What's in a Step Sequence?

More precisely, what’s in a level 4 step sequence? 

Let's take a look back at the ISU Handbook for Ice Dance Technical Panels 2013 for the criteria the Technical Panel uses in assigning a level to this element.

Types of difficult turns: 

Double Twizzle, Bracket, Rocker, Counter, Choctaw, Outside Mohawk “skated on distinct and recognizable edges and in accordance with the description in Rule 604”. 

The one-foot turns have been bolded. 

Extra Features (specifically for the Not Touching Step Sequence): 

Spread Eagle, Lunge, Shoot the Duck, Ina Bauer, Toe Steps, Dance Jump, or a combination of those, not exceeding one measure of music.

How are GOEs Determined for this Element?

Let's have a look at the criteria the Judges use in determining the appropriate GOE for this element.

We have selected an example of a step sequence performed by Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir that we feel is the strongest execution of this element. They have elected to do a midline sequence for their Not Touching Step Sequence. Although they received a perfect score for this element at Skate Canada (a level 4 and maximum GOEs from all but one judge, whose mark was discarded in the final score), we have selected their version of this element from the 2013 Grand Prix Final, for which they also received a level 4 and many GOEs of +3.

Here is the protocol from this event. 

Here is a video of the step sequence only:

Below we have broken the step sequence down into its component parts. We have provided gifs slowed to 40% of the original speed for each turn.

They begin the sequence with Virtue performing a left forward inside counter turn and Moir performing a right back inside counter. That means that Virtue is traveling clockwise on a left forward inside entry edge and turns her blade counter-clockwise to exit on a left back inside edge traveling in a counter-clockwise direction; Moir is traveling clockwise on a right back inside entry edge and turns his blade counter-clockwise to exit on a right forward inside edge traveling in a counter-clockwise direction.

They move into a transitional step (dance jump) which is followed by a left forward inside open choctaw for Virtue and a right forward inside choctaw for Moir. That means that Virtue has a left forward inside entry edge, then brings her right foot forward and exits on a right back outside edge; Moir has a right forward inside entry edge, then brings his left foot forward and exits on a left back outside edge.

They then move directly into a double twizzle, with Virtue turning clockwise and Moir turning counter-clockwise.

They use a transitional step (toe step) into a left forward inside counter for Virtue and a right forward inside counter for Moir. Virtue is traveling clockwise on a left forward inside edge and turns her blade counter-clockwise to exit on a left back inside edge traveling in a counter-clockwise direction. Moir is traveling counter-clockwise on a right forward inside edge and turns his blade clockwise to exit on a right back inside edge traveling in a clockwise direction.

They then use a transitional step in which they change direction and enter into a left forward outside swing Mohawk. They enter on a left forward outside edge, swing the free leg forward, and exit on a right back outside edge.

They each stay on the right foot and move from back inside to back outside edge before changing feet into a toe step turn which they exit on right back inside edges that curve clockwise. They then take one toe step into right forward inside brackets, the first turn in their one-foot turn section. They enter on right forward inside edges traveling counter-clockwise, turn their blades clockwise, and exit on right back outside edges traveling counter-clockwise.

They each stay on one foot and change over to right back inside edges (that travel clockwise). These right back inside edges are their entry edges for their next counter turn. They each turn their blade counter-clockwise to exit on right forward inside edges traveling counter-clockwise.

These right forward inside edges traveling counter-clockwise become their entry edges for their rocker turns. Each turns their blade counter-clockwise to exit on right back inside edges traveling clockwise.

They complete the one-foot turn section with double twizzles entered into on right back outside edges.

Some general notes on this step sequence:

They enter into it from dance steps. They have chosen a mirror pattern where they part and then converge in the first section and a matching pattern for the rest of the step sequence. Note the difficult transitional steps between the outside Mohawk and the third counter. Also note how they exit their final double twizzle on right forward inside edges and each stay on one foot to decelerate at the end, gently sliding into a stop, after which they immediately pick up their speed. The long, sweeping curves of their blades (entry and exit edge curves), the deep knee bends, the stability of their blades, the stability of their upper bodies as their knees are doing the work, and the effortless speed they maintain throughout this element make this element worthy of excellent GOEs.

You Be the Judge, er, Technical Specialist: Evaluating the Key Points of the Finnstep at ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2014

The purpose of this post is to give readers the opportunity to apply their knowledge of the key points of the Finnstep in reviewing the top three teams at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships 2014. We have provided videos of the Finnsteps in their entirety along with gifs of their key points. We have reiterated what you should be looking for in each of the key points and also identified common errors based on what we have seen this season. We encourage you to slow the videos down and pause them at moments of weight transfer to judge correct blade placement or at the commencement of rotation in the twizzles to determine if the correct number of rotations have been completed.

Ideally, we would have access to the footage used by the technical panel in evaluating these pattern dances, but we still think this exercise can be valuable in understanding what is happening in the key points.

Here is the protocol for this segment of the event.

And here are the videos of the Finnsteps:

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Finnstep Section I

Key Point 1
Lady & Man Steps 1 & 4 (XB-RF, XB-LF) 
and Lady Step 12 (LFO Tw1½)

You are looking for each partner to cross the right foot behind the left (below the knee) for the first step and then the left foot behind the right (again below the knee) for the fourth step. Soon after (step 12) the female partner enters into 1.5 twizzles from a left forward outside entry edge.
Mistakes on this key point usually occur on step 12, the lady’s twizzle of 1.5 rotations entered into on a left forward outside edge. This twizzle has to be performed very quickly according to the timing rules of this pattern and thus it is easy to lose balance on this step.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Key Point 2
Lady Steps 20-21
(XB-LBO, XF-RBI/RBI Tw1½/RFO)

You are looking for the female partner to cross her left foot behind her right foot (below the knee) on a back outside edge and then cross her right foot in front of her left foot (also below the knee) on a back inside edge. Errors on this key point most commonly occur on the next part where the female partner twizzles 1.5 rotations entering on that same right forward inside edge and exiting on a right forward outside edge. It is usually the exit edge not being a clear outside edge that causes the key point to be missed and thus the level to be reduced.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Key Point 3
Man Steps 20-21
(XB-LFI, RFO-Sw3/RBI Tw1/RBI)

You are looking for the male partner to cross his left foot behind his right on a forward inside edge and then cross his right foot in front of his left and then enter into a swing three turn  on a forward outside edge, exiting this turn on a right back inside edge. This edge becomes the entry edge for the single twizzle that follows, and the male partner exits this twizzle on the same right back inside edge. Errors on this key point most often occur due to the man not showing a clear inside edge on the cross step (he either hits a flat or shows an outside edge) or on the exit of the twizzle.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Finnstep Section II

Key Point 1
Lady Steps 32 & 33 (LFO Sw-ClCho, 
RBI/RBO/RBO Tw1½/RFI slide into stop)


You are looking for the female partner to move forward on her left foot on an outside edge and swing her right leg forward and step onto a right back inside edge (swing closed choctaw on left forward outside edge). The female partner then changes to a right back outside edge which is the entry edge for the 1.5 twizzle. She exits this twizzle on a right forward inside edge and slides to a halt on this edge. Errors on this key point are likely to occur on the exit edge of the swing closed choctaw: sometimes the skater fails to step down on a clear inside edge on the exit. An error may also occur on the twizzle, with the skater not showing continuous rotation.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Key Point 2
Man Steps 32 to 33c (LFO Sw-ClCho, RBI 
OpMo, LFI, RFI/RFI Tw1/RFI slide into 
stop)

You are looking for the male partner to move forward on his left foot on an outside edge and swing his right leg forward and step onto a right back inside edge (swing closed choctaw on left forward outside edge). The male partner then performs an open mohawk on this same right back inside edge, bringing the left foot in front of his right and placing that left foot on a forward inside edge. He then steps onto his right forward inside edge and performs a single twizzle, exiting on a right forward inside edge and sliding to a halt on this edge. Errors on this key point are likely to occur on the exit edge of the swing closed choctaw: sometimes the skater fails to step down on a clear inside edge on the exit. An error may also occur on the twizzle, with the skater not showing continuous rotation.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Key Point 3
Lady & Man Steps 64 & 65 (LFI XBClCho, RBO3/RFI Tw1½)

Both partners use  left forward inside entry edges and bring their right legs behind their left and cross the right foot behind the left foot on a back outside edge (LFI XBClCho). On this same right back outside edge they each perform a three turn with the free leg extended. They then bring the free leg in for the twizzle of 1.5 rotations. Errors on this step commonly occur on the weight transfer in the choctaw, with one or both partners not placing the right foot on a clear outside edge.

Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier:

Madison Hubbell/Zachary Donohue:

Alexandra Aldridge/Daniel Eaton:

Based on these videos and gifs, how would you assess the key points of the top three teams at the 2014 ISU Four Continents Championships? Let us know in the comments section!

More on Finnstep Key Points: A Look Back at the Pattern Dances of the 2014 European Championships

In this entry we will continue to familiarize you with the Finnstep by reviewing key points as performed in the Short Dance of the European Figure Skating Championships 2014. We have reiterated what you should be looking for in each of the key points and also identified common errors based on what we have seen this season. In addition to this, we have created gifs of the key points of the top three teams in the Short Dance and identified where teams missed key points or where they could have missed them. The purpose of this exercise is to show viewers how to identify key points and understand how the criteria for each key point is met. This includes identifying times when an edge may not be very clear thus resulting in different technical panels coming to different conclusions. We are discussing these key points based on what we see and we acknowledge that we do not have access to the same footage the technical panel reviews. That means that we do not always have the desired angle for each key point or consistency in the angles from which each key point is shown (the angle sometimes differs from team to team) and the video quality is not always great, thus, we do not make our claims with absolute certainty, but we have tried to explain the key points and errors based on the footage we have available to us, which we believe is sufficient to warrant a discussion. We have also included stills to show exact moments but we recommend viewing these alongside the key points in motion to get an idea of how the blade, ankle, and leg will look when on a flat, an inside edge, and an outside edge. In this post we are just covering what the technical panel looks for in assessing key points.

Here is the protocol.

And here are the short dances:

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Coomes/Buckland:

Finnstep Section I

*Key Point 1
Lady & Man Steps 1 & 4 (XB-RF, XB-LF) 
and Lady Step 12 (LFO Tw1½)

You are looking for each partner to cross the right foot behind the left (below the knee) for the first step and then the left foot behind the right (again below the knee) for the fourth step. Soon after (step 12) the female partner enters into 1.5 twizzles from a left forward outside entry edge.
Mistakes on this key point usually occur on step 12, the lady’s twizzle of 1.5 rotations entered into on a left forward outside edge. This twizzle has to be performed very quickly according to the timing rules of this pattern and thus it is easy to lose balance on this step.

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Coomes/Buckland:

Coomes/Buckland did not receive credit for this key point. The problem appears to occur on step 12, the lady’s LFO 1.5 twizzle (second gif). The camera cuts away during this step making it difficult to count rotation, so we recommend looking at the starting position of the blade on the left foot (where the blade is when it begins the rotation) and thinking of where it must end up to complete 1.5 turns. We have a screen capture of the moment we believe Coomes began her rotation and it appears that her blade is oriented a little bit left or counter-clockwise of where it should be at the start of the twizzle and thus the twizzle was a bit short of the 1.5 rotations. For comparison’s sake, we have also included screen caps of Cappellini’s and Ilinykh’s respective start positions for their twizzles, for which they received credit. Unfortunately the camera angle does not allow us to see the position of the blade at the conclusion of the step so we can only judge based on the position of the blade at the commencement of rotation and the position of the body at the completion of rotation.

Coomes/Buckland:

 Cappellini/Lanotte:

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Key Point 2
Lady Steps 20-21
(XB-LBO, XF-RBI/RBI Tw1½/RFO)

You are looking for the female partner to cross her left foot behind her right foot (below the knee) on a back outside edge and then cross her right foot in front of her left foot (also below the knee) on a back inside edge. Errors on this key point most commonly occur on the next part where the female partner twizzles 1.5 rotations entering on that same right forward inside edge and exiting on a right forward outside edge. It is usually the exit edge not being a clear outside edge that causes the key point to be missed and thus the level to be reduced.

All three teams received credit for this key point.

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Coomes/Buckland:

Key Point 3
Man Steps 20-21
(XB-LFI, RFO-Sw3/RBI Tw1/RBI)

You are looking for the male partner to cross his left foot behind his right on a forward inside edge and then cross his right foot in front of his left and then enter into a swing three turn  on a forward outside edge, exiting this turn on a right back inside edge. This edge becomes the entry edge for the single twizzle that follows, and the male partner exits this twizzle on the same right back inside edge. Errors on this key point most often occur due to the man not showing a clear inside edge on the cross step (he either hits a flat or shows an outside edge) or on the exit of the twizzle.

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Cappellini/Lanotte did not receive credit for this key point due to a timing issue. Lanotte is late entering into his twizzle and thus does not hold this step for the correct number of beats.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Coomes/Buckland:

Coomes/Buckland did not receive credit for this key point. Buckland’s rotation in the twizzle is not continuous: he appears to do two three turns rather than a clean twizzle. 

Finnstep Section II

Key Point 1
Lady Steps 32 & 33 (LFO Sw-ClCho, 
RBI/RBO/RBO Tw1½/RFI slide into stop)


You are looking for the female partner to move forward on her left foot on an outside edge and swing her right leg forward and step onto a right back inside edge (swing closed choctaw on left forward outside edge). The female partner then changes to a right back outside edge which is the entry edge for the 1.5 twizzle. She exits this twizzle on a right forward inside edge and slides to a halt on this edge. Errors on this key point are likely to occur on the exit edge of the swing closed choctaw: sometimes the skater fails to step down on a clear inside edge on the exit. An error may also occur on the twizzle, with the skater not showing continuous rotation.

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Coomes/Buckland:

Key Point 2
Man Steps 32 to 33c (LFO Sw-ClCho, RBI 
OpMo, LFI, RFI/RFI Tw1/RFI slide into 
stop)

You are looking for the male partner to move forward on his left foot on an outside edge and swing his right leg forward and step onto a right back inside edge (swing closed choctaw on left forward outside edge). The male partner then performs an open mohawk on this same right back inside edge, bringing the left foot in front of his right and placing that left foot on a forward inside edge. He then steps onto his right forward inside edge and performs a single twizzle, exiting on a right forward inside edge and sliding to a halt on this edge. Errors on this key point are likely to occur on the exit edge of the swing closed choctaw: sometimes the skater fails to step down on a clear inside edge on the exit. An error may also occur on the twizzle, with the skater not showing continuous rotation.

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Cappellini/Lanotte did not receive credit for this key point due to a timing issue. Lanotte is late entering into his twizzle and thus does not hold this step for the correct number of beats.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Coomes/Buckland:

Key Point 3
Lady & Man Steps 64 & 65 (LFI XBClCho, RBO3/RFI Tw1½)

Both partners use  left forward inside entry edges and bring their right legs behind their left and cross the right foot behind the left foot on a back outside edge (LFI XBClCho). On this same right back outside edge they each perform a three turn with the free leg extended. They then bring the free leg in for the twizzle of 1.5 rotations. Errors on this step commonly occur on the weight transfer in the choctaw, with one or both partners not placing the right foot on a clear outside edge.

Cappellini/Lanotte:

Cappellini/Lanotte received credit for this key point, but it may have been a close call. Ideally we would like to view a closer shot of this step, but from the orientation of her leg and boot, it appears Cappellini is on a bit of a flat at the moment of the weight transfer, captured in this picture. Another technical panel may not have given them credit for this key point.

Ilinykh/Katsalapov:

Ilinykh/Katsalapov did not receive credit for this key point. The three turn and 1.5 twizzle appear to have been clean, so the mistake was likely on the choctaw portion of this key point. Unfortunately Ilinykh’s boot and blade are somewhat obscured by her free foot in this picture, but judging from the orientation of her leg and what we can see of her boot, she likely was not on a clear outside edge.

Coomes/Buckland:

Coomes/Buckland received credit for this key point. Unfortunately we do not have an ideal angle to view their blades, but from what we can see, their thighs and legs are oriented in a way that suggests they were on outside edges.

How did you feel about the calls for the Finnstep at this event? Let us know in the comments section!