Do skating judges have a technical standard for spins and jumps, and if so, how are they applied when skaters have different " styles " in their approach to the same skill ?
I'll get to spins in a minute, but for jumps, yes there is a standard. Mostly, the focus is on what edge the jump takes off of. To use the flip as an example, as long as it takes off of a back inside edge, it's a flip. The approach (ie. how the skater goes into the jump) can vary. To use both Mirai and Alissa as examples.
Alissa's entry to a flip is less textbook but still acceptable because the jump takes off from the correct edge. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Alissa does a
mohawk entry into her flip. She glides forward on an inside edge on her left foot, before stepping onto an inside edge on her right foot and launching herself into the jump. The example I posted wasn't complete correct because her take off edge rolled slightly to the outside, which is called a "lip" instead of a flip, but it was a good look at the entry. In addition to the skaters you listed who use this entry,
Mao Asada and
Kanako Murakami also use this entrance.
Mirai, OTOH, uses the more
traditional three-turn entry into her flip. She glides forward on an outside edge of her left before doing a half-turn to the inside edge of that same foot and then going up into the jump. The edge on this flip looked pretty clean as well, so this is a good example. I see the three-turn entry more than the mohawk entry and I actually prefer it. Other skaters with good three-turn entries are
Carolina Kostner and
Yu-Na Kim.
The same question applies to the final combination spins of Mirai and Alyssa.
Alyssa, has a very beautiful heel extension spin where she holds her boot with one hand from the under-inside...Mirai, in 2010 at the end of her pirates SP she does what I think is called an " I " Spin where she holds the TOP her boot with one hand while grabbing her CALF from the outside creating an I.
I'm sorry but, who told these girls this spin was a winner ?? Mirai, actually has the flexiblilty to hit the position correctly but 99% of them don't. Also, the spins in transition to the " I " are hunch backed, ugly, and screaming for a back injury.
However, this spin, when executed by Mirai, does display flexibility and seems to score very well. So, between Alyssa and Mirai, who gets the better score ?
The I-spin was popularized by Sasha Cohen. I'd say by around 2004 or 2005, a lot of other skaters began attempting to incorporate it because with COP you get more points that way. There are only a handful of skaters who do that spin well, and I'd include Mirai in that list. As someone posted earlier, it was a bit easier for Sasha because her legs are considerably shorter than Mirai's and it takes her a shorter time to attain that vertical position. Still, Mirai often attains a
pretty good "I" position on this spin. By the end of that spin, she'd pulled her leg straight. I posted an entry about this at another forum, complaining about this spin because so few people do it and make it look good.
Alissa's spin is a variation of what used to be known as a Y-spin,
Michelle's signature spin for many years. But, when COP came into play, flexibility became more of the trend, so the Y-spin gradually got higher and higher to the point where it's more like an I-spin.
Alissa's spin is lovely, though I find the
line Mao achieves to be more elegant; she reaches the position quicker and the position of her free arm and head make the spin more appealing to me.
Both positions (properly executed I-spin or Y-spin) are worth the same amount of points; however, COP rewards +GOE when the spin is done very well. In Alissa and Mirai's case, they often get +2s and +3s on their spins because they are probably the two best spinners in the field in terms of speed, centering, difficult positions and execution.
