any experience of virtual test/competition?

[iceskating21]

Did anyone have experience of virtual test/competition? I mean, real formal competition/test, instead of local clubs' events for fun.

I can imagine how hard it is for judges to see the subtle intricacies of skating from videos. For a test, how can they see all details clearly? The photographer follows the skater? For a competition, how the video was taken will definitely affect the impression a lot, like what angle the camera is from, how clearly, how far or close, and etc. So for a virtual competition, should parents hire a professional photographer to video? And how can you make your skater the only one in the rink when videotaping?

Thanks for any experience of virtual events!

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

Did anyone have experience of virtual test/competition? I mean, real formal competition/test, instead of local clubs' events for fun.

I can imagine how hard it is for judges to see the subtle intricacies of skating from videos. For a test, how can they see all details clearly? The photographer follows the skater? For a competition, how the video was taken will definitely affect the impression a lot, like what angle the camera is from, how clearly, how far or close, and etc. So for a virtual competition, should parents hire a professional photographer to video? And how can you make your skater the only one in the rink when videotaping?

Thanks for any experience of virtual events!

Yes as a pro with skaters.
And rent private ice if your rink isn't putting aside slots for this kind of thing.

 

[chiyung]

For the USFS solo ice dance competition done virtually in the fall of 2020, there were specific instructions provided to the skaters and coaches on how to do the videos. There are no limits on how many times that skaters can record their competition program before the due date, so they would just submit their best video of it. For most skaters, it was sufficient to do the videoing of the program during a regular freestyle session at a time that’s less crowded. The skaters I know for the solo dance virtual competition used a coach to video it. There were other skaters on the freestyle ice then, and that was okay. The judges ignored the other skaters in the video because it was obvious who was skating the competition program. The other skaters on the ice pretty much moved out of the way for the skater who was skating to the overhead music. The judges can see the details sufficiently with an iPhone/iPad recording.

About a month after the due date (in late fall 2020), the skaters and coaches received from USFS the protocol sheets (technical controller and judges provided IJS scores) of the program and critique on each element and general feedback.

From USFS on the “Video Requirements and Recommendations”
• Each video should be titled with Skater First and Last Name, Level Event.
• Video must be high or recognizable resolution. The technical panel will determine any videos that are deemed “unreviewable”.
• Videos should be uploaded to the skater’s video sharing platform of choice (Youtube, Google Drive, Vimeo, Dropbox, etc). Skaters will provide a link to the video when submitting their registration; video sharing settings should be set to allow anyone with the link to view.
• Skaters should wear their competition attire or black. Skaters do not need to purchase new skating dresses or attire; however, this is a video that will be presented to a panel of officials and should be viewed as more formal than simply skating a program in practice.
• Video submissions will not contain any editing, splicing and must be recorded from one angle. Any videos that are deemed edited will be automatically disqualified. You will be given one chance to resubmit a video, if found to be edited on the second submission the skater will be disqualified and no refunds given.
• The skater will be required to confirm that their program has not been edited in any way on the submission form.
• We recommend that the person videoing the program be standing as close as possible to the red line and slightly elevated (not on the ice). We understand some rinks have limitations as to who is allowed in the rink and this may not be achievable. Please do the best you can given the rules and restrictions in place at your individual rink.
• Please record in landscape mode (not vertical).
• You will not be judged or scored based on the quality or location of video.
• Videos can be recorded with a computer, tablet, phone, or camera.
• Do your best to make sure the music is loud enough for the officials to hear when they replay the videos during the judging process. We recommend you turn up the music when you record the program being skated on the ice.
• Make sure the skater's full body is always visible during their skating performance, including their skates & blades.

 

[iceskating21]

For the USFS solo ice dance competition done virtually in the fall of 2020, there were specific instructions provided to the skaters and coaches on how to do the videos. There are no limits on how many times that skaters can record their competition program before the due date, so they would just submit their best video of it. For most skaters, it was sufficient to do the videoing of the program during a regular freestyle session at a time that’s less crowded. The skaters I know for the solo dance virtual competition used a coach to video it. There were other skaters on the freestyle ice then, and that was okay. The judges ignored the other skaters in the video because it was obvious who was skating the competition program. The other skaters on the ice pretty much moved out of the way for the skater who was skating to the overhead music. The judges can see the details sufficiently with an iPhone/iPad recording.

About a month after the due date (in late fall 2020), the skaters and coaches received from USFS the protocol sheets (technical controller and judges provided IJS scores) of the program and critique on each element and general feedback.

From USFS on the “Video Requirements and Recommendations”
• Each video should be titled with Skater First and Last Name, Level Event.
• Video must be high or recognizable resolution. The technical panel will determine any videos that are deemed “unreviewable”.
• Videos should be uploaded to the skater’s video sharing platform of choice (Youtube, Google Drive, Vimeo, Dropbox, etc). Skaters will provide a link to the video when submitting their registration; video sharing settings should be set to allow anyone with the link to view.
• Skaters should wear their competition attire or black. Skaters do not need to purchase new skating dresses or attire; however, this is a video that will be presented to a panel of officials and should be viewed as more formal than simply skating a program in practice.
• Video submissions will not contain any editing, splicing and must be recorded from one angle. Any videos that are deemed edited will be automatically disqualified. You will be given one chance to resubmit a video, if found to be edited on the second submission the skater will be disqualified and no refunds given.
• The skater will be required to confirm that their program has not been edited in any way on the submission form.
• We recommend that the person videoing the program be standing as close as possible to the red line and slightly elevated (not on the ice). We understand some rinks have limitations as to who is allowed in the rink and this may not be achievable. Please do the best you can given the rules and restrictions in place at your individual rink.
• Please record in landscape mode (not vertical).
• You will not be judged or scored based on the quality or location of video.
• Videos can be recorded with a computer, tablet, phone, or camera.
• Do your best to make sure the music is loud enough for the officials to hear when they replay the videos during the judging process. We recommend you turn up the music when you record the program being skated on the ice.
• Make sure the skater's full body is always visible during their skating performance, including their skates & blades.

Thank you for the great details! It seems more practical and less tricky than I expected. How did the skater you mentioned feel about the results? more stressed or relaxed experience?

 

[chiyung]

Thank you for the great details! It seems more practical and less tricky than I expected. How did the skater you mentioned feel about the results? more stressed or relaxed experience?

The rules for this virtual competition appear reasonable and practical to me. I think the virtual competition for USFS solo ice dance was less stressful than the in-person ones. The skaters I know have recorded their program twice, and submitted the better one. Each skater & coach only received their own skater's IJS score, protocol, and critique via email. The virtual scores are probably comparable to what could've been given for in-person competitions, but were maybe lower than what the skaters were hoping for. The written critiques are constructive so the skaters know what to work on.

The results for USFS solo ice dance virtual competition in the fall of 2020 are probably less useful than in-person competitions because you can't see how the other skaters performed. The virtual competition results were by rank order only (no score provided), and skaters had to go online to see that. https://www.instagram.com/u.s.solodance/. Nonetheless, the skaters I know are glad they had a virtual competition in the fall of 2020 after the Solo Dance series was cancelled in spring of 2020.

 

[iceskating21]

The results for USFS solo ice dance virtual competition in the fall of 2020 are probably less useful than in-person competitions because you can't see how the other skaters performed.

When you say it's "less useful", is it only because you can't watch others' performance so you didn't get enough experience as real one? Or is it because the skating field regards virtual ones as lower level? Just curious.

 

[chiyung]

When you say it's "less useful", is it only because you can't watch others' performance so you didn't get enough experience as real one? Or is it because the skating field regards virtual ones as lower level? Just curious.

The former. The skaters can’t see the other performances for the solo dance virtual event. USFS never indicated they would post them, and the skaters understood that.

I think the point of the virtual solo dance event in the fall of 2020 was to give a chance to skaters, who have practiced hard all season for competition, to perform, but couldn't because all the in-person competitions in the national solo dance series were canceled. Overall, the experience was worth it because it costed like only $25 to register for the virtual event (included a t-shirt mailed to each skater), and skaters received constructive feedback from the judges and TC.