We finally got to the competition at around 4:30 p.m. after the wife went into the boarding area at Mascot.
The youngest was already there having been taken to the rink by a friend who’s daughter (Lara) was also having a go. We were a bit concerned that we might have missed the their efforts so the eldest daughter rushed in with the video camera ‘just in case’.
We needn’t have worried. It was another hour before either got on the ice! My daughter looked great. Our friend had arranged with one of *her* friends to do the make-up for Lara and had so did my daughter as well… which was really nice of her. I think it boosted her confidence to have that extra attention.
Having said that she was clearly very nervous before she went on and in fact was a little shaky during her piece. Far more so than in practice when she is can produce a nearly perfect routine. Right at the end the even touched the ice with her hand as the routine ended and we thought that would have wrecked her chances of a ‘place’.
Placings and presentations for every division before the one my daughter was in were carried out at the half-way stage, around 6:00 p.m., (Lara came thrid in her division though I thought she should have been placed higher!!) but, for some reason, results for the daughters division were kept with those after her to be announced right at the end of the competition. By 8:00 p.m. having hung around doing nothing for two hours both kids were getting very cold and tired and we were considering leaving. My reasoning was that there was little chance of her placing because in my eyes she had been so shaky and since they are starting school this morning after their holiday they needed some rest!
However, we *did* wait, and it was lucky we did! When they eventually announced the placings in her division… she was awarded first place!! Shaky or not, she’d carried out the important parts of the routine perfectly… spins, lunges etc were done as they should be for her level, and better than the others.
We were all very excited and pleased for her. Even at eight she practices three times a week at least for several hours at a time and it’s nice to see her hard work pay off even in this small way. It’s a first step… but an important one.
Next time she might go onto the ice with more confidence she *can* perform her routines and blast her way through the opposition. Well we can dream can’t we?? 😀
Well done little one either way.
The Eclectic Interweb 