State Championships...

Well today was the day I was competing at state trampoline championships.

You only really have to be at the competition hall (CCYC at Gosford) for your events. The idea is always to reduce the length of your days - comeptitions are so tiring. Especially when you might arrive at 7.45 (after driving for an hour or two), have general warmup at 8, and then not compete until 4pm (or worse). I think last night competition finished at 9.30-10pm.

So when the workplan said I only had to compete the Sunday, around 12pm, my coach said that a good time to be there was at about 11am (because these competitions will ALWAYS run longer than they have to). So I arrived at 11am, and go to sit down, and then Jas was telling me I had to go out the back and warm up. Why? "Because this is finals, and you're about to get marshalled!" - For the first time in my 7 years of competing, this was the first time I'd ever seen a competition running ahead of schedule.

So I ran out the back, basically jumped on a trampoline, bounced, then did a set routine, and then did a vol (both all the way through, no dramas - very different from last week's training!), somewhat panicking as well. I'm about to get up to have another go (normally you'd have 5ish goes: arm drills + saults, somersault go like a Ross Combo, 1 or 2 sets, and then 2-3 goes at whole vols or bits. Then you'd go relax, chill out, put on a leotard, actually do your hair so you look presentable, etc). Instead, I get called to marshal for trampoline...

After 10 minute touch (which went fine), we're ready to compete. I'm up in the later half of the flight. Not nervous at all, just ready. Got up, competed, and did a full routine!!! WOW! Coming from me, the queen of not doing 10 skills and doing that freak thing wrong which has never happened before. I remember halfway through the routine, just feeling a rush and a "WOW!" because I was doing it. My crash dive wasn't fantastic, and the ballout 1/2 neither (there's a 0.5 if ever one) - no kickout so left a bit all over the place going into straddle-rudi. My rudi...gosh. That's my Iffy with a Capital I skill (broken ankle, knee). And in warmups I over-ro'd one, did a 1 1/4 twist on another...I did it, absolutely killed my outbounce, but I finished up right! I had the biggest smile on my face as I turned to present, saw one of my teammates who was judging give me a smile and shake of the head. Got off, killed myself smiling and got a big hug from my coach :D It was so exciting and very, very happy.

Vols were next- I was only planning on doing 2 doubles (not the 3 I had been training in routines). Everything was going really well until the full twist back (FTB). I'd had the most annoying time with them in the last week. I have fantastic, beautiful, beautiful, neat and perfectly extended fulls with straight arms. Except for some reason, I would start going up into the full, and then get lost and stop turning, and have to try and full a "gymnastics tucked full" around - with arms all over the place (harder to turn when your arms and body are trying to go two different ways). So I stopped and crashed on the flyaway. Soooo annoying, because a) it's a full b) my routine is a piece of cake after the first skill c) I never crash fulls and d) it's another incomplete routine. I mean, really, a FULL TWIST BACK. Grrr. Sooo sooo soo annoying. Just because I'm crap at doing forwards twisting doesn't mean I'm bad at twisting backwards. I've done fulls, 1 1/2s, double twists, 2 1/2s, full in drills, full in tucked and piked...grrr. Of all the times for me to freak out. I think I tried to twist too early.

Still made finals (bless those NSW rules). Head coach said I had to take the FTB out of vol. Didn't warm up three doubles (was only going to compete them if things were fantastic). Ended up killing my bounce after HO P start and then basically just trying to string together 10 skills. Got through 10 skills, only to land my outbounce after DB T on the flyaway. So annoying. I had turned to my friend who was matting for me before I got up to compete and said "I really don't want to compete finals". I really just wanted to pull out of finals, and double mini, and go home. So odd and out of character for me too. But no one else was bombing (which is great for everyone else), and when everyone else is kicking your butt in terms of execution and difficulty. I always feel like I'm just so far behind, and that they're an entire league ahead of me.

Anyway.

I had a bit of a break before double mini. I tried to have a run through on the back tramp - wasn't worth trying after a few run throughs. Competition was fairly decent, except for the fact I didn't want to do it. But again, how stupid of me would it have been to pull out. One of my goals I realised on Friday night was that I didn't want to compete to other people's expectations - instead, what really mattered to me (aside from trying to make nationals). And that was, that whatever I did, it had to be to make me happy. So that focus took the shift off the "we've been training for nationals in July since last September". Although the idea of the only we've done in training since January is routines was still there. You wanted to make it count. You wanted that display, that routine, to show the culmination of everything you've done in training.

Off track...just shows how in a muddle my brain is.

First pass just did a layout instead of FTB (had warmed up bar S- FTB, just wasn't in a fantastic spot). Second pass was going to be barani (T), double back tucked, and I DID IT!!! It was fantastic!!! Especially considering I learnt it about 1 1/2 weeks ago, and generally wouldn't stand up properly into it, and then consequently stack the landing. Instead, I was in a great spot, I stood up, rotated great (albeit with flexed feet and slightly chucked head...must work on that...thanks Nando), and landed upright - basically stuck the landing, except I was so shocked I landed on my feet, took a tiny step. A big smile again on my face, even nicer because two of my friends/coaches/training people were on the judging panel. So nice to do it. It was great not to have fall fest :D

Although in finals it was a bit of fall fest. I don't have 3rd and 4th passes (let's face it, I don't even have 2 passes). Did bar P-FTB, which I fell on - overrotated, did a full in drill aka full twist back to back, smacking my head into the mat. So frustrating. And an easy 4th pass, with a step.

I've competed the entire season without sticking one landing.

So my competition over...I came 3rd in the state on dmt. All the other girls completely kicked my butt in terms of difficulty, doing double somersaults together (:O).

Still, it wasn't too bad - glad I did compete dmt.

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Now the question is where to from here. I didn't make the state team, so no competition for four months...I don't really know where to go or what to do. I can't really work on anything new when I struggle with what I'm doing now, and also the new skills to work on are going past four doubles into the complex doubles, which take months to do the drills and progressions properly...I just don't know. Originally I was going to compete one more season, but whether that ends now, or has a break till August, then national clubs in September...and all my training buddies are going to nationals (and worlds), so that adds to the excluded feeling I hate so much. (That's what happens when you train at elite clubs). I don't know if I want to train, but the idea of giving up and walking away...
I saw my old coach today as well. I miss her so much. Didn't really get to talk to her either :(