I noticed two of the image links are no longer there! My guess would be that someone saw this thread and told him about it and he immediately took it down. Not knowing him, I have to give Burton the benefit of the doubt that he would not intentionally mislead his reputation. His taking down those links does reassure me of this. Good for him!!!

I also do hope that he considers moving up to Masters, given the ordinals that I saw for the Championship Adult Gold Men. They look pretty close to what I expect to see for an Championship Masters Men. But hey, I wouldn't push him to do it. I mean, probably between his Web Design career, his students, his own skating, and probably other things we don't know about... there's very little time to prepare for testing! When you get up to that level in skating, it's kinda hard to get those MITF tests out of the way. (I mean, c'mon... we don't call Novice Moves "Nervous Moves" for nothing...)

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I think it's pretty darn obvious he took it down because he got caught.

I totally agree!!!! It is very unfair. We will see how he skates at Nationals, and if he skates like a master and wins, then I know hell will break lose!!!

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Tim David's Website

Yeah, the notion of higher level skaters skating down raises more than a few eyebrows ...

And unfortunately, it doesn't just happen at the upper echelons.

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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.

The website has been updated with a new article where Burton Powley addresses his "critics". I think the unfortunate thing is that had the 1999 Skating magazine article been printed in its original form from the beginning, there would have been no accusations of sandbagging (since the actual difficulty level presented in the article, while strong, is not unusual or illegal for gold level), and no need for Burton to address anything. But because the alternate version of the article appeared, with those two words "triple toe", people assumed this was a master level skater skating down.

I'll give the benefit of the doubt and say that this was just an unfortunate misunderstanding. However, it could have been completely prevented if the article had not been altered in the first place.

Hey InsideAxel? When you rollerskated, did you get $$$Prize Winnings??? Is it really enough to buy an ice rink?

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Tim David's Website

Yeap! I read it! Yeap! I suspected that something happened that kept him from testing and competing. I'm glad to see that he's back (or at least recovering from whatever kept him from competing in the first place.)

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I guess, but I think he should skate his own level

__________________
Tim David's Website

Is it really necessary to crucify this guy on this board? We all have our own battles in skating that no one on chat boards knows about.

If it's a bad back that takes us off the ice until 2 months before the competition, or a knee injury that takes a skater out for a year, or a divorce that wiped you out for 16 months - all anyone sees is that at competition you're strong if you're lucky. And people either like it or hate it.

Life does get in the way of skating and "testing up." If he's clearly stronger than the pack, he'll move up.

I think this discussion has turned too negative. I'm sure he got the message. Give him a break now, okay?

I would not be surprised if this is Burton himself

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Tim David's Website

As I recall. there were never any purses for USARS sanctioned competitons.

Kelton

I'm not Burton, but I have my fair share of critics, too. It sucks when people talk. I've had people talk crap about me unknowingly to my coach and my friends.

It's very mean-spirited and I thought we were adult skaters because we could handle things better than kids and their parents. Need we succumb to such caddiness?

Besides, I guess if people are talking, then at least it must've been worth talking about.

No offense, but I think he brought it on himself. I mean, he has this website, and it's public -- for all to see. He not only posted articles about himself, but it seems he altered them to make himself look better than he actually was. And he promotes himself with "press releases" that are written by himself, the most recent one touting his his "five gold medals at sectionals." I mean, come on ... three of those events had only two people!

When you put yourself out there like that, you have to expect criticism. You have to take the good with the bad, kinda like celebrities. It's not like people delved into his deepest, darkest secrets -- he posted that stuff so that people would read it.

I don't know how much an ice rink costs, but I imagine even GPF prize money would nt be bearly enough, let alone roller skating events. But I'm just speculating.

As far as him testing up, I think if you've won Championship Gold at Sectionals and Nationals multiple times, it would be nice if he could find the time to take the test and move up.

[QUOTE=daisies]No offense, but I think he brought it on himself. I mean, he has this website, and it's public -- for all to see. He not only posted articles about himself, but it seems he altered them to make himself look better than he actually was. And he promotes himself with "press releases" that are written by himself, the most recent one touting his his "five gold medals at sectionals." I mean, come on ... three of those events had only two people!

When you put yourself out there like that, you have to expect criticism. You have to take the good with the bad, kinda like celebrities. It's not like people delved into his deepest, darkest secrets -- he posted that stuff so that people would read it.


Thank you and thank you

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Tim David's Website

whatever personal problems that burton may have had, it does not excuse the fact that he has to be deceitful in his "promotional" website.

Hey DcDen,
Are you going to update your website from Easterns?

I totally agree. He made his bed as far as I'm concerned.

Who is writing these "press releases" anyway? I've never met the guy, but his site is an awful lot of self-promotion for an adult skater.

Dunno! Then again, my primary coach gets quite a few press releases and he's an adult skater. (And he don't need no stinkin' website... he has his PR person...me!!!)

__________________
Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

I went to the website and read the new "press release" or "article" or whatever it is. It doesn't really address the criticisms, in my opinion. It doesn't address the misrepresentations or outright lies that appeared in the articles. It merely accuses the naysayers of trying to undermine his confidence. Sorry, but if you willingly post that kind of stuff about yourself, you have to be prepared to get called out on it.

And may this be a reminder to us all to not take ourselves and our adult skating too seriously.

ETA: Apparently if you question the veracity of his statements, you're one of the "critics and crazies who try to intimidate" him. A quote from the latest press release.

I guess on a rainy day I will, but I've been quite busy lately and will be so for the next few weeks. I am dancing in my chorus' upcoming concert so that is taking up some precious free time. I was happy just to be able to make my website frame-based... I'm taking a web development class now and am geeking out with it.

The only championship event I watched at Easterns was Master Ladies, which has been commented on in a separate thread. I'll try to add some interesting comments and observations after my concert is finished.

In the meantime, perhaps it's a good idea to provide guidelines for personal websites (a number of us have sites of our own). I personally keep descriptions of my skating elements to a minimum, but if I do include these I make sure they are accurate. I'm my own worst critic and I won't give myself credit for doing a move I haven't done. In general I just try to focus on whether I was generally pleased or not pleased with my own performance.

I stay away from commenting on my competitors' programs (unless I can do so in a complimentary way), and I certainly do not air grievances or blame judges if I feel I should have been ranked higher. I also do not try to second guess results of events.

In addition I try to mention things that are not related to my event but to the overall competition, like other programs that I liked, the way the host club has run the event, or who I saw and caught up with at the venue.

In general, one thing I've learned about personal websites is that anyone can and will discover them, so be careful about what you write. I've seen other such websites that have posted very catty or hurtful comments, and I wouldn't want comments on my website to be interpreted that way.

These are just my ideas. I try to have fun with my site and also include a lot of non-skating stuff. Designing your own website can be a fun hobby, but it's one that requires thought, care, and consideration of your potential audience. (A spelling/grammar checker doesn't hurt either!)

I agree. I wonder if his students have ever actually read that doctored article and questioned the claimed triple.

So back to the original topic . . . how were the Masters Ladies at Mids? Nice to see Yvonne Dowling getting a standing O! I remember seeing her at Ann Arbor Nationals many years back. She's amazing.

from the website:

"These few people who are trying to discourage my comeback will only find it will make me stronger!"

WHO IS THIS?? KATARINA WITT?


On a more positive note, Burton plans on adding even more difficulty to his program before Adult Nationals. "Mids was a good test for me, although I skated well, there is always room for improvement. Adding the double flip/double toe combination and double loop combination that went missing from my final freeskate will be a priority for Nationals."


WHO IS WRITING THIS STUFF?

Yvonne skated great, she landed a lutz very nicely. Pretty good for an 80 year old woman. Her spins were also very nice. The 3rd place skater was a very sweet young lady all of 25. Jilly who won skated a beautiful soft program w/ almost everything being done well and w/ lovely extension. It was a nice event to watch.

la

Just a guess, but I think he is.