Meow or Hiss! 9/26 to 10/1 [Archive]

phoenix

09-26-2005, 02:57 PM

Meow: I have finally, finally, finally found back some of the joy in my skating that has been missing the last couple of months. Things I've been working on all summer are finally starting to come together, I'm finally starting to understand some of the turns & am finally (!!!) being given a few new exercises to work on, which are also more difficult, which tells me I must be improving. Had a great skate last night, am doing quadruple twizzles on right foot, & reasonably consistant triple twizzles on the left. Started doing brackets from power pulls, & figured out why I always get stuck in between the turns. Not that I can always 'unstick' myself, but at least now I know what the problem is. FI double three's, which have plagued me for months, are finally feeling easy, not jumped, & faster. Using my ipod to have music while I work on all the exercies has helped tremendously in giving me a tempo to skate to. AND coach told me one of last week's lessons was the best I've ever had.

Hiss: Still not working on any of my compulsory dances. I found out that, if partner & I want to compete this coming year, I have to pass one more dance before 12/15. It will be a pre-gold, & I'm not sure I can pull one together in that amount of time.........We'll see I guess. I often feel I'm doomed to doing exercises the rest of my life, & I'll never be strong enough to proceed w/ the rest of my tests......*sigh*

Terri C

09-26-2005, 06:40 PM

Meow:
Jumps were good on lesson today and Coach wants me to start working on loop- loop combo.
The backscratch and sitspins are still in existence, but the camel is still on hiatus from last weeks butt busting fall, which left a HUGE bruise on the back of my left thigh.

Hiss:
Coach told me that she could see the bruise under my tights today!
Spins did take some time to nail, but eventually got them.
Fell on loop loop attempt- hey this is technical catch up after all.
No lesson next Monday- Coach will be taking the day off for Jewish holiday.

Raye

09-26-2005, 08:22 PM

Meow: Got through the lengthened freeskate program yesterday in Ottawa (sans Loop) and won the silver.... 2:20.09 feels like an eternity... my knees took 20 minutes to stop shaking :oops: :oops: :oops:

Hiss: My interp event was 20 minutes after my freeskate and since I was still wiped from the freeskate I could hardly do the program. At least my interpretive solo is to slow mellow music, otherwise I could not have done it. :roll:

aussieskater

09-26-2005, 08:54 PM

Meow - DH and I had our first "joint" lesson (both on the ice at the same time as the coach - now there's a thrill) from the dance coach yesterday. She's started us on change of hold from open hold to Killian hold. Scary. After several passes (with me getting dizzy doing fwd CCW progressives around what I suspect was an ever-decreasing circle), we finally managed *one*.

Our first attempt at these things together (as opposed to taking turns with the coach) ended with my left arm behind me in the region of my right shoulder. There's twisting into the circle and then there's that. Hmmm. Coach did not like that (neither did I), so after a few more "separate" demonstrations, we tried again.

Next time ended with me with both my hands in front of me and my hands about 15 cm apart - very hard to maintain the progressives in that position, let me tell you. The coach looked a bit scared (not nearly as scared as I felt) when she saw this, and worked out that DH had come in directly behind me rather than behind and to the inside. Not to mention that my timing went off. Time for a few more attempts with the coach. I suspect that Coach is getting sick of demonstrating separately...

Finally, half an hour after we started, we got one which was acceptable. Not brilliant, but acceptable. Only the first half of the exercise - the part from open to Killian. Now we have to practise the other half (Killian to open hold) as well. Coach told us most explicitly that we were *not* to try any of this exercise in the CW direction, because it's DH's worse way and in Coach's words "It's a little bit dangerous to try this without instruction..." She also said this was a hard thing to learn. She is not wrong.

Hiss - the stack I took over my toepick. Ouch. That's the first time I've found the toepick travelling forwards in I don't know how long. Lesson before last, Coach had said I was too far back on my blade when travelling forward, and I've been working on it. I vaguely recall wondering whether that had improved, and the next thing I knew, I'd hit the toepick and over-corrected. DH reported later that I had become completely airborne, legs horizontal and hit the ice bang on my coccyx. I suspect that I was not travelling too far back on the blade when that happened.

Now I can't sit comfortably except with very good posture (ie; sitting on the groin part of the bottom, rather than slouching near the bottom of the back as is my usual style), and I have synchro training tonight... I'm pretty sure I haven't broken it (it's not *that* sore), but oh, boy, the bruise. Note to self - you can fall backwards travelling forwards.

angelskates

09-26-2005, 09:30 PM

Well done Raye!! :D

Meow: I am on holidays for 2 weeks so I can skate whenever I want. I had a lesson yesterday and it was great to see my rink "family" again!

Hiss: Got to the rink yesterday to find the ice split in half for group lessons...and witches hats around the edges because there were people taking the stickers off the barriers? :roll: So, I have less then half the ice. I ran into three people (including a coach) just doing crossovers and then had to go at almost zero speed. Spent most of the lesson chatting with my coach about how unfair it was! :giveup: Advanced warning would have been nice.

jazzpants

09-27-2005, 12:42 AM

Hiss!!!!

(Not ice related but appropriate theme...) This morning when I was closing the garage door on my driveway and a neighborhood cat that just HAS to run into our garage for some reason. Had to stop the garage door from closing, reopened it, got out of the car, chased the kitty out, who proceded to go "Meow!!! What did I do?" w/the long pouting look that usually makes you feel go soft on the cat that you want to stop and pet him anyway... EXCEPT TODAY!!! :twisted: I walked right back to the car, slam the car door with the cat still looking pouty at me, closed the garage door and drove to work... IGNORING THE CAT!!! :twisted: (Yes, I'm evil but that cat just has a tendency for wanting LOTS of attention and for trying ANY which way possible to go into our garage. And I have to go to work!!! HSSSSSSS.....)
The crowds for Monday night. :roll:
The kid who THREW UP ALL OVER one end of the rink!!!! A bunch of guys had to come out and put "saw dust" (snow) on top of the mess. EWWWW!!! GROSS!!!!
Meow:

Nice to see that my coach has a LOT of students to teach on Monday night.
Not really a meow, but funny... my coach tells me "7:15AM!!! OMG!!! I have to be up at 7:15AM!!!" (Well, at least I'm confirmed for my test session and I know what time I'm supposed to be on the ice.) But funny that *HE* is more upset that he has to get up at 7:15am to put me on the ice than me (who has to be on the ice at 6:30AM to get warmed up and comfy for my Bronze Moves test this coming Saturday at 7:15AM!!!) Tee hee hee... :twisted: :P

aussieskater

09-27-2005, 01:05 AM

Best of luck JP!! Don't forget to let us know how you get on. (Sending positive vibes JP's way.)

Mrs Redboots

09-27-2005, 05:37 AM

Jazzpants - it really is going to be the weekend from.... for so many of us. British Adult Championships, your test... and the Nebelhorn trophy, which is involving some ice dancers from our rink.

Hiss: We had a right case of the "slows" this morning, couldn't get any speed anywhere. This happens occasionally, and he blames me, and I blame him, but I'm hoping that we've done it now, and won't do it on Saturday!

Mew: We got really good extensions for once, and I even remembered to point my toes! Now, do you think we can do that on Saturday? And we even corrected a mistake that Husband had noticed and I hadn't.

Purr: On Sunday evening at a recreational match, even though we lost our draw, one of the judges told us we were getting better, slowly!

Joan

09-27-2005, 08:16 AM

[QUOTE=Raye]ot through the lengthened freeskate program yesterday in Ottawa (sans Loop) and won the silver....

Good job, Raye!

Joan

Debbie S

09-27-2005, 10:39 AM

Good luck, Jazz! (7:15 a.m. - ouch!)

Meow:
Coach says my power 3's improved from last week. Yippee! But I'm still off the axis a bit on some of the LFO turns. The right side, however, was fine, and that's my weaker side. Go figure. (no pun intended) I also landed a loop-loop, although the second loop was probably a bit cheated. I landed one on Thursday too, so I was pleased that I could do it 2 practices in a row. And my backspins are improving - slowly but surely - I can now do 3 revs from the FI 3-turn entrance (as opposed to a complete standstill).

Hiss:
What happened to my salchow? It seems very labored and doesn't want to get off the ice - grrr. And I did one good sit spin but couldn't manage another for the rest of practice - what was up with that? :frus:

MusicSkateFan

09-27-2005, 10:41 AM

8-) Meow----Hiss----I hate cats so here's my skating update! (My appologies to skating cat lovers...I am just punchy lately!)

Sit, back and upright spins are getting there. I need to work closing my hips in the spin...but at least they are starting to look like spins. Back spin is tough for me but I am starting to get it...I have a hard time getting free leg into crossed position.

Jumps are ok for most part. Toe loop is getting better height and I am more comfortable with the timing.

Lutz,half loop,flip combo can be down right amazing sometimes and then other times be kind of scary.

I think my forward spiral is getting better!

I like my program I am trying it with the back spin at the beginning...I hope the coach approves!

I have my jump lesson on Thursday with jump coach...I have not had a jump lesson in weeks! Might be scary...he is insisting on me doing axel and start all doubles....yikes! :lol:

Mel On Ice

09-27-2005, 10:46 AM

meow: I'm learning the sit-backsit! It's pretty funny, because my attempts are more squat sit - back fire hydrant, but I'm glad to have started working on it. I just need to remember to lift the rib and throw out the right hip, if that makes any sense. I also discovered the key to a big spring on the lutz without the toe-pick hesitation: having a higher level skater barreling down on your doing their own lutz. I picked and landed pretty quick to get out of her way.

And hip hip hooray: if anyone sees a Michigan license plate with the vanity tag line "SPIRALS," it's me! Hubby says it describes the skating and hair both! :D

hiss: I helped a friend move this weekend and borrowed hubby's truck to go to skating and her house. So when I went to skate yesterday, feeling pretty self-stasfied that I remembered everything at the Secretary of State's office for my new license plates, I discovered my skates were not in the back of my car. Nice going dipstick. I needed a break from skating after a long weekend anyway.

flying~camel

09-27-2005, 11:03 AM

hiss: I helped a friend move this weekend and borrowed hubby's truck to go to skating and her house. So when I went to skate yesterday, feeling pretty self-stasfied that I remembered everything at the Secretary of State's office for my new license plates, I discovered my skates were not in the back of my car. Nice going dipstick. I needed a break from skating after a long weekend anyway.

And I really, really appreciated all of your help (and advice on the "situation")! :)

dbny

09-27-2005, 03:06 PM

Meow:
Not much, really. Still getting used to orthotics and trying to get my feel for the ice back. It's happening very slowly because I can still only skate twice a week. I did, however, manage to make some progress with the RBI edge that the orthotics messed up, making CW B crossovers feel a lot safer. B power pulls are also coming back.

Best of all, has nothing to do with my own skating, but rather my coaching! I now have a student on the freestyle session that I've been getting as a comp for teaching group on the same day. My new student is one from the Mommy & Me class I've taught for the past few years. She broke her arm last spring (not on the ice), and had her first day back on Monday. Six year olds are amazing! She had almost everything back within her 30 minute lesson! In addition to the pleasure of teaching her, the skating director said that she will have to figure out what to do for me now, since I am bringing a new skater onto the freestyle, and thus contributing to the rink's income. Coaches don't pay for the freestyles they teach on, so even though I am also skating for an hour for myself, that one lesson has changed my status :D

Hiss:
I still feel like a klutz on the ice. I am definitely out of shape and I can feel it most when I stretch for spirals and when I do three turns, which are woefully uncontrolled. F power pulls are also not what they once were.

FrankR

09-27-2005, 03:07 PM

Hi everyone,

Here it goes.

Meow: I suppose the biggest meow was that my moves coach has said I should go ahead and sign up for the Gold MIF test during the next club test session. 8O 8O <Whimper> Don't get me wrong. I'm excited that he thinks I can pass and I'll be so happy if I can get this moves test under my belt. However, I can't help but feel a little apprehensive. :?? This is just how I felt right before I took my SATs back when I was in high school. :P

All in all the moves patterns have been going pretty well. We both agree that my power circles still need work but otherwise he's pretty pleased with everything else. A couple of small items on my back double 3s and the RFI to LBO brackets and he'd like to see me be a bit edgier on my slide chasse. Hopeully I'll figure it out in the month and change I have until the test session.

My freestyle has been getting better lately. I've been playing with elements that my coach and I have been considering for my new free program. For jumps we were thinking about the following content: axel/half-loop/salchow, split jump/axel sequence, lutz/loop/loop, flip (one hand on my waist and the other one over my head)/toe loop, and either a second flip or a second lutz. For spins we've been thinking about doing camel spin (arms clasped behind my back and if I can manage it transitioning from this position to a catchfoot), flying camel (catch foot variation on this too), camel (arms behind the back again)/sit/change sit (arms go behind my back here too)/back scratch (arms still behind me). In addition to these elements I've been playing with other stuff. I've been working on a LFO spiral, step on to a RFO edge right up into an axel. (Yup, I'm a lefty). I've also been doing axel/loop and playing with double toe. That's all been going okay.

Hiss: The biggest hiss is actually a carry-over from last week. On Saturday I was working with my freestyle coach and she asked to work on the double sal. I said ok and proceeded to land the first one I tried. 8O :D I started to think "Is this the day that I get this !@&#%$$ jump back?!?!" Hmmm....WRONG!! :oops: The next attempt was close but I kind of tripped on the landing but stayed upright. And then the next attempt I went up, tilted wildly in the air, got around 1.5 times in the air and promptly landed facing forward on my right elbow and hip. OWW!! D'oh! Lost some skin on the elbow and got myself a cherry on that hip. :cry: Ulrich Salchow! Grrr. :evil:

Well that's it so far.

Frank

Terri C

09-27-2005, 03:24 PM

flip (one hand on my waist and the other one over my head)/toe loop.[QUOTE]

I sometimes use this arm position on my toe loop landing!

[QUOTE=FrankR]
And then the next attempt I went up, tilted wildly in the air, got around 1.5 times in the air and promptly landed facing forward on my right elbow and hip. OWW!! D'oh! Lost some skin on the elbow and got myself a cherry on that hip.

Had a simliar fall last week on a camel spin; the side of my left thigh is deeply bruised and I came off the ice with a ice scrape/ burn too!

FrankR

09-27-2005, 03:28 PM

I sometimes use this arm position on my toe loop landing!!

Cool! I started playing with this position in the air last year and used it on my flip but it didn't come off exactly as planned in my program at Nationals. I figured I might as well give it another shot.

Had a simliar fall last week on a camel spin; the side of my left thigh is deeply bruised and I came off the ice with a ice scrape/ burn too!

Don't you hate those types of falls? I ended up having to go to an off-ice dance class all battered and bloodied from the fall. My teacher kept asking me if I needed to ice myself up. "Umm...No ma'am. I'll be okay." :oops:

lol :lol:

Frank

NoVa Sk8r

09-27-2005, 03:55 PM

Frank,
If (or when, to be positive!) you pass the Gold MIF, are you gonna schedule the gold FS test (which I think you'd easily pass)? If so, I think I'll be the only silver II guy (age class 29-35)!

FrankR

09-27-2005, 04:01 PM

Frank,
If (or when, to be positive!) you pass the Gold MIF, are you gonna schedule the gold FS test (which I think you'd easily pass)? If so, I think I'll be the only silver II guy (age class 29-35)!

Hey Stephen,

Actually I do plan to stay Silver for another year because I want to work more on connecting moves, footwork, spins and just fine tune my single jumps. I had mentioned this to Edward and that's why I was a bit surprised that he asked me to schedule the test. However, he did say he felt it would free up more time to work on all that other stuff if I passed the Gold moves and got them out of the way. That does make sense. So I figured I'll take a shot at it. If I don't make it then there's all of the rest of this season to get it done. So, I hope to be there in Silver II with you! :D

Frank

NoVa Sk8r

09-27-2005, 04:03 PM

Hey Stephen,

Actually I do plan to stay Silver for another year because I want to work more on connecting moves, footwork, spins and just fine tune my single jumps. I had mentioned this to Edward and that's why I was a bit surprised that he asked me to schedule the test. However, he did say he felt it would free up more time to work on all that other stuff if I passed the Gold moves and got them out of the way. That does make sense. So I figured I'll take a shot at it. If I don't make it then there's all of the rest of this season to get it done. So, I hope to be there in Silver II with you! :D

FrankBased on your new elements and footwork savvy, I need to hunker down and get working myself. 8-)
I'm not planning on going to AN2006 (opting instead for Oberstdorf), but maybe there will be other silver IIs coming out of the woodwork?

Good luck on the test ...

jazzpants

09-27-2005, 04:04 PM

jazzpants

09-27-2005, 04:11 PM

I'm not planning on going to AN2006 (opting instead for Oberstdorf), but maybe there will be other silver IIs coming out of the woodwork?NOOOOO!!! You CAN'T!!! 8O I was planning to try and pass my tests so I can finally meet you at AN2006!!! AUGH!!! (Alright! I know! "First pass the tests, then we'll talk, right???") :twisted:

Okay, how's this for a deal? If I pass my Bronze Moves & FS tests and am eligible for AN 2006, would you try to make it to AN then?

(Terri, wanna start another campaign??? :lol: )

FrankR

09-27-2005, 04:14 PM

If Ed thinks you're ready to take the test... well, how many times has he been wrong??? (I'm willing to bet NOT a lot...) :P

Me, OTOH... I'm testing this Saturday and my primary coach is quite calm the past couple of months in saying that I'm ready this time around, but I can't help but think of last year's test when he said the same thing and I was at least 0.3-0.5 from passing that year. ("The hell I was ready to take the test!!!" I fumed after the test session. :evil: :frus: )

How am I feeling right now? Not nervous... more frustrated and pissed off at this test! I think I'm doing okay. The runthrus are good for the most part. I'm sick of working on it!!! THREE YEARS is a bit long in trying to pass one stinkin' moves test and I don't want to make it to FOUR... :twisted:

Speaking of Ed, did you tell him I said hello and pass on the message about the pot stickers? If not, don't worry about it. He probably doesn't remember me by now. :lol:

You're right. Edward is known every bit as much for his candor as for his skating ability. :D If he says I can handle it then I probably can handle it. I guess it was just a bit surprising and it caught me off-guard. ;)

Best of luck on your test. Don't worry. You'll be just fine. Just remember to have fun and you'll come through with flying colors I'm sure.

I did tell him about you and your invitation to pot-stickers. He got a kick out of it. :lol:

Frank

FrankR

09-27-2005, 04:20 PM

Based on your new elements and footwork savvy, I need to hunker down and get working myself. 8-)
I'm not planning on going to AN2006 (opting instead for Oberstdorf), but maybe there will be other silver IIs coming out of the woodwork?

Good luck on the test ...

Hey there,

Thanks for the compliments! :D At this point I'm just trying to get a handle on all of these new elements. They're much riskier than what I was doing last year and with the added focus on edge jumps (more half-loop and loop combos) and changing positions in spins I really need to be steady on my edges. In the past, I've tensed up a bit in competition so I'll need the repetitions to develop that steadiness and have it become muscle memory.

Sorry to hear that you may not be in Dallas. I considered Oberstdorf but I'm not sure I can handle it financially at this point. Time will tell.

Take care,

Frank

Terri C

09-27-2005, 05:19 PM

I'm not planning on going to AN2006 (opting instead for Oberstdorf), but maybe there will be other silver IIs coming out of the woodwork?

Excuse me sir, but are you telling me that I'm busting my a@# on the camel for nothing????
Maybe if you go to Adult Easterns (Carolina Adult Classic) in February, I can consider a reprive! :twisted:

cutiesk8r43

09-27-2005, 05:19 PM

Hiss!!!!!!! :evil::
Coach was being really evil today!!!

Meow:
Dance lesson,had alot of fun :)
~Cutie ;)

sunshinepointe

09-27-2005, 06:07 PM

Hiss I skipped out on the 2 hour public session today to spend time with my best friend and her baby

Meow I don't feel much in the way of "regret". I know I can use the practice but I also feel as if I deserve a little bit of a break. I'll be back on the ice on Thursday night fresh and ready to attack that loop jump with a clear mind (and nicely sharpened skates!)

8-)

aussieskater

09-27-2005, 11:36 PM

Meow - we are reprieved from the synchro comp in two weeks - coach has seen sense and decided that there's no way we can be ready for it. (Phew.) Now we're just working in a much more relaxed fashion towards the next one.

Hiss - Coach this morning wants my mohawks tidied up. (Heck - I've only just learned how to do them...) I can now manage CCW and CW closed ones and CCW ones open. (CW ones open have me beaten right now, and that's odd because I'm a lefty.)

Now he's decided that for the open mohawks, he wants the free foot to remain at the heel of the skating foot after the turn/change, rather than extending the leg behind me. I've drilled the leg extension for so long now that I'm finding it almost impossible not to do it!! Anyone got any hints?

2loop2loop

09-28-2005, 03:47 AM

NOOOOO!!! You CAN'T!!! 8O I was planning to try and pass my tests so I can finally meet you at AN2006!!!

Nah, it's a bit of a let down in real life, he doesn't even drink that much! ;) ;) :lol: So much for the hellraiser :roll:

John

jenlyon60

09-28-2005, 05:00 AM

I guess you'll just have to come do the WFSC New Years Adult Invitational ??? PS JetBlue flies directly into Dulles airport from Oakland, and Dulles is 15-20 minutes from the rink.... actually it's 15-20 minutes from 2 different rinks.

NOOOOO!!! You CAN'T!!! 8O I was planning to try and pass my tests so I can finally meet you at AN2006!!! AUGH!!! (Alright! I know! "First pass the tests, then we'll talk, right???") :twisted:

Okay, how's this for a deal? If I pass my Bronze Moves & FS tests and am eligible for AN 2006, would you try to make it to AN then?

(Terri, wanna start another campaign??? :lol: )

Mrs Redboots

09-28-2005, 08:35 AM

But Stephen - we aren't going to Oberstdorf in 2006! Hope you will come to Tallinn (which we are planning on entering) or even the Mountain Cup as a "warm-up".

So today.

Hiss, spit, scratch, claws out and tail fluffed right up: Got up at 06:00 and were at the rink by 07:30, only to find that the room where we keep our skates was locked, and no-one had the key. The "secret" back entrance was also locked, so there were five of us sitting around for an hour until my coach, who did have a key, came in. We knew one of the coaches, who is usually in fairly early, wasn't going to be there, but we hadn't expected the other "early bird" not to be in (obviously his normal pupil wasn't around), and that the early-morning duty manager had gone on holiday and nobody else had a key. I rang our coach, but he had to wait for his pupil, whom he picks up on Wednesdays, to get dressed! Had I rung him before he got to her house, he'd have come by the rink first....

So we only had 10 minutes or so to practice by the time he finally did arrive and opened the door for us.

Mew: Because the rink was very quiet, we were able to use the music as much as we wanted - we really only had time to run through both compulsory dances once each, and our free dance once, and there was so much I really wanted to work on, so-o-o-o frustrating! But we did a really good Golden Skaters' Waltz. Our Riverside Rhumba wasn't so good, largely because we started the first end pattern in just the wrong place and ran out of rink - which won't, I hope, happen on Saturday as it's an Olympic-width rink. The Free Dance was okay, but only okay - the spin could have been a lot better, and the lift at the end nearly didn't happen.

Once Husband had rushed off, mooing that he was going to miss his train (which was probably bang on time, for once, since he was a little late!), it was time for my lesson. Most things went well, except one-beat edges, and I now have to do a variation of Jen's coach's Evil Eights to help me with the under-push on fast runs. Back cross-cuts better than I've ever done them, but still not good. Coach gave me a correction on the cross-rolls which has transformed them. I won't say they're passable yet, because they aren't, but one day....

Purr: For some extraordinary reason, I can suddenly skate backwards six times faster than I've ever been able to before! Weird, or what?

Hiss: But I still can't do a 3-turn at speed on my own yet..... even though I can do one without thinking about it with a partner. Weird, or what?

Terri C

09-28-2005, 11:15 AM

I guess you'll just have to come do the WFSC New Years Adult Invitational ??? PS JetBlue flies directly into Dulles airport from Oakland, and Dulles is 15-20 minutes from the rink.... actually it's 15-20 minutes from 2 different rinks.

Jazzpants,
That is a novel idea, you could not only meet NoVa, but THE WHOLE GANG!!!
If this is a idea, I'd make it a point to be there!

LoopLoop

09-28-2005, 11:27 AM

LoopLoop

09-28-2005, 11:54 AM

I've been playing with elements that my coach and I have been considering for my new free program. For jumps we were thinking about the following content: axel/half-loop/salchow, split jump/axel sequence, lutz/loop/loop, flip (one hand on my waist and the other one over my head)/toe loop, and either a second flip or a second lutz. Well that's it so far.

Frank
Frank, that's too many jump combos! You can only have three combos or sequences, so you'll have to make one of those a solo jump.

FrankR

09-28-2005, 12:07 PM

Frank, that's too many jump combos! You can only have three combos or sequences, so you'll have to make one of those a solo jump.

Hey Loops,

I've been wondering about that as well. I wasn't sure if the split/axel would be considered a sequence since the split is a half-jump and I wasn't sure how half-jumps apply to the combination rule. I'll revisit this with my coaches and we'll figure it out.

Thanks! :D

Frank

NoVa Sk8r

09-28-2005, 12:13 PM

I thought that the only half jump that counted was the half-loop; so the split/axel would be considered an axel with an unusual entrance. :??

LoopLoop

09-28-2005, 12:44 PM

jazzpants

09-28-2005, 12:48 PM

Everybody knows that I don't usually jump in to defend Nova ;) (hey, he's a big boy and can stand up for himself), but give him a break on this one (AN 2006). Most of us are limited in both vacation time and disposable income, so we have to make choices about when/where to compete. He *went* to nationals this year and skated very well, so if he wants to try a different challenge next year, good for him!I know... don't worry! I won't speak for Terri, but I can say for my part, I was joking! (I know... hard to tell from the tone of the post. I apologize...)

NoVa, if I make it thru my tests and make it to AN 2006 and you make it to Dallas, I look forward to seeing you. If either of us don't make it to Dallas, then it's cool with me. You know me... I don't pressure you to do something. I WILL ASK you to do something. (BIG difference!!!!) But I do look forward to meeting you someday though...

KEWL??? :)

jazzpants

09-28-2005, 01:13 PM

Hiss:

Not a good lesson today. I went over moves with my SECONDARY coach this time (after a long absence...) and she was NOT happy about it. I was so tempted to just drop out of the test session!!!

Power 3's were too slow for her. I need to work on back crossovers BADLY!

Meow:

Had a talk on the phone with Jay about it... he said "Okay, talk to the test chair and try to change the test session. If you can't, then just take the test for experience. But whatever you do, do NOT lose your money by NOT showing up for the test!!! And besides, you'll need to know what they're looking for as far as the new test emphasis is concerned so you'll at least get good feedback on how you're progressing now and what you need to work on to pass this test now."

So... I'm probably gonna go in and test anyway with the understanding that I'll probably not pass again, but I have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this test session. Both coaches did note that I've improved a lot this year from last year. So we'll see how much improvement I've made this year, I guess...

NoVa Sk8r

09-28-2005, 01:15 PM

In COP it would count as an unusual entrance to the jump, but in the standard scoring system a split jump is part of a sequence. As are half loops, bunny hops, falling leaves, etc. I don't have a rulebook handy (paging skaternum) but anything with jumps/hops/turns that maintains a continuous rhythm is considered a jump sequence.Hmm, this needs clarification.
According to USFS:
-Note: Walley jumps and inside Axels, along with half-turn jumps such as half loop, split jump, stag jump and falling leaf, are not considered to be jump elements in the new well-balanced program rules and are not limited. These jumps are referred to in this clarification as “Unclassified Jumps.” Be advised that these Unclassified Jumps will not increase a skater’s technical merit mark. Judges will evaluate such Unclassified Jumps as transitions/skating movements. The inside axel jump will not fulfill the
requirement for an “axel type jump.”

The way I read this is that since the split jump is done first--before a "true" jump--it is considered choreography.
Again, it would be nice to get a clarification on this.

But interestingly:
-A one-foot Axel is considered an Axel jump element, although it is not specifically listed. It is an exception to the rule ... and will be counted as fulfilling the requirement of an “Axel type jump”, as well as a jump element.

jenlyon60

09-28-2005, 01:26 PM

Was this your last practice/lesson? Maybe it's a GOOD sign... that says that everything will work good for the test!!!

Hiss:

Not a good lesson today. I went over moves with my SECONDARY coach this time (after a long absence...) and she was NOT happy about it. I was so tempted to just drop out of the test session!!!

Power 3's were too slow for her. I need to work on back crossovers BADLY!

Meow:

Had a talk on the phone with Jay about it... he said "Okay, talk to the test chair and try to change the test session. If you can't, then just take the test for experience. But whatever you do, do NOT lose your money by NOT showing up for the test!!! And besides, you'll need to know what they're looking for as far as the new test emphasis is concerned so you'll at least get good feedback on how you're progressing now and what you need to work on to pass this test now."

So... I'm probably gonna go in and test anyway with the understanding that I'll probably not pass again, but I have nothing to lose and everything to gain from this test session. Both coaches did note that I've improved a lot this year from last year. So we'll see how much improvement I've made this year, I guess...

jazzpants

09-28-2005, 02:17 PM

Was this your last practice/lesson? Maybe it's a GOOD sign... that says that everything will work good for the test!!!Yes. All this went down just 3 hours ago. I still have one more lesson with the primary coach before the test.

In any case, I'm just going to go into the test to see how much more work do I need to do to pass this test and what I would have to work on... (i.e. I'll be a guinea pig for the new test system...)

flo

09-28-2005, 02:33 PM

Jazz,
A good way to work on back crossovers is to do them with a partner. This gets you aligned properly and really thinking about the timing. I do this with some of the kids I teach and it helps.

Debbie S

09-28-2005, 02:49 PM

Hey, Jazz, I agree with jenlyon on this. After all the work you've done, you should be fine. It's normal to have bad practices before a test - the Tues before I took Pre-Bronze MIF and FS (test was on a Sun), I fell splat on my right knee on forward crossovers and I didn't practice jumps until Sun morning before the test, and my alt 3's were terrible - feet down and everything - in my lesson that Thurs. But I passed - OK, it was a close call, but I did it. Just think about all the good practices you've had, especially in the public session with kids flying all around. You'll be fine!

Actually, I practiced earlier today and had some really bad moves run-throughs. On my back crossovers, I felt like my legs had a mind of their own! And I won't get into the forward crossovers, or the BO to FO turn in the 5-step.

sunshinepointe

09-28-2005, 02:51 PM

I'm not testing yet, but my coach has instructed me in the ways of forward power 3 turns (I assume you mean these and not power 3's)

I almost end up gaining speed towards the end of the length of the ice because of the power push - REALLY give it everything you've got on that push and then make the crossover into the step forward as smooth as glass - no toe pick scraping since this will slow you down. My problem is on the step forward - I tend to have my weight a little forward and thus the dreaded SCRAPE. Keep your weight nice and even over the middle of your blade and if you do this with a GOOD power push you should be coasting by the middle/end of your power three turns..and correct me if I'm wrong, but generating MORE power towards the end is better than starting out strong and fizzling out.

Good luck!

sk8pics

09-28-2005, 03:00 PM

I'm not testing yet, but my coach has instructed me in the ways of forward power 3 turns (I assume you mean these and not power 3's)

I'm not sure what you mean by this. Jazzpants is talking about the power 3-turns on the bronze moves in the field test. They are forward outside 3-turns with a crossover in between. Also the bane of my existance on that test!

LoopLoop

09-28-2005, 03:01 PM

Regarding the sequence/unusual entrance thing: I found this on the USFS website, in the training manual for the new judging system:

A jump sequence may consist of any number of jumps “listed” in the scale of values. The jumps may have any number of revolutions permitted for that competitive level linked by hops, mazurkas, jumps not listed in the scale of values (i.e., 1/2 jumps, walleys, inside Axels) and/or turns immediately following each other. There cannot be more than a total of one revolution
(360 degrees) with the foot on the ice during the course of the entire sequence. The sequence must have constant rhythm and there can be no crossovers or stroking during the sequence. A jump “sequence” consisting of one “listed” jump together with an “unlisted” jump or jumps counts as an individual jump element and not as a jump sequence.
However, these new descriptions (and revised well-balanced program requirements) are specified for juvenile-senior levels only and no corresponding information has been published for adults.

sunshinepointe

09-28-2005, 03:05 PM

NoVa Sk8r

09-28-2005, 03:18 PM

Regarding the sequence/unusual entrance thing: I found this on the USFS website, in the training manual for the new judging system:

A jump sequence may consist of any number of jumps “listed” in the scale of values. The jumps may have any number of revolutions permitted for that competitive level linked by hops, mazurkas, jumps not listed in the scale of values (i.e., 1/2 jumps, walleys, inside Axels) and/or turns immediately following each other. There cannot be more than a total of one revolution
(360 degrees) with the foot on the ice during the course of the entire sequence. The sequence must have constant rhythm and there can be no crossovers or stroking during the sequence. A jump “sequence” consisting of one “listed” jump together with an “unlisted” jump or jumps counts as an individual jump element and not as a jump sequence.
But ISU uses this description of a jump sequence:
"A jump sequence consists of a minimum of two jumps connected with [emphasis added] small quick steps, unclassified jumps such as half-loop, split jump, mazurka, etc., hops and/or turns. The sequence should be continuous in a rhythm to make it apparent where the sequence begins and ends."

Since the item in question is split/axel, that does not meet the requirement of 2 "jumps" (as they define it) being linked. I presume that USFS follows the same definition?
I still think that a sole non-listed jump put at the beginning of the jump pass does not make it a sequence.

jazzpants

09-28-2005, 04:47 PM

I thought there were Foward power three turns, and then also power 3's, power 3's being back3turn/mowhawk/repeat. Like I said I'm not testing and this is just what I'm told from kids at the rink so I could be confused. :??It's the FORWARD power 3's from the prelim moves test. I'm taking the Bronze Moves test this weekend.

sunshinepointe: Yeah, I know what you mean. And yes, I do generate more speed towards the end of the length. But the problem with that is that when the secondary coach showed me the video, it looked REALLY slow!!! Of course, she only caught me on the video at the beginning of it and not towards the end where I did generate more speed towards the end. She did film the other side and that wasn't so bad, but she pointed out other things wrong on that side... :oops:

Debbie S

09-28-2005, 04:51 PM

I thought there were Foward power three turns, and then also power 3's, power 3's being back3turn/mowhawk/repeat. Like I said I'm not testing and this is just what I'm told from kids at the rink so I could be confused. :??
The move you are describing is the back power 3's from the Juvenile MIF test. I believe you have to do a sequence of 5 in a row in each direction in sort of a figure 8 pattern. The power 3's that Jazzpants is talking about are the forward power 3's from the Preliminary MIF and Bronze MIF tests.

sunshinepointe

09-28-2005, 05:47 PM

Personally I think the back power 3's are so much easier...you should just be able to skip forward power 3's altogether :twisted:

Terri C

09-28-2005, 06:21 PM

jazzpants

09-28-2005, 07:26 PM

Personally I think the back power 3's are so much easier...you should just be able to skip forward power 3's altogether :twisted:OH, I WISH!!! I WISH!!! I would have taken the test and pass it a long time ago if it weren't for the *%(#$& forward power 3's... :frus: :evil: I HATE THIS MOVE LIKE THE PLAGUE!!!

luna_skater

09-28-2005, 08:17 PM

Meow: Sideways-leaning spin is improving! Need to get this up to par for synchro. I can actually get some lean now and keep my speed at the same time. Yay! Mostly worked on spins and footwork today. Worked on Blues choctaws in both directions, up and down the sides of the rink. Big improvement since my coach tweaked these on the weekend. Waltz, sal, toe, and loop were nice!

Hiss! Change-foot spin was not happening at all. Flip and lutz have gotten even worse. Am terrified to do BI3-FObracket at speed.

Mrs Redboots

09-29-2005, 03:13 AM

Personally I think the back power 3's are so much easier...you should just be able to skip forward power 3's altogether :twisted:Those are all right if you can do a back 3 with sufficient flow coming out of it to go straight into the Mohawk. I can't. Husband can, although his aren't pretty! Here in the UK these are a relatively high level Move, done on a circle in both directions. We don't have the forward power 3s, although we have other exercises equally as evil.....

skatergirlva

09-29-2005, 07:04 AM

Meow
I got to the rink at 4:40 this morning and the guy who opens it was already doing the zamboni. Thus, I was able to get on the ice at 4:50, allowing me 10 minutes to wake up before my lesson. I had been up since 3:30 because my 4 month old elected to have a lengthy discussion this morning instead of sleeping, so I just stayed up. However, despite all this, my lesson went very well. We worked on outside counters left/right and loops you would be shocked. They are completely different! We are talking real beautiful counters. The word of the morning was swoop in order to get me to do them correct...whatever works for those of you wondering. My coach gives me buzz words to fit the movement. I also have a "shark" drill and a "bottle" hockey drill that assisted in the good counters. The inside counters were fine because I like them and I actually practice them. My backward inside & outside 3 turns were pretty good in both directions. My coach was trying to explain a drill and of course I did it wrong thinking it was a different drill and he said, "Oh, I like that drill much better." I laughed and said, "That's because it's your drill." My back rocker-choctaw was overall good after fixing my body position on right edge. The best part of my lesson..."A lot of your moves are will be passable in a few weeks." Okay, whether they are or not remains to be seen. I would definitely like to pass my novice moves this year (2005-2006).

Loops...you'll be happy to know that I did run-through my program twice (without the music). I couldn't see the buttons on the sound system and no one was really very awake this morning as no one had even turned on the music by 5:30.

Hiss
My stupid right skate feels to big for some reason. My foot keeps sliding in it and I keep getting nasty blisters.

LoopLoop

09-29-2005, 08:30 AM

Skatergirlva, what did Christopher want to talk about this morning? :P
Good job on the moves!

I was frustrated last night; yesterday morning I did some nice easy axels and last night couldn't do one to save my lift. Grrr. Or, to be appropriate for the thread, HISS!

NoVa Sk8r

09-29-2005, 08:47 AM

I was frustrated last night; yesterday morning I did some nice easy axels and last night couldn't do one to save my lift. Grrr. Or, to be appropriate for the thread, HISS!But your pair camel and axel lift were looking very strong last night! ;) 8-)
And where did that pair sit come from? 8O

flo

09-29-2005, 09:24 AM

Meow: Had a good choreography session for our interp pairs program. It's very artsy.

Hiss: I only wish we had more time - the 1:40 is too short for all we could put into it.

phoenix

09-29-2005, 09:31 AM

Personally I think the back power 3's are so much easier...you should just be able to skip forward power 3's altogether :twisted:

My issue with these (on the intermediate moves pattern) is 1) they want you really flying through them and 2) you have to do them off such a shallow edge to be on pattern. I didn't mind them so much on the juv. pattern. And I practice on an Olympic sized rink, so that makes it even worse.

HISS: I'm finally giving up trying to manage my "I'm bored with all these exercises" snit on my own, & have asked my coach to have a discussion about it all. I've done nothing but exercises/drills since June. They have done me a LOT of good, and I know they're necessary to get me up to the next level & look like I belong there. But I feel like I'm in this endless sea of exercises & every day is the same, & there is no end in sight. My coach isn't one to give much feedback, so I don't have a good sense of how far I've come, or even how far there is yet to go. I need something to measure by. So I need him to help me adjust my attitude, & I need him to help me see where I am in the grand scheme of things (and what exactly the grand scheme is, while we're at it!). So I left him a semi-weepy voice mail message asking for a "talk" in my lesson on Friday. Poor guy---I bet that's the worst part of being a male coach--dealing with us emotional girls!! :cry:

sunshinepointe

09-29-2005, 11:05 AM

My issue with these (on the intermediate moves pattern) is 1) they want you really flying through them and 2) you have to do them off such a shallow edge to be on pattern. I didn't mind them so much on the juv. pattern. And I practice on an Olympic sized rink, so that makes it even worse.

I wish I had an Olympic sized rink to practice on - although I skate relatively slow, I tend to cover a lot of ground and I'm always bumping into people.

I looked at the patterns for Intermediate and Juv. moves and I'll agree with you that the Juv seems much easier - on the Int. it would seem like the 3 turns have to be much quicker on the Int. pattern, but I know from a friend of mine that the judges hate the "helicopter" look. Personally, I've not passed pre-pre (heck I'm not even a club memeber yet) but this is what I hear through the grapevine :)

Skate@Delaware

09-29-2005, 11:45 AM

Meow: Worked on Pre-Bronze Moves stuff Wed night...very cool things indeed! Although my back edges need tons of work, it's do-able. And, she told me to stop nit-picking my spins (the traveling)!!! Salchows! Toe-Loops! I'm actually getting them! She added a glide and step before, so I get more oomph and it really helped. Then, for icing on the cake, backspins (during which I put another hole in my pants-so that's 2 from backspins) which I really need to work on but I'm putting them under meow because i really wanted to learn them! Waltz-8 pattern! Once I did it a few times, now I can understand the picture in the book and can do it right (I'm deficient that way) :oops:

Hiss: My waltz jumps sucked!!! I rushed them...guess I got too excited! She wants me to slow down and relax. Get more "air" and "spring" which I know I can do. I anticipate the jump so much I don't let it happen naturally (although I did some on Tuesday that were beautiful-flowed and had height; I was relaxed, or tired!). So that's my homework.
And ice show parts...guess I'll be busy for the next few months...and we haven't even started choreographing my routine for the exhibition in December! :frus:

cutiesk8r43

09-29-2005, 04:58 PM

Meow: sister didnt skate so i got an extra dance lesson :) .Had a freestyle lesson afterward.Did some really nice spins(coach was happy)footwork sequence is getting better.

Hiss!:Coach is putting another axel in my program and my competition is next saturday! :roll: 8O :??
Did my program :?? it wasnt the greatest :giveup:

~Cutie ;)

jazzpants

09-29-2005, 05:53 PM

Meow:

Well I survived today's lesson with primary coach.
Primary coach couldn't understand why those back crossovers on this move is different compared to the other moves... he has no issues with the back crossovers on this move. So I switched my back crossovers on the other moves and pretend I was doing the back crossovers for this move and it went a lot smoother...
The other moves seems to be stable. Not perfect but stable.
Hiss:

Nerves are starting to kick in...or rather the STRESS is starting to kick in. I'm very frustrated about this test... I'm frustrated b/c I have been giving it my all to do well for this test, but it might not be enough to pass again... and I'll have to stop and think of what I would have to do to change the situation so I would learn what I need to learn to pass this test.

I'm going into the test with a few thoughts in my mind:

Do my back crossovers on all the other moves on this test the same as I do my back crossover to BO edge.
This is still a learning experience and there was a reminder from the primary coach that both coaches thought this moves is much better than last year when I took this test the first time. Even if/when I do pass it, I still have to continue practicing these moves... mainly for my programs, but also b/c I'll be doing the prelim and pre-Juv standard moves eventually.
I hate thinking this way, since I REALLY like my secondary coach and I think she's a wonderful coach and lady, but since she doubts that I'm going to pass this test, I'm JUST gonna have to prove her wrong and GIVE IT MY ALL! (Terri's theme "UP YOURS!!!" does have a nice ring to it, I think!!! :lol: ) Besides, I think she WANTS me to fight her on this!

Mel On Ice

09-29-2005, 06:59 PM

meow! I can do the sit-back sit! Focusing on lifting the rib was making me huncho over on the transition, so I refocused on pressing the shoulders down (since I hunch badly) and I managed a spin that was 4-2.5 revs.

Meow, meow! Worked on the axel too! Since I am only in the beginning stages, it was from a standstill in T-position, loaf of bread, swish by the hips, lift, cross your heart, land in a backspin. Coach was surprised to see I could do this without pitching the body too much one way or the other, said my posture was GREAT. I'm still thinking landing it is a year or 3 off, but I'M WORKING ON IT.

Hiss: Kids who don't watch where they are going. The adults can't be the constant monitors, sometimes we have to go backwards. Almost brained a kid while I was in a camel spin, now what could I do about that? And another got in my way while I was doing a loop-loop. Argh!

Thin-Ice

09-30-2005, 02:22 AM

Hiss:

Nerves are starting to kick in...or rather the STRESS is starting to kick in. I'm very frustrated about this test... I'm frustrated b/c I have been giving it my all to do well for this test, but it might not be enough to pass again... and I'll have to stop and think of what I would have to do to change the situation so I would learn what I need to learn to pass this test.

This is still a learning experience and there was a reminder from the primary coach that both coaches thought this moves is much better than last year when I took this test the first time. Even if/when I do pass it, I still have to continue practicing these moves... mainly for my programs, but also b/c I'll be doing the prelim and pre-Juv standard moves eventually.
I hate thinking this way, since I REALLY like my secondary coach and I think she's a wonderful coach and lady, but since she doubts that I'm going to pass this test, I'm JUST gonna have to prove her wrong and GIVE IT MY ALL! (Terri's theme "UP YOURS!!!" does have a nice ring to it, I think!!! :lol: ) Besides, I think she WANTS me to fight her on this!
[/list]

C'mon JP-- You know Jay wouldn't put you out there to test if he didn't think you would pass. After all, you are a reflection of his coaching abilities.. and heaven knows he does NOT like to look bad at ANYTHING!

Remember to breath and treat this as if it were a performance, as if you were chosen out of thousands of skaters to demonstrate these moves because you are the perfect ABM skater. Have an "I can do this, don't you wish you could do this as well as I can?" attitude. Take your time on the moves, bend your knees, look confident and relax.

Good luck, I'll be thinking happy thoughts for you Saturday morning. And an early skate may be good: the judges will not have had time to get upset about having to get out of bed early to watch several other testers who look nervous, aren't bending their knees and are acting like they've never skated before.

Just think, you get the ice ALL to YOURSELF.. no small children to dodge, no one running a program that you have to avoid and no hockey players throwing things on the ice. And HAVE FUN!!!

Mrs Redboots

09-30-2005, 08:04 AM

sunshinepointe

09-30-2005, 08:35 AM

Hiss! Had my lesson las night....Ugh - I was WAY off in my jumps last night. Maybe it was from taking Tuesday off but I felt like I regressed in the flip and lutz. (My loop was the same level of suck). I also worked on backspins and camels without much success. I keep rocking on the toe in the camel (I thought I broke that habit!) and sitting too far back in my blade on the backspin creating an awful scratching, grinding halt after 2 or 3 revs, sometimes not even that many.

I took a hard fall on the first flip of the evening. Good height and speed + dropped shoulder + late checkout = harder fall. Insult to injury - I did the exact same thing later on in the lesson with the lutz. I'm limping about this morning - it hurts just to stand, yet oddly no bruise yet.

I did land ONE clean flip and ONE clean lutz out of say, 4-5 attempts each but I landed like an elephant. Sheesh.

Meow!

I finally get the consecutive brackets. I need to get more speed and flow, but I can do like, 10 brackets or so in a row without much difficulty.

Waltz jumps, toe loops and salchows are basically consistent. My coach hardly looks at them anymore before moving on. In fact he called my toe loop "impressive". LOVE the toe loop.

My coach wants me to start working on loop-loop combos but I started overthinking it. So, from the other thread where people were saying to do it from a RFI3 or a LFO3 to RBO edge I decided "what the heck".

Loops were SO easy this way. Almost TOO easy. My coach hates both of these entries equally, and quite frankly so do I, but if it helps me get the timing I need for the loop from back XO's, so be it. After I did a bunch of loops from the three turns I went and did a regular loop without much difficulty. Sweet.

Even better - I was able to do ALL of the following from the three turn entries or other methods

loop-loop
loop-loop-loop
Waltz-loop
waltz-loop-loop
backspin (sort of lol) - loop
waltz-loop-backspin

Mind you all of these jumps are SO small, but my skate buddy said that they were recognizable as actual jumps. I think in the loop-loop-loop sequence I'm cheating the jumps a bit but hey - this is a big first step for me with this jump.

When I told my coach he was happy for me, but made a face when I told him RFI3 entry helped me do it. So picky :roll:

My scratch spins were very centered tonight, but slow for me.

Sit spins were centered for the most part, but not as fast and low in revolutions. My blades might still be a smidge too sharp.

Spirals were complimented - "They're SO HIGH!" :twisted:

Umm....I think thats it. I certainly hope my funky shoulder cuts it out and I get my strong checkout back.

I've also made the decision to join my rinks club and start testing next year. I think having a formal structure, at least for MIF will improve the quality of my skating. My coach feels I can pass Pre-pre without a hitch, and he's quite confident I can pass preliminary with a little bit of practice. Fortunately for me my group coach is big on working on MIF so I'm very familiar with "harder" MIF.

Okay, that's it for me - gotta get ready for work! Can't wait to skate tomorrow (although my right butt tells me otherwise!)

jazzpants

09-30-2005, 11:52 AM

Mew: Ran through everything. All okay, perhaps a bit slow over the ice, but apart from that.....

Hiss: The competition is tomorrow and I'm nervous!

Talk to you all again on Monday, when I'm sure Samba, Batikat and I will be wanting to tell you all about it - and anybody else who was there (Tashakat????).Go KICK some ICE BUTTS tomorrow, Annabel!!! http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/otn/blob_box.gif

You'll do just great! Remember our promise to each other -- I'll do my best if you do your best this weekend!

Am resting up for tomorrow morning. I somehow caught another cold, courtesy of DH. :roll: (He had it last week... though he claim for him it's just a cold and it disappeared a couple of days later...)

LoopLoop

09-30-2005, 01:42 PM

Jazz, good luck tomorrow! Think of it as a chance to show the judges -- and Jay -- how much you've improved over the past year.

phoenix

09-30-2005, 03:55 PM

jazzpants

09-30-2005, 04:54 PM

Jazzpants, is this the one & only opportunity you'll have to test for a whole year? Sounds like it's been a year since you last tested--are there other test sessions throughout the year for you? Just curious.Oh, no!!! I still have at least one more test session at my home rink this year and can go to other rinks (getting permission from my home rink and the visiting skating club and shelling some extra $$$ for it.) PLENTY of opportunities to test!!!! :)

The reason why I didn't test for an entire year b/c I was busy fixing those problems that was mentioned in my test forms. :frus: (Altogether now.... "AHHHH!!!") :P The reason why I'm stressed about this test is... I don't want to end up in a situation where I would have to do both the Moves AND the FS tests on the same day! I wanted to focus on one test at a time... :)

Terri C

09-30-2005, 05:07 PM

This is for Wednesday and yesterday:
Hiss: That time of the month! I'm tired and feel like I have to muscle any jumps I do, if they're not off to begin with. I had back and stomach cramps and managed to tough it out and skate, but it was no fun!

Meow:
Since freestyle elements are not up to happening, I worked on moves.

My 2 cents worth on tests:
Sometimes there's this thing called life that keeps one from testing when or as often as they'd like. If I had my way and my world had not been turned upside down this summer, I would have had at least one attempt at the Bronze moves test already!

Kit kat

09-30-2005, 07:50 PM

meow : my scratch spins are very powerful and fast. i also can do my axel 1 revolution.. its hard for me to get the other half, i really only had 2 days on the harness. my loops are very good and my flips are good also. im started to get good form on the harness and land almost all of them. im also starting to get 30 minutes private lessons instead of 15. YAY!

hiss :my sit spins and camel's are a mess. i go up on my toe on the sit spin, but its getting better. my camel is also only 2 revolutions.. sloww ugly ones. my lutz are bad. is there a way to do them from a mohawk? i tried and it was easier.. but im not sure if im doing it right. i was in a group lesson and the coach made me coach another kid!

sk8pics

09-30-2005, 07:53 PM

Good luck, Jazzpants! Just do your best --what more can you ask?

And good luck to you Mrs. Redboots!

As for me, MEOW: I do believe I finally have a technically correct toe loop! I need a smilie that jumps up and down! One of my other coaches figured out a way to help me to do the jump correctly, so that I was really over my feet, with just a hand from him to help. My primary coach thought it was a great idea and we did about a billion of them last night, just walking through. Then he told me to try the jump and pretty much right off, I did a little one that was correct, without touching the boards or leaning! They were a little bit hit and miss, but really much better than ever before. Tonight I practiced some more and did some more correctly! Showed them to a friend and she said, YES! 8-) 8-) Can't wait to show my coach on Sunday. I've been doing that dreaded toe-waltz for so long, I thought a real toe loop was never going to happen! Hooray!

Happy skating!
Pat

singerskates

09-30-2005, 09:42 PM

Yeah Raye!!! :bow:

Meow: Got through the lengthened freeskate program yesterday in Ottawa (sans Loop) and won the silver.... 2:20.09 feels like an eternity... my knees took 20 minutes to stop shaking :oops: :oops: :oops:

Hiss: My interp event was 20 minutes after my freeskate and since I was still wiped from the freeskate I could hardly do the program. At least my interpretive solo is to slow mellow music, otherwise I could not have done it. :roll:

Skate@Delaware

10-01-2005, 06:43 AM

Good Luck Jazzpants & Annabel!!!
Congrats Pat, on your toe-loop!!! (mine is still technically a toe waltz, until I get more speed...and a bit braver! I'm almost there) ;)

Group Class update:
Meow: I finally managed 2 centered spins-one even had the exit "click" she likes to hear----did she see them?? Of course not! The only proof was in the pudding (tracing on the ice). I'm re-learning the trick-get way down in the knee on my back crossovers, then keep down on the step-out, hold the free leg back just a split second longer, then whip it to the front (all the while remembering to not hunch my shoulders and to point my toe up)! It was nice to have one, it's only been about 5 months! Back edges are improving (thanks to coach #2).

Hiss: Why do I brake on my toepick on the waltz? Why? Why do I not get deep enough in the knees and spring up? I know my knees do bend... :frus: Got flustered on the salchow, but did manage one nice one-now to add some speed (and for the toe-loop as well)! I forget how to do the Waltz 8 and did it wrong for 10 minutes until my 13-year-old skating friend asked "what is that you are doing?" and showed me the right way.... :oops:

jazzpants

10-01-2005, 12:31 PM

Hiss:

Closer, but still NO CIGAR!!! :cry:

This time I'm about .1-.2 off from passing overall. I was told that I got a REALLY tough panel of judges again.

The "toe pick monster" got me on a couple of moves. "Skating on flats" also bit me in the butt too (on all the moves, not just the 5 steps mohawks.) 5 step mohawks was a B****!!! (They made no comment on timing or extension on that move but the ...)

Meow:
ONE judge DID pass me... and she was rumored to be the toughest of all the judges! It was funny - when my primary coach told another coach that I passed this one judge, the other coach says "You should frame that one!!!" When my secondary coach heard that, I was still puzzled about that comment. She said "That judge that just passed you is probably one of our TOUGHEST judges! You definitely should not be discouraged by that."

I got okay to good comments on my first move... LOTS of POWER!!! And secondary coach does think that I should consider trying again. She thinks I'm pretty close. (She had a conference with Jay about my test...)

Some people had asked me to post notes on specifics about my test and what goes on with the new judging emphasis... I'll post that later on tonight.

slusher

10-01-2005, 02:57 PM

Hiss:

Boo Hoo Jazzpants. I was so hoping that you'd get the moves this time. My sympathies are with you.

Hiss for me:

Spent all my lesson yesterday working on spirals. My butt hurts to the point that it's painful to sit. I really know where my glutes are!

Again congrats to Jazzpants for testing and still keeping the faith.

Mel On Ice

10-01-2005, 03:11 PM

icedancer2

10-01-2005, 03:32 PM

Hiss to the judge that failed you by .1 of a point. Any judge knows that is a NO NO. If your test was that marginal, the judge is supposed to give you the benefit of the doubt and pass you right on the mark with a 5.0.

:cry:
MAYBE she meant that each move was marked down by 0.1 (which is legit, unfortunately) -- I hope that is it.

I'm sorry you didn't pass -- it's so great that you went out there and did it, though -- I'm very interested in hearing the details -- new focus and all of that stuff.

techskater

10-01-2005, 03:49 PM

BOO! Especially if the retry was only by .1! It's good that it was close, though, is that hopeful? Were the comments helpful?? Good luck on the next try. Are you trying again in 28 days

Joan

10-01-2005, 05:42 PM

Keep your spirits up. The real goal is to be the best skater you can be, and as someone else who did not pass the first two times, but finally did pass the bronze MIF, I feel I kept getting better the longer I worked on them.

Did they ask you to reskate anything? It seems if 1 judge passed you and the other two had you only 0.1 ot 0.2 off the passing score, that a reskate might have made a difference.

Keep trying!

jazzpants

10-01-2005, 10:53 PM

:cry: MAYBE she meant that each move was marked down by 0.1 (which is legit, unfortunately) -- I hope that is it.Yeap! It's actually 0.1 and 0.2 on all the moves, except for the one judge that DID pass me... She gave me mostly passing scores.

However, I did noticed that there was a conversation amongst the judges. My guess was to decide whether to give me a reskate or not. But I could be wrong...

Mel: I'm not that bummed out! I always had an ickling that I wasn't quite ready for this test yet, given Jay's comments during my lesson and how the lesson was. (In the past, I know I'm ready when Jay makes at most "cosmetic changes" to my tests. The stuff mentioned in the last couple of lessons from him were NOT cosmetic!!!) I came close to passing. I passed one tough US Nationals judge and overall about 0.1-0.2 under overall for the other two judges. Best part: my secondary coach (who as you remember is the person who put a lot of doubt my passing this time around) certainly has hope -- she said "I want to see you take this test again in a couple of months!" (The next home club test session I'm allowed to sign up for.)

So, I will test Bronze Moves again... I haven't given up the fight yet... :twisted:

aussieskater

10-02-2005, 01:20 AM

jazzpants

10-02-2005, 01:42 AM

Bad luck JP, but come December you'll be ready, I'm sure of it! When you say "one judge passed you" (out of 3), did you have to get all 3 judges to pass you for each move (as we do), or is it a case of "majority rules"? Sadly, we don't have a "moves" test stream as you do - while we have two tests at each level, the tests are "pattern" (or "figure") and freeskate.I think it's a combine scoring/average type of thing but DON'T quote me on this. (Is there a skating judge around here that can answer this question? Can you pass with 2 judges, despite the fact that the 3rd judge may totally HATE your test and score accordingly and the other two liked it enough to pass you but not love it enough to counteract the 3rd judge's score?)

phoenix

10-02-2005, 07:58 AM

You have to get 2 out of the 3 judges to pass you, so yes, one of them could totally hate you & you'd still be fine! :) (the other two sheets don't have to make up for the "bad" score)

The Moves tests (each individual sheet) are added up & you look at the final score on each sheet to see if that judge passed you. In other words, a judge could fail one element (ex. power pulls) by taking a point off, but give you a point over on another element (ex. power 3's), & you'd still pass the overall test (from that judge). This is actually one of the nice things about moves, since you can "work the system" a bit. There's almost always one weak element, & very often one or two very strong elements for each test/skater--so you can go into a test & try to REALLY nail those strong ones, trying to buy an extra point or two to make up for likely losing a point on the weak one. :twisted:

sceptique

10-02-2005, 08:09 AM

First of all -

congratulations to Batikat and Mrs Redboods for excellent performance yesterday at British Adult Championship! It was a real pleasure to watch you guys. Batikat got such marvelous spins - I wish mine were half as good!

Now, to the practice blog:

Meow:

Well, today was a half-year anniversary of the start of my skating career and it came with an unexpected but so desired present - a major breakthrough in my spin technique. Now for the first time it feels that I control them and not the other way around. I exit when I start slowing down, not when I start falling out of the spin. I can actually draw my arms and my free leg in and feel how it speeds up the rotation - it felt so good I wanted to cry!

Ahhhh.... what a day!

Hiss:

Not without a downside though. To balance things out, I had my worst fall ever - for a minute or two I was worried I broke something. I was getting experimenting with some creative catch holding my blade and extending the leg upwards in front of me, and then I got into a particularly good one.... I realised that I'm falling flat on my back and there's nothing I can do about it. When I got up and went off ice I felt numb and dizzy. It passed quickly but it was quite a scary feeling.

My loop is back to drawing board. I'm deliberately two-footing it in order to get a proper technique on take-off and rotation without having to worry about the landing. I fixed quite a few things like bending forward and dropping my arms just before the jump, but it's still work in progress.

Well, off to a hot bath tub.

jazzpants

10-02-2005, 12:02 PM

The Moves tests (each individual sheet) are added up & you look at the final score on each sheet to see if that judge passed you. In other words, a judge could fail one element (ex. power pulls) by taking a point off, but give you a point over on another element (ex. power 3's), & you'd still pass the overall test (from that judge). This is actually one of the nice things about moves, since you can "work the system" a bit. There's almost always one weak element, & very often one or two very strong elements for each test/skater--so you can go into a test & try to REALLY nail those strong ones, trying to buy an extra point or two to make up for likely losing a point on the weak one. :twisted:Ha HAAAAA!!! And that's what I tried to do with my forward crossovers to counteract my power 3's. :twisted: Unfortunately, it only worked on one judge. The other two judges STILL thought it was below standard. :frus: (At least this time I didn't run into the wall... LOL!!! :lol: )

FrankR

10-02-2005, 12:15 PM

Yeap! It's actually 0.1 and 0.2 on all the moves, except for the one judge that DID pass me... She gave me mostly passing scores.

However, I did noticed that there was a conversation amongst the judges. My guess was to decide whether to give me a reskate or not. But I could be wrong...

Mel: I'm not that bummed out! I always had an ickling that I wasn't quite ready for this test yet, given Jay's comments during my lesson and how the lesson was. (In the past, I know I'm ready when Jay makes at most "cosmetic changes" to my tests. The stuff mentioned in the last couple of lessons from him were NOT cosmetic!!!) I came close to passing. I passed one tough US Nationals judge and overall about 0.1-0.2 under overall for the other two judges. Best part: my secondary coach (who as you remember is the person who put a lot of doubt my passing this time around) certainly has hope -- she said "I want to see you take this test again in a couple of months!" (The next home club test session I'm allowed to sign up for.)

So, I will test Bronze Moves again... I haven't given up the fight yet... :twisted:

Hi Jazzpants,

I'm so sorry that it didn't work out for you on this particular test session. However, it looks like you are very close to passing, as you've already mentioned. I'm glad that you're not discouraged and I wish you all the best going forward. :)

Frank

sunshinepointe

10-02-2005, 12:56 PM

Sorry to hear about your test Jazzpants...but you seem to be doing fine so just get ready to kick butt next time! Hopefully I'll start testing soon too so we can share in our testing woes (I'm planning on testing standard track at my coaches insistance, eep!)

Saturday 10/1

Meow My loop was FABULOUS today. Seriously. We're talking MY LOOP. I was able to do all sorts of combos - loop/loop, waltz/loop, waltz/loop/loop, toe loop/loop, salchow/toe loop/loop....well you get the idea. Having the loop solid along with a great toe loop makes for some fun jump combos. I think practicing the loop from RFI3 turn helped me get the timing down. Sweet, now I just have to KEEP it.

Consecutive brackets are coming along. I'm starting to get better flow, although I do tend to run out of gas. Once I get a little more comfy I'll try to head into them with a little more speed, but for now technique is important.

Group coach wanted to work on one foot hockey stops. I kind of have them...except I tend to stick my butt out way too much, which prompts a lot of teasing from coach. I was the only person to really get them though, so that made me feel good. I can't have any speed going into it but whatever.

Group coach also thanked me for having such beautiful forward and backwards cross rolls. I've never been thanked for skating before but I guess since no one else in the class could do them very well he was thanking me for proving that he's not a bad coach lol.

Scratch spins were good, although they're not nearly as fast as they used to be, but they're mostly centered. I'll sacrifice speed for control - speed can come later.

Sit spins were good too, including "butt spins" once the ice was resurfaced. My regular coach saw me doing these between his lessons and we had a sort of "spin off" to see who could come up with the strangest spin positions. He won by a landslide but he did try to do his patented human weed whacker spin and ended up sprawled out on the ice. Good times.

My coach wants me to join the club at the rink and start testing soon. He thinks I can pass Pre-Pre MIF no problem. I've never done the waltz 8, but I just need to know the pattern, and all my other moves are fine. After reading Jazzpants testing report though I'll admit I'm a little nervous ;)

Hiss Naturally since I have my loop back and better than ever the flip has left the building. I'm getting nice height on it but something is wrong in my rotating position and I'm two footing the landing. I think I'm holding back a little bit because I fell so hard on Thursday that I'm afraid to fall again on the same spot. I should be healed up by Tuesday so I'll be able to attack the jump once again. Because I couldn't do a flip I didn't waste time working on the lutz at all today.

Backspins were...not good. Not that they've ever been good, but I seriously can't figure out the proper body position for the backspin. It will click one day, I can feel it.

Camel spins are off too. I just got my blades sharpened but I still seem to be slipping off the entry edge and it was impossible to keep my chest down at all yesterday. Oh well.

The worst part of yesterday was that my feet were so sore. I volunteered at a charity benefit auction the previous night which meant 5 or 6 hours in stiletto heels and I'm SO not the heels person. The bottom of my feet near the ball of the foot is literally bruised. Made skating kind of difficult, but I was having such a good time it didn't really matter.

Can't wait until Tuesday - maybe I can get the flip AND the loop together on the same day. It's yet to happen, but I know it will happen soon enough. Then once the flip is back, lutz time!

icedancer2

10-02-2005, 02:15 PM

(At least this time I didn't run into the wall... LOL!!! :lol: )

If only they knew what our REAL challenges were, they wouldn't hesitate to pass us!! :lol:

Mrs Redboots

10-02-2005, 02:53 PM

First of all -

congratulations to Batikat and Mrs Redboods for excellent performance yesterday at British Adult Championship! It was a real pleasure to watch you guys. Batikat got such marvelous spins - I wish mine were half as good!So why didn't you come & say hi to me? Batikat said you & she had had a chat, and you had watched some of the Jimmy Young class (oh, but I'm stiff today!), to which I wore my eponymous red boot covers on purpose....

Am going to post in more detail in a minute.

batikat

10-02-2005, 05:04 PM

First of all -

congratulations to Batikat and Mrs Redboods for excellent performance yesterday at British Adult Championship! It was a real pleasure to watch you guys. Batikat got such marvelous spins - I wish mine were half as good!

.

Thanks Sceptique - glad you enjoyed it. I expect your spins will be twice as good in half the time it took me though. I have been working on them for quite a while now!

Sorry we didnt' get to have a chat - I was a bit preoccupied in the practice ice and couldn't find you when I looked for you later.

Haven't posted in this thread for a while as I did not want to jinx my rather shy loop (i.e it's not keen to show up when people are watching!!!). However now the competition's over I can start to post again.