US Freestyle Skating Association

Part 1: First day of Competition

It’s the end of the first day of competition, and I am exhausted.
It’s late, so I’ll keep this short.

Friday was our first full day in Paris. A group of us headed out to Les Invalides, to the spot where freestyle forum in it’s current form originated. There are several permanently marked lines on the ground, and you can usually find people out practicing. There were a handful of skaters there when we arrived, most of whom were participants in the competition. After a break for lunch we returned, and found a growing crowd there. Phil, one of the skaters from London, helped me adjust the frames on my Seba’s, and that made a world of difference in how I felt skating on them. Yay! So many of the people there were very, very good. It was both intimidating and inspiring, and I eventually got into a grove. It was a very enjoyable afternoon. Around 6, the clouds looming in the distance got nearer, and soon a sheet of solid black sky was nearly on top of us. Our group decided to wait out the storm in a nearby cafe. We got there just as the first drops were falling in one of the most torrential storms I’ve ever witnessed. For 20 minutes, the world seemed to be a wall of water, before petering out to a more normal rainfall.

Today was the first day of the competition. Most of the day was spent on speed slalom, which I found quite boring. Then there were the qualifiying runs for the style slalom. Pro men went first, followed by the women (amatuer and pro together), then amatuer men. The qualifying rounds are used to create a preliminary ranking that determines the battle groupings, and in groups too large, also can lead to eliminations. I got very nervous before my run, though I don’t think there is any risk of being eliminated, as there are only 7 women altoghter. I made it ok, though I forgot some of the tricks I had wanted to include, but since I had put almost no planning into it, that is not too surprising. Unfortunately, especially for those who might be eliminated, we won’t know the results until the morning.

I’m sure there is much more to tell, but it is long past time for bed!

Part 2: Rain. That was the theme for the day. Rain.

I was too tired to head out first thing in the morning, and I knew the women’s competition wouldn’t till later. Eventually I was awake enough, and I arrived at the Trocodero, along with two of my flatmates just in time to see Jeremy in his battle group. I videod it from high up on the steps where we spotted him. He did a great job, but didn’t move on to the next round. A little while later, the first drops of rain fell. The competition paused while everyone hoped it was just a passing shower. Unfortunately, after a while it became apparent that the rain was there to stay, and eventually the competition resumed. What followed was a long, cold, wet, uncomfortable afternoon, as those of us not competing huddled under a leaky tent, while the remaining amateur rounds went on. We kept thinking that the amatuers would finish up soon, and then the women would go. But around 6 or so, the decision was made to halt the competition for the day. This led to complicated back-up plans, that I won’t bore you by enumerating, but the upshot is that the women are slated to do their battle at noon tomorrow (because one of them will be coming on her lunch break!). All of this is only if it stays dry, but the current forecast is hopeful in that respect.

I confess, I’m very tired at this point, and I really wish the competition was done. But it should be pretty fast tomorrow, so hopefully there will be time to get some other stuff done as well. I’m also hoping for some more chances to just casually skate with others here, but it seems opportunities for that are rapidly running out. Still, it’s been a good experience, and I’ve made connections with lots of other skaters, and I really value that.

Part 3: Stacy Competes

I woke up this morning to the sound of rain on the window. This gave me mixed feelings– a little sad that the competition might be cancelled, since that is ultimately why I came out here, but also a little relieved that I might not have to spend another day at the Trocodero. Jeremy and I went on a pastry run for breakfast, and the rain was steady at first, but seemed to be lightening up. By the time Naomi and I skated out to the Trocadero, the roads were rapidly drying, and the competition surface turned out to be completely dry. The men’s competition was already underway, and we arrivied in time to see Phil Downer (one of the other Brits) in his battle group.

Then, only a few minutes after we arrived, the rain started up again! As before, it was light at first, and I hoped it would pass quickly, but meanwhile the competition continued along despite the rain. Natalie, Naomi and myself warmed up in an area off to the side of the competition area. There weren’t any cones, but we didn’t have much other choice. The rain kept on, and quickly the skating surface grew noticeably slippery. Lucy, who came on her lunch break, arrived shortly before the men’s competition wrapped up. Before I knew it, the women were out in the competition area skating for our very brief warmup. Then the nerves really started to hit. While we were warming up, Seba, who was acting as emcee, came over and made me talk in the microphone. He would ask me questions, then translate my answers. I think all my answers were really short and stupid sounding! But I could tell he was explaining to the crowd that I was from Seattle, and I was the first American woman to compete, and things like that.

Soon, it was time for the battle to start, and I got really nervous. I realized I’d forgotten my cheat sheet, and it was all I could do to remember the moves that I wanted to include. I was in the first battle group, with Chloe and Naomi. There were 3 thirty second runs, and then time at the end for a special trick. It was raining the whole time, though in a way the wet was an advantage, because I can blame any mistakes on that! I got through my 3 runs pretty cleanly, even though I was terribly nervous. I realized I hadn’t done a J-turn during my run, so I chose that as my special move. I screwed it up on the first try, but fortunately we were allowed a second try, and though I was a little shakey, I did pull it off. Phew! It was over, but before I had a chance to feel any relief, Seba announced that Naomi and Chloe would go on to the final, and that I would be in the consolation round. Nope! Not done yet. The second group was Natalie, Lucy and Ulrike. Natalie and Lucy went on to the final, and Ulrike was in the consolation round with me. The consolation round happened first. Poor Ulrike! We were so rushed for time that there was really no break between rounds, so she had to go straight from one round ot the next.

As soon as the final was over, we all rushed over to do the awards, because both Lucy and Natalie had to get back to work. Of the 6 women, I came in 5th. But apparently this now gives me the right to say that I am the 5th in the world! Because there were so few of us, we all got prizes. I got cones, a T-shirt, and a big bottle of Belgian ale. I guess John will enjoy that last one.

The trip is rapidly coming to an end. It’s been a lot of fun, and now I wish I could stay longer, but I’ll be back on Wednesday. See you soon!

Part 4: Skating at Notre Dame

I’m in the Charles de Gaulle airport, waiting to fly back to Seattle, but yesterday was so exciting I just have to share.

In the morning, five of us headed out to Hawaii Surf to do some shopping. Hawaii Surf is kind of a mecca of skate shops. They seem to carry everything skate related– rec skates, a full range of speed boots and frames, aggro boots, quads, pic skates, skateboards, wheels, bearings, spacers, and so on… you name it, they have it, it seems. I came away with a set of pink wheels that please me beyond all reason. They are already on my skates. I’ve already recieved compliments on them.

After a stop at Angelina’s for hot chocolate (those who were on the last Paris trip know what I am talking about), we went back to our flat to drop off our purchases. We skated to Invalides and had a brief session there before Jeremy and I headed to Notre Dame to meet with Seba. Now you have to understand, Notre Dame is the first place I ever saw slalom skaters, and I remember being totally awed by their skill. This time I was actually out there skating with them! (Thanks to Jeremy for pushing me to go.) I felt like my skating was really off, but nonetheless I was out there. And then to top it all off we were meeting with Seba! We skated for a little while, and then went with Seba and Greg (his business partner) to dinner, where we talked about how to make Seba’s available in the US.

After a _very_ long dinner, Greg left us, and Seba led us on a street skate to go join up with Naomi and the rest of the crew. It was 11pm and the streets were nearly empty. We skated a long boulevard near Bastille. The sidewalk was maybe 30 feet wide, with pavement that couldn’t get any creamier. Other than occaisional breaks of flat paving stones, or street crossings, it was smooth and fast. We had a bit of a wait for a guide when we reached our destination, so Seba started teaching us a trick. “Oh, it’s easy” he says. It wasn’t easy for me! I flailed around and generally felt embarrassed. But it was so good to learn something new and really be challenged.

I left the party “early” (12:15) to go home and pack. I finally finished up with about 3 hours to sleep before getting up to head to the airport. After about 1 hour I woke up coughing, with a very dry throat, and water only helped a little. Then in another hour I woke up when Jeremy started puking his guts up. (A few days earlier we had discussed going for sushi, and I had said my instinct was not to trust sushi in paris. Well, Jeremy ate Sushi when we were out with Seba last night, so it seems my instinct was correct.)

The upshot of all this is that I am exhausted beyond belief. I think I mainly wrote this to stay awake so I don’t miss the boarding call.
I’m falling asleep as I type. Hopefully we board soon.

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