The Peaking Myth

[AxelAnnie22]

I get really bugged by this "Oh it is early in the season....so of course people haven't peaked.....they are waiting for....."

Although one wants to be in their best shape for the biggest competitions, atheletes must be ready for each and every competition. I have spoken with top hunter riders, as well as one Olympic Gold Medalist. (Moguls). They all say the same thing. You must "peak" at each competition. You don't excuse poor performances at the beginning of the year with "Well, I plan to peak later in the season." Each competition is important. None are rehearsals.

I don't think there is any excuse for being ill prepared for the opening competitions. Obviously everyone wants to improve as the season goes along, but that is a different story.

And, it hurts the sport. For the average person who tunes into Skate America or even Bofrost, and watches entire fields fall.......what kind of impression does that give? It is too silly.

[adrianchew]

Skating is not like any other sport - programs change from year to year and added technical content and difficulty as a skater progresses - all that needs time (ie. mileage, actual competition experience) to really gel together.

A skater can be well-trained and in excellent shape, but still not be able to produce the best performances of their new programs early in the season. Perhaps the announcers don't actually do a good job of explaining this to the viewing audiences though... that much I really would agree upon.

There are other reasons for poor performances - recent recovery from an injury preventing better preparation, and many other situations.

[donnamarie]

I agree that new programs need to develop over time, and usually they will only get better. Of course, for people skating to last year's programs, that argument doesn't work for them - they are even at an advantage because they are familiar with the program.

I don't think anyone really intends to skate badly at the beginning of the season, but it makes sense that they will improve as the season "warms up." Sometimes I think it is an excuse to make everyone feel better - to say "Oh well, I plan to peak later in the season."

There has been some less than stellar skating so far though - a lot of mistakes and falls - it is not so much fun to watch that. I hope that things do perk up. On the other hand, there have been exciting moments already ... such as Sasha's new short program, the Bulgarian dance team, etc.

[AxelAnnie22]

Originally posted by adrianchew
Skating is not like any other sport -


A skater can be well-trained and in excellent shape, but still not be able to produce the best performances of their new programs early in the season. Perhaps the announcers don't actually do a good job of explaining this to the viewing audiences though... that much I really would agree upon.

There are other reasons for poor performances - recent recovery from an injury preventing better preparation, and many other situations. Adrian. Your comments make sense, but on further inspection, I think not. Look at any of the performing arts (and figure skating, as well as being sport, is performing art)....ballet for example. programs change from year to year and added technical content and difficulty as a dancer progresses. - Somehow, when the ABT gives it's premier of a new ballet they seldom find that "all that needs time (ie. mileage, actual competition experience) to really gel together."

Not to say that with time the performance doesn't get better, it will. But the dancer who has learned a difficult piece of choreography---a gorgeous lift, precise feuete turns, simply doesn't fall during the performance, and hope to do better next week.

At the end of the day, what it seems is that skaters don't prepare as hard for the beginning of the season as they do for the end. It is not a question of some mytyical "peaking" that happens after Christmas. It is simply time and preparation.

Just as a little test of my theory.......if Skate America and Skate Canada were the qualifying events for Worlds, do you think we would see less splat fests?

Remember, I am not saying that the progam does not get better as the year goes on. Not only that, but the technical abilities should also improve as the year goes on, and from year to year. Everyone should be getting better each time out.

[loveskating]

Figure skating is like nothing else on this earth...it is incredibly, extremely hard, and especially now with the quads and 7 triples needed...I don't think you can judge skating by ANY other sport (or dance, for that matter).

Also, at the beginning of the season, there are problem areas in any program...things that are left to work out later...

[roogu]

I'd like to see people on here jump and rotate 3 times in the air and land on one foot, backwards, on the ice.

[Alexeiskate]

Originally posted by roogu
I'd like to see people on here jump and rotate 3 times in the air and land on one foot, backwards, on the ice.


Most people will have consistency problem on just double jumps, let alone triple jumps. It's too easy for the arm chair critics to criticize so and so performance at a given competition but most of us will never have any idea what these atheletes go through everyday.

[missmarysgarden]

I have coached and/or judged gymnastics for 32 years. I will share my insight and experience with high level athletes - for what its worth.

Most (if not all) athletes are not able to maintain the same level of performance throughout their competitive years - not even throughout a competitive season. An experienced, competent coach will carefully and thoughtfully pace an athlete to "peak" at the competitions that are most meaningful to their career. Sometimes that will be a perceived "head to head" match; sometimes an important qualifying competition; sometimes a "pinnacle" moment - such as a World championships. Athletes are affected by the same things everyone is - change in biorhythms, interpersonal relationships, hormones, weather, fatigue, etc. Dancers at ABT more than occasionally cut a triple pirouette to a double - they just aren't in mid flight when they do it, so it seldom results in a fall. As for hunting and jumping - believe me, horses have TERRIBLY off days. The refuse, they change leads, they lunge, they drag, they buck, and sometimes they fall - with sometimes tragic results. Their performance is further compounded by their riders, whose judgment, sense of timing, athletic ability, delicacy of hands, and many other factors interact with the horse. With all due respect, that old claim that any athlete gives "110%" every day is just hype. Some athletes have a greater ability to focus than others, to work in the "zone". A good coach works hard to help her athlete consistently find the entry into that zone.

I will also go out on an unpopular limb about talent. It is not true that if you work hard enough, you can get anything you want. All people are not created equal where talent is concerned. There are some things that are hard-wired; you might be able to shorten the distance between the good and the great with desire, hard work and luck - but for the most part, athletes and performers of average to even above average talent will hit a ceiling beyond which hard work, repitition and inspiration gain them little ground. Then the gifted battle it out under the influence of all the psychological and environmental variables, and a handful emerge as the truly great. I think that the best thing a coach can do for an athlete or performer is to help them to know when to conserve, and when to let it all go.

IMHO

[CanAmSk8ter]

A skater who starts with Skate America in late October and goes to Worlds in late March will have been competing over a period of five months. I don't know a single skater who could be in peak form for Skate America in October and stay there through another Grand Prix (or 2), possibly the GPF, their Nationals, possibly Europeans, and then Worlds. Not when they've spent the spring and most of the summer touring and then had to start doing the new programs as soon as they get home. Many of these skaters haven't had more than a day or two off since last March. I skate myself and I can tell you right now that if I have my first competition of the year in April I am not going to worry about being 110% there when Lake Placid is the important one and it's not till August. Training three hours a day, five days a week like I do from early May until the end of August is exhausting, but that's what I have to do to prepare for the big competition late in the season. If I started that kind of training in March to be ready for the beginning of the season, I'd be exhausted, stressed out, and probably injured by the Fourth of July. Look at all the injuries we've seen this season already. Do you really think the smart thing for skaters to do is force themselves to be in top condition even longer than they do?

[jpksk8]

Okay the premise of this thread really angers me.
First of all, I don't think its fair to the skaters to say that they came unprepared--Liashenko, Robinson and others have all turned in performances earlier in the season that indicated a level of preparedness that they didn't show here. It is offensive that you would judge how trained they are when you are not equipped to. Sometimes competitions are splatfests and there's nothing that can be done about that. Most of these skaters who are competing ARE drilling their programs, but its early enough in the season that they're not comfortable with new choreography, new technique, etc. or just haven't had enough time to commit their programs to muscle memory. Skaters can't be at a peak all season and THEY DON'T HAVE ENOUGH TIME to peak for every competition. Either one of those methods would burn one out really quickly and cause skating to suffer in the long run.

The fact is that there is a peak to the training of skaters--or at least there should be. Everybody has been so distraught that so many major skaters are injured, and one of the primary causes is the lack of downtime in the sport. As soon as skaters are done with worlds, they have a little downtime, but not much or else they'll start running behind. Those on tour, especially, are overworking themselves just by partaking in touring AND competition.

Another thing--if you're concerned about the reaction of viewers, then these athletes should just do a bunch of sals and toes for the viewers and then the skaters would look amazing. That would be great for the viewers. But not for the skaters, obviously. The thing that attracts many or most of the skaters to the sport is pushing themselves on jumps, and in order for that to be done, you have to put the tough elements out there, even when you're totally 101% comfortable with them. Its one thing for Onda to put a triple axel she doesn't really have in her program, but does that mean that everybody should take out what's difficult for them because they might fall and tarnish the sport???

Its clear from your post that you have never tried to skate a full competitive season. As a competitive skater (albeit not a very good one), I do know that it is so easy to get burnt out midway through the season and just want to give up. So many skaters come on so strong at the beginning of the season and then suck at sectionals, or nationals or worlds or whatever the 'peak' of their season is supposed to be (Alex Tregre would be an example of peaking too early; Emily Hughes would be a good example of peaking when it counts). Skaters simply have to peak. It is not optional. It is not a myth. You can't skate a season at the same level throughout.

[RobinA]

If a skater (or any athlete or anybody doing anything) were to peak every day they would wear themselves to a complete frazzle and be useless to their sport or whatever in no time at all.

Skating is, more than anything, a physical and mental grind. Especially at the levels we expect of these people nowadays. The human body can't take it and the mind can't take it. That's why exhibitions are at a much lower technical level than competitions. You can't go out and do seven triples in COI every freakin' day. There at those shows, where people are paying to see skaters stand on their feet, the level is such that the skaters have a good chance of hitting it day in and day out. In a competition the ticket-buyer is paying to see a competition, and the skater owes only herself seven clean triples. If the audience can't take skaters having off days in competition, I suggest that skating is the wrong sport for that audience.

[Lee]

Talk to any coach of any competitive skater and they will tell you, as missmarysgarden has, that they plan their skater's yearly training program to peak at certain times of the year for specific important competitions.

Many years ago, it was much easier for skaters to show up spectacularly in their first televised performance as that was usually Nationals (Canadians, US Nats, wherever). Now, with so many more events to train for, they will not be at their peak for every performance. In addition to the extra events (which now go almost all year round, giving skaters very little, if any, *down* time), there are also incredibly increased technical demands. To expect top performance and to train for peak levels at every competitive outing would only be inviting physical disaster -- young bodies need rest and time to heal and rejuvenate.

This is true not only in skating, but in other competitive sports as well. Talk to world class track and field athletes -- their training is also planned to peak at certain times of their year for specific events. Some of their events will not be a their peak.

To expect any athlete to be in peak condition at every outing is unreasonable.

[rack]

This is a really interesting (and provocative) topic, and the responses have been fascinating.

Ted Williams was the last baseball player to hit over 400 for a single season (and that was sixty years ago). That means that he made out six times out of every ten he was credited for an at bat.

And to continue the baseball comparison, the NY Yankees from 1996-2000 had excellent regular season years, but were built to peak (and win) in the post-season. In many sports, the everyday games are regarded as what you have to do to get into the playoffs. An early May game between the Yankees and the Devil Rays is not regarded as important as a late season game between the Yankees and the Red Sox, and certainly not as important as a World Series game between the Yankees and the Braves.

Or for a different way of looking at it- a student might want to get an A on a pop quiz, but that same student is going to study a lot harder and concentrate a lot more for that same A on a final exam.

[JDC1]

I have casually played other sports and taken ballet and NOTHING compares to skating. Jumping, spinning, foot work and moves in the field are SO different and some days you can spin so well you clap for yourself but can't jump to save your life and vice versa and then some days you do everything well and think "boy where's the video camera now". Skating is not like ballet, if every performance the ballerinas and principals were competing with each other and pushing themselves to try new moves rather than just refining moves they have already memorized then the two might be comparable.

People have boo boos that perhaps they don't want to discuss, pulled groin or just sore groin, bad period cramps, migraine headache....I am not making excuses I'm just saying these people do have things wrong with them that could make the difference between a clean 6 triple performance and a mediocre 4 triple perfromance.

As for peaking, of course athletes peak, it's impossible to maintain the same level of physical and mental fitness. I would add though that in my opinion the skating season does last too long and that most skaters should do a lot less touring and do more resting and training for the next season. I think if there were more up and comers challenging the established skaters they might do that but since that really hasn't happened yet I don't think skaters are going to make changes. However, I think Michelle Kwan taking off the GPF so she can be fresh for Nats and Worlds and so she can enjoy life and see her boyfriend, is smart and in an enviable position that she doesn't need the exposure, money or practice from doing the GPF.

[loveskating]

Contained in your post, AA, is the idea that a fall is so bad...but so many skaters have won gold (not to mention silver and bronze) at their Nationals, Worlds and the Olympics with a fall or other serious mistake in the program(s) it ain't funny! These facts would indicate that it is extremely difficult to avoid falling in figure skating.

All a fall means is that you do not get ANY credit in the LP for the jump, and in the SP its a mandatory deduction. That's all it means, and in ANY competition, its who skated best that wins, not necessarily who skated clean. That's the SPORT of it.

Personally, I'd rather see skaters like Kulik, Wylie, Browning, Sasha and others who are pushing the envelope as to quality in skating ALL ALONG THE LINE any day than see a conservative skater who has few or no "best" or "among the best" elements land a second lutz and otherwise rather small, clean triples!

I'll never forget Kulik's Dreams of Love at a pro am in 1997/98...one of the truly great skates, but he fell on his flip...that 3 axel out of a spread eagle was the most explosive, huge, beautiful inspiring 3 axel I have ever seen in my LIFE, and I haven't seen one like it since.

[AxelAnnie22]

Originally posted by rack
This is a really interesting (and provocative) topic, and the responses have been fascinating.

And to continue the baseball comparison, the NY Yankees from 1996-2000 had excellent regular season years, but were built to peak (and win) in the post-season. In many sports, the everyday games are regarded as what you have to do to get into the playoffs. An early May game between the Yankees and the Devil Rays is not regarded as important as a late season game between the Yankees and the Red Sox, and certainly not as important as a World Series game between the Yankees and the Braves.

Rack - Thanks. That is the most cogent arguement/analogy I have seen. First post I have read that helps me to understand.

Now, why do you have some skaters that consistently lay down a wonderful skate (within their own abilities) early in the season? (Sasha, Fumie, Irina, at GWG last year, for example) And, why do some skaters consistently not? (Alexi, for example) And the years that Skate America is in Colorado Springs - nightmare on ice. (I know about the altitude - but the mountains did not grow so high the night before the competition.) LOL!

TO JPSK8

I think your upset should be directed at the commentators, coaches and skaters. Everyone has a poor performance. Everyone struggles with something or other from time to time. But when you hear over and over in one competition that he/she only had two weeks to prepare, it is galling - at least to me. Or "It is early in the season.....can't expect much yet". (No one says that about the Yankees, BTW.)

I remember, years ago, a VERY popular skater and rising star was interviewed after falling, and losing a comp.with sub-par skating. When asked how she felt about her performance she replied: "This competition doesn't really count, so it is no big deal". Well, it was a big deal to me! She was my favorite skater until then. (BTW - she still waits until "later to peak".

;)

[AxelAnnie22]

Originally posted by loveskating
Contained in your post, AA, is the idea that a fall is so bad...but so many skaters have won gold (not to mention silver and bronze) at their Nationals, Worlds and the Olympics with a fall or other serious mistake in the program(s) it ain't funny! These facts would indicate that it is extremely difficult to avoid falling in figure skating.
Hi Loveskating.
Falls don't bother me, actually. (Well, except when it is me falling off my horse LOL!)

I would rather watch Sasha or NNN fall, than many other skaters rip off 7 triples. (And, I would enjoy watching Barishnikov just stand there !! - Be still my heart)

I have watched NNN at 2000 Nats over and over. She falls all over the ice - but oh was the rest of it gorgeous! It is the quality of the skating I love.

What irritates me is the "excusing" of the poor skate with "it is early in the season....." Or "He/She is planning to peak at Nationals, so......."

[missmarysgarden]

Here is a "syndrome" (totally unscientific, I admit) that many gymnastics judges have noted over the years. About the second week in January, we start seeing normally solid gymnasts falling off the beam walking! - unable to land normally reliable tumbling on beam and floor, crooked turns, missing handstand positions on bars, crashing on their backs on dismounts, etc. Our theory is that as the cold and flu season fires up in December, more and more athletes get little/big upper respiratory infections, and the accompanying fluid accumulation in their ear canals, and the irritation itself of these "balance organs", seriously affects their balance. Fluid accumulation often persists for a month or more after a cold. The problem is compounded for upper level athletes in that many decongestants contain substances that are banned for athletes. I've been trying to watch for similar effects in skating. I do notice that when skaters are reported to have a "cold", or be recovering from one, they seem to have more instances of over/under rotation, more disorientation coming out of spins, more little "blips" in spiral positions - the places you would expect to see an effect. Totally unscientific. Athletic folklore. But we used to laugh when the athletes came back after holiday breaks and say "Break out the safety helmets; its time for the post-holiday woozies!"

[quarkiki2]

I, too, think that an athlete needs to look at the entire season. What do they need to accomplish to reach their end result.

Take an unknown junior skater: he/she needs to peak at sectionals in order to move to regionals and regionals in order to move on to nationals. It makes sense that they train like gangbusters early in the season, injury be da**ed.

Or a senior skater trying to make this a breakthrough year: he/she needs to skate well at his/her Grand Prix assignments in order to gain the attention of the judges and the exposure to make a run for a national title.

Or a known senior skater who is concentrating on winning a national and/or world title. He/she may pace themselves, trying their program out to see if it's well received, then tinkering until it's ready for nationals. Why risk injury or aggravate a current injury?

Smart training is the best way to avoid injury. Look at skaters who generally peak later in the year: Slutskaya, Butryskaya, Eldredge, Kwan, Hughes -- they're not spot on at every competition, but come nationals and worlds they're ready to go and healthy. They've learned the lessons resulting from over-training and have decided to make better choices for their bodies. That's not to say that none of them have been injured, that's rediculous, but knowing when to say when has helped them avoid Lipinski, Krylova, and Urmanov-type injuries -- the career ending ones.

After watching the Grand Prix Final the last three years, all I can say is that those poor skaters look like they've been wrung out by the last program. Skating is not a marathon and the additional requirements for the GPF are far too draining and dangerous to the skaters.

Personally, I prefer the season to build up to Worlds. I enjoy watching programs and rivalries develop through the season. I love the suspense of Nationals. I don't mean that I like splat-fests by any means -- I wish the skaters wouldn't fall at all, LOL! But I wouldn't expect to see the same performance at Skate America as at Worlds from any skater -- I'd hope after a season of practicing it would be better!

[AxelAnnie22]

Thanks quarkiki2

I loved your post. You created a whole new context within which I can view the season, the skaters and the competitions. I never thought of it the way you laid it out. Thanks so very much for your thoughtfilled, coherent and concise response.

Deborah

[missmarysgarden]

Now that you mention it, proper breathing has a profound effect on an athletes ability to perform well - knowing when the lungs should be empty and when full makes a difference in stability; remembering to breathe deeply even when you are tense assures that there is enough oxygen in the blood to feed muscles so that they don't fade.

Hope that wasn't too silly ;)

[kayskate]

I wonder if the "peaking" syndrome causes stress at inopportune times. If a skater is continuously told s/he must peak at a certain time but it is acceptable to be "off" during competitions/performances that "don't count", that skater could become very stressed about having to pull it all together at a certain time. I wonder if this is the reason for some of the "choking" that occurs at major competitions. All season they have a convenient excuse for a mistake or weakness, but when the $ is on the line, they may not be mentally prepared to deliver.

OTOH, there are plenty of skaters who can pull a brilliant performance out at just the right time.

Kay

[AxelAnnie22]

Kay - what an interesting point. I think you are on to something. Perhaps the peaking is as much mental as physical.

I ride with people who are great at home, great in the warm-up ring, but they go into the show ring, and forget about it. They can't deliver when it counts. Others, just the opposite. They rise to the occasion.

Back to skating. I think the "it is ok to make a mistake early in the season" is the key. It is kind of like the lutz take off. If it wasn't "OK" to take off from the wrong edge, (let's say there was a 1.0 deduction) it would stop, real fast. If it wasn't acceptable to start the season slow, it would also change.

When I said that peaking was a myth, what I mean is that it is an acceptable consideration. Everyone agrees that you don't have to be really on your game until later. Just like everybody agrees (in the USA) that you can get by with a flutz.

It is not that I don't expect programs, artistry, choreography, execution to improve throughout the season. Of course I do. But, when a skater is paid $50,000 to appear (not win) at say the Campbell's Classic, Skate America, etc., I DO think they should be prepared to lay down a "peak" performance.

[speedy]

And I think that if you're expecting to see the same performance at said event as opposed to Nats or Worlds or Olys, you're expecting WAY too much from these skaters. I certainly don't expect to see the same overall level skating at something as relatively insignificant as Bofrost Cup On Ice (what the heck is Bofrost anyway?) as I would at Nationals...it's silly to expect them to be equal. It's the same as regular season games in other sports...you do good enough to get in the playoffs and up your performance there. You don't kill yourself trying to "peak" for each and every game. It's unnecessary and would be very taxing on your physical and mental stamina, especially in this day and age of so many skaters being out of the GP with injuries. As Peggy said the other day, it's become too much for the a lot of the skaters' bodies to handle. The skaters know that a Campbell's show is a lifetime away in importance compared to the competitions they are expected to win at other times of the year.

[missmarysgarden]

I am a long-time FS fan, but not an FS coach, and I recognize and respect the differences in the sports. But since I've trained and coached gymnasts since the 70s, and there are many similarities between FS and Gymnastics in the training, including mental and physical stress involved in jumping, twisting, landing, rotating, etc., I wanted to share some of what I learned as high level, high impact gymnastics developed throughout the world.

In the late 70s and early 80s, the Eastern Bloc countries and China were moving ahead of the rest of the gymnastics world in skill levels and consistency. The US program, including the biomechanics advisors of USAF (then called USGF) made trips to learn about training programs in Russia, Romania and China - there was even skulduggery involved - smuggling out manuals, etc. Some of the things that they found were 50 hr/wk training programs, multiple repititions of full routines including tumbling, dismounts, etc., lots of passive stretching. They also found some shocking psychological practices - recommending separating children from parents at an early age in order to "bond" them to their coaches and make them totally dependent on them, setting up rivalries within training programs, "shunning" athletes for long periods of time, hypnotism. In addition, athlete selection for high level training programs was based on elaborate systems of looking at parental size and structure, frequent measuring and weighing of growing athletes and culling those who didn't fit the perfect "model" gymnastic body. There were even instances of gymnasts having lower ribs removed to improve flexibility. I won't detail everything, but a for a short period of time, some of these programs were adopted, recommended, or at least considered and tested, by some high level coaches and US training programs.

As gymnasts from this period aged (prime age for a gymnast at that time was 14-15), the injuries and what could be called "deformities" began to turn up. It was discovered that this high level intensity of training shattered growth plates, causing hip and knee injuries and deformities. Long bones were not growing to their genetically programmed length. Femurs were deformed and the damage was irreparable. Tendons were stretched beyond their ability to support vulnerable joints. When I talk to women who trained during that period, they all report constant pain of some kind in backs, necks and joints.

Since that time, gymnastics training has changed enormously. Few Level 10 and Elite gymnasts train for more than 20-25 hours a week except when they are trying to "peak". Most gyms are virtually carpeted with "gush" mats (that absorb impact), and "pits" (excavated concrete pits that are heavily padded and then filled with blocks of highly absorbant foam) are located under bars, at the end of the beams and vault run, and at the end of the tumble tramps (long semi-rigid trampoline structures that absorb shock). The reduction in chronic and acute injury has been enormous.

So in gymnastics - "peaking" is scheduled for selected important competitions. Routines are not put together with dismounts and tumbling until nearer competition because they have learned that gymnasts stay healthy and don't need to do 5,000 double twisting double backs landing on a competition floor in order to be consistent. They can learn and practice the skill into a pit - spending short periods of time where they land concussive or twisting skills on a competition floor or mat - minimizing the opportunities for injury. They still learn form, timing, balance, etc. - and they aren't washed out at 15. The miniumu age for international competition age has been raised to encourage this change in training; coaches have to keep their gymnasts healthy, and the top level gymnasts now are more in the 18-22 age group.

Behind these changes in training methods is recognition that an athlete doesn't have to damage their body - and their mind - in order to be a highly competitive, sound athlete. More and more, coaches help athletes respect their bodies as living organisms that need care as well as development, and that they are not machines that can be ready to go whenever you turn the key. I can only imagine the concussive effect on growth plates of the heavily trained skater landing on hard ice on a metal blade before their growth plates have hardened off.

[peachstatesk8er]

Originally posted by AxelAnnie22
[.......When I said that peaking was a myth, what I mean is that it is an acceptable consideration. Everyone agrees that you don't have to be really on your game until later. Just like everybody agrees (in the USA) that you can get by with a flutz.

It is not that I don't expect programs, artistry, choreography, execution to improve throughout the season. Of course I do. But, when a skater is paid $50,000 to appear (not win) at say the Campbell's Classic, Skate America, etc., I DO think they should be prepared to lay down a "peak" performance. [/COLOR]


I'm in the USA and I'd like to say that it's hardly "everybody" that agrees that flutzing is ok. A wrong edge is a wrong edge and they should be penalized accordingly.

If these skaters are to lay down a peak performance in September, then I guess someone needs to tell Collins to put a halt to his summer skating tour because they don't have time to do both. It's not like it's my tax dollars that paid anyone to appear at Campbell's so I'm reluctant to insist that the skaters owe anyone anything other than the best they can do after a summer of touring. Anyone that has ever competed in skating understands peaking. It's not a myth, it's not all in their heads, and it's different for each skater depending on what they have on their plate.

[donnamarie]

These responses have been very educational - thank you. I have never understood "peaking" this well before.