As soon as I woke up 6:30 this morning I grunted the fact that I had to test. I have not skated at all consistently all week. The most I practiced was only two times, Tuesday and Sunday.

My boyfriend constantly to wipe off the sour puss off my face and tell me to stop whining and groaning.

I went for my warmup and immediately I noticed that the temperature at the rink was extra cold and the ice was a bit hard for me to get a good grip.

Anyways here are the damn elements and the comments:

Eight Step Mohawk Sequence - I was too fast the whole entire time, I almost ran into the wall twice.
Judge 1 - 2.7, very good
Judge 2 - 2.6, pulse not equal with each stroke
Judge 3 - 2.7, sequence wild


Forward and Backward Cross Strokes - This I felt secure, especially the forwards, but the backwards, I was having trouble leaning on my back edges.
Judge 1 - 2.6, Nice flow on forwards, very slow on backwards
Judge 2 - 2.7, steps ok, edges ok
Judge 3 - 2.7, end of sequence double footed

F*ck*ng 3-turns in the Field - I always hated this move, especially the back insides, Im always afraid that I will swipe and fall on my head.
FO - BI & FI - BO
Judge 1 - 2.6 & 2.6, LBI weak turning, RBI too soon, LBO wobbles
Judge 2 - 2.7 & 2.6, BK turn very early, flow and edges ok, areas not consistent, in shape, some body glotches out of BK turns
Judge 3 - 2.7 & 2.5. turns a bit slow, wiggles on edges, lack of control of edge before and after turns

Forward Right and Left Foot Spirals - This move I know I did not have to warmup, I just built up speed and stretched out. I was hopping that I would gain back the points that I missed.
Judge 1 - 2.8, very nice extensions
Judge 2 - 2.9, very nice position and balance
Judge 3 - 2.8, good extension and form

Forward and Backward Power Pulls - I have worked hard with my ice dance coach in the past with these moves. I was reluctant to start working on them, so she had to do plan B. First she placed one guard over my Left Skate and made me skate around the rink forwards and backwards for 5 minutes. Then she switched the guard to my Right Skate. That made me learn to deal with them. Thank God I did not fall on them ever.
Judge 1 - 2.7, no comment
Judge 2 - 2.7 Forward & Backward OK
Judge 3 - 2.7, Good

Final marks
Judge 1 - 16.0
Judge 2 - 16.1
Judge 3 - 16.2



I will try to test with SCNY right on January 17, I know it will be a tough panel, but I am now determined to pass it!!! Damn it!!!

__________________
Tim David's Website

A judge failed you by 0.1?!
That is evil!

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Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

I'm not familiar with the marking system (all my tests were E, G, S, or NI); what do you need to pass?

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~No thinking, breathing, or hesitation!~

16.2 total is needed to pass. Judge #2 should have asked to have you reskate one of the elements you were down by 0.1 (2.6) ... in order to give you the benefit of the doubt that this test was not of passing quality. Judge #1 thought the test was not passing quality (they're supposed to "invite you to retry" by a minimum of 0.2) and Judge #3 said the test did pass.... even if it was by the bare minimum. So that leaves Judge #2... is this a new judge?

And how do you already know who the test panel will be on 1/17 when you retry?

That IS evil!

In the judges' manual on the USFS website I think it actually explicitly states that judges should not fail an entire test by just 0.1 under the passing mark. They are asked to evaluate the test as a whole and determine whether they feel the test passes or should be retried and adjust the marks accordingly to reflect that.

http://www.usfigureskating.org/conte...Manual2-02.pdf

I think it's page nine that states:

"Judges must be aware of the numbers and use them well. Do not let the numbers defeat your intentions. Add your
scores, and if the numbers do not bear out your intentions, change the numbers where possible to make them support
your intentions. If you feel that the overall test has met the requirements and is passing, do not let the fact that you have
given one mark a bit too low to cause you to mark the test “retry”. You can either alter the low mark or add 0.1 to another
mark. Always ask yourself at the end of the test: Is this a passing test?” If the answer is “yes” then pass it. If the answer
is “no” then ask that it be retried. When you are in doubt, always give the benefit of the doubt to the skater.
Do not mark tests “retry” by only a tenth of a point. If you are confident that the test is not passing, change your marks as
indicated above."

In any case, sorry to hear about the retry, Tim. Best of luck in finding a session and passing your tests next month.

Frank

That's interesting--I didn't know about that marking system thing. I've failed MANY dances by .1! I always looked at it that it was very close & therefore a valid attempt. And that it wouldn't take much more to get it up to passing level.

I once got a .4 below passing from a judge & that crushed me!

everyone is correct - you should not have failed a test by .1 of a point. But it does look like #2 tried to pass you with a 2.9 on the spirals. By the marks, I'd say your 3 turns in the field did you in.

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Champagne in 2005, 2008, 2009 - who's next out of the pre-bronze club...?

Wang chung!

You (or coach if with you) probably should have questioned the 0.1 under retry mark at the time you received the results, as it's a little late now.

Sometimes mistakes also happen and the judge got to the end of the test and didn't check math to realize it was .1 under before the test paper was collected to give to you. And once the paper has been collected and delivered, ....

When I used to monitor test sessions, I used to double-check the math just to make sure that there were no errors, as it's easy to make mistakes or circle the wrong mark, or any of a number of things, especially when one is having to immediately start judging another test and trying to finish marks/comments from previous test.

I know I've had a couple of times where it's gotten to the end of a test and the marks add up to .1 under and I've had to quickly mentally debate "based on what I've just seen, how hard is it going to be for this skater to achieve the next test" and then adjust marks accordingly.

But certainly the 3's in the Field (primarily) and a bit of a rough start on the 8-step appear to have done you in. And with both Forward Double 3's and Backwards Double 3's on the Gold MIF test....

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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'm so sorry to hear about your frustrating and disappointing test experience.
I found the back inside 3's to be the toughest thing on both my Silver MIF and Gold MIF, too.

What finally helped me gain control over my right back inside 3's (the ones where you have to turn CW) was figuring out the timing on passing my arms and turning my head. As I push onto the RBI edge at 12:00, I look into the circle with my left arm back and right arm forward. When I reached 2:00, I start to gently pass my arms, brushing my hips with them as I pass them, then I gently turn my head to face outside the circle (the head follows slightly after the arms). Then I bend the knee, then execute the turn.

On power pulls, this may sound kind of silly, but I have found that it actually helps me a lot to say to myself, "Inside. Outside. Inside. Outside" as I do them. I don't know why, but it works, LOL!

Don't give up on passing the test in time for Nationals. You can do it!

You can retry moves?! I thought you could only reskate elements in the FS? I am very very luck to have had a MITF coach that didn't let me test until I was 10,000% ready but it would have been nice to know that if I had needed a retry, I could've gotten one. So, you can? I was always told you couldn't reskate moves, just FS. Is it different for standard vs adult? If not, my MITF has some explaining to do....even if it's too late now as I'm done with moves, thank God.

You can have 1 reskate on moves, Standard or adult track. I've seen it, but it doesn't seem real common in my area. Even if it's only one element that makes the test fail. Don't know what that's about....

The judges have the option of requesting a reskate of one element in a MIF test. However, they won't ask for it if they don't think the skater can do the element any better, or if it wouldn't make a difference in the overall result of the test (for example, if all three judges failed the skater on the same move, that would be worth trying a reskate because they all want to see the same thing; but if the three judges all failed different moves, and only one reskate is allowed, there's no point to a reskate).

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Where are those knives when I need them?
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I need a detachable left foot!

I guess not having a coach really did me in too.

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Tim David's Website

Never underestimate the power of having a coach talk you down in the middle of a moves test.......

Sorry to hear you didn't pass. Good luck next time! I hate MIF's; luckily I took the silver free before they started having adult MIF tests.

You mean, with you at the test session, or teaching you the MIF?

Tim David:

I hope you have a coach that helps you with your moves stuff! If I didn't get a coach to help me with my moves, I would not have realized all the mistakes I had been making. My group coach just didn't take time to go into all the details necessary for testing. I would be going up to test and would be failing dramatically

Terese

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

I felt like hving a coach with me during the test session was not necessary, I already knew what I needed to do. But after this situation, a coach would have been nice to have. She would have gone to the judges and asked for a retry on my behalf

__________________
Tim David's Website

I was trying to save $$$

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Tim David's Website

I think you may be confusing the terms "retry" and "reskate". A retry means you failed the test and have to take it over again. As far as I know, you can take a test as many times as you need to be able to pass it - although you do have to wait 27 days after the failed test to take test again. A reskate refers to the judges having you reskate an element at the end of your test to give you a chance to do it better and raise your score to passing level - but as LoopLoop said, it depends on whether it would make a difference in your overall result. You can reskate 1 element on a MIF test and 2 elements on a FS test, if there is a possibility that it will change your overall result from a retry to a pass.

When I tested Pre-Bronze MIF, one judge failed me and did not even give me the chance to reskate a move. But the other 2 judges passed me, and there was a bit of a conference between all 3 of them while I waited at the ice entrance after the test, and then they thanked me and waved me off. I assume the "retry" judge found out I was going to pass anyway, so any reskate wouldn't have made a difference, so there was no point in taking up everyone's time.

Um, I don't think a coach can go up to the judges and lobby them to change their minds - especially since the chance for a reskate ends when you step off the ice. She (and you) can certainly talk to the judges afterward and ask them for more detailed feedback on how you can improve, if their comments were unclear.

How did you manage to get so close to the wall on the 8-step? Weren't you using the center hockey circle? Or did they double up the skaters on the ice and make you do it at one of the ends?

Nahs, I just skate extremely fast. I was the only one on the ice testing.
I did start out in the middle of the hocke circle, but I eventually keep running out of room to do the third pattern of the mohawk, so I have to spread it to the edge of the rink

On the Prelim test, the 8 pattern I had to do for crossovers, I requested the judge if I can do them in the middle of the rink.

__________________
Tim David's Website

Re the retry judge....I had a similar experience with AB MIF. Though I didn't see a conference per se, they did glance at one another. The other two judges had given me "overs" on some things, too, so guess it was moot.

As to lobbying the judges. I think you're right here. In terms of pointing out a rule to them, maybe .......though I have seen many a test, especially dance tests, failed by .1. Maybe the "can't fail a test by .1" does not apply to dance? Anyway....

Oh, had I only done that during my last MIF test. And, trust me, I will at my next one, if I ever make it to another one that is.

I think it's really important to have your coach there.......

Is the focus of this move first quickness, then power? Maybe you were really nervous (like I got during my last MIF test ), and it resulted in what I call for me "wild skating" ?

Most people I've seen pass this do not go out to the boards. They maintain an even circle, though well away from the hockey circle line. Also, I've seen people do this move without even doing it on a hockey circle (that won't ever be for me, I think! )

Good luck on your next try. Maybe it would be worth it to spring for having a coach on hand. (?)

Uh, aren't you supposed to start at one of the 4 red dots that "ring" the outside of the center circle, and then your pattern circle essentially connects (or close to it) the red dots (outside the circle line)? The pattern is supposed to cover 1 1/2 "circles", so your 3rd sequence essentially retraces your first.