Sunday, February 07, 1999
Skater keeps cool on ice
Fairfield girl in national championships
BY SUE KIESEWETTER
Enquirer Contributor
FAIRFIELD — Lindsay Crawford begins her practice at Northland Ice Center the same way every afternoon. She takes a long, tubular device called a scribe and uses it to outline two or three circles on the ice, each about eight paces wide.
On each circle she marks where she will do her turns.
The 16-year-old Fairfield Senior High sophomore spends the next two hours with her coach, Theresa Hogden, practicing her figures.
She hopes her countless hours of practice will pay off today she begins competition in the 1999 U.S. Figure Skating Championships in Salt Lake City. Lindsay is one of only 12 young women who qualified for the figures event, her specialty.
Figures are short, precise moves that become the building blocks for complex routines in ice dancing, freestyle or other events. Lindsay practices about 20 hours a week for the event, which will last less than five minutes. She will be judged on three figures.
“My turns on circles are the most difficult for me,” said Lindsay, who has been skating since she was 9. “I have to make sure my body is in the right spot at the right time.”
Lindsay, who describes herself as a perfectionist, said she enjoys competing in figures because of the attention to detail and concentration needed. Skaters constantly have to be aware of and use the correct edge of their blades, she said.
This competition is especially important to Lindsay because it is the last time she — or any other skater — will compete in figures. The U.S. Figure Skating Association has decided to eliminate the event from competitions and championships after this year's Nationals. Skill tests will be phased out over a number of years, giving skaters like Lindsay enough time to pass the tests at the eighth — gold — level.
“My goal is to get my gold on the figures tests before I go to college,” said Lindsay, who has three tests to go. At each level skaters must show proficiency on three to 12 figures, depend ing on the level, to pass the test.
“She's going in as the underdog, but she knows what she's doing,” Ms. Hogden said. “It's complete body control. The discipline is tremendous and it carries over in her life.”
Despite periodically missing school for competitions, Lindsay is a good student; her grade point average is above 3.5. To make more time for skating and her studies, Lindsay gradually stopped participating in softball, gymnastics and soccer.
Lindsay said she has no plans to become a career skater, but she does want to join an ice dancing or precision team in college.
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