NSWISA July News

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COMPETITION CHANGES

NSWISA and Clubs have been working together to swiftly make changes to competition dates as new information regarding lockdowns and restrictions has come to hand. NSWISA will continue to work together with Clubs and rinks to give our Members as much certainty as possible regarding upcoming events. Obviously everything is planned subject to Government restrictions allowing the events to take place so please stay tuned for further updates & details.

GOOD VIBES FOR GREATER SYDNEY SKATERS

For those who are living in Greater Sydney, you may be experiencing a sense of deja vu. While we share in the disappointment of the current situation, what we learnt from last year is competitors came back fitter and stronger, having really developed strength and flexibility in their off-ice training last year. This is a great opportunity, before heading into the lead up to States to develop those physical aspects that will help support the development of your technical skills. Some of those physical aspects that will aid technical skills include:

Balance
Flexibility
Explosiveness
Endurance
Grace & artistry
Mental

We have been in this situation before and we know that it is a temporary setback. Continue to work towards your goals and take advantage of the extra time to work on these physical aspects which will help support your return to the ice.
Ideas for exercises which focus on these areas can be found here.

Bibliography
https://iceskatingpassion.com/figure-skating-off-ice-training/

HOW TO READ YOUR RESULTS PROTOCOL

Your protocol provides a lot of information on your performance and will also provide some insights into which aspects you can focus on to improve your score. Protocols are incredibly detailed and can take some explanation.
The protocol shows scores for the following:

Executed Elements - This information is what the Technical Panel call based on the execution of the elements in the performance.
Base Value - This is a score for each element that is specified in the ISU Scale of Values.
GOE - The Grades of Execution are assigned to each element by the Judges. The GOEs each Judge awards can range from -5 to +5 based on how well the element was executed.
Program Components - These scores are awarded by each judge for the relevant Program Components for each division and range from 0 to 10 in increments of 0.25. Depending on the number of judges, the average or the trimmed mean of these scores are then multiplied by a factor set for each division and then totaled to become the Total Program Component Score.
Deductions - These are also important to check for on every protocol to ensure any unnecessary deduction are avoided at future competitions.

In the example above, the skater received a deduction for a fall and four of the elements had additional errors called by the Technical Panel. These errors are denoted in the Info column and the symbols are defined at the bottom of the protocol.
The protocol shows the skater included 3 jumps in the second half of their program. This is indicated by an 'x' to the right of the Base Value. The Base Value of these jumps are multiplied by 1.1 acknowledging that these elements are much harder to perform in the second half of the program and gives credit to the even distribution of jumps throughout the program. Only the last jump in a Short Program and the last 3 jumps in the Free Skating Program will be awarded this special factor and it is applicable only to Junior and Senior divisions.

In the example above this skater has received a bonus point as indicated by the 'b' in the Info column and as indicated in the Total Element Score. Unfortunately different systems show the bonus points in different ways so you may also or only see a "B" next to the TES at the top of the page. The Bonus Point was introduced by ISA in 2019 to encourage and reward skaters from Preliminary to Junior Levels for achieving more difficult jumps in their program. In 2020, bonus points were announced by ISU for Novice levels and in 2021, the are now available in Preliminary & Elementary division for spins & step sequences. For more information on the Bonus System visit the ISA website.

Program lengths may have a minimum and maximum time. In this last example, the skater received a time violation. This violation may have been caused by the program length being up to 5 seconds less than the minimum allowed time or 5 seconds in excess of the maximum allowed time. Skaters may need to make some minor adjustments to their programs to avoid time violations. Always stay on the safe side and aim to cut your music so it's not too close to any minimum or maximum times. Most Programs will have 20 seconds leeway so aim to cut the music towards the middle of this range to be safe.
Past results are located on the NSWISA website so skaters can revisit their past protocols to identify areas to focus on.

NSWISA STAFF CHANGES

NSWISA has been lucky to have Gloria Williams to support and assist our Members over recent years. Gloria has been a great asset to the Association and although she will continue to remain as part of the NSWISA family, we wish Gloria all the best and thank her for her tremendous service to NSWISA.
We are excited to introduce Lynne Kentish to the NSWISA Administration Team. Lynne has volunteered for NSWISA for the last couple of years so comes to the role with a great knowledge about the Association and the sport.

MPIO NETWORK LAUNCH

NSWISA and MPIOs from 7 of our Clubs met virtually in July for the first meeting of NSWISA's MPIO Network. The role of the Member Protection Information Officer is to provide information to Members if there are any queries or concerns and to maintain confidentiality at all times. The establishment of the MPIO Network ensures that our Members have the choice to connect with MPIOs from their own or other Clubs if they need advice of support. The establishment of the Network will also mean that MPIOs will feel supported in their role, share best practice and provide input on NSWISA policies.
The MPIO contact information will be located on the NSWISA website for Members to access if the need arises.

BOARD MATTERS

The Board met on Tuesday 13th July as scheduled and there was much discussion regarding the rescheduling of competitions. The Board understands that there is a need to act swiftly if further changes are required. Given that no cancellations of competitions have taken place, currently there are no changes to Policies as they relate to eligibility entry requirements to State Championships at this stage. This will of course be monitored as the current situation evolves.
The Board has been in regular contact with the Office of Sport and various Government Departments to keep on top of any new information as it comes to hand and ensure the unique aspects of our sport, such as access to ice rinks and the importance of their financial viability is considered in the recovery road map.

REMEMBERING KATIA

1 year ago our ice skating community lost Ekaterina (Katia) Alexandrovskaya, a great role model who had achieved so much in the sport in her short life.
Katia teamed up with Harley Windsor in 2016, and in doing so they became the first Australians to win an ISU Championship, placing first at the 2017 World Junior Figure Skating Championships and then following this up with a first place at the 2017 ISU Junior Grand Prix Final. Katia and Harley went on to represent Australia at the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang.
As we lead into an Olympic year, Katia remains an inspiration in the way she pursued her skating dreams.

ISA RULE CHANGES

ISA have published new communication relating to element levels for Preliminary and Elementary divisions. The communication can be found here.
Elementary skaters will have features up to Level 2 called for spins and steps. For Elementary and Preliminary skaters, clusters in the step sequence will no longer count as a feature for a level.

VOLUNTEERING

No event can be held without the efforts of our volunteers. Through volunteering, our skating families are able to connect with others who share the same interest and passion for the sport. We are fortunate that we have a very dedicated volunteer group, however, we are always looking for more volunteers to ease the workload of our regular volunteers at events. NSWISA requires its volunteers to have a WWCC number to ensure that our sport is prioritising the safety of our young people. A WWCC number lasts for a period of 5 years and can be applied for at Service NSW.
In order to verify the status of a volunteer, the organising committees will need the surname, the WWCC number and the date of birth of each volunteer. Having this information handy will make the preparations much easier for the organisers of events and will ensure that our sport will be providing a safe environment for our skaters.

NSWISA SOCIALS

Stay connected with the NSWISA community for support and information on the NSWISA Instagram and Facebook pages. To keep up to date with our skaters, use the following link https://instagram.com/nsw_isa?r=nametag or you can use the following QR code. Also, don't forget to tag us in your posts!

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

AUGUST		SEPTEMBER		OCTOBER
22	IZSC Champs	4	MISC Champs	2	State Champs
22	Aussie Skate @ Ice Zoo	11	Sydney Theatre Cup	3	State Champs
31	Board Meeting	11	Aussie Skate @ PIP	4	State Champs
		19	MJS	12	Board Meeting
		19	Tests @ HISS	23	Aussie Skate @ LCC
				23	Triple Challenge (Artistic)
				24	Triple Challenge (Technical)

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