This is about figure skating?

Question

what are some tips to make axels easier to learn and land? Also in competitions , how can you earn extra points and make the judges love me?

Answer 1

I've often wondered why skaters (and coaches) don't think "out of the box" when it comes to mastering jumps and then I ran across this article:

http://www.articlesbase.com/sports-and-f...

Answer 2

axels just take time. my single axel took me a year to land and my double took me 3.

as for extra points from the judges i like to wink at them as a joke, it always makes one of them laugh because they are old! haha but seriously it works. also just making dramatic eyecontact works too.

Answer 3

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Answer 4

if you are a good skater the judges will mark you well. there arn't really any tips on getting "extra points" just skate really well. You can't make the judges love you, it's impossible to MAKE someone love you, you can only do that when you get to know someone that they end up loving you for who you are and seeing as you don't spend time with the judges they won't love you so stop trying to cut corners, skating is a hard sport if you can't deal with that then take up ice dance.

Answer 5

Being that axels and I just recently became friends again, I could probably give you all sorts of tips...BUT I think what helped the most was to make sure you're square when you take off (push back, hit the 'neutral' position, take off square and not twisted) and get your knee up.  Let your momentum work for you rather than throwing yourself into it.  Do lots of waltz jumps where you jump getting your knee up (think of up to your chest -- it won't happen, but it's a good visual) and then do a strong check out.

As for buttering up the judges, what has worked best for me -- and works a lot -- is I make eye contact with them when I can.  Sometimes I think I'm more of a ham than anything, but if you have a stop in your program, aim it in front of the judges.  Give them a big smile or an expression that matches the mood of your program.  In "real skater" competition (verusus lala land world competition which most of us will never see!) there many times is a lack of presentation.  Most of us are so worried about the elements that the presentation gets sacrificed.  Remember, not only do you have to make your elements look good, but make it entertaining for the people watching.  You're on stage -- make people want to watch you.  Exaggerate your motions so even the littlest mouse in the rink can see you from the other end of the bleachers.  Listen to your music and FEEL it.  Show the judges that you enjoy your music.  Convince them that you love to skate.  Do some research on what you're skating to and use it to "get into character."  If you're skating to music from, for example, Phantom of the Opera, you're not going to have a big silly smile plastered across your face because most of the music from the opera is dramatic and meloncholy.  If you're skating to Mary Poppins or something upbeat, get out the big silly smile and "cheese" it up.  If you watch lower level competitions, it's usually the little kid who is a little showboat on the ice who gets higher up on the podium.  There is that added acting element to skating that some people either have or they just don't.  If you can play into that and do a good job, I think the judges notice that and it sets you apart from all the other skaters doing the same jumps and spins as you.

Good luck and go get 'em.

Answer 6

Axels can take forever for many skaters. Working them a lot on the floor helps a lot.

I can't say judges are always impartial, skating is still a popularity contest in competitions sometimes. Perhaps since I've never skated under the Cop system and/or in the USFSA I can't see what fair socring really is like. I was always downgraded but that's because the judges hated me for idiotic reasons.

However, with the Cop system, as a skater, you MUST learn how to use the system in your favor. Don't wait for mommy coach to teach you these things because American skating coaches in general are still in denial on even learning the system themselves.

Now, you NEED to be good at steps. If you thought brackets, counters, rockers, chocktaws and twizzles are worthless, you're going to crash under the CoP system. If you can get a coach that still knows compulsory figures or at least an ice dancer, ask them to teach you how to master steps because you'll need to be really good at them to gain real points. A judge will give a skater more points in Transitions if they use chocktaws between figures than just a gazillion crossovers and three turns.

You can use higher level Twizzles to your advantage to boost points. Normal coaches can't teach them though. I learned how to do them from an Ice Dancer. Hint Hint, there's 8 ways to do Level 1 Twizzles.

ANother thing, if you want to become good with CoP, you need to master harder spin combos. To stand out, you can't just do an ordinary Camel-Sit-Sit 5 revs each position, lower levels are very competitive and you'll need something else to stand out in the crowd. Learning reverse change of foot spins is legal in lower levels and will gain you a +1 in Spinning Level difficulty. Learn how to do spins left-handed, it's another +1 Level upper.

Look for the ISU PDF files on CoP level uppers. A LONG and boring read, but it could give you crude info on mainly spinning pointer-uppers your coach probably doesn't know even exists. When you're a good intermediate skater, you should start working on reversing the edge in spins, it's another +1 Level up.

Answer 7

do you have a coach, ask him