a question from a CW skater...

[peanutskates]

just wondering whether any of your clubs do the same thing as our club - doing elements all together, whether you can do them or not (like a sitspin). I'm not in the club yet, but I was thinking about how I would do jumps/spins with everyone else when I jump and spin CW - the other way to almost everyone, probably. do you think there would be a separate area for us rarebreeds?

thanks.

[Skittl1321]

When I took group lessons and we all did everything I just went the other way. It was a bit frustrating at times because I had to be really careful of where I was going because even though the other girls knew I went the otherway they would NEVER watch if they were in my path.

When we did things on a circle that weren't done both ways (all your footwork is done both ways!) I just made a smaller or a larger circle so I was either inside or outside of them.

For spins, I just made sure to be on the end of the line, so my wind up didn't cross theirs.

But nope- no seperate area. So far it hasn't been a problem at all. I imagine once I start "big" jumps it might be- especially since people think they are "safe" in the non-traditional lutz corners. But honestly, even though I think CCW dominates- I've met TONS of CW skaters. I don't think it's that rare. (Wikipedia says 8-15% of people are left handed, I wonder if it's the same for CW skaters. Of course, I'm not a lefty but I skate CW)

[2salch0w]

just wondering whether any of your clubs do the same thing as our club - doing elements all together, whether you can do them or not (like a sitspin). I'm not in the club yet, but I was thinking about how I would do jumps/spins with everyone else when I jump and spin CW - the other way to almost everyone, probably. do you think there would be a separate area for us rarebreeds?

thanks.

I've never seen this situation, but I suppose just as with a general freestyle session you have to figure out how to work it in. It helps once other skaters realize your leftiness, but just accept that most of the responsibility will always be up to you. I never trust other skaters to know what I'm doing or where I'm going. I notice when setting up spins that they think I'm setting a loop or axel in the right direction, and they move right into my way. Or setting up a jump on a circle, they think I'm setting a spin.

But worst of all seems to be the flip. I suppose as I'm coming straight down the ice towards the end they know I'm going for a flip, but they move to the wrong side. Bless their hearts. :) But note that lutzes are easy to work in, because your setup circle actually goes with the traffic. Hence my theory that lefties are better lutzers, cases in point Don Jackson and Denise Biellmann.

Even worse is doing pairs when you're the lefty and your partner isn't. So doing SBS jumps the ones that try to move do so right into MY path. Again, at least they tried. LOL I suppose they would do best to just stand still and let us go by on either side.

Tim

[Sessy]

At our club, we have a pretty mixed B competitional group (everybody who doesn't fall into the A competitional group but has the potential to learn doubles is put there) so it's a bit of a different level too. Some can do a sit already, some can't. Some are clockwise, some are counterclockwise.
Never is a problem with it.

But for some weird reason, ALL my skating friends seem to be lefties. Which might explain why I learned to jump both ways meanwhile - cuz they ask to show it in their direction... Weird you know. I know as many lefty jumpers as I know righty jumpers.

[Scarlett]

As a CW skater, you just get used to people guessing your intentions wrong. It usually isn't a big issue. In group lessons, I find myself working in a corner. Lutzes usually involve the group lining up for the one corner and you going for the opposite. As for numbers, I usually am the only CW skater in a group class.

[jazzpants]

Nope! No special privileges for us CW skaters! We just "work our way in." The only case where this wasn't the case was power class, where if he have the exercise of going into waltz/axels, loops and salchow at speed that the center circle was for us "lefties" and everyone else is around the ends of the rink.

[Award]

My current issue is that I jump CCW, but do spins (backspins right-leg) in CW direction. Or just more used to spinning in CW direction. So I'm working on spins in CCW direction. At first it feels uneasy, but the more you work on it, the more 'natural' it will get. But as for jumping, I think it would take me a very long time to learn to jump CW though.

[Sessy]

Well come to think of it, in our group class oftentimes while the rest practices flips, the cw skaters will practice lutzes - and flips while we're practicing lutzes. Except their landing edge sort of pushes them into the far corner, where as our flip landing edges neatly join back onto the semi-oval path in which everybody skates.
But that's only when we have the far third of the rink. When we're on the middle third part, it just sort of arranges itself. We usually do the jumps on one of the lines then, and the landing edges subsequently take us in different directions and we join at the back of the queue from different sides of the line. The CCW skaters briefly cross into the area for the lower-grade skaters (who are usually doing 3-turns and crossovers on the two hockey circles, so it's not a problem as long as you don't end up on their circle) and the cw skaters briefly cross the area for our top competitional group (which isn't a problem either, because there's not a lot of cw skaters and the top competitional group is good enough not to bump into anyone)
For practicing spins we sort of allign in a grid (kind of naturally, nobody ever ordered it, it just happens) and everybody's got their little imaginitive square to spin in, with some slight shoving in the grid but not much. And so you end up spinning in the middle of your little square anyway (at least - some do, I always end up spinning all over the square :lol:) so it's not a problem either. But I think that's mostly thanks to the cw skaters being careful indeed yes.

[Skittl1321]

My current issue is that I jump CCW, but do spins (backspins right-leg) in CW direction. Or just more used to spinning in CW direction. So I'm working on spins in CCW direction. At first it feels uneasy, but the more you work on it, the more 'natural' it will get. But as for jumping, I think it would take me a very long time to learn to jump CW though.

I'm confused- I'm a CW skater and my backspin is on my left leg.
So, while I could be wrong- it seems if you are spinning CW on your right leg it is a forward spin.

I am a righty so my leg strength would make you think I jump CCW, but I can't even do a rotation on that side without wanting to throw up (which I generally feel like b/c I have to teach 2 foot spins to LTS CCW. I do 3 rotations and make sure I'm close to the wall, so I can regain my composure while they try). So I learned everything CW. I often wonder if my jumps would be better if I had been able to spin my non-natural way.

Our skate director was a CW spinner and a CCW jumper and she highly recommends against it. She said coming out of some moves to go into others was extremely difficult and had to be choregraphed around. It also prevented her from doing pairs and made synchro difficult.

If CCW spinning just feels unnatural, I would try to learn it. For me, it wasn't unnatural- it was impossible!

[Sessy]

I did just that actually, learning to spin ccw while wanting to spin cw really. It doesn't feel unnatural to me anymore.

[jazzpants]

But note that lutzes are easy to work in, because your setup circle actually goes with the traffic. Hence my theory that lefties are better lutzers, cases in point Don Jackson and Denise Biellmann.I'll believe it when THIS lefty skater can GET a lutz!!! Of course, this is given that I can do a flip easily and it's one of those "on/off" days thing. Right now, lutzes for me is only a dream, though I am practicing the entrance to it and am playing around with it just to see if I could get the same feeling as I do when I do land a flip correctly.

[Award]

I'm confused- I'm a CW skater and my backspin is on my left leg.

oops! You're right there! Typo without thinking hehe. It should have been 'forward spin right-leg CW', not '*backspin* right-leg CW'.

I do backspin right-leg CCW though (just including the directions as overkill hehe). And recently, I'm working on 'forward spin left-leg CCW'. I'd like to be able to do forward spins in either direction, but doubt that I would be able to jump in both directions.