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Upper Hutt Roller Skating Club Newsletter

February 2006

Welcome to all for 2006. We wish everyone a fun and successful skating year.

 

Congratulations

Nationals Team 2006 you did the club proud.

 

 

Our club did well with 31 skaters representing us at Nationals in Christchurch this January. They were:- Natasha Boulcott, Paula Boulcott, Roger Boulcott, Stephanie Challis, Charlene Crosby, Michelle Crosby, Kimberley Dean, Katy Elgar, Oliver Ewert, Catherine Gowenlock,  Tessa Halcrow-Webb, Raewyn Hailes, Stephanie Hawke, Antony Hazelwood, Emma Hazelwood, Basil Jones, Lewis Johnson, Ollie Jones, Kelsi Linney, Stefanie McCallum, Tanya McCarthy, Laura McKenzie, Antony Nalder, Emma Patrick, Jack Patrick,  Kieran Phillips, Steve Phillips, Kyra Thomson, Nika Thomson, Sam Wright and Ashleigh Zammit. Full results later in the newsletter.

Not only that, we also won the Rotorua Trophy for the best dressed team. Judged by the Christchurch deputy mayor, it was a first for the team who were sporting striking new uniforms for 2006.

Ken Wright was presented with the Wanganui Award for services to speed skating for contribution to promoting speed through the photographs, posters and calendars that he has produced over recent years.

Marama de Feu won the Joe Bright Memorial Trophy for services to precision and Sarah-Jane Jones won numerous special awards including the Italian Trophy awarded each year to the highest placed New Zealand Artistic skater or team who has placed in the top 50% of their event at the Senior World Championships and the Avis Berry Trophy for the Senior Lady who gained the most points overall at the National Championships.

Congratulations Oceania Team 2006

Seventeen Upper Hutt Club members have been named as part of the NZ team to this year Oceania Championships to be held in Christchurch in April. Congratulations Natasha Boulcott, Paula Boulcott, Roger Boulcott, , Charlene Crosby, Katy Elgar, Tessa Halcrow-Webb, Stephanie Hawke, Antony Hazelwood, Emma Hazelwood, Basil Jones, Sarah-Jane Jones, Laura McKenzie, Emma Patrick, Helen Wang, Sam Wright, Ashleigh Zammit and Anna Carwell-Cook All are now training hard for April.

 

SPECIAL CONGRATULATIONS: Special congratulations to Janeen Jones and Peter Nalder who have just successfully completed their number two speed commission.

 

PATCH PASSES:  Patch class has got off to a roaring start for 2006 with an average of 50 skaters each week. So far four people have been patch tested and moved on to the next level. Congratulations:- Kayleigh Strachan, patch 1; Chantelle McCarthy, Nicola Bowden and Karina Murray-Dodd patch 2.

 

NEW MEMBERS: Welcome to Russell Johnson and Dallas Asker. We are sure you will both enjoy being members. 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Happy Birthday to Dallas Asker, Bruce Crosby, Katy Elgar, Catherine Gowenlock, Basil Jones, Corey Murray-Dodd, Leilani Murray-Dodd, Sandy Nimmo, Troy Patrick, Daniel Picard, Kirsty Picard and Ethan Wright who have celebrated a birthday in January or February.

 

BIRTHDAY CUP: The UHRSC celebrates its birthday in February. To mark this event, our Birthday Cup is awarded to a club member who has given something to/achieved excellence in rollersports in the preceding year. The 2005 Birthday Cup winner was Helen Wang. The Birthday Cup award for 2006 will be announced during our patch class month end presentation ceremony on Tuesday February 28 at 6.20pm.  Please come along and celebrate with us.

 

MEDAL TESTS: We are holding medal tests in Upper Hutt on April 30 for those wanting to sit medals in Figures, Freeskating and Dance up to medal 4. We will also have a testing session for medals over 4 in Upper Hutt on June 10.

The committee has arranged these dates (and plans to have a session in Upper Hutt early next year) so skaters can think ahead for what medals they will need for selection for international events and local and national level skaters can focus on learning medal figures, routines, etc early in the year, leaving the end of the year free to concentrate on Nationals figures, dances etc.

Any other medals needed during the year may be done at Central Area tests. For those skaters with private coaches, if you haven’t sat medals before we encourage you take advantage of this opportunity to do so locally and talk to your coach about what is involved. A timetable will be compiled soon, so if you haven’t already put your name down or for more information talk to Debs McCarthy on 5262261.

 

AREAS 2007, NATIONALS 2008, OCEANIAS 2008: The committee has done a lot of preliminary work and would like to put in a bid to the national federation to hold Areas in Wellington (artistic and speed flat track at the Queens Wharf events centre, road racing venue to be decided later) in 2007, then Nationals and Oceania’s 2008. There is heaps of work to be done quickly, researching suppliers, venues etc. If you have relevant contacts and the time to help on a sub-committee, particularly if you work in Wellington, please contact David Linney urgently. Meetings are planned for lunch times in Wellington city.

 

NIGHT DISCO: Mark Saturday night March 25 7.30pm to 10pm in your diary now. We’ll be holding a special night disco at the rink. This will be a fundraiser for the 2006 Oceania team so bring your friends and family and not only have a good time but help our skaters get to Oceania’s. The disco will be arranged by those skaters who are benefiting from the fundraising – details on the notice board soon.

 

INFORMATION FOR PATCH CLASS SKATERS:

Presentations:

On the last Tuesday of each month we have a special presentation ceremony. This is a celebration of success and includes a trophy for Skater of the Month and Coach of the Month and presentation of certificates for any skaters who have passed patches during the previous month. Parents, please try to be here for this and celebrate with us. It’s also a time when any announcements about upcoming events are made, so it’s a good chance to catch up on what’s going on. Skaters – if you pass a patch (other than patch 1), bring your certificate back on the last Tuesday of the month so the next sticker can be added and it can be presented to you. If you have been awarded a trophy, please bring it back the next month.

Dress Code:

There are no rules about what to wear at Patch class but it helps if skaters wear comfortable stretch clothing. Jeans restrict movement and make it harder for skaters to learn. Clothes that are too loose and need adjusting the whole time don’t work either. Leotards are ideal for girls, particularly from about patch 3 on, as they are stretchy, stay put and allow the coach check correct leg movement and body position better.

It pays to tie long hair back so it doesn’t flick in the skaters face during jumps and spins.

Drinks:

Skaters should be having a drink during patch class. All skaters need to bring a drink bottle every week as we have no access to water at the rink other than in the toilet area.

Skates

Club hire skates can be loaned to members - meaning you get to wear the same pair every week. If you are interested you need to arrange this during patch class with Chris Hazelwood or Mary-Anne Thomson BEFORE TAKING THE SKATES. They can be changed during the year through Chris or Mary-Anne when the skater needs a bigger size and must be handed back if required for a special event as well as over the Christmas break.

For skaters from around patch 3 a sturdier boot is recommended. We have a range of competition grade skates available for hire for those new skaters who are past using free club skates but not ready to buy your own yet. We recommend this as the jumps and spins require a bit more support.  If you are interested please talk to Chris or Mary-Anne.

We also have access to range of second hand skates which club members want to sell. The number of pairs and sizes available changes regularly so if you are looking to buy second hand skates please also talks to Chris Hazelwood or Mary-Anne about what is available.  If we don’t have anything we may be able to track down something from another club around New Zealand.

For those of you looking to buy new skates it is important to get the right skates for the type of skating being undertaken. If you are looking for new skates, they are not stocked at sports shops and must be purchased via one of several speciality importers based in Auckland or via the internet. Chris or Mary-Anne can help you with details of who to contact and what to look at.

Use of the Rink:

Before patch class starts at 5.30pm or after it finishes at 6.30pm there are often competition skaters practising or being coached on the main rink and on the figure circles outside of the rink. Patch class skaters are requested to keep clear of the rink and figure circle areas before 5.30pm and after 6.30pm if these areas are being used by skaters who are scheduled to practice at that time. Often patch testing will take place on the figure circle area outside the main rink just after 6.30pm please could you ensure that patch skaters and their siblings keep clear of this area when testing is taking place.

Queries

If you have any questions at all please feel free to ask one of the club members who has been around a little longer, it’s a great sport and everyone is willing to help. We were all new to skating once.

 

RINK ETIQUETTE: Just a reminder to part card or full card members using the rink, that if someone is being coached, they have priority for use of the music and rink space. So if you are at the rink practising when a coaching session is taking place, by all means share the floor but please make sure you don’t get in the person’s way and that you ask the coach if it is OK to use your music.

 

SKATE MAINTENANCE: Once you own your own skates they do need a little regular maintenance. We can arrange for a skate maintenance class for adults to be run by one of our members during patch class if required. If anyone is interested in this, please contact Mary-Anne Thomson (5289127) to put your name down.

 

AWAY COMPETITIONS/FEDERATION/PRIVATE COACHING: This can all be a mystery when you are starting out. Some skaters skate at a local level only, others progress to Federation and travel away to compete at a range of competitions.

There has never been a better year to get involved in away competitions and attempting to qualify for Nationals, than 2006. Quite unusually all major competitions up to Nationals for our skating area (the central and lower north island) will be held either in Upper Hutt, Wellington or Palmerston North. Nationals will be held in the lower north island also. So if you are interested in finding out more about what is involved, whether you need a private coach or not etc, please talk to Chris (ph 5297551) or Mary-Anne (5289127).

 

PRIVATE COACHING: From time to time patch skaters are looking to move to the next level and start private coaching. We are trying to compile a list of available coaches for the notice board. If you are a coach with space available please can you let Mary-Anne (phone 5289127 or email thomson@paradise.net.nz) know what disciplines you are interested in accepting skaters for, what your preferred coaching times are and your contact details by February 28 please.

 

CLUB PATCHES FOR SALE: We have for sale a supply of the quality embroidered club logo patches the same as those sewn on the new competitor skaters uniform. They would be great to sewn on clothing or stick on skate bags. If you are interested in purchasing one, they are $10 and available from Chris Hazelwood.

 

WALL OF FAME – HANDY PERSON REQUIRED URGENTLY: We are lucky enough to have a very talented group of international and national level skaters in our club. We also get a lot of newspaper publicity thanks to our successful skaters. We would like to create an up to date “Wall of Fame” to celebrate their success. We desperately need the services of a handy person who can:-

o        advise us on ideas for photo cabinets for the wall you walk past on your left as you enter the rink

o        create said cabinets

o        reposition the notice boards.

We would like to get this underway this month so if you could help please talk to Mary-Anne (ph 5289127) or Debs (5262261). We would be very grateful to hear from you.

 

PAINTING TEAM NEEDED:  A big thank you to everyone who helped paint and tidy the rink over Christmas. We still need to paint some walls and do some other small jobs to make the space more attractive. If you can’t help in the building line, could anyone please help with painting. If you can HELP, please contact David Linney on 9700532.

 

WANTED: Our bench seats are getting pretty tired – and there’s not really enough of them.

Our towel supply for wiping up leaks (Yes we are on to the new owners to fix the leaks urgently!!!!!) has also run low. Our covers for the ice packs have mysteriously disappeared. These are sewn from facecloths. If you have any seats, facecloths or towels you could donate to the club please could you contact Chris on 5297551.

 

UPCOMING COMPETITIONS/MEDAL TESTS:

 

Please Note: Dates/Venues maybe subject to alteration. Please check with event management

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