Hey just curious if anyone knows why the bunny hop and lunge is all the way in Delta. At both rinks my daughter has skated at its one of the first things they teach and the kids are able to do at a young age. So I was curious why they were all the way in Delta

Not a coach but not everyone can do them right away.I assume that is why they are higher level. Also big difference with doing it and doing it well.

the bunny hop is important for toe jumps. It is really useful when you learn the axel.

The kids I have had in alpha classes wouldn't be able to do these, they aren't even close to this sort of control over their skating- and the skills listed in other classes NEED to be mastered early on- because they are the kinds of things that you will work on everyday of your skating career. So while these skills COULD go in Gamma, other things are more important, and only so many skills can be required per level.

That said- I rarely see Delta kids do these truly correctly (especially the posture on the lunge). The bunny hop is easier to fake, and I think easier to learn. So I can't imagine seeing someone in Alpha really do a good lunge or a great bunny hop.

Not to mention- most kids in alpha are in rental skates, and they usually have their own skates by Delta- having a sizeable toe pick makes bunny hops SO much better, I don't think I'd feel secure doing one in rentals!

For comparision- USFSA puts both of these skills in Basic 6 of 8 levels.

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The bunny hop is on the Canadian Preliminary freeskating test, along with flip and loop. It's got to be massively big, not a little horsey jump. It's absolutely essential for jumping.

I hesitate to introduce these kinds of skills too early, because once the kids know them, that's all they want to practice. Good luck getting an Alpha kid to practice her stroking when she knows how to do bunny hops and lunges.

With my private students, I might start teaching lunges, spirals, bunny hops, etc. around Beta/Gamma with the explantaion that the "fun" elements are for AFTER you've done your stroking, crossovers, three-turns, and mohawks. If I don't feel that that particular student is going to remember to do the more important things when they practice, I hold off on teaching the fun stuff, or I tell them that the fun elements are only for when they're with me for now. It's far more important that at Gamma/Delta they can stroke and do crossovers with no toe picks, hold and control a three-turn, do a T-stop with the outside edge... I mean, once you can do a lunge and a bunny hop, you can do them. Stroking, crossovers, turns, those things are expected to improve at every level. Good stroking for a Gamma-level skater would probably fail on a pre-pre level test.

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Regardless of when they're taught, most kids start doing them (and waltz jumps too) once they feel comfortable on the ice. IME, coaches start teaching them early because they want to make it clear that there is a correct way to do them before gutsy little kids spend hours practicing them completely wrong. Even in Delta, most kids are quite a ways away from textbook hops and lunges. My daughter started doing them at about the time she was able to pick her feet up for backwards crossovers, but really wasn't physically able to do them properly until about the time she was landing a salchow. Even now there is room for improvement, just like with her stroking, crossovers, three turns, etc.

I'll demonstrate a bunny hop (both sides, I'm bi-skateable) to gauge the fearlessness level of my class. Some kids look at me like I'm stupid others will try anything. If no one take me up on the offer, it goes back in my bag of tricks to come out at a later date. I'll show it at stage 2, which is one foot glides. I'm supposed to teach two foot forward jumps but sometimes that bunny hop just sneaks out when we're all on one foot glides. Glide kick hop step and the kids will say "what was that". heh heh heh

The ISI created their test structure to provide a challenge on each and every level of skating. Sometimes, that results in skaters getting "stuck" on levels because of one or two items, so having "easy" things gives them something to learn and perfect quickly, leaving extra time to practice the "tough" items.

An Alpha student should not be doing bunny hops unless they're in the wrong level class. Their coordination and one-foot balancing skills just aren't there and they can take a huge splat forward on the ice and get hurt. One very experienced Skating Director that I worked for absolutely refused to allow anyone to teach the jump at that level, correcting the coaches loudly on the ice if necessary.

What many instructors do teach at that level is the two foot hop or a two foot hop/land on one foot. Many people call it a bunny hop but it is not the same thing because there's no alternating arms and the free foot doesn't kick back-to-front and land on the toe. It's just hop up and come down on one foot.

Lunges are often introduced earlier because they help with t-stops; it's the same muscle groups. Many alpha skaters cannot get their drag-hip down below the skating knee, however, so they do a feeble version. It's okay because it helps with the t-stop and also with the later "proper" version.

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My niece (who quit after three weeks worth of Beta classes) couldn't do bunny hops or lunges, but the one fun thing she could try at Alpha level was inside pivots . . . tiny ones.