ISU

ISU 1798 Overview, Part I: Block, Circle, Line, Wheel, Intersection

Remember that time I said this?…

I suspect we’ll see more clarifications, rather than changes, given [ISU Communication 1786] is described as replacing Appendix A in Communication 1759. Logic leads me to believe the intention is for 1759 to remain the core reference document, but perhaps simply with minor updates to come.

Oops.

ISU Communication 1798 outlines several rather major changes to the Difficulty Groups for 2013-14, which is why I’m going to break my overview up into a few separate entries. I’m still working my way through many of the details, and already have a list of questions I expect will be clarified in additional Communications, Q and As, and/or the Summary of Calls in the coming months. For instance, 1798 does not confirm in which cases turns must be correctly executed, versus when they only need to be attempted, for a variation to count. (more…)

Worlds on Universal Sports Network

2013 World Synchronized Skating Championships on Universal Sports Network

Short Programs

  • Friday, April 12 – 6:30-8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Friday, April 12 – 9:30-11:00 p.m. EDT (re-air)
  • Saturday, April 13 – 2:30-4:00 a.m. EDT (re-air)
  • Saturday, April 13 – 11:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. EDT (re-air)

Free Programs

  • Saturday, April 13 – 6:30-8:00 p.m. EDT
  • Tuesday, April 16 – 6:00-7:30 p.m. EDT (re-air)
  • Tuesday, April 16 – 11:00 p.m.-12:30 a.m. EDT (re-air)
  • Thursday, April 18 – 2:30-4:00 a.m. EDT (re-air)

Visit this link for scheduling changes, and if you can, take the time to thank your local broadcasters for supporting synchronized skating!

Viewer’s Guide for Worlds on CBC, April 13

2013 World Synchronized Skating Championships on CBC TV

CBC will be showing a selection of Short and Free Programs, according to this tweet from PJ. I’ve also prepared a Viewer’s Guide to provide some insight into how the performances are evaluated by the Technical Panel and Judges. Trying to condense hundreds of pages of ISU-speak into a quickly digestible four-page document proved to be quite the challenge, and while there’s plenty of information I didn’t include, I hope what I did will be beneficial.

Enjoy the broadcast, and thanks to CBC for your continued support of synchronized skating!

2013 Worlds: Videos from Boston

If you were in Boston last week at the 2013 World Synchronized Skating Championships, you were fortunate to witness some of the best skating this sport has ever seen. If you couldn’t make it to the event, you can thank the magic of the Internet for providing access to the performances on video, below.

I make a point to attend the World Championships whenever they’re in North America, and while each time I leave feeling that our sport is headed in a great direction, this time I was truly blown away by the improvement I saw across the entire event since being in Colorado in 2010. Every single team has upped their game. The quality of skating from the top teams was particularly incredible, but there wasn’t a team in Boston that didn’t contribute something positive to the intense competitive atmosphere of the event, and didn’t impress me with some aspect of their skating. Thank you to every athlete, coach, manager, choreographer, trainer, and supporting cast member for working your butts off so the rest of us could watch such fabulous skating! (more…)