Annabel: The grad pictures are lovely!! I just adore your Spanish/Argentinian hat!!! Emily is quite the beautiful, beaming graduate!

Congratulations to Emily and to all you test passers!!! You give me hope for my future tests!!

Hugs,

Beth

lsk8r
The higher the tests get, the pickier the judges. The silver test is a difficult one, and the most frequent reason for not passing that I hear is the number of revolutions in the spins. One thing to remember is that the count begins once you're in the spin position. On my silver test I did the cammel - sit fine, and then totally popped out of the cammel. I had no doubt about that one. I had a re-skate on the cammel, and it was fine. What was interesting was looking at the judging sheets and the different number of revolutions counted by the various judges - from 4-7. So your plan to add a few extra revolutions is a good one. For my recent test I looked at the judges manual for pairs and singles, and there was a discrepancy in the number of revolutions required!
Go for it again, you'll get it.

When I took my silver test this spring I had to reskate my combination spin. I did camel-sit-backsit, had four revolutions in the camel, 4.5 in the sit, and only two in the back sit because I got a bad push on the changeover. Even though I had an extra position in the spin, and the first two positions had enough revolutions to pass, I had to reskate the spin with sufficient revolutions in each position. (On the reskate I held the back sit for 5 revolutions to be safe.)

You just never know with judges.

ISK8er,
Don' despair. I failed my silver fs test last July for the same reason. Retook it in November and passed but had to reskate the camel-sit. I was apparently 1/4 rotation short on the camel but still passed on the other mark. I can relate on another front though. I'm trying to pass my Gold test by Sept. 1 and am getting better at getting through 2:40 but today tried to put my axel where it goes in the program with music and lost the bloody axel - after landing it moving in that exact same spot all morning but with no music. Amazing what a little stress does to an element. I really want to pass this thing but I may be relegated to the moves first. The only silver lining is that they are mostly intermediate moves which I'm already working on for the intermediate test. But I'm annoyed that I have to push before I'm probably ready to pass.

The judges also know that a lot of people are trying to beat the deadline (we went through this when they redesigned all the tests some years back and every year as skaters of all levels try to beat the deadline for Qualifying entries). I think the judges get stricter closer to any deadline and the rotations-in-position has always been the sticking point at Silver.

I also know the "guinea pig" feeling. I was one of the first Adults to take the orginal adults tests when they were put in in 1991. I had 9 judges watching my Bronze Figure Test (plus two test chairs and an assortment of coaches at the boards) and 7 judges watching my Bronze Free. They were still in the process of "building a picture" of what they expected an Adult to do and it was the first time some of them had seen an adult test at all so I think they were a little easier on me than they would have been a year or two later.

In a way, that was good for me. I passed easily - and the Silver Free too. And it made testing kind of fun and not so scary. But what I did then is nothing compared to what has become standard now. The bar has been raised - several times! - and judges know to expect more from adults now. So as much as I wish I hadn't taken those tests so soon (I was tired of being held to the standard for kids), I still don't envy people testing now, when passing is so much tougher.

Good luck to everyone.

[quote:064151f322="jazzpants"][quote:064151f322="Terri C"]I was comtemplating trying for my Bronze free (for the FIFTH time) in mid August, but since I STILL don't have a consistent and "recogizably" low sitspin or a solid third single jump, I'll deal with being a Adult MIF/ FS "guinea pig" for my club. The Pre -Bronze moves look like more of a attainable goal for me , and it still kills me that I'll have to wait until October/ November to test them! [/quote:064151f322]
Ummm...if you have already passed pre-Bronze FS, aren't you supposed to be taking the Adult [color=blue:064151f322][b:064151f322]BRONZE[/b:064151f322][/color:064151f322] moves and not the [color=red:064151f322][b:064151f322]PRE-BRONZE[/b:064151f322][/color:064151f322] Moves??? :?


Jazzpants, when the tests first came out, I was eager to granfather, but since I've only taken one MIF, back in 1997, my coaches strongly advised me not to grandfather. Since working on the alternating three turns, I've seen a big difference in my salchow. Before that, when I first started working on them I couldn't hold a three turn. My back and forward crossover have improved also, no more toe pushes!



I sympathize with you on being a Adult Moves/FS "guinea pig" for my club. I'm still working (more like struggling) on those nasty Adult Bronze Moves elements. However, I don't really think of it as being a "guinea pig." If anything, I'd rather think of it as a nice training ground to improve on my overall skating! Hopefully, when I do go out and skate competitively again, the judges will ignore the fact that I don't have a lutz but that I have very good overall skating skills. [1]

Cheers,
jazzpants

[1] Okay! The REAL reason is that the likelihood that I get a lutz by the end of the year is slim to none compared to passing the Adult Bronze moves! :wink:[/quote:064151f322][quote:064151f322][/quote:064151f322][quote:064151f322][/quote:064151f322]

Just passed ISI Freestyle 1 last night. What a relief! Maybe I'll try the ISI Adult Champ this year.

I passed my Adult pre-bronze freestyle test this morning! I wasn't that nervous because I didn't think I would pass because of my rather pitiful 1-foot spin, but somehow I guess the test as a whole was good enough. Very fair judge, who gave me constructive criticism as well as compliments. She actually commented I had good posture!

Pat

Congratulations Pat - that's fantastic.

Kim

[quote:970bffb58a="sk8pics"]I passed my Adult pre-bronze freestyle test this morning! I wasn't that nervous because I didn't think I would pass because of my rather pitiful 1-foot spin, but somehow I guess the test as a whole was good enough. Very fair judge, who gave me constructive criticism as well as compliments. She actually commented I had good posture!

Pat[/quote:970bffb58a]

Congratulations!! I take mine (as well as the prelim dances) on Monday.

Danielle

Pat,
congratulations!

Thanks for the congratulatory wishes. I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders. I don't think I'm ever going to do another 2-foot spin again! I think the comment about having good posture made me feel the best!

Dani-good luck to you! Go out there and look confident and present yourself well. I think that does make a difference; another judge actually gave me that advice.

Pat