A new option for step sequences

*Note, i am not talking about the choreographed sequence element. This is about the main step sequence element.

Instead of one step sequence, why not give a skater (or a pair team) the option to:
-Do the normal whole step sequence

OR
-Allow them to have two partial step sequences (in other words 2 'half' step sequences, with the GOE and Base Value of each worth half the value of a full step sequence) to allow for more variety and choice for skaters. With the inclusion of vocal music in singles and pairs after the olympic season (bring on pop music! :/ ), this might be a nice option as the structure pop music is quite tight and constrained.


Other ideas which the ISU can make to make skating more interesting/somewhat better (which were brought up in previous posts)
-Mandatory deduction of PCS for obvious mistakes and stumbles

-More elements with a fixed base value- or GOE only elements (Especially spins- if i see another butt spin....)

-Alternation between the Short Dance and the Original Dance each year in Ice Dance (it will be stilled called the short dance but it alternates between the SD structure and the OD structure)
http://www.goldenskate.com/forum/sh...-dance-and-original-dance-alternate-each-year

The Freeskate should have flexible elements. It's not even hard to code into the computers so that it can be properly scored. For singles skating, just require a minimum number of jumping passes (6 for the ladies, 7 for the men) with a minimum of two of them being in combinination, and then a minimum of 3 spins, and a minimum of one step sequence. After that skaters get 3 optional choices for extra elements they can perform in their programs - more jumping passes, more combination jumps, more spins, more step sequences (with a maximum 2 from any one of those separate categories).

Pairs and Dance should have options as well, but I haven't sat down and thought as specifically about what the minimum required elements should be for those disciplines. I can tell you one thing for sure, though - the twizzle sequence should NOT be a required element in Dance. Why did this ever happen to begin with? It was never a "thing" in dance before CoP.

Blades of Passion said:

I can tell you one thing for sure, though - the twizzle sequence should NOT be a required element in Dance. Why did this ever happen to begin with? It was never a "thing" in dance before CoP.

Click to expand...

It started in 1998-99 with the introduction of required elements in free dances. Initially, IIRC, each partner was required to perform at least two twizzles, but they didn't have to be simultaneous or in sequence. Then came side-by-side step sequences in the original dance, in which some teams were incorporating twizzles.

Teams such as Bourne & Kraatz and Belbin & Agosto were starting to push the difficulty by using double and occasionally triple twizzles side by side in unison, often in sequence.

Even Davis & White as juniors were heading down that road in their FD.

So I expect that the fact that these teams were pushing the technical envelope in that way at the time that the IJS was being designed influenced the rulemakers to build in rewards (and requirements) for doing them side by side in sequence in free dances.

There have been plenty of times when a skater performs brilliantly in the moment and carries the audience's momentum with them. There have also been plenty of times when the score they receive does not reflect the moment they created with the audience- and the moment has to be worth something!

What can the ISU do to its scoring system to reflect this? Too many times we see brilliant performances go unrewarded and the rewards going to skaters who has a higher reputation.

Blades of Passion said:

The Freeskate should have flexible elements. It's not even hard to code into the computers so that it can be properly scored. For singles skating, just require a minimum number of jumping passes (6 for the ladies, 7 for the men) with a minimum of two of them being in combinination, and then a minimum of 3 spins, and a minimum of one step sequence. After that skaters get 3 optional choices for extra elements they can perform in their programs - more jumping passes, more combination jumps, more spins, more step sequences (with a maximum 2 from any one of those separate categories).

Pairs and Dance should have options as well, but I haven't sat down and thought as specifically about what the minimum required elements should be for those disciplines. I can tell you one thing for sure, though - the twizzle sequence should NOT be a required element in Dance. Why did this ever happen to begin with? It was never a "thing" in dance before CoP.

Click to expand...

I actually like the twizzle sequence... it's a good opportunity to show side-by-side unison, and edge control. And with levels, it can be a particularly interesting move to watch. I don't like the ones with flailing arm movements though. But I'm cool with the move being integrated.

There were always twizzles in dance. There are twizzles in several of the CD's.

What was new with COP was making sure both members of the team could do them equally well. Then to keep the levels updated so that not every team could do them, additional requirements were made: a fourth turn, the options of 3 twizzle sets versus a difficult entry to get level 4, and so forth.

I like twizzles as a technical element; my only beef with them is that the length of the twizzle puts a requirement on the music. I preferred the twizzles of the 2006/2007 seasons were the twizzles were included as part of a larger step sequence.

If anyone is interested, I might do a thread on twizzles, but I thought no one would be interested.

dorispulaski said:

There were always twizzles in dance. There are twizzles in several of the CD's.

What was new with COP was making sure both members of the team could do them equally well. Then to keep the levels updated so that not every team could do them, additional requirements were made: a fourth turn, the options of 3 twizzle sets versus a difficult entry to get level 4, and so forth.

Click to expand...

As I mentioned above, making sure both members of the team could do twizzles started in 1998-99 with the introduction of required elements in the free dance, and doing difficult twizzles side by side started in the side-by-side step sequences in the Original Dance.

The introduction of the IJS only took what was already happening (in terms of dance teams executing side-by-side twizzles and adding difficulty to those twizzles) and codifying it further. Then, of course, all teams began training the extra difficulty.

But ice dance was already heading in that direction before IJS came along. The move toward requiring certain kinds of difficulty -- and teams who wanted to stand out technically pushing the limits within those requirements -- was part of the same process that eventually led to IJS. Not simply a result of it.