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It’s GOE time: a look at the new guidelines

Let’s talk quality.

It took a few years after the implementation of the new judging system for many coaches to really start to pay attention to Grade of Execution marks and begin to strategize with them in mind. GOE has always been part of the equation, but the learning curve that came with understanding the newly invented technical requirements was initially so large, and the rules seemed to change so drastically each season, that GOE (and PCS) often took a back seat. The past few seasons, however, judges have been extremely pleased to see a significant increase in the number of coaches who are placing a high value on quality, displaying a more wholistic approach to choreography–teams are seeing greater rewards when levels of difficulty are chosen according to the GOE that’s likely to be awarded based on the skaters’ actual abilities. From my perspective, this is leading to a more enjoyable experience for both skaters and officials, as well as the development of a stronger foundation in basic skills across the sport. (more…)

World’s top teams will compete for $50,000 in prize money in London

Wow.

It’s been years since a Senior International was held in Canada (other than Worlds), so the announcement that London, Ontario, host of the 2007 World Synchro Championships, would be holding an event this December was exciting simply on its own. But now there’s $50,000 in prize money involved?

That’s a big deal.

The news comes from an article on the John Labatt Centre’s website, where you can also purchase tickets. Yes, $50,000 is a pittance compared to what singles skaters, ice dancers, and pairs teams earn on the ISU Grand Prix circuit, when you consider how many individual athletes a synchro competition involves. It doesn’t matter whether the prize money for Synchro in the City is in Canadian or American dollars, or some other currency entirely–split $50,000 among one team, some teams, or all of the teams, and it disappears pretty quickly no matter whose mug is on the bills. What’s worth more than the amount, however, is the additional legitimacy this brings to the sport. If this trend continues, could we actually see synchro skaters start to regularly earn money as professional athletes?

That’s a very big deal.

Tickets for the 2011 Synchro in the City — London Synchrofest International (could they have chosen a longer name?) go on sale Friday, October 21st. Maybe Santa will bring me a seat sale for Christmas.

 

Revisions to Comm. 1678 overview from May

Now that I’ve had time to dig deeper into Communication 1678, I noticed a few points in my original post from May that required corrections or additions. I’ve made some revisions to that post, which you can see here.

Remember, the points presented in that post are simply general observations about the changes, and do not in any way take precedence over the communication itself (or the ISU Summary of Calls). If you see any errors in the post, or would like further clarification about anything I’ve covered there, please don’t hesitate to let me know.

Requirements and summaries of calls and GOEs, oh my!

I wrote with great excitement about the publication of ISU Communication 1678 waaaay back in May, and had grand intentions of further dissecting and analyzing the new rules here…and then I blinked and all of a sudden it’s October. It has only been within the last two weeks, however, that the final pieces of this season’s rules pie fell into place. With the publication of the ISU Summary of Calls and Communication 1696, officials can finally become fully acquainted with the 2011-12 regulations, and subsequently provide comprehensive feedback to teams as monitoring season approaches. But it’s not just officials who should have requirements and deductions and GOE guidelines dancing in our heads–coaches, you must be accountable to yourself and your skaters to get intimate with these documents, so you can provide training and choreography that will help your teams reach their full potential. The number of documents to keep track of can be overwhelming, so here’s a snapshot of what you should be reading, and what purpose each piece serves (with a decidedly Canadian focus–apologies, international friends): (more…)