The ROA have the following changes listed (the video clips show just what is new). These changes would take place on 1 Sep 2009. They are proposing to realign various moves as follows:

Juv MIF:

a. Stroking: Forward Power Circle (realigned from Intermediate)*
b. Stroking: Backward Power Circle (realigned from Intermediate)*
c. Eight-Step Mohawk Sequence*
d. Forward and Backward Free Skating Cross Strokes
e. Backward Power Three-turns
f. Forward Double Three Turns
g. Juvenile Spiral Sequence (new move)


Intermediate MIF:

a. Forward Outside and Inside Twizzles (new move)
b. Backward Outside and Inside Twizzles (new Move)
c. Backward Perimeter Power Crossover Stroking with Backward Power Three-turns*
d. Backward Double Three-turns
e. Brackets in the Field Sequence
f. Inside Slide Chasse Pattern

Novice MIF:

a. Backward Perimeter Power Stroking with Back Inside 3-turns and forward Inside 3 turns*
b. Forward Perimeter Power Stroking to a backward quick rocker-turn sequence*
c. Forward and backward outside counters
d. Forward and backward inside counters
e. Backward rocker choctaw sequence
f. Novice Spiral Sequence (new move)
g. Bracket Twizzle sequence (new move)

Junior MIF:

a. Forward Power Circles*
b. Backward Power circles*
c. Forward and backward outside rockers
d. Forward and backward inside rockers
e. Power Pulls
f. Choctaw sequence
g. Outside and Inside Counter/Twizzle step (new Move)

Senior MIF:

a. Sustained edge step
b. Extension Spiral Step (new move)
c. Change Loop Movement, Back Outside and Back Inside (new Move)
d. Backward outside power double three-turns to power double inside rockers
e. Backward inside power double three-turns to power double outside rockers
f. Senior Quick edge step (new move)

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Acutal video clips provided by the USFS:
http://www.usfsa.org/Shell.asp?sid=37811

Shows the new MIF that could possibly be introduced...

Yes.

Also, because of the added length, they are proposing that

"Prior to commencing the test session, the designated Judge-in-Charge will flip a coin to indicate the starting direction of the items marked on the test form with a "*" for the entire test day. Heads will indicate a clockwise start, and tails will indicate a counter clockwise start. The denoted moves in the test will alternate in direction between clockwise and counter-clockwise based upon the start of the initial move."

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

I don't get it - how will that change the length - unless the skater will only do the one direction for each move that has both CW and CCW presently?

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

That's what will happen. Skaters just won't find out which direction a move will be skated in until they get to the test session. Sheesh, can testing get any more nerve-wracking than it already is? Just pick a direction for one and all, put it on the test form, and be done with it! Or pick a move or 2 to eliminate from the test. It just seems like this is TPTB's not wanting to take the time to figure out which move(s) to eliminate, so they're passing the burden on to the test chairs and the skaters themselves. Since skaters will have to practice what amounts to additional moves they won't be tested on, moving through each test will require more time and more money.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

That seems kind of unfair--since everyone has a weak side on those moves......some will get lucky & only have to do their good side & therefore get to hide their weakness, some will get unlucky & only do their bad side, & never get to show the good side!

Cool! That means I'd have a 50% chance of not having to do my clockwise back power 3's, which were the only thing I seriously messed up on when I took my Intermediate test. Up to now, there has been 100% chance that I'd have to do them, so I see this as a big improvement! Of course, I still want to pass the stupid test before they replace the power circles with the twizzles. Yikes.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Welcome to the old world of figures! That's basically what happened in competition. You knew which figures you'd have to compete, but not which starting foot. It ensured that you worked on both.

I like the idea. If it's your bad side and you don't perform it well, guess what -- you don't pass. Keep at it and try again next time.

The burden? Of being a BETTER skater because you work on both sides of an element? That's a burden I'd gladly take on.

But a good side shouldn't "cancel out" a bad side in a current test. If the bad side isn't passable, then the test won't pass. So it shouldn't matter if the skater has to do the more difficult for them side- both sides need to be above the passing standard.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

sheesh! no wonder my coach has me work on my bad side twice as much!!!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Thank God!!! I only have Senior left, and I was shaking in my boots at the prospect of having to pass them by this September. Next September is MUCH more attainable! Whew.

Exactly. But only us figures people appreciate that.

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Rogue Element, Inc

Actually, that's not quite correct. A good side that is above passing and other moves combined could in fact cancel out a bad side on the move. If someone only had to do good sides (especially more than one move), and someone else only had to do bad sides, then maybe they wouldn't cancel each other out. Some people have a phobia of a certain move and know it may not be perfect once nerves get in the way, but they may be wonderful on other moves to make up for it. No, it's not the best way to think of a test and every move should be passable before you take it, but nerves can take over.

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

I can see this happening with the draw/coin flip...

Someone is going to complain that unless the judge in charge or designated official conducts the coin flip out in the open, that "the judges deliberately picked the side that they know my skater can't do well, because they don't want her/him to pass"

At my club, we usually utilize 12-13 judges across an 8 hour test session. The "morning" judges are often different than the "afternoon" judges. So we don't have a single "Judge-in-charge" across the whole test session.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

I thought that once they picked the side for the initial move, the sides would alternate for the rest of the test. Did I read that wrong? So you'd do your good side for half the moves and your bad side for the other half.

Yes, that is the proposal.

But in my experience, people will always find a way to claim that the PTB deliberately did things in a manner to not favor their skater (for example if the "other direction" happens to happen on the moves that a skater just isn't very strong at in the "other direction", or if skater gets a retry, returns a month later and luck of the draw is that skater has to do the same set of directions again.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

I think that's what it means. But you wouldn't necessarily do your good side for half the moves and your bad side for half. For me there are some moves I do well CCW and others I do well CW. So an unlucky draw could have me bad on all (well, most) of them! It's a moot point for me though- I won't test this high!

But the judge doesn't flip a coin for each skater- they flip it for the entire test session. I'd think coaches would have to be pretty self important to think the judge picked that side to start on for EVERYONE just to ruin the test for THEIR skater. Actually, I can see that happening, never mind.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Yes, exactly. And what about a situation where the test chair flips the coin, gets the 'bad side' of a particular skater, whose mother happens to be an...um...opinionated skating mom, and all h**l breaks lose when the kid doesn't pass? And then what happens when the kid retries and ends up having to do the same side again?

Yeah, I know that sounds overly dramatic, but who here doesn't have at least one skater/coach/skating mom at their rink that would rail against a test chair in this situation? As if the job of test chair wasn't stressful enough as it is, and remember, these people are volunteers - here's yet another way to make their job easier.

If the new moves are being proposed b/c the current moves don't, in the opinion of the USFSA, prepare skaters to be competitive under the new rules, then why keep all of them? Figure out which ones are the most expendable, or redundant, and get rid of them. For example, the way the Juv MIF test is set up, it seems like the 8-step could be eliminated, b/c it measures the same skills (power and quickness) as the power circles - no need to have all of them on the same test.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

It's really not that many moves being affected by the "coin toss direction selection". I went back and edited my original posting to mark which moves.

For anyone who thinks that there should be additional changes/refinements, contact one of your club's representatives for Governing Council (unless you are one) and see if they will let you submit a New Business Item proposing the change.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

The 8-step also introduces outside mohawks, which is the first counterrotated turn. They need to learn that before starting brackets on the intermediate test.

Quick quesiton, aren't there outside mohawks on the pre-juv 5 step?

Because outside mohawks are more difficult.

ETA, nevermind, I thought I read a "why" in there!

No, they're inside mohawks.

Unless you're thinking of the backward-to-forward turns, but in those cases it's the inside rather than the outside ones that are counterrotated.

Yes, at this point all mohawks (outside, inside, etc.) will have been learned. They've also learned what it means to skate over their "skating side" in relation to body lean and skating against the circle. As mentioned, this is a counterrotated turn, so skaters at this level really must master this before they can succeed at brackets in Intermediate. This checking movement also strengthens skaters core body muscles, particularly those around the spine.

Outside of moves, this mohawk and the benefits of mastering it correctly also apply to freestyle as skaters use this same balance and alignment for learning lutzes. The rhythm of this particular mohawk is also beneficial in teaching the rhythmic mechanics of jumping by requiring a clockwise and counterclockwise movement.