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DVD illuminates figure skating’s fine points
The DVD, which has been completed just in time for Winter Olympics viewers, is titled Simply Skating: A Lesson for the Spectator. The idea originated with Jack O’Neill, co-director of the UD Ice Skating Science Development Center, and features nationally known skaters who work and train at the University, including Olympian Kimmie Meissner. Created by the College of Health Sciences’ Division of Special Programs, the DVD can be viewed on a computer monitor or a television and is about an hour long. Madeline Lambrecht, director of the Division of Special Programs, said the video was designed to help viewers better understand the terminology of figure skating and the elements of the various jumps, spins and connecting steps that make up a routine. It’s especially timely, she said, because it explains in detail the new judging system that will be used at the Winter Games in February. “I think most of us who watch figure skating appreciate it for its beauty and symmetry, as well as the athletes’ skills, but do we really know what to look for—what constitutes a double axel, for example?” Lambrecht said. “And, now, even those people who have followed skating enough to know the terminology are probably going to need help to fully understand the new judging system.” In his introduction to the video, Philip Dulebohn, a former national pairs skating champion, said, “Watching figure skating today is completely different than watching it in the past.” Understanding more about the technical aspects of the sport, he said, “will help make a performance come alive.” Dulebohn, a member of the 2002 U.S. Olympic team who now is a national coach at UD, narrates the video. The featured athletes who demonstrate the various skills and elements of skating are Meissner, who placed second in the 2006 national championships and won a spot on the U.S. Olympic team that will compete in Turin in February, and Shaun Rogers, a member of the U.S. national and international teams. The DVD opens with remarks by Ron Ludington, a world and Olympic athlete and coach and director of the UD Ice Skating Science Development Center, followed by Dulebohn’s introduction. Remaining sections cover such topics as jumps and jump sequences and combinations, spins, connecting steps and how competitors are judged under the new scoring system. The segment on jumps, for example, explains the six types--axel, salchow, toe loop, loop, flip and lutz. Each jump is explained by Dulebohn, who describes such key elements as the number of revolutions the skater makes and whether he or she lands on the same or the opposite foot as the takeoff. The jumps are shown in regular time and again in slow motion. “All jumps look similar in the air and on landing, so it takes practice watching the takeoff” to distinguish one type from another, Dulebohn says in the video. Each segment also includes a “Did You Know?” section with some fun facts about the history of the various jumps, spins and other elements. Short routines performed by Rogers and Meissner are included near the end of the video, with narration explaining the highlights. “When you watch skating on TV, there’s always commentary, but those commentators just can’t go into the kind of detail that we do,” said Stacy Weile of the Division of Special Programs, the videographer, producer and editor of the DVD. “And, of course, someone watching this video can back it up at any time if they want to watch any part of it again.” The DVD also includes a short feature on a new, hinged skating boot that was developed at the University and now is manufactured and sold by Jackson Ultima, a Canadian sporting goods company. Designed by a research team led by Jim Richards, Distinguished Professor of Health, Nutrition and Exercise Sciences and associate dean of the College of Health Sciences, the boot is intended to allow skaters to point their toes as they land, thereby reducing the joint injuries that often occur with flat-footed landings. Simply Skating can be ordered for pre-Olympic delivery via the web site [www.udel.edu/DSP] or by calling (302) 831-4549. The Division of Special Programs previously created online and CD-ROM instructional programs for figure skating judges. The Winter Olympic Games open Feb. 10 in Turin, Italy. The figure skating competition begins with pairs events the next day and concludes Feb. 23 with the ladies finals. The sport has grown in popularity in recent years, with women's figure skating in Olympic years second only to the Super Bowl in TV ratings for sporting events. UD is the training site for skaters from around the United States and many other countries, who come to the University to work with coaches who have international reputations. The UD team sent 31 competitors to this year’s national championships in St. Louis. In addition to Meissner winning silver in the senior ladies competition, UD’s Christine Zukowski finished sixth and earned a berth on the U.S. Junior World Team. UD had two other competitors in the senior ladies field, with Megan Williams-Stewart finishing 10th and Megan Oster finishing 14th. Also named to the U.S. Junior World Team were Geoff Varner, who won bronze in the junior men’s competition, and the pair team of Bridget Namiotka and John Coughlin, who won silver in the junior pair event. UD’s Jordan Miller won silver in the junior men’s competition. In the senior pair event, UD’s Tiffany Scott and Rusty Fein finished fourth with a strong free skate program, and Melissa Bulanhagui won bronze in the junior ladies event. Article by Ann Manser |
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