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US Men's Figure Skating



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Thu Feb 19, 2015 10:40 pm
Carlito says...



In my next project one of my MCs is a male figure skater. I know the basics of figure skating, but I don't feel like I know enough to make him feel real.

Here's generally what I want to know as of right now (although I'm sure I'll have more questions the more I start digging). All of this is in reference to top competitive men's figure skating, as in people that you would see on TV either at the junior or senior level.

Does everyone start with basic lessons and go through the eight basic foundation levels? Once you get through the basics, what happens next - do you get a coach and start independent lessons? How does the development and learning of skills happen after the basic foundation levels?

I would also love to know what a day in the life of a competitive male figure skater looks like, or what a week in the life looks like. When do they wake up and go to sleep? What do they eat? How many hours do they spend training? How many hours are spent on school or other activities? What specific things are done for training?

Bascially, I'm looking for any information that can give me a better understanding of the ins and outs of competitive figure skating and how one goes from a 3-year-old slipping and sliding around on the ice to someone that competes with all of the big names.

Thank you in advance! :)
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Thu Feb 26, 2015 7:00 pm
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Tenyo says...



Have you tried looking for biographies? When I start writing with something I don't have much clue about I find biographies useful. More than the factual specifics they'll give you an idea of what kind of stuff matters in your journey.

For example, as an outsider the size of the rink might seem important, so you'll want to know what kind of sizes and shapes there are. For an actual skater the brand of skates might be the most important thing, so focusing your studies on them will be of more use in bringing your novel to life than the size of the rink.

Avoid movies. Although there may be some fact in there, they tend to romanticize everything, and if the person who plotted and scripted the movie didn't know what they were talking about then you'll be using their prejudices as fact.

There are also plenty of blogs around, you might find one by an ice skater, or if you're super nice you could even try asking for an interview.

Also, have you seen those creepy TV documentaries about pushy parents and child pageants? If you dig around you might be able to find one of those related to ice-skating, which could give an indication of what kind of stresses kids are under.
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