You can be a delegate if you are over 18, a full member of USFS, and are selected by your club.

The delegates have already been selected this year and their names turned into USFS. Each club gets a number of delegates to represent them based on their membership size. The specifics are in the rulebook.

Our club gets 5 delegates this year. I have attended the 2001 and 2003 GCs. I am a delegate for our club, but can't go. So, I am giving one of the other people going my proxy, to vote in my stead.

But, as to fun... The meetings are very detailed, and long. They can also be a bit boring because of all the gyrations of Roberts Rules of Order. However, you do get to meet quite a few big shots in USFS and the skaters send their representatives.

Rob

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2010 Adult Nationals - earning a gold - "Priceless"
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OK, sorry I did not understand you originally. I thought you were saying that Mao Asada broke the rules but was not penalized.

Anyway, I actually don't think the proposals are any stricter than they are for other levels that are already using the ISU judging system (or Code of Points or NJS or whatever is your preferred name). At the senior level, you can only have 7 jumping passes and 4 spins. Silver and Bronze are not even close to senior level, so the requirements of 5/4 jumping passes and 2 spins are right in line when compared to the requirements for other levels.

By limiting jumps and spins, you will make the jumps and spins that you are allowed to do, be better quality jumps and spins. You can stay in your spin position longer and add some changes of position. In my opinion, this will actually benefit those who are better spinners because they can do a variety of positions and edges, and hold them for longer, and get more points for the spin as well as a higher GOE.

It will also place a greater emphasis on the in-between skating. I also feel this is a good thing.

In my Silver program I had 6 jumping passes, only 2 jumps were repeated (in combination), and 3 spins as well as circular footwork and lots of connecting steps/spirals/spreadeagles/inas. My program was exactly 2:10 and I always felt completely rushed. I never had enough time to really hold the positions in the combo spin at the end. I would feel extremely relieved to have to only do 5 passes and 2 spins. It would allow me to finish with the music! Just my opinion.

I understand this sentiment but I'm actually okay with the addendum. While it is true that they are placing limitations on spins and to a certain degree limiting the jumps as well, there is more to a program than the jumps and spins. I see this as an opportunity to be able to dedicate more time to footwork and connecting steps as well as work at refining the jumps and spins that I do get to do in the program. Having said that, I don't really think it's a secret that my jumps are my strength at the moment but I'm willing to back off on putting them in my program if I can raise the level of the other aspects of my skating.

I am understanding this the same as Frank R. said earlier...that you can only repeat a jump once no matter what. So Lutz loop loop combo and then a solo loop would not be within the rules any longer.

If so, it could be a good thing. There are really way too many loops being tacked on to jumps in Bronze and Silver levels in my opinion.

Sexyskater,
The afore mentioned program was 2:40 - then the master's time. It was hardly a "race from element to element". It was a lyrical program with quality extensions and elements, and placed 2nd in master pairs. The pair above us had a double split twist, and overheads, and the pair below us was also very strong with sbs axels and throw axels. My point is that this was accomplished, and accomplished well in a 2:40 program with now gold level pairs. In can be done, and done well in a 3:10 program.

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The problem is that the NJS will not be used for silver and below next year (or maybe not even the year after). But I guess the goal is to eventually use it so these changes are for the interim. What I mean is that it's nice to say that spins with a vairety of postions and features will be rewarded, but in the 6.0 system, they aren't given their due.

My other problem is that most people I know or whom I have seen have already been doing 4 or 5 jump passes. So the new rule change won't affect this at all. That is, it looks like the spins are getting picked on. As a spinner, I do not like this! But honestly, whatever changes are made, I'll be happy to adjust to. Actually, spins are worth so much more than single jumps that Isuspect this rule was put in as an equalizer. A single jump is worth anywhere from 0.4-0.8, but a level 1 change combination spin (CCoSp1) is worth 2.0 points (nearly the same as doing axel/toe and flip/loop). Again, it's this interim period that will hurt.

I am excited about competing in O'dorf--but I had to ramp up my program to make it CoP-friendly. I had to 'uglify' my spins in order to get higher level. Instead of doing a nice camel/back sit, I'm now doing back camel/donut (catch foot)/back spin (either sit or scratch) w/change of edge. It ain't pretty, but it's level 3.

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I agree and I've been such an offender when it comes to this particular item. In 2004, as a bronze skater, I did lutz/toe/loop, flip/toe/loop and split/loop/loop all within the first minute or so of the program. If I had it to do over again I would have done fewer loops.

That's pretty funny Frank. I think I have been an offender myself, though maybe not as much as you !

Hey everyone ... YES, this is correct.

If you do a lutz-loop-loop, you have used up your "repeated" loop. If you do another loop, it won't count in your score but it WILL count in your jump-elements tally, and you will have wasted a jumping pass.

Regarding Mao or any other Senior-level skater, the WBP requirement at the level is that a skater can only repeat two TRIPLE or QUAD jumps. For our adult-skating purposes, though, it's ANY jump.

This is what I'm hoping for.

This is long, but please bear with me...

As a person who is moving up to Silver, I really don't get a warm-fuzzy about the Silver restrictions. In particular:

- "MAXIMUM of TWO spins"....why don't they make it a maximum of 3 spins and a minimum of 2? What makes Silver different than Bronze then, other than more time?

- "Jumps may be repeated only once and ONLY in combination and/or sequences." What EXACTLY does that mean? The way I read it, if you do a lutz-loop-loop, you've used up your "loop" allowance COMPLETELY. Or does it mean that you can do a loop by itself, and then repeat the loop as long as it is in a combination? (Ex.#1 Could you still do a single loop by itself, and a flip-loop and a lutz-loop-loop; or do you have to downgrade at least one of the combinations to a toe-loop?) (Ex.#2 Are you limited to say a lutz-loop-loop and a loop by itself, and the rest of the combinations can't have a loop in it?) (Ex.#3 You could do a lutz-loop and a flip-loop, but no single loop by itself.) I really hope that I'm reading that incorrectly.

-"Maximum of 5 jump elements." I do like that it limits you to 5 jumping passes. But, if you limit the jumping passess to 5, then why limit the spins to only 2?

-"Step sequence using 1/2 ice. Additional MITF and SPIRAL step sequences will NOT be counted as a step sequence, but will be counted as transitions and marked as such. " OUCH!!! Not good! Why bother doing a nice spiral then? Isn't that a integral part of skating? I think a well-executed and difficult spiral sequence can be just as important as footwork.

To me, these restrictions are going to make everyone's programs look the same. There would be a limited number of jump combinations everyone could do,. Everyone will have footwork and little to no spirals. And the spin limitation is a big problem, especially for people with good spins. If they are trying to keep it from being a "jumping contest", then WHY would you limit the spins to TWO????? I realize that they want people to improve the quality of the elements by limiting them, but from what I saw at Nationals, quality doesn't seem to be a problem.

(incidentally...my strength is jumps not spins. And I have both a ftwk and spiral sequence in my new program.)

Can anyone definitively clarify the jump-thing for me? I'd love to hear more opinions, as I have only been competing in USFSA for a little over 1 year.

Yes, this is what it means. See my post above.

EDITED: I just noticed on the proposal that a spiral sequence is one of the options.

LOL -- why should adult skating be any different than standard track!

That's how I read it as well, but I would love to know for sure, since I have a lutz-loop-loop and a solo loop in my new program!

Aw MAN!
I'm a weird person who has more trouble with Dsal and Dtoe than I do with DLoop and above. Adult Gold Free is now limited. Okay, I know , I'll stop whining but I was kind of happy without the limit. Just forces me to work harder I suppose. Gold pairs seems rather limited to me but for Silver Free honestly, they should be allowed to have three spins. And all this "not to be repeated, only in sequence or combinations" yada yada yada. We're going to need foreign language interpreters. However, I guess everyone in the amateur amateur has had to go through this so I suppose it's our turn. The restrictions are a bit limiting for us as adults because we all have different strengths to bring to the table and now we're going to be "forced" to do what we have to do, not necessarily what we want to do or do best. All in all, I'm just going to skate and have fun. And if it gets too bad I'll take up sewing!

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Oops, never mind! I'll go back up and read the posts by Daisies. . .

Thanks for the clarification on the jumps. That's a real bummer for me. I have a lutz-loop-loop and a flip-loop planned.

(I was busy writing my question while you were posting your answer, I think.)

No problem!

That repeated jump rule will limit us SO much more than it would limit the high level standard track skaters, since most adult skaters up through Silver level only have 5 listed jumps in their repertoire (6 if they are one of the few Silvers with an axel) and will quickly run out of jumps if they do a sequence or combination. A high level standard track skater usually has 6 singles, 6 doubles and 5 triples (6 with a triple axel), giving her a lot more jumps to mix and match without running out of jumps. For example, a skater can do a triple loop, a triple loop-double loop combination and a solo double loop in her program, for a total of 4 loops. Hypothetically, she could do 5 loops if she did a single loop as well.

One final question on the jump repetition thing. . .

Can the same jump be done twice, with both times being as part of a combination? I am thinking in particular of a toeloop or loop. So would it be okay to do a lutz-loop-toeloop and also a flip-toeloop as long as those are the only two toeloops in the program? Or does one need to be by itself? At anything higher than Bronze level, it is silly to even do a single toeloop as a solo jump. . .

Thank you for explaining it much better than I could. That is EXACTLY what I am concerned about!

Yes. As long as at least one is in combo. It's OK if both are in combo.

For gold, though, I could do a loop-double loop and a flip-loop, right? Since a double loop isn't the same jump as a single loop.

(Personally, I'd be happy if they limited Golds to two spins... )

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Yes, that is fine. You have to be careful there, though. If for some reason your double loop comes in more than a quarter-turn underrotated, it will be downgraded to a single.

So when will we know if these proposed changes will be going into effect for the 2007 season?

After just spending countless hours on and off the ice building my new program around a spiral sequence, I will now have to trash the whole thing and start over if it is decided that Adult Gold skaters no longer have the option to do a spiral sequence instead of footwork. Aaarrrghhh.....!

We'll know at the end of Governing Council, so basically on May 7.

I just reread the proposal. You can do a spiral sequence! It says, "A maximum of one step sequence (i.e. circular, straight line, serpentine, SPIRAL) ...."

So there ya go!