Post by Angela on Jul 28, 2010 10:47:53 GMT -5
PROGRAM INFORMATION
Let's face it, a skater can't skate without programs. I am a generous admin. I don't mind skaters pushing the boundaries of the sport; that is how it got to be from tracings on the ice to single jumps to triples, quads, spins and footwork. I have no problem with amateur/eligible skaters doing the following in amateur/eligible competition:
General for Amateur/Eligible Skaters: We try to keep things semi-realistic.
No vocals in amateur/eligible competition except in ice dance. Exceptions can be made with dead/nonsense languages (Sanskrit, Latin, Elvish, etc.) used to accompany the orchestra or as forefront like in Carmina Burana and so on.
I am willing to extend the times for each program by 10 extra seconds. That means:
Short Program/Original Dance: 2:50-3:00
Ladies Long: 3:50-4:10
Men/Pairs Long/Free Dance: 4:20-4:50
If your music goes under or over that I will deduct points, just like in real life.
No backflips or other areal moves in amateur competitions. If you are an amateur skater in a pro-am, you're free to go for it. However, if you write your skater pulling a Surya Bonaly, I will deduct points.
Along the same lines as above, no props or unrealistic costumes. Ladies can wear pants, unitards, etc, but keep the overall costume design for competitions in mind.
For exhibitions/interpretive free skates, absolutely anything goes. No restrictions on moves, costumes, time, music, etc. What you cannot do in eligible competition, you can do in exhibitions/interpretive free skates. That also applies to amateur skaters when they enter a pro-am competition.
Men: Quad jumps, all except the Axel, are permitted. For those who are skating illiterate, I take issue with the Axel because it would involve the skater taking off on a forward edge and rotating four and a half times in the air, landing backwards. Because of the difficulty of the Axel to begin with, the odds are we'll be seeing quintuple jumps before we see a quad Axel. Since I am not willing to open the door to quints just yet, let's just stick with triple Axels. Despite only the toe loop and Salchow being done in competition, I am open to the quad Lutz, flip and loop. The flip has just been attempted in real life this year with the result of a two-footed landing, while those who tried the quad Lutz have always fallen. All the same, I don't mind opening the door to these jumps. However, I do not approve of doing more than 11 jumps in a program. (For those who are skating illiterate, please see the RULES.) Even 11 is pushing it. Please keep the Zayak rule in mind, and the idea that if you do more than 11 jumps, it would be difficult to do the spins and footwork that make a program complete. Keep in mind, the 11 jumps is the MAXIMUM for skaters. The minimum number of jumps is 8.
Ladies: This may seem sexist of me, but I would prefer if ladies only had ONE quad in their programs. This is for two reasons: 1, there is shorter time in the ladies' free skate and quads require a lot of energy; 2, only one quad has ever been done in ladies competition and that was in the junior ranks. I would prefer the number of jumps to be 8 or 9.
Pairs: Only one quad throw jump in the free skate. This is because it is done so rarely and has only been done once. I have no objection with throw triple Axels though because it has been done many times. I also allow the quad twist, because that too has been done, as well as the throw triple flip. For side-by-side jumps, all triples except the Axel are allowed; simply because they've never been done before.
Ice Dance: No restrictions here.
For Professional Competitors:
Absolutely anything goes. No restrictions on time, music, props, costumes, etc. The only thing you will be deducted for is your actual skating mistakes.
As in real life, there are required elements and rules for programs, but you can get them in the Rules and Programs forums.
