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Rika Kihira reacts to setting a new world record of 82.51 in the short program at her first senior GPF appearance (Grand Prix Final 2018)

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Sofia Samodurova 2018 GP Skate America Bronze Medallist 🥉 ↳ + kiss and cry:

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Alena Kanysheva || 2018 JGP Yerevan, FS: Dreams of a Winter Journey.

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Anastasia Tarakanova FS Moonlight Sonata || Junior Grand Prix Ljubljana 2018

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Re: Spin Positions

In this issue of Very Long Post I End Up Making To Compensate For The Fact That Many People Have Been Asking About This But I Have Been Too Lazy To Answer, I’d like to talk about what it’d take for a spin position to qualify as “good controlled, clear” (if that English sounds weird it’s not me it’s the ISU - see their new-ish bullet 2 for spin GOE criteria).

This post will touch on stuff I’ve discussed in Spins, Explained so give that the once-over if you need to remind yourself of the basics.  

So, generally speaking, to evaluate a spin position, I usually watch out for 3 factors: flexibility, stability, and speed. Basically, a strong spin position is one that is both physically challenging and well-performed, i.e., with minimal travelling and minimal loss of speed once the skater attains the position. 

The Camel Spins (CSp)

Overall for CSp, the easiest thing to check, first, is the skating leg: a great CSp should be done on a mostly straight leg with little to no bend at the knee. 

As for the details, the camel positions are a curious bunch. ISU guideline has it that there are 3 flavors to a CSp, but the difference between them, for me anyway, is usually the hardest to spot compared to sit spins and upright spins, since it depends on subtle variations in the orientation of the skater’s shoulder line. Because of that, I highly appreciate skaters who can make those camel variations as distinctive and unmistakable as possible. Satoko, for example, is a skater who does this very well:

From left to right: camel upward - sideways - forward. 

And here are some unusual variations I love on the camel spins:

(1) Adelina’s upward variation requires extraordinary flexibility in both the hip and the shoulder. (2) Shizuka’s sideways variation (doughnut) is enhanced with beautiful arm movements and also displays great flexibility. In both hers and Satoko’s doughnut above, pay attention to how their heads and torsos are drawn all the way around to form a full circle without any jarring angle. (3) Yulia’s forward variation (half-Biellmann) has incredible extension and, as a bonus, a smooth transition from her upward variation (which by itself is also a very nice position).

The Sit Spins (SSp)

The first thing you want to pay attention to in a SSp is its height, or rather, its lack of height. An ideal sit position would have the skater’s free leg and buttock as close to the ice as possible. Because of its compactness, sit positions are usually where the skater can spin the fastest, so I usually place more weight on speed when I decide whether or not I like a SSp. Yuzuru’s version is one that can give you a sense of how fast a sit spin can and should be:

From left to right: sit forward - sideways - behind

Now for some great variations:

(1) Anastasia’s forward variation (corkscrew) is an advanced one that eludes most skaters because of the extreme flexibility it requires. Her version is also impressive because of how uncannily fast she gets into that position.  (2) Mai’s sideways variation (broken leg) has a remarkably low free leg and comes with wonderful arm and head placement.  (3) Deniss’ behind variation is a creative, novel take on the pancake. It probably has some of the fastest rotational speed I’ve ever seen in a sit spin.

The Upright Spins (USp)

The USp is a bit complicated, mainly because its nature is a catch-all bucket the ISU uses to cover most positions that do not fall into either of the above categories. That’s why I’d need to break this down further into

Y-spins and I-spins

These two positions technically fall under what the ISU classifies as “upright straight and sideways” variation. For Y- and I-spins, the most important factor is the skater’s flexibility: you’d want to see a clear split position with the free leg held close to the skater’s upper body. Secondly, similar to the case of CSp, a fully straightened skating knee is vital in shaping an aesthetically pleasing position.

Y-spin examples:

(1) Alissa (Czisny)’s Y-spin is famous for both stunning extension and amazing speed. (2) Mao’s Y-spin comes with a variation in the upper body placement that gives it a distinctive layback characteristic. (3) Shizuka’s cross-grab Y-spin, in addition to demonstrating some insane level of flexibility, is IMO one of the prettiest spin positions ever performed.

I-spin examples:

(1) Yulia’s I-spin is, well, it’s Yulia Lipnitskaya’s I-spin and probably one of the most iconic things in our sport. (2) Alisa (Lozko)’s I-spin earns a honorable mention here for its mind-boggling speed (oh and she manages to keep it a lot more centered compared to Yulia’s, too). (3) Satoko’s I-spin might not stand out at first glance, but I’d like to remind you that she performs that spin after she changes her spinning direction from counterclockwise to clockwise. 

Biellmann Spins

The Biellmann was given its own category of variation by the ISU, so I thought I should pay it the same respect. Here are some outstanding examples:

(1) Yulia’s and (2) Alisa’s versions both come with ultra extension and hyper speed.  (3) Elena’s version is a favorite of mine because of how soft her body shape is and its beautiful transition from her haircutter layback.

Layback Spins

I’ve discussed the layback spin in details here and here so I’ll skip it this time.

Other Upright Spins

There are a bunch of other upright spins, including the upright forward category and the crossfoot. These don’t usually involve that much flexibility or raise the bar on difficulty so I’d mostly count them as acceptable as long as the skater keeps them centered and with decent speed, like what Yuzuru, Alaine, and Javier are doing below:

The Non-basic Spins

For the non-basic, just follow the same criteria of flexibility, stability, and speed :) As an example, my favorite version of (perhaps) the most popular non-basic, the windmill, is by Adelina: 

Flexibility: checked (great extension, perfectly straight body line throughout), stability: checked (totally centered), speed: very check.

Hope that was helpful :D And I apologize in advance if the gif spam kills your cellphone.

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Anastasia Tarakanova + spins

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Nebelhorn Tropy, 2018 - Alina Zagitova || FS, Carmen Alina scored 158.50, setting a new world record in the free skate on the season.

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Alena Kostornaia, The Leftovers || 2018 JGP Czech Republic (Joosep Martinson/ISU)

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2018 JGP Linz: Alena Kostornaia + Romeo & Juliet

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Alyona Kanysheva || Dreams of a Winter Journey | JGP Linz 2018

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Polina Kostiukovich & Dmitrii Ialin (RUS) after their winning free skate at 2018 JGP Austria

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Daniel Grassl || 2018 JGP Austria

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Under the +3/-3 GOE system, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong’s throw quadruple salchow holds the record for the highest scoring throw jump ever. It scored 10.49 points (BV: 8.2, GOE: 2.29)

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2018 JGP Slovakia Ladies’ Medalists (Photos by Joosep Martinson, ISU)

1 - Anna Shcherbakova (RUS) 205.39 2 - Anna Tarusina (RUS) 186.68 3 - Young You (KOR) 183.98

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Anna Tarusina, Winter in Buenos Aires | JGP Bratislava 2018 (x)

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Anna Shcherbakova || 2018 JGP Bratislava, SP: A Comme Amour.

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Happy birthday Marin! 21.08.2001 🌺