I'll be testing my Silver FS soon, but am really struggling with the timing of my camel/sit combo in my program. I can do it fine as a solitary element, but doing it in the program is not working. It's to the point I think I need to change the spin combination, but I need ideas on what to replace it with. I'll talk to my coach about it tomorrow, but thought I'd get some ideas here first.

I need a combo spin with one change of position, no change of foot, three revs in each position. Does a sit spin into a one foot spin count for the purposes of the required test elements?

I know a lot of people around here (MI) do a sit-upright for their combo spin.

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I've got mad salchow disease!

Thanks, flying-camel--glad to hear that combo counts for the test, b/c I can do it no problem.

It can vary from one place to the next. You might want to check with one or two of the judges in your own area. The judges here did not accept sit/upright for my combo spin -- said the upright portion was just the finish of the sit position.

The upright will be considered a finishing position only if it's not held long enough. As long as it's at least 3 revolutions, it IS another position. Did you hold it for at least 3 revs?

No Daisies, I used a different combo on the test. I asked the judges a few weeks before the test session and was told it would not count & to use a different combo. This was several years ago.

Well, I talked to my coach today, and she doesn't want me to change the combo from camel/sit to sit/upright. Part of the problem is that then I'd have too may sit spins in the program (I don't have a decent layback or attitude spin, so have to do a sit spin for the non-combo spin requirement). Ironically, I did the camel/sit perfectly in the program runthrough today. Hope that sticks!

Rememer that even if it's not perfect in your program, you do get to re-skate 2 elements.

This is actually the same element I had to re-skate when I took my pre-juv free. I almost did the wrong spin (have a different spin in that spot in my competition program) realized on the step forward into the spin, and it was too late to get a nice, fast rotating camel so I could get a good snap down to the sit.

And where I'm at, they must count the upright spin as a position. The spin was awesome on the reskate, but I must have held the scratch coming out of it for 3 revs, because they passed it but there was a note from one of the judges to just come right out and not add a new position beyond what is required on the end.

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Thanks for the feedback, Rachel. That's good to know I can reskate two elements--I thought it was just one. And my coach, I think, is banking on me performing in the reskate if I can't do it in the program.

I'm competing next week with this program, and I wanted to take the camel/sit combo out for the comp, but coach is (rightly) insisting I leave it in. So at least I'll have a run-through under pressure with judges before I test the program.

For Silver, the actual requirement is, "One combination spin with only one change of position — change of foot is optional — (minimum 3 revolutions in each position)". In other words, you are allowed to change feet during the spin. I remember I did a forward sit/back upright because I knew it could not be mistaken for a plain sitspin and I didn't want to have to depend on my unpredictable camel spin.

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I'm pretty sure it's 2 elements on all FS tests. Can someone confirm?

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

I am 99.9999999% sure that it's 2 elements as well...

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Thank you, everyone, you've been very helpful!

Doubletoe, the back spin idea is a good one. Sadly, my back spin is lousy. I think I'll stick with the camel/sit and rely on the reskate if necessary. My coach mentioned that one can even warm up the element again before reskating it. Somewhere in all those attempts, I should be able to produce some camel spins!

Yes, two:
http://usfsa.org/content/JP_FS-Adult...ver%20Free.pdf

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Yes, you can warm up the element again, but if you miss the camel-sit in the program (and warmup) and just feel like it's not gonna happen, you don't have to actually reskate the camel-sit. You can reskate anything that fits the requirement. So you could do something easier in your reskate, like the aforementioned sit-upright. The goal is to PASS, and as long as you fulfill the requirements, you will. I can't tell you how many tests I've judged where the skater has to do a double-double and tries, say, a double lutz-double loop and clearly can't do it. I just want to say to them, "Just do a double salchow-double toe! It doesn't haven't to be the hardest jump!" But no, they want to do it their way, and they inevitably fail. Bums me out, but I have to judge what I see, and it's not my place to tell them otherwise. But I am telling you here because, well, you asked! Good luck!

Daisy, thank you sooooo much for that info. You have no idea how much pressure that takes off of me. I was starting to think I'd be a prisoner of camel inconsistency forever. Between that info and the new blades that I'll be getting that actually have a rocker, I may just be able to pass Silver FS.