Masters: A Major Reason Speedskating is Such a Rush

For someone my age, a sport like speedskating is partly about competition and fitness, but mainly about friendship and comraderie.  At practice tonight, for example, I was skating with a little more speed and smoothness than usual, and was rewarded by cheering from my teammates!  Two weeks ago, the Rochester Speedskating Team invited over 50 Masters skaters from the Buffalo and Syracuse clubs to join us for Saturday morning practice.  I was amazed how many came, and what an incredibly powerful and positive practice it was.  Here's the gang.  Speedskating is NOT just for kids!

Masters Massed, and Snow Dumps on Speedskating

The Rochester Speedskating Team practice this morning (Feb. 5, 2011) was a real joy.  Our masters' group was joined by probably a majority of the over 50-year old skaters from the Buffalo and Syracuse clubs and the morning was just plain fun. Photos to follow.  I hope it is a harbinger of what to expect in October when we host a Seniors meet!

As we lined up for s photos, taken by RSST teammate Rob Goodwin (who will also be a senior in just a couple of decades), someone did a quick calculation and decided we had about 1250 years of experience on the ice at Genesee Valley Rink.  Speedskating is definitely NOT just for kids--I can't remember the last time I saw 25-30 fellow silverhairs having such a good time.

Next week was supposed to be my debut on nordic skates, at the North American Marathon races at Lake Morey Vt.   My new skates (above) were going to be wings on my feet! Alas, winter intervened, and on Thursday the event was cancelled.  It seems that the enormous snowfall January and February worked a double whammy on the Lake:  snowcover first created a blanket over the ice which was not thick enough to support the snowplows.  Because the snow was not removed, though, its weight became enough to accentuate cracks and render the ice surface unusable.  So, there are these nice new Nordic blades with no where to go.....

Looking for a way to make lemonade from the lemons, I realized that my budget was suddenly a little healthier because of the cancellation of the Vermont meet.  So, despite having no idea whatsoever of what do do with clap skates, I signed up for the Jack Shea Sprints at the Lake Placid LT oval for the last weekend of February.  This will be interesting.  Stay tuned!