The Slow Section

In the past, the slow section was used to show that skaters are able to skate to slow tempos that have a lot of emotion (Sandra Bezic said in an interview that she was challenged in getting Brian Boitano to skate slowly in the 80's). Nowadays, it seems the slow section is where the skaters are trying to catch their second wind. What is your opinion of the slow section? Are the skaters even expressing the slow section anymore? Which skaters out there are more effective than others in expressing the slow section?

One criticism I had of one of my favourite Michelle programs was that in the slow section of her Spartacus SP, she was doing really fast footwork. Ditto for the early version of Sarah Hughes' 2002 Olympic LP, where she had fast circular footwork during the Rachmaninoff Piano concerto #2 Adagio section.

Should skaters just stop having a slow section?

So that means you think skaters should rush through their programs to "Sabre Dance"?

Skaters chreograph to what to the music they choose. The also chreograph to what will give them the most points, which is usually hard combo, hard jump, easier jump, spin, chreo. Mao uses the slow pieces for her spirals, while other skaters often use the crescendos for spiral sequences.
many of the men skaters like takahasi and wier do a few arm movements in the "slow part" which is annoying because it seem like the only time the really pay attaention to the music. Yeah, its a rest, but you have to have a slower part. most pieces do.

I've always seen the slow sections as chances to catch one's breath. It's no doubt difficult blazing through an upbeat 4 minute program completely non-stop. So the slow sections are very necessary, and it's obviously better when a skater at least tries to mask their huffing and puffing with some nice choreo and emotion.

The ultimate for me will always be Sasha's Romeo and Juliet, where she plucks something out of thin air.

Video 2:45-3:05 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kh3iW4I39DI

Incomparable! How we miss her. Thanks for the link.

I don't agree totally that slow sections give a skater (couples) a chance to catch their breath. I think slow music sections may have more demand on the skaters' abilities to execute certain elements.

Fans familiar with Spirals: They are usually done with a change of tempo in a Lady's, Pairs and Dance programs. Correct? Does that make the skaters' take a breath? I believe mentally, they are forcing concentration and one just might be breathing heavier to keep that edge and change edge. No?

No one can deny that Bonaly could almost do a 2-1/2 A from a standstill. A feat in itself, if you haven't tried it.

Of course, stop and pose, is a bit of a rest to gather ones thoughts on the next element. Are the Pairs taking a breather during that slow music while doing a Death Spiral?

I believe the placement of the elements in a program should be planned with a view to avoid fatigue in a program regardless of the tempo of the music.

In the past, I do think that the purpose of the "slow section" was two-fold. It gave the skater an opportunity to rest, while showing off some artistry and helping to build the program to it's end (aka the 2nd set of marks in the old 6.0 system).

Even though their may be a tempo change in todays music selections, I don't think there is such a thing as "slow section" anymore. With CoP, it's almost impossible to not be doing an element at almost every moment. Skaters are training and conditioning themselves differently to take advantage of milking every point they can from a program.

It kind of bothered me to listen to Scott Hamilton's commentary from this past Nationals. Towards the end of every program, he would talk in amazement about how these skaters could be landing jumps with their legs burning and nearly all their energy used up. While that may have been an accurate statement when he was training, I don't think it rings true for many of todays skaters.

Hmmm...this is an interesting question. Actually, it was the Russians who really developed the use of the "slow section" as we know it today. Most North American skaters did not pace themselves that well years ago and would sort of "run out of gas" at the end of their programs. The Russian skaters were smart and were taught to pace themselves better throughout their program. I guess in laymen's terms one could call it the "slow section", but it is really about learning to pace oneself no matter what the tempo - 4 & 5 minutes of vigorous skating can seem like a long time.

Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Brian Boitano have all spoken on the slow section - that normally came in the middle of the program - as a place where they could catch their breath, get their legs back under them, and focus on the second half of the program. I think it was Kurt that said it was also a time for him to get distracted (along with the spins) and he would almost 'throw away' that section by just going through the moves. Obviously, later in his career he realized just what those parts in a program could do for him.