Why Did They Get Rid of Spirals As A Requirement In Ladies Skating? | Golden Skate

Why Did They Get Rid of Spirals As A Requirement In Ladies Skating?

mrrice

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 9, 2014
:confused2:

This is a good question. Now, I think they're called a "Move in The Field" and some skaters still do them. I'm not sure why they are no longer required.
 

vesperalvioletta

Medalist
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
Country
United-States
Because most of the ladies aren't very good at them now [emoji85] I think the choreographic sequence levels the playing field for ladies who aren't so good at a variety of spirals.
 

gotoschool

Medalist
Joined
Mar 5, 2014
I think one reason was to try to make the concept of figure skating fit the dubious script that more rushed movement was superior to holding picturesque positions and carving long arcs with deep edges and change of directions, and another reason was probably to reduce the number of elements that displayed rare excellence other than jumps. As is often done with arguments for quads and triple axels in the women's competition, the argument that most skaters are not good at spirals just shows how great of a skill they really are and how much more those who are great at them should be rewarded which they weren't under COP anyway. I am not sure of their value under 6.0, but in COP, the difference between a great spiral sequence and a much easier one could often be a few tenths of a point or in some cases practically the same score, or holding a far easier position for a bit longer time would count almost as much as holding an outstanding position for a slightly shorter time. Also in the time of COP when urs were converted into automatic downgrades, the number of points lost in a downgraded high value jump element could be worth more than 15 times the difference between a great spiral sequence and a mediocre one,There also didn't seem to be any reward for carving long serpentine arcs in the ice as opposed to skating arcs that were easier because they were more shallow and straight, but in terms of scores spirals were completely trumped by jumps and their control by tech crews and judges GOE thus rendered practically meaningless, despite displaying great skating skills and maintaining flexibility with beautiful positions.
 

Moxiejan

Medalist
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Country
United-States
I loved the spiral sequence, but far too many skaters just grabbed their skate blade instead of really holding a superior position. And really, the time it took relative to points available was way out of whack.
 

ruga

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 20, 2017
I am wondering as well. Spirals are probably first thing that pops in casual person's head when mentioning figure skating. These days it's very weird to see spirals so short that the audience doesn't have time to start clapping. However, some skaters are definitely not good at spiraling and moves like Bestis, spread eagles, split leaps or something else can help them show their skating abilities at ChSq.
 

Butterfly71

Spectator
Joined
Nov 3, 2019
I do miss Michele’s and Sasha’s. The elegance of a well performed spiral is that it looks effortless.
 

Parksideprince

Rinkside
Joined
Oct 23, 2018
I remember someone saying that flexible skaters weren't very good/consistent jumpers and so therefore maybe the spiral got pushed out because none of these jumpers can do them
 

Globetrotter

Medalist
Joined
Jan 17, 2014
I loved the spiral sequence, but far too many skaters just grabbed their skate blade instead of really holding a superior position. And really, the time it took relative to points available was way out of whack.

Spirals are too underrated. They actually take a lot of strength and control. Too few ladies do them well. IMO, MKwan and Asada have the best ones with strong edges and extensions and beauty. Sasha Cohen has the most beautiful spirals but.....her edges were awful. Skaters like Yuna, Shizuka and CaroK have excellent edge control and even change of edges on the spirals but the extensions and line beauty were not that nice.
 

Colonel Green

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 3, 2018
Country
Canada
Getting rid of required spirals was one of the best things the ISU did. So many programs from the 2006-10 cycle just stop dead while spirals get crammed in.

Not by any means to say that they can't be used well, but I much prefer them as optional choreo elements based on the skater's skillset and what fits the music (similarly, as the range of music types used in skating has expanded, that's another reason I'm glad spirals aren't mandatory, because it's hard to see where spirals would fit into a lot of them).
 

Moxiejan

Medalist
Joined
Jan 11, 2014
Country
United-States
Another element that I’ve missed is the long, deeply arched Ina Bauer. Thank you, Amber Glenn, for including one in your LP!
 

1111bm

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 31, 2016
Getting rid of required spirals was one of the best things the ISU did. So many programs from the 2006-10 cycle just stop dead while spirals get crammed in.

Not by any means to say that they can't be used well, but I much prefer them as optional choreo elements based on the skater's skillset and what fits the music (similarly, as the range of music types used in skating has expanded, that's another reason I'm glad spirals aren't mandatory, because it's hard to see where spirals would fit into a lot of them).

This, a 1000 times.

Also: I often see comments saying that the free skate isn't really free anymore and too restricting in its technical demands, you know, bad, evil IJS yada yada.
So why on earth would you wanna include a mandatory spiral sequence back into the long program, when the choreo sequence that we have nowadays allows for so much more creativity and variety.
(In theory that is... the reality is, that most still do a spiral or an Ina Bauer move and we sadly don't get to see much originality and imagination used)
 

jimini

On the Ice
Joined
Jan 9, 2014
Does anyone remember when the spiral sequence became a requirement in the ladies short/technical program? I feel like it was late 80s/early 90s, but I only started watching skating in the late 90s so not sure. For the free skate I know it only became a requirement with IJS.

Pre-IJS, spiral sequences were generally "blink and you miss them" spirals/kicks from the skaters who couldn't do them well, then with the 3-second requirement from IJS it was so painful to watch skaters who clearly hated doing them have to suffer through a sequence. There were so few skaters with sequences worth watching in the 20-odd years it was a requirement, so it makes sense they removed it.
 

Mishaminion

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 12, 2014
I'm not bothered that they are not required anymore.

Some spirals were just plain ugly!

I like that the current choreo sequence gives the skater more choices of moves to do if their spirals are weak.
 

gkelly

Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 26, 2003
The spiral sequence was added to the SP for the 1989 season.

I don't know all the thought processes behind taking them out for 2011. The stated reasons at that time were to allow more time for connecting moves in SP and more variety and creativity via choreo sequence in FS. whether that aim succeeded is up for debate.
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
?? Skaters still do them. Especially if a skater excels at them, they're gonna put them into their ChSq, so what's the problem?

I think the problem is that nowadays skaters just do perfunctory blah spiral segments instead of trying to make the element count. It doesn't count, so why bother?
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
I don't know all the thought processes behind taking them out for 2011. The stated reasons at that time were to allow more time for connecting moves in SP and more variety and creativity via choreo sequence in FS. whether that aim succeeded is up for debate.

I don't know this for a fact, but I always assumed that the reasoning was that any old snow-plow Sam can coast along on one leg. Under the Code of Points it just wasn't possible to give a lot of points to a good spiral as compared to a perfunctory one, so why pretend?
 

Sabrina

Record Breaker
Joined
Feb 13, 2013
I wold have liked to watch Julia Lipinskaya doing spirals...and from the time of spirals I liked Lucinda Ruh spirals, and everything else except jumps.
 
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