Standards at regionals

[xofivebyfive]

I'm not sure if anyone can answer my question for me.

At regionals and sectionals, does anyone know what jumps you should have at intermediate and novice, to have a chance to make it to the final round or eventually to nationals? Like at novice, how many triples do they usually have? I'm assuming at intermediate, your doubles should be perfectly clean, and a double axel helps(although this years jr nat winner didn't have one).

[Sylvia]

Just as an example, you can take a look at the detailed protocol for the Novice Ladies and Men at 2007 North Atlantic Regionals from Oct. 2006 (84 page PDF file): http://www.usfigureskating.org/content/events/200607/regionals-NA/novice-details.pdf
Under the new judging system, it's really not just about jumps but how high your levels are (1 to 4) and the quality and execution of your elements (GOE).

[SynchroSk8r114]

I got this info. from sk8stuff.com ("Rules and Regulations" page), but check the USFS Figure Skating rulebook to make sure - it's probably more current. This information is of 2006...

Intermediate:
http://sk8stuff.com/f_rules/Intermediate_competition_elements.htm
Novice:
http://sk8stuff.com/f_rules/Novice_competition_elements.htm
Junior:
http://sk8stuff.com/f_rules/junior_competition_elements.htm
Senior:
http://sk8stuff.com/f_rules/senior_competition_elements.htm
Well-balanced program:
http://sk8stuff.com/f_rules/singles_long_high.htm

From my own experience, the skaters who compete out of my rink at regionals (Intermediate/Novice level) have clean doubles - with the exception of one girl - and are working on/landing double axels. As for making it to Nationals and all at this level, the girl I know who two-foots her doubles and double axel has only made it to Jr. Nationals one year, which I attribute to pure luck. She is now working on triples (Sal & Toe), but has yet to get past Jr. Nationals. In addition to jumps, I think making it in the competitive world depends alot on overall presentation and skating ability in addition to being physically capable of landing double and triple jumps. With the newer judging system, footwork, spin positions, and other areas are valued more (although some may disagree), forcing skaters to become more versatile in their skating style.

[xofivebyfive]

Okay, so basically jumps aren't the end-all. That's good news. I tend to be better at mitf and spins than jumps.

Thanks for the information!

[techskater]

The girl from our rink who won UGLs at the Novice level had attempts (and full rotation if not clean landings) on all triples except her Axel. She ended up 4th overall at Nationals as a Novice.

Many Intermediates in our Region have at least 1 triple if not 2-3 clean along with a double Axel. Sometimes it abandons them when they compete, though.

[Debbie S]

I believe every girl who qualified for JN from my region (South Atl) in Intermediate landed a clean double axel in their LP, and some landed 3 sal and/or 3 toe. The top 2 Novice Ladies at Souths (who qualified for Nats) each had a 2 axel and triples through 3 loop (well, I remember the winner did).

As Sylvia pointed out, execution is very important, so if a skater can't fully rotate their triples, they would be better off doing clean, quality doubles, b/c otherwise the jumps will be downgraded with a negative GOE on top of that. And spins, footwork, and spirals need to be strong - one of the skaters who qualified for Easterns in Novice had a relatively easy program jumpwise (I think she did at most 1 triple) but her program maximized its points opportunities in the other areas.