Do You Need Off-Ice Training for Elite Figure Skating Jumping?

Yes, You Do Need Off-Ice Training for Figure Skating Jumps!

The one thing about elite athletes is that they never stop trying. Trying to get that extra inch, that extra spin. Years ago people only trained on ice, but today the thinking is much different. Now we know that if a skater wants to improve and develop competitive skating skills and get to the next level, off-ice training is a given. The days are long gone when medals are on by people who just train on ice. The actual physical aspect of figure skating jumping lends itself well with off ice training. Just as the act of glide skating looks effortless, but the skating stride is very complicated with many small actions blending together to make a skater look like he or she is sailing effortlessly on water.

Strength, coordination, flexibility must be fully developed so that a skater can develop and realize their full potential on the ice. Things have really changed in the past 15 years in the history of figure skating. Things that are expected now by junior skaters were never seen until skaters started to train off ice. These jumps are more dangerous than anything that people even 20 years ago would have attempted. Indeed, one of the harder figure skating jumps 15 years ago, and axle, is considered quite simple by today’s standards.

In the 1987 World Figure Skating Championships Brian Orser of Canada was the first skater to put two triple Axle jumps in the same program. At that event he also landed one in the short program so he is also credited with being the first figure skater to land three triple Axel jumps in the same competition. In the 2010 Winter Olympics, Mao Asada became the first female to duplicate this extraordinary feat.

Obviously, one of the best reasons for off ice training, is that while one practices on the ice, losing balance and falling, thereby risking injury. The newer, higher jumps, need the stability that off-ice training gives. On ice training is effective for some things, but for building strength and agility, training needs to be done on a stable floor. Why would this be? Well if you think about it, it is because while the skater is on the ice, there are many factors that decrease the efficiency of the training. Just being on the ice, on top of essentially knives attached to skates, balancing on top of a sheet of glassy, smooth ice, is hard enough. Can you imagine doing the exercises on the ice that you can do on the floor?
Imagine that the skater wants to develop leg strength. To do this would be much more hazardous and difficult on ice than if the skater went to an off ice area such as a gym or weight room and did their squats and other exercises in running shoes and on solid footing.

Imagine if the Skating Coach told the skater to do squats and leg lifts with their skates on!

Therefore, it is obvious that off ice training is more effective and certainly less hazardous because you have a solid footing and are not likely to fall.
Many ice skating arenas have rooms that they rent out for just this off ice training. Many will be just ordinary rooms but the trend is to have rooms that are like ballet style exercise rooms with full mirrors and railings to hold onto and stretch against.
Some rooms have carpeting, but a hard wood or linoleum floor with a yoga type mat works very well also. This gives the skater better traction which in turn makes the exercise count for more.
Look for an instructor with some type of coaching certificate, like a National Coaching Certificate. Ask around at the arena for information and advice on what programs are offered and what others do off ice. These instructors are trained in the correct style and also, more important maybe, is they know HOW to coach. It is not everyone who can look at a skater do a failed Axle and say, "Your right foot is not coming down quickly enough, adjust it this way". Don't forget to check out the different types of dance, yoga, and the various other off ice training activities.
Off ice training is much more than strength and fitness. Other types of instruction, such as yoga, can be considered an additional off ice training. Although not specialized for figure skating, yoga builds great stamina, flexibility and strength in a relaxed atmosphere.
ANy skater that is trying to reach for the gold, will want to reach their full potential. To do this they must include off ice training with on ice training.

Olympic-fatigued skaters bumble through worlds

Olympic-fatigued skaters bumble through worlds

By COLLEEN BARRY (AP) – Mar 28, 2010

TURIN, Italy — Olympic champion Kim Yu-na couldn't wait for it to be over.
The fatigue from the long Olympic season showed in her unusually error-ridden performances at the World Figure Skating Championships. She ceded the world title to longtime rival Mao Asada of Japan on Saturday, settling for the silver just a month after dazzling the world with what many will remember as one of the best Olympic performances of all time.

But the end of the world championships did bring Kim one thing she coveted: relief from the unending pressure.

"I have been waiting for this moment, to finish this season. I am so happy right now I just finished," Kim said after completing the long program that she won, despite falling on a triple salchow and scratching an axel.

And she wasn't alone.

Skater after skater coming off the ice talked about how exhausted they were after giving their all at the Olympics, the pinnacle of the sport and an event they train their entire lives for, only to turn around a month later for the world championships. The men's and women's competitions were particularly sloppy, with few of the top skaters coming close to their performances in Vancouver.

Which raises the question: Is another major international competition so soon after the Olympics too demanding for skaters?

"If indeed the time between the Olympics and the world championships is not enough to recover and prepare adequately for the event, it is our duty ... to pay attention to this fact," International Skating Union President Ottavio Cinquanta said Saturday.

"We have a duty to administer this sport. But the skaters have the right to be treated properly," said Cinquanta, a former speed skater.
Cinquanta stopped short of saying the issue would be raised at the ISU Congress in Barcelona in June, but he pointedly signaled the question to ISU council members sitting in the press conference.

World championships in an Olympic year have traditionally been a letdown. Many top athletes opt out — with good reason. There's physical and mental exhaustion. And, more materially, the post-Olympic period provides a very short window during which medal winners can cash in on their achievement, long years of training and financial investment.

One needs to go back to 1992 for the last worlds where all of the Olympic medalists attended. And that year, all added a world gold to their Olympic gold: Kristi Yamaguchi, Victor Petrenko, Natalia Mishkutienok and Artur Dmitriev in pairs and Marina Klimova and Sergei Ponomarenko in ice dance.

This year's worlds was more typical of recent trends.

Vancouver men's champion Evan Lysacek skipped worlds, as did silver medalist and three-time world champion Evgeni Plushenko — who won the 2006 Olympic gold medal at the very Palavela where worlds were held. Pairs gold medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo and Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin, bronze medalists in ice dance in Vancouver and the 2009 world champs, also took a pass. Women's bronze medalist Joannie Rochette, whose mother died suddenly during the games, took a much needed break.

Veteran coach Frank Carroll said the back-to-back Olympics-worlds was "business as usual," but added "maybe they should separate a little. I don't know, it's an ISU decision."

He said most skaters should know they will have only four or five days of rest after the Olympics before hitting the training hard again. But Kim said she had a very hard time doing that, and told South Korean media she thought she would do well "just because of what I have."

While most skaters should be able to rebound, the exceptions are the champions, Carroll said. Lysacek, coached by Carroll, has been living the whirlwind, mingling with Hollywood celebrities and competing on "Dancing With the Stars."

Kim's shocking performance in the short, where she flubbed basic elements like a spin and a spiral, is an argument in favor of Lysacek's decision, Carroll said.

"That was a disaster. But she was the Olympic champion," Carroll said. "Evan, coming here and doing all those talk shows and `Dancing with the Stars,' what would he have done? It's — for an Olympic champion — a risk to come here.

"They'd be fools not to take advantage of it, too," Carroll added of the spoils that come with Olympic gold. "There is only a certain time of their lives when they can enjoy this level of popularity and fame — and money."

While many champions stay away, that is not to say the world title is not coveted. Vancouver ice dance gold medalists Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir came to Turin to click off the world title box, which they did with usual elegant, emotional and technically superior skating.

And for some, the worlds are a chance for redemption after a rough Olympics.
Daisuke Takahashi didn't need any after winning Olympic bronze, and he delivered even bigger in Turin by winning Japan's first men's world title. But Patrick Chan, an Olympic medal hopeful who left Vancouver empty-handed, can be pleased with his second straight silver at worlds, and France's Brian Joubert vanquished a disastrous Olympic performance with the bronze, his fifth world medal.

Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

How Much Does a Figure Skating Dress Cost?

Figure skating dresses can range in cost from about $100- $300 being the norm, but many people spend much more on that, depending upon how much hand work (beading, sequins etc.) is done.

It is not a bad idea if you can sew to make practice dresses, but, unless you are an accomplished seamstress, it is a good idea for competitions dresses that these are made by a professional seamstress. You can often find referrals at the local skating rink. These people have already used the dressmakers they have refered and this assures you that the dressmaker will be knowledgeable and adept with working with 4 way stretch materials.

There is always the alternative of buying a second hand figure skating dress. These are usually less than half the price of new ones, and since the dresses don’t get very rough treatment, they are usually in excellent condition.

Check for things like stains, rips or pilling. When trying on the costumes, make sure that the dresses seams don’t pucker or stick out, check for non serged edges or crooked sewing, Make sure that there is no wear in the crotch, seams or backside, and that the dress Unlined dresses don’t keep their form very well, and neither do ones that are made from cheap fabric.

Check for a 4 way stretch not a 2 way stretch and if the crystals are falling off the glue used to put them on the dress is spent. The best crystals are put on with hot fix, not craft glue. Get Swartzki crystals; they are the only ones that don’t turn cloudy with age and washing. Last but not least, make sure that the skater who will be wearing the figure skating dress tries it on before hand and does some stretches.

Since the material is so stretchy, it is easy to think that the dress fits even if it is too small.

If the figure skating dress feels tight in the crotch or armpits, no matter how much the skater likes it, it IS too small