An Unexpected Glimpse at the Skating World

Yesterday was volunteer day for me. I was a runner at a big competition at our local rink. My best skating buddy was there and she showed me the ropes of this activity. The entire process is very official and procedure-driven. The runners take the judges' scoring sheets to the accounting room, then distribute the results sheets to various locations, including posting the final results. While I wasn't running, I certainly did get my share of walking, including going up a flight of steps to the sacred accounting room.

Being a runner was an interesting and fun activity because you get a glimpse "behind the scenes" of a competition. In particular, this competition involved the new international scoring system. Not only were there "6.0" judges, there were also technical specialists judging the elements of the skaters. It was fascinating. Think Olympics on a microcosm and you get the idea. At any one time, there were 10 judges watching the skaters.

The best part of the day was spending so much time with my skating buddy. It was wonderful commenting on the individual skaters, from "Pixie" to Senior Ladies. Some of the competitors were skaters whom we have seen grow up over the years. In particular, two skaters at the Junior Ladies level participated and performed beautifully. At the risk of sounding long in the tooth, I remember these young ladies when they were 7 years old and now they are grown up and truly gifted skaters.

My friend commented that being at a competition like this makes you appreciate how difficult it is to become an elite skater. There were many skaters who were excellent, but it's likely (although I don't know) that maybe one of these - or perhaps none - are going to make it to the Olympics. As good as some of them were (and believe me, there was real talent out on the ice), it takes something beyond exceptional to succeed in this sport.

While watching the Senior Ladies, Rudy Galindo was standing next to me. I was surprised at how small in stature he is. Short and thin. His sister is a coach and had at least one student who was competing, which is perhaps why he was there. Or, he was also coaching some of the participants. As I left, I turned to him and said, "I miss seeing you skate. You are fantastic." He just smiled (I'm sure he gets this all the time), a little sadly I noticed. When I told Dear Husband about this, he said, "Doesn't a guy like him have better things to do than be at a competition at a local rink on a Sunday?" I thought a lot about this. I bet he doesn't, which is sad indeed. This is a sport that chews people up and spits them out, I fear, when their time is over. For Rudy, I think his time was when he came out of the closet. I would suspect his career - and life - changed after that. He was one of my favorite skaters and I truly miss watching him skate. To learn more about Rudy, go to http://www.rudy-galindo.com.