Coaching Figure Skating Jumping

As an Olympic favorite, figure skating should be 100% cutting edge on techniques and theory. Unfortunately, many coaches are not keeping up with the times and learning the newest figure skating mechanics to the detriment of their students One of the most difficult of the skating routines are the jumps. There is a lot of off ice and on ice preparation to complete a perfect jump. Unfortunately, it is often difficult to get a coach who really knows how to coach jumping properly. As a matter of fact, many coaches totally disagree on the fundamental mechanics of skating jumps.

A lot of figure skating coaching is passed on from older coach to younger coach and the to the skater. There is not very much written about jumping, and the books that are out there often disagree with each other! There is a problem getting the written word into a physical form also. So we know that most coaches teach very much the same methods and techniques that their coach had taught them when they were growing up and first learning. Unfortunately, in today's uber-elite-athletic world, figure skating seems to be caught up in the past and does not seem to be going forward in North America. New knowledge and techniques are out there, but still, old outdated teachings are still the norm at the regular skating arena.

The problem is not only the coaches fault though, it is the rules themselves that are confusing. They are out dated and vague, and more a hindrance than a help in most cases. Most coaches agree with this, but often it is too felt too hard to break the past history of figure skating instruction if one has been coaching the same way for 20 years.

When you go to the arena and watch a coach, most often they will not be using the newly developed jump mechanics developed by elite coaches for their skaters. The sad thing is, that some of these techniques are really not even that new, some of these mechanics have actually been used for decades. The elite coaches only now are allowing these techniques to become public, and so they are now becoming available for all figure skating coaches to learn from, if they so choose. Often they do not choose. Instead, the same old routines that they used as a child will be brought out and used again and again. It is really a shame that this continues to happen. The worst thing is, that it will continue to happen again and again until something is done about it.

Many coaches are thinking that without a common fundamental starting point, the confusion and lack of focus within figure skating will continue. What is needed is to get the coaches to agree what the basics are, or at least that would be a good start. In most other sports, there is a consistently improvement in teaching methods, but not so in figure skating. There is no consistent teaching of techniques in our sport. Coupled with the fact that the actual rules of Ice skating are so confusing, it is no wonder that coaches continue to do the same thing that they have done for years. What is needed is a starting point for all coaches to agree to and go forward from there.

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Figure Skating Dresses

These are our ice skating dresses for our competion in Texas.

Figure Skating Dresses - What, or What Not, to Wear

Nothing brings out the little girl in us females more than the thought of a new figure skating dress. Yet, at the same time, nothing can scream more "bling-overkill" than a skating dress. There was a whole lot of girly girl squealing happening in my neck of the woods recently. I just picked up my new dress for my 2011-2012 interpretive program! In this article, I'll present (and we can share) some thoughts on figure skating attire as it pertains to adult figure skating. I don't want to start by sounding sexist or discriminating, but by-and-large this really is a girl-issue. Skating guys seem happy to be in any kind of combination of black pants and a basic shirt, so long as they can move in it. This attitude seems to reflect the male approach to clothing in general, or maybe, it's just the particular males that I live with. Guys can also recycle figure skating costumes for greater lengths of time, providing they don't grow. For example, most keep pants from year to year, but will have a new shirt made, if need be.

Costuming is probably the number one subject that my non-skating friends comment on, as well as frequent topic of conversation on skating internet forums. In general, the dresses/outfits I'm seeing at world and grand-prix events are a lot more conservative than 10-15 years ago. Of course, ice dance is always notorious for over the top excess, but again, even the ice dancers seem to be opting for more conservative designs- a sign of the economic times perhaps?

As adult figure skaters, I feel that we have a few unique issues when it comes to finding appropriate attire. The most obvious is size and shape. We come in a lot more of them: apples, pears, sticks and triangles, just to name a few. I have found that "off the rack" dresses seem to be made using the proportions of younger, less curvy, bodies. Often, the skirts end up being way too short. Or worse, badly placed in a way that accentuates your wider features. Sometimes, the styles are just plain wrong, for anyone over the age of 10. Frilly and sparkly is cute on a 7-year old, not so much on a 47-year-old. If one is well-endowed on top, then halter-style or spaghetti straps present important structural deficiencies.

Many times, adults are reluctant to wear something skimpy due to feeling really uncomfortable and exposed. This goes beyond just feeling uncomfortable or embarrassed over the weight you may have put on over the past few years. It is a question of practicality too. In many northern climates, the air temperature in the area is chilly, if not down-right cold. The temperature of the rink where I train was 4° Celsius (39° F) this morning. I've taken skating tests there when it has been that cold and even the judge told us to go ahead and put on as warm a sweater as we could find. All those cute little backless and sleeveless dresses were buried in layers of fleece and wool that day!

When it comes to skating attire, what works (or doesn't) for you? Send me a picture of you in your favorite outfit and I will post it on my blog for all of us to enjoy. And a special shout out to you gentlemen: we want to see you too!

Next: My new dress (with photo!) and more advice about what to wear on the when you are a lady of (as the French would say) "a certain age".

If you are an adult participating in figure

Figure Skating Costumes

Competition costumes for skaters of both genders can be theatrical and heavily beaded or trimmed, and can cost thousands of dollars if designed by a top-level costume maker. Although the use of flesh-colored fabric means the costumes are often less revealing than they may appear, there have been repeated attempts to ban clothing that gives the impression of "excessive nudity" or that is otherwise inappropriate for athletic competition.Women generally wear opaque flesh-coloured leggings or tights under dresses and skirts, which may extend to cover their skates.

How Should a Figure Skating Dress Fit?

How Should a Figure Skating Dress Fit?

A good figure skating dress should fit like an expensive swimsuit, not too small and certainly not so big there are folds or ripples while skating.. There are many types of skirts, from a flat skirt type to a ballet style.

Look to make sure that the skirt is not too long or short for the type of costume. Notice too, that the skirts on figure skating dresses are about 1-11/2 inches longer in the back than the front, which gives a pleasing line while the skater is doing her routine.

The skirt part of the skating dress should ride higher on the hips that it does in the front or the back of the dress.

This is especially true in dance figure skating dresses, where the back is at minimum 6 inches longer and the skirt falls from mid thigh in the back.

How To Find Great Figure Skating Dresses

How do you go about finding perfect figure skating dresses? Well, there are actually many ways, but the easiest thing to do is to go to a big name figure skating competition. That will give you the styles on the skaters. You can see if there are any figure skating dresses there that you think might be suitable for you or your daughter.

Another possibility is that often at these competitions, seller’s form out of town come with many dresses and accessories and set up a temporary shop inside the skating rink. It is really great to see so many dresses at once, and usually these are not figure skating dresses that are locally available. These vendors sometimes even take debit cards!

The Internet Shopping on-line is common practice now, and very safe.

If you look in your telephone book, you can often find shops that are devote to figure skating. No physical store means better prices for the buyers! These usually have catalogues, or of course now a days, have Internet shopping set up.

Or you can look on line. Some beautiful figure skating dresses are on the Internet, and at very good prices.

If you want to get it exactly to your taste, or your color, fabric etc. I would recommend a local dressmaker. If you don’t know of any around, another possibility to get information would be to call up your local skating rink and ask for the contact for the local skating club. Anyone in this club will be able to suggest a suitable dressmaker, one who knows that extra something to put onto the skating dress to make it go from oh to OH!!!

Also, if you have any experience in sewing, and especially sewing, you can make a nice figure skating dress. There are many figure skating patterns available. I have used Kwik Sew with great success, not only for dresses, but practice wear as well. Any plain pattern can be transformed with a few well-placed beads and spangles.

Remember, many competitions including the Olympics have been won in a Mothers handmade figure skating dress.