Skip to main content

Dealing with it

Well, the inevitable happened and it's taken me 24 hours to come to terms with it enough to write down my thoughts here. IPSF season cancelled. Or postponed? Nobody is sure. I hope postponed, as having to adjust to a new code of points (and requalify for those) would be implied in the case of cancellation.

This decision was devastating to those of us who had already been training and planning their year around these key dates. But, with the IPSF wishing to fall in line with the Olympic committee, not to mention the impossible prospect of rescheduling tens of qualifying competitions, it just wasn't possible to go ahead. Additionally, there was a sense of unfairness surrounding the inequality in athletes' preparation conditions. Some are isolated without a pole; some, like me, have been ill and are just getting their strength back, while others may have issues planning their travel.

After some consideration, I thought about other competitions that may still be taking place this year and I decided that this would be as good a time as any to discover the world of the Pole Sports Organization (PSO). After checking out the categories and levels, I signed up for a competition in the level 4 Championship category, Master 40-49 years. I have also applied for official IPSF coach status, following my hope that the season is postponed and not cancelled. Now, it's a case of refocusing. I am interested to see what others decide to do following yesterday's announcement.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Discovering the world of PSO

Not one to dwell too long on my disappointment (see my posts about IPSF and the decision to cancel/postpone the 2020 season), I felt the need to refocus my training efforts. I had already looked into the PSO (Pole Sports Organization) in the past, but hadn't wanted to add pressure to my IPSF preparation timeline with a second competition. The PSO exists mainly in the States and serves as a national competition, complete with a final. In Europe, it is also possible to take part in competitions, but each one is a stand-alone entity. Like the IPSF, there is an age category for me (over 40), which is an important consideration. There were a few competitions in Europe coming up: Lausanne in July, which I felt was a bit soon to be sure that it would be held. Then Lisbon in September and Manchester in October. I went for Manchester, as I know it is an easy journey from Brussels and I wanted to experience a competition in the UK. The next task in the application process is choosing a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

First online class

I've arrived a little late at the party on this one :-). Many online live classes have already launched in the past few weeks, as well as a wealth of resources for learning pole from home. However, ill for the first two weeks of lockdown and recovering the third, I took a little more time to get there and I am grateful to my students for their patience! Yesterday, I got to teach my regular Sunday class, from my own living room! I thoroughly enjoyed reconnecting with this group and we had a lot of fun. The difficulties included finding the right distance away from my computer when demonstrating, to be in full view, but audible, as well as making sure the participants muted their mics to avoid background noice and echo. For next time, I want to try to find a setup using a better camera and I might use my Britney mic if necessary. Surprisingly though, the class went very smoothly. I gave explanations and demonstrations for each move or combo and then watched my screen as the girls t...
Post a Comment
Read more

Opening Momentum Pole Sport

I've been a little quiet these past few weeks. In fact, I've been working hard to find a suitable studio in which to launch my very own pole school! After a few visits that unfortunately were unsuccessful, as it so happened I heard of an availability in the right place at the right time. So from September, I will open classes in Schaerbeek, Brussels, 3 evenings a week. I have designed a schedule of levelled classes from beginner to advanced, as well as detailed programs. Choosing a name for the school was tough! A lot of pole schools are starting to use a pole move in the title. I wanted to go with something a bit crazy. "Rainbow Iguana" was in the running. But eventually, Momentum sounded neat and fits pole sports very well. Why my own school? Since I started to teach pole, I discovered a new dimension to my passion for this sport and art form. I love to teach, the only drawback being the late evenings, which I'm hoping I will get used to! Completing the ...
Post a Comment
Read more