Random Figure Skating Questions

Ya'll are not the only ones/first ones to ask this my mother used to wonder as well, as well as how much of a skater's performance varied by time of month. I.e. could they identify during their cycle when they are at their best and at their worst.

As for stopping it. You can stop it all together, the three for four times a year ones, you can skip the three or four a year and just stay on the hormones I have been able to in the past get the doctors ok to just take the active pills full time and always the skip the period. The shot also works well at get rid of it all together. Also some IUDs can eliminate/near eliminate it as well. I have a hard time seeing birth control not being allowed. . . something tells me that would offend many people.

*edit - tried searching here for Depo Provera and Ortho Tri-Cyclen and it look like both are "not prohibited". This document indicates that you do have to disclose/record it. Please note i searched for USA and Athlete specifically. It gives you a lot of options.

finally someone asked the period question! I'd been meaning to ask it but...
I have a friend that skates and she says that she simply doesn't skate the week she's on her period, but obviously that's not an option for competitive level skaters, haha.

i thing there some kind of pil than can delay your period
like if u need to not have a period on that day, then u need to drink the pill 2 day before
and when the day is over, u can simply stop taking the pill and u get your normal period

but i don't know if that kind of pill is prohibited for athlete or not

Periods also vary (a lot) by person. Some women don't have a heavy flow and may not be as bothered by it (for instance, unlike satine94, I'd be perfectly willing to wear white pants... though now that I think about it, do I even have white pants? :scratch So I would assume each skater deals with it differently.

As someone who once skated, I can tell everyone that I skated through my period. Though now thinking back, I don't think a competition ever fell in the same week as my period. Cramps and multiple washroom breaks were painful and annoying (as to be expected). However, I'd say it was less so compared to the chronic pain in my arches. And as far as my (female) coach was concerned, my period and how well I skated on any given day had no correlation whatsoever.

Thanks a lot everyonr for the answers!

As for the pill.. I can't imagine taking it for a year straight. A week before a competition- yes, but all the time? Way too unhealthy.
And don't get me started on the pairs & ice dancers.. I bet it can get a bit uncomfortable during practices.

My memory may be deceiving me, but isn’t there a rule that competitive skaters are not allowed to have tattoos? And if they do have tattoos, the skater has to cover them up when in competition.

But, what is the situation in shows? Because I vaguely remember seeing a few tattoos during the Courchevel and Oberstdorf shows that Eurosport showed over the Christmas/New Year period last year.

CaroLiza_fan

StitchMonkey said:

I don't think that is stupid or weird, I think it is a great question. Looking at the pics I think one possibility might be a zipper, or snaps, or some kind of a closure hiding behind the beading at the top that runs from the collar on one side and slightly downward at an angle across her chest. That would work at least I think it could.

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Not a stupid question at all!

I hadn't thought about it very much but am willing to bet you're right, StitchMonkey. The beading could easily cover snaps or some other type of fastening. The challenge would be to: (a) find a closure that's secure enough without adding bulk (thus ruining the line and fit of the dress); and (b) sew the fastenings to the fabric invisibly while ensuring that they stay where they belong.

This is making me wonder if the dress was fastened with some kind of super-fine velcro. Or, could it have been pulled on overhead (like a sweater)? The overhead approach would only have needed a reasonable opening at the neck which could be closed very easily.

Whatever it was, whoever made that costume succeeded on all counts and did an exquisite job. The dress was beautiful, appropriate, and even iconic!

eyeballlickinggecko said:

As someone who once skated, I can tell everyone that I skated through my period. Though now thinking back, I don't think a competition ever fell in the same week as my period. Cramps and multiple washroom breaks were painful and annoying (as to be expected). However, I'd say it was less so compared to the chronic pain in my arches. And as far as my (female) coach was concerned, my period and how well I skated on any given day had no correlation whatsoever.

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I was never a skater, but when I was running more, and running races (local, not competition or elite level *at all*) I had my best times the week of menstruation. The levels of estrogen are lowest then, and it absolutely made a difference.

Back when I needed to care (too old to care now, and that's a good thing), I would adjust the pill so I had no worries for vacations. I just assumed that elite level skaters did the same for big competitions. Unless they wanted the natural testosterone boost!

el henry said:

I was never a skater, but when I was running more, and running races (local, not competition or elite level *at all*) I had my best times the week of menstruation. The levels of estrogen are lowest then, and it absolutely made a difference.

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Wow, interesting! I always thought the discomfort and cramps when it comes to periods, never thought about it from that aspect.

skatedreamer said:

Not a stupid question at all!

I hadn't thought about it very much but am willing to bet you're right, StitchMonkey. The beading could easily cover snaps or some other type of fastening. The challenge would be to: (a) find a closure that's secure enough without adding bulk (thus ruining the line and fit of the dress); and (b) sew the fastenings to the fabric invisibly while ensuring that they stay where they belong.

This is making me wonder if the dress was fastened with some kind of super-fine velcro. Or, could it have been pulled on overhead (like a sweater)? The overhead approach would only have needed a reasonable opening at the neck which could be closed very easily.

Whatever it was, whoever made that costume succeeded on all counts and did an exquisite job. The dress was beautiful, appropriate, and even iconic!

Click to expand...

I don't think you can wear it like a sweater. The bottom part is attached to the bodice, right? So it can't be pull on like a sweater....
Anyway yes, the costume designer did an excellent job.

CaroLiza_fan said:

My memory may be deceiving me, but isn’t there a rule that competitive skaters are not allowed to have tattoos? And if they do have tattoos, the skater has to cover them up when in competition.

But, what is the situation in shows? Because I vaguely remember seeing a few tattoos during the Courchevel and Oberstdorf shows that Eurosport showed over the Christmas/New Year period last year.

CaroLiza_fan

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Plushy has tattoos on his arms, and that doesn't seem to be a problem with the ISU. He never shows them during competition though... I dunno if that's because of a rule, or because he just happens to like competing with long sleeves.

I want to understand what happened in the 2012-2013 season with the ladies' figure skating field. Why was it so easy for Yuna Kim to dominate it after her return? What happened with her rivals?

Sandpiper said:

Plushy has tattoos on his arms, and that doesn't seem to be a problem with the ISU. He never shows them during competition though... I dunno if that's because of a rule, or because he just happens to like competing with long sleeves.

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I'm no expert on this, but I did a little Googling and the only thing I could see prohibited were the display of tattoos that were a form of advertising - like a manufacturer's logo or something. There are a few skaters I know of who have tattoos (mostly on the torso or legs though), and I'd guess they are strongly discouraged from showing them in a competition even if they might not be expressly forbidden. Along the same lines, you almost never see male skaters with facial hair in competitions. Or piercings - I don't think Adrian Schultheiss ever competed wearing his lip ring, did he? I suppose it would be a huge risk with some of the more conservative judges.

Coughlin's Full Back Tatoo

http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/09/john-coughlin-back-tattoo-figure-skater/

ioanablabla said:

I want to understand what happened in the 2012-2013 season with the ladies' figure skating field. Why was it so easy for Yuna Kim to dominate it after her return? What happened with her rivals?

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Kim skated in only one major competition in 2012-2013 season, and that was Worlds.

To understand what went on, check the scores
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2013/CAT002RS.HTM

and protocols

Short Program
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2013/wc2013_Ladies_SP_Scores.pdf

1 Q Yuna KIM KOR 69.97 36.79 33.18 8.39 8.07 8.32 8.36 8.32 0.00 #14
2 Q Carolina KOSTNER ITA 66.86 34.01 33.85 8.46 8.21 8.43 8.57 8.64 1.00 #34
3 Q Kanako MURAKAMI JPN 66.64 36.87 29.77 7.57 7.21 7.50 7.54 7.39 0.00 #30
4 Q Kaetlyn OSMOND CAN 64.73 35.19 29.54 7.29 7.07 7.50 7.43 7.64 0.00 #9
5 Q Ashley WAGNER USA 63.98 33.06 30.92 7.75 7.57 7.79 7.71 7.82 0.00 #31
6 Q Mao ASADA JPN 62.10 29.70 32.40 8.18 7.86 8.11 8.18 8.18 0.00 #33
7 Q Akiko SUZUKI JPN 61.17 30.71 30.46 7.82 7.50 7.50 7.64 7.61 0.00 #24
8 Q Adelina SOTNIKOVA RUS 59.62 30.97 28.65 7.36 6.89 7.18 7.25 7.14 0.00 #26
9 Q Gracie GOLD USA 58.85 30.23 28.62 7.18 6.89 7.25 7.25 7.21 0.00 #21
10 Q Viktoria HELGESSON SWE 58.36 30.73 27.63 7.07 6.68 7.00 6.86 6.93 0.00 #27

After the SP, only Kostner and Murakami were within sight of Kim's score, so in the Lp, let's see how they did. And Caro had a fall in the SP.

1 Yuna KIM KOR 148.34 74.73 73.61 9.21 8.89 9.36 9.18 9.36 0.00 #24
2 Mao ASADA JPN 134.37 65.96 68.41 8.61 8.21 8.61 8.64 8.68 0.00 #22
3 Carolina KOSTNER ITA 131.03 61.34 70.69 8.96 8.46 8.79 8.93 9.04 1.00 #21
4 Zijun LI CHN 127.54 69.41 58.13 7.29 7.00 7.43 7.36 7.25 0.00 #18
5 Gracie GOLD USA 125.40 65.22 60.18 7.57 7.25 7.61 7.57 7.61 0.00 #13
6 Ashley WAGNER USA 123.36 61.34 63.02 7.93 7.64 7.82 8.04 7.96 1.00 #19
7 Kanako MURAKAMI JPN 123.09 60.98 62.11 7.89 7.50 7.82 7.75 7.86 0.00 #20
8 Elizaveta TUKTAMYSHEVA RUS 119.52 62.28 57.24 7.39 6.79 7.14 7.21 7.25 0.00 #10
9 Adelina SOTNIKOVA RUS 116.36 55.73 60.63 7.71 7.32 7.61 7.57 7.68 0.00 #17
10 Kaetlyn OSMOND CAN 112.09 53.49 60.60 7.64 7.39 7.57 7.57 7.71 2.00 #23
11 Mae Berenice MEITE FRA 108.13 55.62 52.51 6.64 6.25 6.68 6.68 6.57 0.00 #16
12 Natalia POPOVA UKR 103.85 54.01 49.84 6.36 6.04 6.29 6.25 6.21 0.00 #12
13 Akiko SUZUKI JPN 103.42 44.49 59.93 7.68 7.25 7.39 7.57 7.57 1.00 #15
14 Alena LEONOVA RUS 102.76 48.11 55.65 7.32 6.50 6.96 6.96 7.04 1.00 #9
15 Viktoria HELGESSON SWE 100.44 45.12 55.32 6.96 6.68 6.93 6.96 7.04 0.00 #14
16 Elena GLEBOVA EST 97.90 47.70 51.20 6.50 6.21 6.54 6.39 6.36 1.00 #11
17 Monika SIMANCIKOVA SVK 97.84 53.43 44.41 5.86 5.21 5.68 5.54 5.46 0.00 #2
18 Valentina MARCHEI ITA 96.82 43.57 54.25 6.86 6.36 6.82 6.86 7.00 1.00 #6
19 Nathalie WEINZIERL GER 94.34 52.02 43.32 5.75 4.96 5.50 5.43 5.43 1.00 #4
20 Brooklee HAN AUS 91.26 48.10 43.16 5.50 5.11 5.50 5.36 5.50 0.00 #1
21 Jenna MCCORKELL GBR 91.04 41.28 49.76 6.46 5.82 6.32 6.25 6.25 0.00 #8
22 Kexin ZHANG CHN 88.61 48.37 41.24 5.64 4.82 5.14 5.18 5.00 1.00 #5
23 Sonia LAFUENTE ESP 87.22 41.22 46.00 6.11 5.50 5.75 5.75 5.64 0.00 #7
24 Kerstin FRANK AUT 78.32 38.79 40.53 5.46 4.79 5.04 5.11 4.93 1.00 #3

Free Skate
http://www.isuresults.com/results/wc2013/wc2013_Ladies_FS_Scores.pdf

The tech panel was pretty hard on underrotations and edge calls, so most girls doing triple triple combos got UR on the second jump in the combo. Even Kim got an edge call in the SP on her 3flip. Worse, most girls were doing 3t/3t's in the sp, and getting called on a ur, which put them at a techical disadvantage right there to Kim. And those doing both a 3flip and a 3 lutz were getting an edge call on one or the other.


Lipnitskaia was not yet old enough to compete. Mao.had a dreadful SP. She singled her 3loop, and ur'd her 2loop, the second jump.of her

Sotnikova and Tuktamyshev did not score well in the SP. Adelina was, as at Sochi, only doing 3t3t, but got called for ur on the second jump. This put her at a disadvantage to Kim.who had a clean 3Lz3T

In the LP, Murakami did not skate well. So the only remaining question is, what happened to Kostner in the LP?

Check the protocol.

Kostner's base value was only about 50. Kim's was 58.22.

No way was Caro beating Yu Na at that large a tech disadvantage.

dorispulaski said:

Kim skated in only one major competition in 2012-2013 season, and that was Worlds

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I know she only skated at the Worlds and she did not compete on the Grand Prix circuit. That's why I wanted to understand what happened, how the others didn't stood a chance when she had no wins that season. You would think Mao or Caro would have make it more difficult for her to win, at least they would be mentally more prepared.

P.S Actually I think that's my least favorite SP of Mao ever. Maybe because I think she shines way more using delicate programs.

I just finished the post, but it boiled down to Mao blowing the SP and Caro dumbing down the content of the LP.

Plus it was a tough tech panel.

YuNa just skated better

dorispulaski said:

I just finished the post, but it boiled down to Mao blowing the SP and Caro dumbing down the content of the LP.

Plus it was a tough tech panel.

YuNa just skated better

Click to expand...

Thank you for your detailed analysis.

Thank you to Sandpiper, gallavich and Icey for your replies to my tattoo question.

Sandpiper said:

Plushy has tattoos on his arms, and that doesn't seem to be a problem with the ISU. He never shows them during competition though... I dunno if that's because of a rule, or because he just happens to like competing with long sleeves.

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Funnily enough, when it comes to shirts, I don't like the short-sleeve versions. I ALWAYS wear the long-sleeved ones.

gallavich said:

I'm no expert on this, but I did a little Googling and the only thing I could see prohibited were the display of tattoos that were a form of advertising - like a manufacturer's logo or something. There are a few skaters I know of who have tattoos (mostly on the torso or legs though), and I'd guess they are strongly discouraged from showing them in a competition even if they might not be expressly forbidden. Along the same lines, you almost never see male skaters with facial hair in competitions. Or piercings - I don't think Adrian Schultheiss ever competed wearing his lip ring, did he? I suppose it would be a huge risk with some of the more conservative judges.

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I hadn't actually noticed the lack of piercings before. But now that you have pointed it out, yes you're right. Mind you, could that have something to do with health and safety?

If you happened to fall just where there was a rut in the ice, and the piercing caught it, it could rip your skin off, and do a lot of damage. Similarly, if the piercing came out and fell on the ice and you hit it, it could cause a fall.

Both scenarios may be far fetched, but they are still possible. And that is all the excuse that the health-and-safety brigade need...

Icey said:

http://olympictalk.nbcsports.com/2014/01/09/john-coughlin-back-tattoo-figure-skater/

Click to expand...

MY GOODNESS!!!

CaroLiza_fan

gallavich said:

Or piercings - I don't think Adrian Schultheiss ever competed wearing his lip ring, did he? I suppose it would be a huge risk with some of the more conservative judges.

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Here he was wearing it.