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<\/a>Nicola Cheyne and Kimberly Coxe are an unlikely pair of friends. Cheyne lives in Brisbane, Australia, and Coxe lives in Cleveland, Ohio. Without figure skating, they never would have met.<\/p>\nBoth women participate in adult competitions, and they first crossed paths last year, in 2022, at the International Skating Union (ISU) adult competition in Ottawa, Canada.<\/p>\n
They compete at the same level, women\u2019s bronze II (the two stands for skaters ages 38-48), so that\u2019s how they met. But on the adult competitive circuit, being competitors isn\u2019t a detriment to friendship. In fact, the prevailing atmosphere at adult competitions is like a supportive party.<\/p>\n
That was the scene at the ISU International Adult Figure Skating Competition held in Nashville at Ford Ice Center Bellevue from Oct. 18-21, 2023.<\/p>\n
The cheers are loud whether skaters are doing a waltz jump or a double Axel (of which there were several), and it is a tradition for skaters to make \u201ctossies\u201d (think like a party goody bag) to throw for the other competitors in their event. They used to throw them onto the ice, like you\u2019d see at an elite level competition, but now, in the interest of time, the tossies are thrown into buckets in the stands. You can read more about the story behind the tossies tradition in our other story here.<\/a><\/p>\n Cheyne and Coxe both competed in free skate and artistic free skate, which is an ISU event that is judged solely on the basis of program components, though jumps and spins can and are included.<\/p>\n Coxe\u2019s artistic free skate program was set to the theme from the movie \u201cLove Story,\u201d and she said it \u201cwas all about the love of skating, passion of love, anything that you love.\u201d<\/p>\n Cheyne dubbed her artistic free skate \u201cgirls\u2019 night out.\u201d She performed to a medley of songs: The Pi\u00f1a Colada Song, Tequila, Wipeout, and I Get Knocked Down.<\/p>\n \u201cIt actually came about when my friend and I got drunk one Halloween, and we were like, \u2018What would be a really fun program to do that might be a bit different?\u2019\u201d Cheyne said of the program\u2019s inspiration.<\/p>\n Cheyne and Coxe made time for a girls\u2019 night out of their own after they finished competing. They went to Broadway, ate some Nashville barbecue, and saw the Grand Ole Opry.<\/p>\n Both skaters said they love the sport because it helps them put aside the stresses of daily life, and that was a theme for many of the competitors at the event, all of whom balance their training on the ice with work, life, and family.<\/p>\n Beth Delano is the U.S. representative for singles and pairs in the ISU adult skating group, as well as an adult skating competitor herself. The organizers of these international adult competitions take their responsibility seriously.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s so many skaters who dream of representing Team USA, or whatever their national governing body might be, and you know, that goes out the window at some point, you get a life and a job and go to school. And as I told the local organizing committee and all the officials here, this is really a fantasy camp. If we can make this competition as much like a regular Grand Prix or Worlds, then we\u2019ve done our job,\u201d Delano said in an interview during the event. \u201c[The skaters] want to hear, \u2018Representing the United States of America,\u2019 or \u2018Representing Canada, or Mexico.\u2019 It\u2019s just goosebumps.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nashville competition hosted 255 skaters from as far away as New Zealand and Australia, as well as skaters from the U.S., Canada, Mexico, and Europe.<\/p>\n Nashville\u2019s Ford Ice Center Bellevue and the Scott Hamilton Skating Club hosted the competition. This was only the second time that the North American ISU adult competition was held in the U.S., after Lake Placid in 2019.<\/p>\n \u201cNashville was an exceptional choice because they know how to run an event this size, and it\u2019s a wonderful place for adults to come as a tourist destination,\u201d Delano said. \u201cAnd we haven\u2019t had an adult nationals [for the U.S.] in Nashville, so that was also something new and different for us skaters. And they have a history of building adult camps that are fantastic. You know it\u2019s going to be a well-run competition and you\u2019re going to have great coaching staff for seminars.\u201d<\/p>\n The levels and event requirements for adult international competitions are determined by Delano and her fellow adult skating group members, and updated annually. In addition to competing in their chosen level, skaters are also divided by age groups. You must be 28 to compete in an ISU adult competition, and the oldest age group was for 68-year-olds and up.<\/p>\n The adult competitors took their skating seriously, but the crowd atmosphere was a festive one. Where else are you going to see two little boys cheering and clapping for \u201cGrammy\u201d out on the ice performing?<\/p>\n The love of skating and appreciation for each competitor\u2019s hard work and individuality was on clear display. Some of the competitors had skated as children, and then returned to the sport as adults.<\/p>\nHow International Adult Competitions Work<\/h2>\n
<\/a>The ISU adult competitive circuit includes an annual event in Oberstdorf, Germany, in the spring, plus an annual competition in North America and the Gay Games. Every four years, the Winter World Masters Games, an event for adult athletes in winter sports, is part of the circuit. In 2024, the Winter World Masters Games will be held in Italy.<\/p>\nWhat Motivates These Skaters<\/h3>\n