The Final Countdown!

This is it folks, the final week before the competition final! Big thank you to all the girls for giving us thier thoughts every week and thanks to everyone reading our adventures and watching our videos along the way! We have enjoyed the whole process and we hope you have enjoyed it too!

Lexi
Wow, this week came along quickly! Currently (Monday) I'm not feeling too nervous but whether that will last until Sunday, who can say?! I managed to get my routine finalised a couple of weeks ago so have had quite a few sessions to just run it through and make adjustments based on feedback. I found having my routine filmed really useful. Watching it back, last week, I found a bit that looked too static and have added an extra move in to make it more interesting. That's the only bit that I feel still needs a few more practices (going to the studio tonight and thursday so it shouldn't be a problem!).


The thing I'm really worrying about at the moment is my shoulder. That rotator cuff injury from the beginning of this year has started rearing it's head again. I'll have to be careful with it this week. Thankfully, beginner's hoop doesn't put quite so much strain on the shoulders as the equivalent pole category would and my routine doesn't make it hurt. Just have to make sure I go fairly easy on it in the other classes I go to.


I've really enjoyed the build up to the competition. There's been such amazing comradery and teamwork among the SAAS competitors and we've had a lot of laughs :) Also a big thankyou to Zorena who's been brilliant and supportive despite having so much going on!


After the competition I'll be quite happy to get back to lessons and learning some new moves but I'll definitely enter competitions again! Blogging has been fun too. This has been my first blogging experience and has made me think that I should do it more often, it's good to write stuff occasionally.


So my routine is ready, music is ready and costume is ready. I know what I'm doing for makeup and just have to figure out what to do with my hair! My fellow SAAS competitors’ routines are looking brilliant and I'm looking forward to watching them on the day as much as performing! I'm really excited about Sunday. It's my first competition so I'm just going to have fun and do my best. GO TEAM SAAS

Sophie
So it's the week of the comp and needless to say I am very nervous, I've done all I can to do the best I can do for my performance! I am so amazed at how far I've come and how fast the time leading to the comp has gone I still can't quite believe it's here already I'm full of emotions and can't wait to perform to everyone although there's been ups and downs, it's all worth it and worth the outcome ekkk!☺

Lauren
So the competition is in a few days. I can’t really believe how quickly is has come round, seems like yesterday we all found out the news that we were through. But did my final full costume run throughs yesterday and they all went ok, apart from having to get Zorena to do a quick sports massage on my back as something’s not quite right, but fingers crossed it’ll be ok on Sunday then I can rest. The next time I will do my routines properly now will be on stage. It seems strange in a way that after this weekend it’ll be over. (Until the next competition, yes already looking at next year’s comps and figuring out what to enter.) All of the past 12 weeks training, tantrums, fails, strops have all been for Sunday. At this point now all I can hope for is that I go on stage and do myself, Zorena and the school proud and deliver my routines as best as I can and as with every competition I do I aim not to come last on the day. Seeing everyone practicing in full costumes now and knowing all the hard work they’ve put in, support we’ve all given each other from feedback to costume advice to when some of us have struggled and had our tantrums, just goes to show how much of a supportive team we have here at SAAS. It doesn’t matter which category we are in, (some of us are competing against each other), we all still help, support and want each other to do well on the day. This makes me proud to say I train and teach for SAAS. Good luck everyone and see you on Sunday

Sami
So it's the final blog post! How has this come around so quickly! I'm currently feeling absolutely terrified (and quite excited...sssh) about the competition! I'm super excited to see all my amazing friends perform! We've got a SAAS girl in every hoop category, and in 3 different pole categories, and University friends are also in some of the other categories so I'll be screaming myself hoarse for a majority of the performances, and given that my wonderful wifey is in the same category as me I have requested that someone films her routine so I can watch it later! I'm also ridiculously excited to see the wonderful Andi guest perform on hoop! Basically I'm excited about everything, and very scared about performing. If I can manage not to make a complete prat out of myself and not fall out of the hoop or fall over I'll count that as a win!

I've not had that long to work on my routine but it's still gone through the standard routine evolution of deciding on the final moves and props! We've all been watching each others performances and giving each other tips, and all the girls, especially Lexi have helped me come up with some feasible floor work that I can just about achieve without falling over! And helped me fix some of my messier transitions. Lexi has also lent me an additional prop to help with my initial prop and act as scenery whilst I'm in the hoop!

I've also been very lucky that two of my friends helped me cut together my music and made my costume for me! I have an incredibly colourful costume that matches my theme and the entire thing is way out of my comfort zone and I'm pretty sure a lot of my friends are coming to watch just to see me in colour :P

I feel like things are about as prepared as they can be for the most part. Costume, music, props, routine are all done and dusted (and will hopefully go to plan on the day!) I still need to sort hair and makeup, and resist the urge to wear full on black eye makeup, and should probably remove my black nail varnish and replace it with something more fitting.

I want to finish this blog with a big thank you to all of the amazing girls at SASS, to the competitors who have all been amazingly supportive, and our wonderful instructors Zorena and Julie who inspired me to perform and compete in the first place, and everyone else at SAAS who's come to classes and put up with our routine practice and listened to us ramble on and on about the comp and who are coming to support us on Sunday! And last but not least I want to wish all the SAAS competitors the best of luck, I know you'll all be amazing! Much Love, Samicat.

Hannah
Wowsers....where have the weeks gone?! I can't believe we are performing in a matter of days. So this week I've had mixed feelings. I had Julie watch my routine and felt as if I smashed it...performed to my Tuesdays ladies and ended in a heap on the floor. It knocked my confidence so close to the comp as I'd never messed up my invert before. Julie was my voice of reason on the night and luckily I have got over that this eve and had 2 good run throughs to music. I am happy with my costume and just have a few bra issues to sort on the day. Make-up and hair I have yet to decide but have some help on hand there to thankfully. I know that on the day I will literally be terrified and just hope that I can do my routine justice. Nothing like putting the pressure on myself!!! 3rd last year so fingers crossed. I'd like to say thank you for all the support from my fellow SAAS finalists and I can't wait to watch your routines. Team SAAS, let's smash this!

Emily
As I write this I have just got home from the last practice session before the competition! I can't believe how quickly it has come around! Just a few days ago we found out the news that someone in the expert pole category (which I had initially entered) had dropped out, leaving a space for 6th place to get through with less than a week to prepare for the competition. You would have to be mad to say yes, so I guess that makes me mad because at the moment the plan is to perform! Wtf right?! In terms of my other two categories, I feel like I am doing OK at hoop, I have had positive feedback from spectators in my classes so I feel ok about that... Doubles we have been having a lot of fun and we are enjoying our costumes, props and music! The actual routine however is not quite where we would want it to be! But we will see how it all goes! I have enjoyed the whole competition preparation process this time around and although I am still really nervous I feel a lot closer to our little SAAS team! I am more invested in how well they do than how well I do! We have all supported each other in the run up to the final and I am looking forward to being around them all on the day! Massive thanks to all the girls for all the help acting as spectators, music-starters and judges! Also huge thank you to Zorena of course for being such a brilliant boss!
I am dreading this Sunday but I am also really excited, looking forward to making memories (hopefully good ones) with my friends and finishing this comp season off with a nice cold glass of pinot! After the routines are done of course! To make sure that I actually make it to the competition rather than doing a runner I am staying at Laurens the night before, she is going to have her work cut out keeping me chilled! Hehehe!
The routines have changed a lot since first getting through to Solent, I scrapped a straight jacket from my hoop routine because it was awkward even by my standards! There was also a transition that I couldn't do that we just had to cut after an hour of me throwing a massive strop (sorry boss!) and I also changed my mind about the floorwork! In doubles we changed our theme entirely after some guidance and advice... We originally wanted to be gladiators! In pole even though I don't have time to come up with a new routine I have changed the music from the video entry because it just gives me flashbacks to where it all went wrong and I just can't bear it!
Thinking back twelve weeks to the start of this process I feel like we have all come so far with our routines I just hope hope hope it all goes smoothly on the day! Team SAAS!