregnant with twins, doing my school figures at the Ice House! In the fall of 2000 I finally became pregnant (after trying for years!) and how! I was blessed with twin girls in May of 2001 and my skating career went on hold.
AND NOW...I continued to skated throughout the next few years and even passed my Adult Gold Moves in May of 2004, but coming back from having twins took a long time. I attempted to compete again in 2005 but it was not a successful outing for me. I still skated as much as I could for the next year or so just to maintain what skills I had and then - finally! The kids were in full-day kindergarten. In the past year I was able to skate 4 - 5 days a week - I dropped over 20 pounds and I feel as though I have a new lease on life. The axel is still not really there but I feel confident that it will come back this year. I am currently working on Novice Moves with Edward Van Campen, and freestyle with Sylvia Fontana. My goal is to get my axel back to a place where it's comfortable. My hope is that I will be ready to compete again in the spring of 2008 - Sectionals will be at my home club (North Jersey FSC)at the Ice Vault in Wayne, NJ and Adult Nationals will be back again in Lake Placid - a magical place for me.
I will always love skating, I can't imagine my life without it - no matter what injuries occur I will still be a skater for the rest of my life. My goal in skating is to be able to express music fully - I often skate to my own music and for me that is taking that expression to the fullest. It is truly like flying to music!!
USFS - HIGHEST TEST LEVELS PASSED
Standard Novice Moves
Standard Juvenile Free
Standard Third Figure
Adult Gold Moves in the Field
Adult Gold Freestyle
Adult Gold Figures©2007 Margaret Swinchoski - entire site. All rights reserved.
