Random Figure Skating Questions | Page 60 | Golden Skate

Random Figure Skating Questions

Re: Walleys

https://recordsetter.com/world-record/Consecutive-Wallies-Ice-Skates/3344

I think I've posted this before :laugh:

Re: GPF

Skaters get points for placements ( not sure the total for each place). If there is a tie I think they take scores into consideration to break it.

What a fun video! Yes you can clearly see that she is going off the RBI edge. Another good example is to look at Kwan when she first started doing her 3toe-3toe. Her first 3toe is a toewalley, and then for the second 3 she comes off the back edge. It looked like she was doing two different jumps. The toewalley was for speed and distance and the toeloop was for height.

I think what they meant was that though they both placed first and got first place points, if there was a tie-breaker, they go for the highest score, and Radio scored 195 while Pogo scored 191. But if they both win their next GPs, it's moot, they will both clearly make the final.
 
Dumb question what is the difference between a wally and a toe loop or are they the same. Obviously the wally must be seen as the same as something or there would be another triple option and someone would have used it to get around the Zayak rule and get more jumps in.

It's important to distinguish between "walley" and "toe walley" for the same reason that there's a big difference between "loop" and "toe loop."

Loop: edge jump from back outside takeoff
Toe loop: back outside takeoff with toe assist

Walley: edge jump from back inside takeoff (see Sam-Skwantch's link) -- only ever done as single jumps, not in scale of values so counts as a transition in IJS
Toe walley: back inside takeoff, with toe assist

LiamForeman has addressed what the difference is between toe loop and TOE walley. It's a subtle difference since the inside edge was usually shallow when it was even present in toe walleys, so the ISU decided in 1982 that toe loop and toe walley would count as the same jump for purposes of counting repeated triples.

Another dumb question. Is it fair to say with IJS/COP we won't probably see creative stuff like a horizontal axel (Look up I think his name is Igor Bobrin) because it doesn't render many points.

If it were a true axel variation with forward outside takeoff, one-foot back outside landing, and 1.5 revolutions in the air, it would count as a single axel, earn base value for a single axel plus positive GOE assuming it was executed well, and fill a jump box. So yes, it would not be worth doing for a skater who could otherwise fill that slot with a double axel or triple jump. Might be for a guy without a quad who could fit all his triples into 7 jump passes and have an extra one left to play around with.

If it takes off from a forward inside edge ("inside axel") and/or lands forward not backward, especially on two feet, all the case for the Bobrin move you're referring to, then it will be counted as a transition move. No base value points, but also doesn't block a jump slot so the skater can also do the full complement of jump content and this would be extra and be considered in the Transitions and Choreography components.

If they did it in the choreographic sequence, it would also contribute to the GOE for that element.

Would a delayed axel or double jump get extra points or just goe's?

Just GOEs. Therefore only worth doing if the skater has already filled all the slots with high-value jumps that they can.

As mentioned in an earlier post, if the skater has already filled all their jump slots (8 for men, 7 for women) and does an extra jump at the end of the program, it gets no points but also no penalty. So something interesting done well could be valuable for its contribution to the program components.

But what would the penalty be? Would they take away points? I'd take a zero point scratch spin to end a program after all the boxes have checked. I'd call it choreography. And Mathman, I do see your point, that it kind of is thumbing your nose at the system. But if the rules say the first three spins are the ones graded, what's the big deal ending with a great spin as choreo?

Sorry, typo, I meant there would be NO penalty.

I don't know that judges would consider an extra element to be the skater "thumbing his/her nose" at them or the system. Of course different judges might have different feelings about skaters playing with the rules, but I suspect that most would appreciate a skater who does something extra that's well done, creative, or otherwise interesting, as long as it doesn't interfere with the standard elements. What they might get annoyed at would be poor planning that causes the skater to lose credit for a valuable otherwise legal element. And they will generally be annoyed by poor execution in any case.

If it's called as an element they'll give a GOE according to its quality. And if it's the 4th spin or 9th/8th jump pass in a program the element will be asterisked and receive no points including GOE points anyway.

So the only place where judges' opinions would come in would be how it would affect their program components. And there it would pretty much rely on how effective the extra move is as performed at that point in the program.

Tech panels' personal opinions wouldn't come into it one way or another. They'll just call what they see and asterisk out the 9th/8th jump element or 4th spin, regardless of whether they're privately insulted or delighted that the skater chose to throw it in.

What they might all find frustrating is if a skater puts an "extra" low-value move, including one that could be considered a mistake, earlier in the program so that it fills an element slot with little or no actual value and then the skater's final high-value spin or jump would end up getting no credit. But the penalty for that is the loss of credit for the later element(s) -- I can't imagine judges taking out their frustration with additional PCS penalty if the extra element was well done and choreographically effective. Judges who miss the freedom of pre-IJS free programs might even overcompensate with higher PCS.
 
But what would the penalty be? Would they take away points? I'd take a zero point scratch spin to end a program after all the boxes have checked. I'd call it choreography. And Mathman, I do see your point, that it kind of is thumbing your nose at the system. But if the rules say the first three spins are the ones graded, what's the big deal ending with a great spin as choreo?

This is actually an interesting suggestion. I would like to see more skaters put a classic scratch spin to close even if it isn't worth anything it's a nice way to end a program. A series of double jumps with the music also would be a nice addition although it would be obviously thumbing your nose at the judges. However since its worth nothing there's minimal risk even if you stumble (as long as you don't fall).
 
I believe this is the horizontal axle?

I like it.

I stand by I wish single or even 1.5 jumps were allowed as part of the choreography/entrance to a spin. I would think some guys would be able to get into a pretty cool camel or sit spin from that move.

Really if you can't earn points for it, they should not call it a zero element, let it just be accent choreography.

Then again I think counter-rotated jumps should give given a heck of a bonus as well, so i doubt have the same vision as the powers that be.
 
That move, with a forward inside takeoff and forward, two-foot landing, is a "nonlisted" element. It would not fill a jump slot. It would just count as a transition, or "accent choreography" if you prefer that term.
 
Can someone please explain (or give me a link to another source) how qualifying to the Grand Prix final works? I was watching Pogorilaya's EX and the commentator said Radionova was 4 points ahead of her and I didn't know what that meant.

... Re: GPF

Skaters get points for placements ( not sure the total for each place). If there is a tie I think they take scores into consideration to break it.

Edit to Add: found the link for the ladies standings :)

http://www.isuresults.com/events/gp2014/gpsladies.htm

Fleshing out what Sam-S said :):

My guess is that what the commentator meant is that although each of the two Russian ladies won her first GP (and thus so far they have the same number of GP ranking points), Radionova currently is first in the GP rankings because her total score was higher than Pogorilaya's by approx. four points [see tiebreaker b) below].

The GP system of Points/Ranking Order is explained on pp. 6-7 of the announcement for the GP series.

Points for the Men and Ladies are awarded as follows:
1st place 15 points
2nd place 13 points
3rd place 11 points
4th place 9 points
5th place 7 points
6th place 5 points
7th place 4 points
8th place 3 points​
Pairs and Ice Dancers collect points up to 6th place.

The ranking points from two GP events are added together to determine the top six from each discipline who qualify for the GPF.

Tie-breakers:
If there is a tie by added points, the following criteria will be taken into consideration for tie-breaking:
a) the best place obtained in the two designated events will count for the better place/ranking;​
If there is still a tie,
b) the higher total of the added total scores obtained in the designated events will count for the better place/ranking:​
If there is still a tie,
c) participation in two events will be considered better than having participated in only one event;​
If there is still a tie,
d) the higher total of the added scores in Free Skating/Free Dance obtained in the two designated events will count for the better place/ranking;​
If there is still a tie,
e) the higher total score in Free Skating/Free Dance obtained in one of the two designated events will count for the better place/ranking;​
If there is still a tie,
f) the higher total of the added scores in the Short Program/Short Dance obtained in the two designated events will count for the better place/ranking;​
If there is still a tie,
g) the number of participants finishing the two individual events in which the tied Skaters/Couples have completed, will be added to the total. The higher number of participants will count for the better place/ranking.​
If there is still a tie, all Skaters tied are qualified for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final.​

#J-E-A-H ;)
 
I'm new to figure skating fandom, and I have some questions about the changing nature of figure skating...

1. How comparable are scores from different seasons to each other? For instance, click through and look at the progression of the top scores for the European Championships... has the system changed? are the judges just giving out high scores? have skaters just got better at gaming the scoring system? have skaters actually gotten better? All of the above?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Figure_Skating_Championships#Ladies

2. Disregard the artistic side of skating, are skaters getting better technically?

3. Are the top programs getting more difficult?
 
1 - Yes, rules change all the time, so does the scoring, base value for each element changes as well. The scores change in time.
2 - the average skaters I don't think there's been some major improvement. But Some of the top skaters, yes, they seem to get better technically comparing to many skaters in the past. (for example PChiddy).
3 - yes. More quads, more triple axel, more lutz, more combo.
 
^ Meoima's answer are correct (I'll argue with no.2, though), I just want to elaborate a bit:


1. Both the judging system and the judges attitude have changed. As for the judges, after an initial "enthusiasm" during the introduction of the new system where the judges had been pretty generous with the scores (see: Sasha Cohen establishing her PBs in 2003 and never being able to beat it), the scores turned pretty strict for a long time. For example, The PCS ranging from mid-7's to low 8's were considered excellent, and fans started mubling "overscoring!" when an elite skater scored anything over 8.5. ;) The judges were pretty strict with GoE as well, and only the very, very best could hope to see some +3s on their scoresheets. +1, +2s were actually considered very generous. Now the top skaters can hope to see some 10s in PCS, and getting +3s is much easier (I'll let the discussion about the fairness of some of those scores continue elsewhere... ;)

2. YES! They definitely became tons better, especially when it comes to skating skills and the correctness of the jumping technique. However, the truly clear difference is only seen if you compare the "old guard" with the skaters who have started skating after the judges started cracking down on improper technique and generously scoring skaters with superior skating skills. It's less visible if you look at the skaters who had to transition from the old scoring system to the new one (although there are a few interesting cases). It's an interesting subject to explore and I'm about to leave for the weekend, so I'll try to post more about it after I get back.

3. Yes. Not only as far as the jumps are concerned, but the spins, step sequences, lifts (especially in ice dance), the entrances and exits into jumps, the transitions in general became (on average) much more challenging as well.
 
I think the definition of a Bielmann is not hard and fast. As long as you get that free foot above your head it counts. Several years ago Katy Taylor, who I skated on the same ice with many times, used the COP and had a similar 'Bielmann' and got credit for it. Basically what Katarina Witt was doing all her amateur years. It's pretty when you get it right, but it's not a real Bielmann. Maybe the rules have changed, but I know that Katy got credit in her spins for a Bielmann position and it was not (IMO).
 
I have a stupid question: there;s a spin (that i don;t really like but that's not the point) that looks like a Biellman but it;s not quite it. How is it called?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5DmwDNtaig at 2:16

From wikipedia, seems like it's either a cross-grab Biellmann or a half-Biellmann. Mao does enter it from a camel spin so I'm leaning towards the latter:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biellmann#Variations

"A cross-grab Biellmann is a variation where the opposite hand is the one used to lift the leg. The other hand may or may not be added in this position."
"The half-Biellmann (also called a catch-foot camel spin) is a camel spin during which the skater grasps the free blade with either hand and raises the free leg upwards while otherwise maintaining the camel position. Whether a spin is counted as an upright spin variation or a camel spin variation depends on the entrance into the spin and the position of the torso."
 
Another stupid question:

Why do skaters get lower GOEs on specific jumps they execute cleanly while they get higher GOEs on other clean jumps? For example, Yuna Kim usually gets high GOEs on her 3Lz-3T and her 3F but gets 1s on 3S and 2A-2T-2Lo that she executes cleanly. Why is that? Can't skaters get more credit?

Also how tall is Yuna?
 
Another stupid question:

Why do skaters get lower GOEs on specific jumps they execute cleanly while they get higher GOEs on other clean jumps? For example, Yuna Kim usually gets high GOEs on her 3Lz-3T and her 3F but gets 1s on 3S and 2A-2T-2Lo that she executes cleanly. Why is that? Can't skaters get more credit?

Also how tall is Yuna?

I guess what you mean by cleanly is landing it, isn't it? GOEs for jump are measures by the quality below:
・Unexpected / creative / difficult entry
・Clear recognizable steps/free skating movements immediately preceding element
・Varied position in the air / delay in rotation
・Great height and/or distance
・Superior extension on landing / creative exit
・Superior flow in and out (and in-between in jump combinations / sequences)

and
Yuna Kim is 164 cm.
 
I guess what you mean by cleanly is landing it, isn't it? GOEs for jump are measures by the quality below:
・Unexpected / creative / difficult entry
・Clear recognizable steps/free skating movements immediately preceding element
・Varied position in the air / delay in rotation
・Great height and/or distance
・Superior extension on landing / creative exit
・Superior flow in and out (and in-between in jump combinations / sequences)

and
Yuna Kim is 164 cm.


You should watch how skaters execute their jumps and look for aspects that are listed in the criteria. :-)

Also, I see GOEs as more of "bonus points"; if you do things to make it more difficult or interesting compared to, well, just doing it, you get a bonus.
 
Have a question about half-rotation jumps. It seems like the six main jumps all have a half-rotation equivalent...except the salchow. So what would be its half-rotation equivalent, and why is that not taught?

Toe loop: Seems like the ballet jump or mazurka are sort of the half-rotation equivalent of a toe loop -- the takeoff is the same, they differ on what the skater does in the air and the landing sequence (which foot does the toe pick and which foot does the glide out).
Loop: The half-rotation jump would be the falling leaf -- I see this done with splits in the air quite often but I assume that's not necessarily part of the move (i.e. would be called "split falling leaf" when done with splits), but I may be wrong on this. (There is a jump called a half loop, but it's somewhat of a misnomer because it's a full rotation in the air but lands on the left back inside instead of right back outside edge -- so it's a loop with different landing position.)
Flip: The half flip.
Lutz: The half lutz.
Axel: The waltz jump.

Basically these jumps all have half-rotation "precursors" to help skaters get used to the take-off mechanics. They are taught several levels before the jumps. The salchow is the exception. I guess the loop jump is also an exception, because its half-rotation equivalent, the falling leaf, is not an individual skill but is taught as part of a jump combination *after* the loop itself has already been learned.

(Note: For those not familiar with the USFSA levels, it's Basic 1-8, then Free Skate 1-6.)
Toe loop: Ballet jump is in Basic 7, then mazurka is in Basic 8, then toe loop is in Free Skate 2.
Salchow: Salchow is in Free Skate 3.
Loop: Loop is in Free Skate 4, falling leaf is not an individual skill but is part of a jump combination in Free Skate 5.
Flip: Half flip is in Free Skate 1, flip is in Free Skate 5.
Lutz: Half lutz is in Free Skate 3, lutz is in Free Skate 6.
Axel: Waltz jump is in Basic 8, axel is taught in Free Skate 6 but does not have to be landed to pass the level, so it's somewhat "above" Free Skate 6.

(Edit: I should note that Gkelly talks about the taxonomy of jumps here which is invaluable as I mentally catalog the different types of jumps...but I didn't see the salchow precursor in the linked table of jumps either.)
 
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Don't get me wrong, I always used to struggle with Polish names myself. But then I watched an episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?". I can't remember who the celebrity was (or whether it was on the UK or American version), but they found out that they had Polish ancestors. They were going through the family tree with some expert, and were really struggling to get their tongue around the names. And then the expert told them that the "z"'s in Polish names are silent.

And suddenly everything that had ever confused me about Polish words made sense! :biggrin:
What about Dorota Zagorska. Is her last name pronounced without the Z?
 
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