Ice Skating Figures: Double Three Turns (Joan Orvis)

Joan Orvis continues her discussion of school figures by covering double three turns.  Keeping the lean into the circle is critical and Joan explains the most common areas where the skater loses alignment and proper body lean.  After the first turn and in preparation for the second turn, Joan wants her skaters to move the head, shoulders and free foot in that order.  She discusses the concept of a “sub-curve” or wobble on the edge that is so common as skaters first learn their turns.

Joan demonstrates the order and proper body alignment and blade usages for all 4 variations of double threes (right forward outside and inside, left forward outside and inside).  For the forward turn the skater should rock to the front of the blade and for the back turns the skates should feel a “little bit of a rock” to the back of the blade.

Joan uses figures to help her skaters thoroughly understand concepts such as a flat or a change of edge.  She says that skaters don’t understand these concepts so you have to actually show them.  Joan goes over this in details in this video.  Once they understand what’s actually happening, Joan says that they can “start feeling their feet.”  And Joan, like so many coaches today, feels that the current generation of skaters can’t feel their feet, because they haven’t had to.

Joan comments that many of the moves in the field patterns are skated so poorly today because skaters have never even looked down at their feet and they really don’t understand.  She uses the counter as an example.

Joan also has her skaters just stand in place and look down at their skates so they get a better understanding of inside and outside edges and flats.  It’s a great warm up for the ankles to truly get proper edge control (and it builds proprioception!).  Joan makes a great comment at the end that edges “don’t just happen.”
 

Please leave a comment below for Joan or for other members.

Add to “My Favorites” (Beta testing)