I understand that for spins you have to hold a position for 2 turns in order to count for a level. So how come skaters will hold a position for 4 or 8 turns? Like Yuna Kim's camel in 2010 she had 8 turns in camel, 4 turn in sit, and then another 8 in the I Position. Also, she only did 3: Camel, sit and I so how does that earn a level 4?
8 revolutions in a camel or layback or any difficult variation ("nonbasic position" only in combinations) is a feature toward a higher level, so skaters will often attempt that. Now that feature can only count once per program, in the first spin where it's successfully performed, so skaters will often try it more than once, figuring that increases their chance of getting credit one of those times.
It's risky to aim for exactly 2 revolutions in a position in case they miscount or the tech panel miscounts and they end up not getting credit for the position. They need 2 full revolutions in the basic position to get credit for it -- the part where they're rotating on the way into the position or on the way out of it don't count. If they go for 4, they should be safe.
Similarly, if a skater can fit five features into a spin without repeating features from their other spins, that may give them a better chance of earning level 4 in case one of the features ends up not being executed well enough for the tech panel to award it.
Also, why do skaters do extra positions? Like Adelina Sotnikova does the camel, than the illusions, than the sit, another sit and then the I. Does earn extra GOE??
All 3 basic positions on the second foot of a change-foot spin is another feature. A difficult change of position on the same foot is a feature. She might be aiming for one or both of those features.
More revolutions in general can help the GOE.
Finally why do skaters change there spins from short and long? I get that the layback is required in Short so many might not like it, but Elena Radionova does change her spins from SP to LP. Are there different requirement for different levels or something?
There aren't different requirements for levels between SP and LP.
There are differences in the kinds of spins required.
Senior ladies' SP requires a layback, a flying spin in one position with no change of foot, and a combination spin with one change of foot.
The freeskate requires a spin in one basic position (variations allowed), a spin with a flying entry, and a combination spin. All are allowed but not required to change feet, and all are allowed to fly; there just must be a different code for each of the spins. Flying entry and changing feet give a different code and also higher base value; combo spins have higher base values than spins in one position.
The SP requirements would also meet the FS requirements. But if a skater has a different spin in one position that she can do better than the layback (likely to earn higher GOE) and/or one with a higher base value (one with a flying entry and/or change of foot, or because she is capable of earning a higher level than she can in the layback), then she might choose the spin she can get more points for, or maybe just likes better, instead.
Similarly, a flying spin with a change of foot, or a combination spin with a flying entry, will have a higher base value than the SP flying spin. So the skater might choose to do a higher value flying spin instead.
If she's including the change of foot executed by a jump and/or the change of direction in camel or sit features, she might need to change feet more than once, or to change feet in the flying or one-position spin -- none of which are allowed in the SP.
I.e., the FS spin requirements allow for more options, so if a skater wants to take advantage of some of those options, especially skills she's proud of but can't fit into the SP requirements, she would end up with a different set of spins between programs.
Also, though this is rare, she might do different spins from one program to another because one fits the music and theme of the SP better and another fits the FS better. Or because she just likes variety.
Don't know about braces, but just personally, 30 years ago when I was in Europe I was seen as some sort of dental fanatic because I flossed every day. Never had braces though....
now I have to look up recent National Championship videos and watch them all frame-by-frame until I figure out who it is...for science!
Since it was the same exact person in the same exact dress doing the same exact jump at the same exact time, she is very unlucky with that jump or it must be intentional. And given the circumstances that you pointed out, CaroLiza_fan, that's the most likely conclusion...but good thing the production team caught it this time.
