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Thursday, November 29, 2007

Fabulous Cup 2008 Announcement

The 4th Fabulous Cup will be held from 25 to 27 April 2008, in Cologne, Germany.

This competition follows the ISI competition regulations, and the organisers plan a test session on 25 April for those participants who need it. There will be also be a gala show featuring the participants. Though I have never been to the Fabulous Cup, I have friends who say they thoroughly enjoyed it.

The official website is not yet up-to-date, but I presume it will be soon!

Download announcement for Fabulous Cup 2008

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Nutcracker: X'mas Fairytale On Ice


Yet another on-ice performance...
Nutcracker: X'mas Fairytale On Ice will be performing at the Singapore Indoor Stadium from 13 to 16 Dec, with only 7 performances!
[Update: There will only be 4 performances, from 14 to 16 Dec.]

Put up by Moscow On Ice, this show will feature top skaters such as Elena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko. Our very own local talent will also get their chance to perform - the National Team and the Youth Development Team will be putting up performances during the intermission!

Tickets are on sale at SISTIC. Ticketing hotline: +65 6348 5555.

Promoter: Citystate Arts & Events Management Pte Ltd

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Singapore in shortlist for 2010 Youth Olympic Games

Singapore is in the shortlist to host the Youth Olympic Games!
The five cities shortlisted are
  • Athens, Greece
  • Bangkok, Thailand
  • Moscow, Russia
  • Singapore
  • Turin, Italy
The Games, which will be held in 2010, are going to be an Olympic Games for competitors aged 14 to 18, and will feature 26 sports, including some unusual ones such as Beach Wrestling and BMX.

Singapore is in a great position to host the Games – we have superb sporting facilities, lots of experience at hosting major sporting events, and share similar values of excellence, friendship and respect to the Olympic Movement.

Show your support for Singapore's bid - you can voice your support, add badges to your website, get a decal for your car, share relevant photos, or even get a ringtone for your phone! Visit the Singapore 2010 website to get more information on how to Support the Bid!
[Update 9 Dec: The Singapore 2010 website has been re-designed, and the quite unfortunately, the links no longer work... You have to go to the Official Website to find the relevant pages!]

News and links:
- Official Website
- Singapore Shortlisted for the 2010 Youth Olympic Games (from singapore2010.sg)
- S'pore shortlisted to host 2010 Youth Olympics (from Straits Times)
- Bid Profile and Fact Sheet - 2010 Youth Summer Olympic Bids (from GamesBids.com)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Mountain Cup 2008 Announcement

Next year will be the 10th year of the Mountain Cup, to be held on 5th-8th June 2008 at Villard-de-Lans, France. This was one of the first international Adult figure skating competitions to be organised, and there are special events lined up for its 10th Anniversary!

To kick it off, the Ice Theatre of New York will skate at the grand opening of the competition, after the welcome party - which will be held on the ice!

Through the years, the competition has retained school figures, solo compulsory dance and interpretive events, and even added events like couples interpretive, improvisation and synchronised skating. Next year, there will be a new event - solo free dance!

As usual there will be the 3-day training camp before the competition, and a banquet on Saturday night, where everyone gets to party! (well, not that we weren't already partying before that!)

Download the announcement "Invitation to the 10th Mountain Cup"

PS: This all sounds very exciting, I hate to have to miss it...

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Skating while pregnant

Last night, I finished up my last lesson (coaching). When I got to the rink, one of the skaters' mother asked, "you are not going to skate, are you?"

Is skating dangerous when pregnant?
The greatest danger is the risk of falling. Figure skating certainly isn't something one would start to learn while pregnant, but I have had enough experience on the ice to be able to control and not present a danger to myself. In fact, I have felt entirely comfortable on the ice so far - those blades are really quite stable! ;-) However, what others do is beyond my control, and that's what everyone at the rink fears...

Will the pregnancy affect one's skating ability?
I was told that one's CG would change during pregnancy. I was told that one might feel a little off-center. I was told that one would tend to be a little less balanced... a little clumsy. Well, I am now fast approaching the 3rd trimester, and up 'til last week, have been getting on the ice regularly, about 2 to 3 times a week, to coach. I haven't felt any change to my balance - perhaps it will come later, or perhaps I'm just lucky! In any case, being on skates hasn't been difficult as I had thought.

What's the most difficult thing about skating while pregnant?
Getting my boots on! I can't really bend over forwards, and I can't see the hooks - I just hook the laces over whichever hook I can feel next, and hope its the right one!

What can I do at this stage?
Certainly all jumps are out. My upright spins and backspins are still ok. Basic turns and some footwork are fine. I was a bit tentative on a spiral, but it wasn't too bad.

Meanwhile, I suppose I will still skate on-and-off while I can. As another skater told me, "you will know when you have to stop". And so far, I do know that I won't even attempt jumps (though I still land double toes in my dreams).

Saturday, November 10, 2007

First skate at Kallang Ice World

New Kallang Ice RinkI went to Kallang Ice World on Thursday. Just wanted to check it out - I wasn't even sure if I'd feel like skating, though I did bring my skates along. When I got there, I realised that they had this whole system going, and I had to get one of the free tickets to even go in. Heck, I had taken a ticket already, I might as well skate!

The rink looked cheerful. It was brightly lit, and there was purple panelling on the walls around. The panelling is yet to be completed, though, so after these two days, the rink won't be opening until a week later.

On the first look at the ice, I saw the piping, and thought it was really thin. I later realised it was really thick enough, but just transparent! The time I got there wasn't the best time, as the ice had been pretty cut-up by previous sessions. Still, it was nice and level, but I found it sort of hard.

Compared to Fuji, the Kallang rink does feel wider, but I must say it is definitely not longer. In fact, just by doing forward stroking from one end to the other, I felt that it was shorter. Perhaps its because the ice is faster?

Me at KallangIt has been a long time since I last skated. Ok, I've been coaching, but haven't skated since June... although DH claims that as long as I put on my boots and get on the ice, I can't say I'm not skating. Anyway, so what do you do when you can't do anything?

I did some power pulls, turns, twizzles, choctaws. It was rather funny trying the Blues choctaw... after the turn, it seemed like I wasn't leaning back enough, even though I still got a nice good edge out of it. I soon saw that it must be because my baby bump was still sticking out in front of me! Oh, and I can still do backspins... and opposite spins!

[Update 16 Nov: Kallang Ice World is now open to general public!!]

Thursday, November 08, 2007

Fuji Ice Palace Singapore National Figure Skating Championships 2008

The Fuji Ice Palace Singapore National Figure Skating Championships 2008 will be held on 2-3 February 2008. The official announcement has been released and can be obtained from the Singapore Ice Skating Association website.

This year, SISA is allowing guest skaters in the competition. From the announcement:
The Championships is open to competitors from all countries. However, competitors that are Singapore citizens, permanent residents, or a resident holding an employment pass, student pass or dependent’s pass ("Singapore Competitors") must be members in good standing with the Singapore Ice Skating Association as of the close of entries on 29 December 2007.

Competitors that are not "Singapore Competitors" shall compete as guest skaters. Guest skaters will not affect the medal tally. For example, if a guest skater places second, the guest skater will receive a medal, the skater placing third will move up and share second place, etc.

The title of National Champion can be held only by a citizen or permanent resident of Singapore.

So, all of you skaters out there - get the forms, and join in the fun! :-)

** Download Announcement **

Monday, November 05, 2007

Kallang Ice World Opens!!

This week, on 8 & 9 Nov, Kallang Ice World will be opening to public for a FREE one-hour long trial skating. A maximum of 80 to 100 skaters will be allowed on the ice per hour, from 10am-11am, 11am-12noon, and the last hour at 9-10pm. There is no booking system - just show up and skate!

[Update 16 Nov: Kallang Ice World is already open to general public!!]

[Update 6 Nov: Clarification - it seems like the free trial skating is only for three hours a day, that is, 10-11am, 11-12noon and 9-10pm.]
[Update 7 Nov: Ignore previous update. The free trial skating lasts the entire day, from 10am until 10pm]

Kallang Ice World is on the 3rd floor of Leisure Park Kallang.

Thursday, November 01, 2007

Change-of-edge Spirals

Lately I have been reading a discussion thread on how to change edge in spirals. I had been trying to figure it out when I was trying new spirals a few months ago. For me, the LFI-to-LFO was easiest, and I thought I'd put up what I'd figured out so far...

1. Start with a nice curved FI edge, which becomes shallower as I approach the center of the rink, in preparation for the edge change.

2. Meanwhile the free leg on the inside edge would move slightly into the circle. I think this is probably that the free hip leans in more, to maintain the curve as the edge gets shallower.

3. On the edge change, pull the free leg (or hip) back over the tracing to get a nice regular FO spiral position.

Overall, the movement should be slight, and hopefully the free leg doesn't drop. I managed to have a friend video my spiral sequence in June: