Yes arm movements absolute do affect it when you are constantly using them on different levels and in changes of position, as she did in that sequence. Try doing a twizzle while your arms are going above your shoulders. Use of head and torso is not required at all in the rules. It says and/or.
No there aren't. She had 3 different combinations of 3 difficult turns. The rules required 2, so she exceeded it. The other criteria is rotations in both direction for 1/3 of the pattern each, which she does clearly have.
The Rule mentions all 3, arms, head & torso, Yuna is taking a great risk to miss Level 4 stsq if she used mostly her arm movements to fulfill the
BALANCE DIFFICULTY criteria. Comparing the top 3, Adelina, Yuna and Caro, it is very obvious that Adelina and Caro used arms, head and torso ALOT for their stsq, for at least 1/3 of duration. Caro's stsq is the best of the 3. She bent forward, backwards, sideways, there was
full (moderate is for Level 3) upper body movement, she left no doubt about that and she did a great variety of the turns and steps.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkTk7dg-cLc&ntz=1
Of course you can state your opinion, that Yuna's arm movements alone fulfill that Feature #2 criteria, even though the Rules mentioned the other upper body parts, but that is only an opinion. The Tech Panel might have considered her arm movements moderate and insufficient in providing the balancing challenge and they do have a case. Caro's and Adelina's stsq left it without doubt that #2 was met.
Again, many do not even realize that there are
4 Features in total that determine
Level 4 stsq, and Features 2,3,4 were never properly broken down and analyzed, only Feature 1, Complexity, was discussed in greater detail. Based on Yuna meeting #1, they insist that there was improper judgment of her stsq. Unfortunately, this opinion has proliferated all over the internet. All 4 of the following criteria need to be met to attain Level 4 stsq, not just #1. The other 3 Features are as important. #3 is where I feel Yuna came up short, and she was awarded Level 3 for incorporating 3 Features.
From another site:
http://www.skatingaheadofthecurve.com/StepSequences.html
2 of the following Features for Level 2, 3 for Level 3, 4 for Level 4
1) Simple variety (Level 2), variety (Level 3), complexity (Level 4) of turns and steps throughout (compulsory)
2) Rotations (turns, steps) in either direction (L&R) with full body rotation covering at least 1/3 of the pattern
in total for each rotational direction
3) Moderate (full for Level 4) use of upper body
4) Quick changes of rotational direction executed with turns and steps
Use of the upper body
Moderate Upper Body Movement: The upper body consists of arms, head and torso. “Modest” means the visible use of two of these three parts of the upper body together while doing steps/turns/free skating movements (3 or more times distributed through the sequence).
Full Upper Body Movement: “Full” means the visible use of all three parts of the upper body together while doing steps/turns/free skating movements (3 or more times distributed through the sequence).
So what is the difference between "moderate" (Level 3) upper body movement versus "FULL" (Level 4) upper body movement?
