Practice

The Ice Sports Center Westfalenhallen provides excellent conditions for competitive athletes in figure skating. It consists of two rinks which are interconnected. Rink 1 is the practice rink shown in the pictures; it is almost exclusively available for the figure skaters of the Olympic Training Center. The broadly glazed facade provides a view into the greenery and a pleasant atmosphere for training. Moreover, running the ice rink is eco-friendly since part of the power is generated by a solar plant on the roof. On Rink 2, on the other hand, ice hockey, public skating and the practices of Dortmund's skating clubs take turns.

During the season, we practice six times a week, from Monday to Saturday. We try to balance studies and sports in an optimal way when we practice between 3 and 5 hours every day. Carolina's day starts at 7:30 a.m. when she gets up, and then she starts studying for her psychology studies at the rink at 8:30. The rink is close to our apartment, and she is less distracted there and can concentrate better. Carolina takes the bike to the rink, whereas Daniel often has to walk because his bike has had a puncture for quite a while.

Usually Daniel already gets up towards 6 a.m. and then has to drive with our shared car for approx. 35 km to Iserlohn where his college is located. Provided his schedule allows for it, Daniel returns from Iserlohn towards 12 p.m. to practice on the ice in Dortmund until 1:30 p.m. Most of the time, he has to return to Iserlohn quickly afterwards to study again at 2 p.m. Towards 3:30 p.m., Daniel's classes are over and we start our regular training at 5 or 6 p.m. This means that we practice for two hours on the ice and then mostly have another hour of ballet or conditioning training. In the first part of the on-ice session, we first stroke around the rink and practice the compulsory dances. In the second part we practice the programs. Practice ends at 9 p.m. at the latest. At the end we do some stretching and then go back to our little apartment-sharing community where we do homework or prepare for the next day.

On Saturdays we start at 10 a.m. We then have a two-phase training, so that we don't get home until 5 p.m. Most of the time, Saturday is the most exhausting day of the week, but the pleasant anticipation of meeting friends or just doing nothing on Sunday mostly prevails.

Video of our practice of Oktober 2007