Say,I have a question. We know that Senior Synchros only do lifts. But when you get ready to become a Senior..does anyone know if they train you to do lifts a little bit BEFORE you become Senior. In which case your ALREADY trained FOR when you reach that level? Or do they train you right AFTER you TURN Senior? In which case nobody expects a brand-new Senior to know how to and handle getting lifted? Do we have an answer? Thanks.

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FSWer

I don't do synchro, but I expect that each year, the new routine will have slightly different lifts in it, so they would all have to be practised from scratch. This would mean that it wouldn't matter if you'd done them before or not, you'd still have to break the entry, lift and dismount into its component parts and practice them slowly, and then in the routine.

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Mrs Redboots
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Say,btw. I know a skater might not make a Team if they say they DON'T want to be lifted. For being afraid of hights,etc. But how do they handle a Synchronized Skater who doesn't mind it, but is just afraid and nervous of what might happen to them while there lifted? VS. a skater who is ACTUALLY afraid of hights?

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FSWer

Well, I was the one being lifted when my team started learning our lifts, and I was a bit apprehensive at first, not because I'm afraid of heights (I mean, I wasn't that high off the ice), but because it was our first time learning this particular lift and we hadn't developed that trust bond with it yet. I think that's the difference--learning to trust your teammates to lift you as well as yourself to rely completely on other people. Any skater (granted their not too heavy/tall to be lifted) can be trained for lifts so long as they are willing to let go of some of their inhibitions (fear of heights, being dropped, etc.). I never thought I'd be able to get lifted because I don't trust others easily, but I managed and now I love being the lifted!

I didn't have much of a choice. Being the lightest skater on the team, our coach basically said that I was going to get lifted, and because I trusted my coach and her judgement, I agreed to give it a shot. To get started, we did it completely off-ice first and then moved on ice once everyone (lifters included) were comfortable and knew how to correctly lift someone to minimize injuries or the chance for dropping me. It was a lot less scary after working everything off ice and getting comfortable and more trusting on solid ground.

Basically, I think that over time, each member of a team develops a sense of trust with their fellow teammates. This is probably the hardest part of synchronized skating...learning to completely trust not only yourself but your teammates. I started out as a singles skater and with that you are mainly relying on yourself. With synchro, however, you must learn to trust in others to help you get the job done, whether it be lifts, pinwheels, intersections, whatever. You also have to realize that others, especially the coach, is not going to intentionally pick a skater whom he/she thinks cannot handle the physical and mental stresses that come with being lifted. Anyone lifted is going to be well-trained in their technique as will the people who are lifting.

So just like in Pairs. Even if your afraid of something happening. You learn to trust your Partner. Right?

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FSWer

Exactly. Of course, this requires lots of time, patience, and communication, all of which are things that a successful team must learn to do well anyway.

Say,I don't know Maybe I missed he answer.But do they teach you lifts when yu on the verge of GOING up to Senior in Synchro. Or do they start teaching you right WHEN you BECOME Senior? In which case no one expects a brand-new Senior to know how to do lifts? BTW. how long does it usually take for a Synchro. to profect being lifted? I know it takes a long time. But how long IS long?

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FSWer

I expect it very much depends on what the requirements are that year - I don't know whether lifts are ever required, or even permitted, at Junior level.

Don't forget that the team as a whole would be at a certain level; new skaters coming into it may well be understudies at first, and nobody would expect them to be able to do the elements without a great deal of rehearsal. On the other hand, they will probably have had experience in a lower-level team so will know roughly what to expect....

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Lifts are not permitted at the Junior level. Only Senior level skaters may perform them.

With that being said, I'd assume that all skaters would be taught the specific lift he/she is expected to perform since:
1.) Lifts would not likely be previously taught since lower level teams are not permitted to execute them.
2.) New skaters coming to a team yearly & past team members moving on due to age, level, graduation, other circumstances would need to learn to work together w/ new skaters.

It's different for each team, but I'd say that the majority of skaters going into the Senior level will be taught lifts at the appropriate time for that team, such as after the basics of synchro are comfortable for all skaters, old and new to that team, and when the coach and skaters feel they have developed team bonds of trust and communication because that's a big influence on the success of lifts and any synchro element in general.

Ok,now what happens in a case were a skater on a Synchro. Team has made it up through all the divisions of that Team. In which case they don't HAVE senior? Let's make beleive your on The Starlights (hyphophedical eg.). They only go up to the level before Senior. In which case you might have to go to another Team that DOES HAVE Senior. What do they do to start you with lifts? I should think in THAT case no one would expect a brand new Senior to already be trained. Do we have an answer?

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FSWer

It would be the same situation- that team would probably have at least a couple of other skaters who were new to senior and hadn't done lifts before. Most teams spend a fair amount of time doing off-ice training anyway, they'd just have to spend some extra time working on the lifts.

Every lift is a little different- unless they had used the identical lift the season before, all of the skaters would be learning it for the first time at the beginning of the season. The skaters who had done other lifts would probably pick it up a bit quicker than the skaters who had never done any, but it would still be pretty new to everyone.

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Shae-Lynn and Victor: We knew you were champions, and on 3/28/03 the whole WORLD found out! Thank you for twelve wonderful years!