the prob with adult moves
Hi!
I am an adult silver level skater, who hopes to be more, but have osteoarthritis in both knees and am currently awaiting my 4th and 5th arthroscopies. So my skating progress has been slowed a little bit, but like most of us, they would have to lock me up to keep me off the ice.
Unlike most of my adult skating pals, I have opted to take the standard MIF testing track. In part, it is because I began working on the standard track before an adult track was created, but now that I have witnessed testing on both tracks, I am decidedly in favor of standard track, for several reasons.
First of all, having been involved in the sport now on both coasts for almost 12 years, I've seen tremendous growth in the Adult sector, which makes me enormously happy. However, I think few of us would argue that often times adult skaters are not taken as seriously as the younger kids. However, we pay the same amount for ice time and coaching, and we work as hard if not harder to gain the same skills as the kids. But in order to gian the respect that we deserve, it is important for the judges to judge us seriously.
With my struggles with my knees, which have the arthritis of someone twice my age, according to my doctors, I am aware that adults have age-related factors that may somewhat limit their ability to bend as deeply or gain a certain amount of speed. However, the purpose of MIF is to get the skater to improve their edge work and flow on the ice. It is every bit as important to skating as the jumps and the spins, if not more so, because if you are properly using your edges and distributing your weight on the moves, you are also training your body to be in the proper position for everything else. Moves may lack the excitement of jumping, but the fact is, by taking the time to learn the moves properly, you are more likely to find that you will be able to do jumps that you have never been able to land before.
I'll admit it is not easy. With my knee injuries, I had to struggle for months with the intermediate moves. My coach had to break down edges all over for me, and we had to find ways that I could achieve the edge and flow that the judges expected at that level. In addition, I did have to deal with judges that expected that as an adult, my moves should be at a higher level than the kids...perhaps not realizing that I am a true adult skater who did not skate as a child. One judge told me that I reminded him of Lisa Marie Allen, and basically inferred that I should then skate the test as well as if she were to do it now as a professional. I also had to deal with judges that had taken the adult track themselves, and were known to disapprove of adults who aspired to the standard level.
It was extremely frustrating for me, facing some predjudice while dealing with the fact that my knees don't always do what I expect them to do. I failed the test six times (probably some sort of record ), before finally passing it on the seventh. But I also improved with every single test, and although I am not jumping much right now, all that edgework has improved the take-offs and landings when I do jump. So all the pain and effort was worth it.
If the adult track was taken as seriously, I suppose I wouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. But on many occasions I have witnessed adults test, and the judges apparently did not feel it was right for them to expect that the correct edge be hit, or the move to be executed properly. I am not suggesting that some allowances shouldn't be made; perhaps going a bit more slowly, allowing a little less flow, etc. But the fundamental moves shouldn't be compromised, because then passing the test is no true accomplishment. Let me give an example.
Recently I watched a sixty year old woman take the gold moves test. On the forward crossovers, which are supposed to show SOME sort of acceleration, the woman stayed at the same speed for all of them. I wouldn't expect the same speed from her as the kids, but I would expect that she at least show some change of speed, as the test requires it. On the move requiring back-crossovers stepping out to a back inside edge, the woman was slow, yes, but she also NEVER actually hit the inside edge. It was similar throughout many of her other moves. In addition, the woman played background music during her test, and the test took over forty-five minutes for her to complete it, causing other skaters to have to reschedule and the club scurrying to find a way to do so. While I admire the woman for attempting the highest test of the adult MIF track, the fact that the judges passed this attempt seemed disrespectful. By doing so, the judges were essentially saying that the woman could not be expected to do the moves correctly, but that she should be passed just for trying. Having seen this test, I wouldn't have felt I accomplished anything if I would have taken and passed the adult gold test, and I am sure others who have executed the moves correctly would also feel slighted to know that others are passing in this manner. Additionally, the skater is obviously not mastering the basic edges upon which the test is based. So passing in such a manner is unfair to adults in general.
I hope that my surgeries will be successful enough to allow me to continue testing the moves, and I aspire to passing through the Sr. moves if I am able. However, I do realize that realistically my age and my knees are a factor that may prohibit me from doing so. And I wouldn't want a judge to pass me if I did not merit passing marks. Not every skater will be able to pass every test. That is a fact we all recognize. In order for adult skaters to gain the respect that we deserve, it is important that we expect no less from the adult track, and insist that the judges do the same. I wouldn't want to discourage a senior-citizen from attempting to test, but if an even lesser standard is to be used in the judging than a younger adult, than the USFSA should determine if making the gold test passable at that age is worth creating perhaps an older adult track, for skaters 50 or 60 years and up. Otherwise the judging standards must remain consistent for all adults, just as they are on the standard track.
Yes, MIF are required to move up to the next level of freestyle. But you cannot convince me that a skater that cannot hit an inside edge is ready to test the adult gold freestyle test. If an adult can land a clean axel, I find no reason for them not to be able to hit the proper edges. I'll willingly admit that moves are not my favorite way to spend an hour on the ice. But I realize their relevance and importance, and plan to keep working on them for as long as I am able, no matter how hard it is to keep failing something that I have worked so hard on.
But I skate to accomplish my goals. And every failure and disappointment along the way proves that when I DO finally pass my tests, I have TRULY accomplished something that I can be proud of.
So please, work on the edges and take whatever track you are on seriously, and encourage the judges to do the same. No matter how the adult track evolves, it is doing so in the best interest of the skater, and while the pattern of the edges may change, the edge quality and control and the flow remain the same. It may take you a little longer, but the satisfaction you will attain in knowing that you have truly accomplished something is worth every bit of frustration along the way!
