Hubbell Donahue Spin Levels?

[francism]

Can someone please explain how Hubbell Donahue received an Sp2 at Nationals but got a Sp4 at Grand Prix Finals? I watched the clips of the spins and they look exactly the same. I'm not a skater, so any explanation would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Francis

 

[BravesSkateFan]

OKay, I'm not a skater, and I am not very good with the technical side of skating but I looked at the rules for levels and went back and looked at the spin from yesterday. So you have to have a certain number of difficult variations to get level 4. On the camel it looks like Zach's free leg was not parallel to the ice, but less than 90 and I believe they also got them for a lesser arch in Maddie's back on the upright spin. The variations are very slight so its hard to tell.

Again I'm nowhere near an expert so hopefully someone with more knowledge can confirm or deny what I've concluded. Below is the link to the info I used (pg 8-11)

http://www.isu.org/communications/581-isu-communication-2086/file

 

[draqq]

Honestly, it can be very random as to whether their spin is counted as a Level 4 or not. They have pretty much performed the same exact spin the entire season and have gotten all different kinds of levels for it (from 2 to 4). I think when it comes down to it, the technical panel may not consider the entry or the exit of the spin "difficult". I would consider it difficult to start a spin from no speed (for Hubbell) and to have an interesting exit with that three-turn hold, but that might not be considered "difficult" either. Their last spin position may not count as being difficult either - Hubbell may be in a layback-like position but it may not count as difficult.

Either way, I think H&D need to rework that spin so that the levels are far more clearer as being difficult, whether if that means changing the entry or going back to a spin from a prior program.

 

[TontoK]

Honestly, it can be very random as to whether their spin is counted as a Level 4 or not. They have pretty much performed the same exact spin the entire season and have gotten all different kinds of levels for it (from 2 to 4). I think when it comes down to it, the technical panel may not consider the entry or the exit of the spin "difficult". I would consider it difficult to start a spin from no speed (for Hubbell) and to have an interesting exit with that three-turn hold, but that might not be considered "difficult" either. Their last spin position may not count as being difficult either - Hubbell may be in a layback-like position but it may not count as difficult.

Either way, I think H&D need to rework that spin so that the levels are far more clearer as being difficult, whether if that means changing the entry or going back to a spin from a prior program.

Reworking the spin or recycling a sure-fire L4 seems a smart move.

That spin could have cost them the title here.