The Judge's Perspective

[Nate]

Honestly, at the time, my coach might not have taught any/many preliminary or pre-juv skaters, either. Almost every skater at my rink was pre-pre or no test, and the higher-level ones mostly went out of town for lessons.

The two things I'd learned incorrectly were:
1. On the circle 8, I was doing a right outside edge, left outside edge, right inside edge, left inside edge, instead of the left inside after left outside. Now that I'm looking at the test book, it does say "thereby repeating the previously skated circle." I don't know if my coach misunderstood that, didn't read carefully, or what, but that was the move the other skater with the other coach also had wrong.
2. On the five step mohawk, I was doing a slip with one leg behind the other. Turns out the free leg isn't supposed to cross behind, it just comes beside the inside edge leg. That was a weird one for me to re-adjust.

Honestly, that's all on the coach and if I had to deal with the embarrassment of failing because they taught me the wrong thing (which is worse than failing cause I made mistakes) I'd have fired them at the test session.

But that's just me.

Your post sounds different when you replace "I'd learned" with "I was taught."

[Nate]

The truth is, after I passed the bronze MITF, I did not revisit any of the patterns at all. When the moves "time slot" comes up, all I did was silver MITF patterns. I did practice preliminary dances several times, but in no way comparable to the time I spend on "next up" dances.

The parameter stroking is good during warm-up.  Circle 8 as well as the back edge/extensions.

I don't bother doing Waltz 5 or Power 3s anymore.

But now that I think about it, it's a pretty fast test so it's not actually a bad idea to use the previous moves (all of them) as a warm-up when you get on the ice.

[blue111moon]

Are there no "code of ethics" in USFS or PSA regarding coaching ethics?  I think there are...

There is nothing in the PSA ethics exam that pertains to judges that I remember.  It's all about parent/skater or coach/coach relationships. 

Coaches have been dissing judges in various forms of media for decades.  I think the reason that this judges' blog is causing comment is because it is rare to have a judge speak out publicly about coaches.  Most of the judges I know are way more "professional" in their demeanor than the "Professional" coaches.

[sarahspins]

that was the move the other skater with the other coach also had wrong.

I don't really understand - the way you described it (outside outside, inside inside) is how it's supposed to be done - you alternate feet, the 3rd circle is on top of the 2nd circle as icedancer2 said.  I'd almost wonder if there wasn't something else weird going on with that one that made it not pass.

2. On the five step mohawk, I was doing a slip with one leg behind the other.

Kind of obvious but that's has never been considered a slip of any kind, that's a cross behind.  Any skater who has tested these should know the pattern.. and slips show up in other patterns as well.  Unless your coach hasn't at least tested through pre-juv, which would be unusual for a coach these days (many rinks require at least juvenile moves for private coaches), but even if they haven't tested it, I find it unusual that they hadn't been taught it correctly at some point in their skating career.  It's even taught through basic skills in Freeskate 6.. so even if there aren't skaters taking higher tests than pre-pre and prelim I am honestly shocked that your coach doesn't know it and can't teach it correctly.  It's really not a little mistake.

Honestly, that's all on the coach and if I had to deal with the embarrassment of failing because they taught me the wrong thing (which is worse than failing cause I made mistakes) I'd have fired them at the test session.

Your post sounds different when you replace "I'd learned" with "I was taught."

I agree 100% and these are issues I'd bring up with both your home club and the skating director at your rink.  I don't personally feel that it's coaching behavior that should be allowed to continue without bringing it to someone's attention.  If you were taught it correctly and changed it on your own or if you were taking these tests without a coach at all then that would be a different scenario, but to be taught these moves incorrectly and taken to a test session unprepared like that is completely unacceptable by a professional coach who you are paying to prepare you for a test - the fact that your coach didn't know these were incorrect and didn't seek out the advice of someone else if they were unsure about them is pretty questionable to me.

[taka]

I think it's because for the skaters and the parents, judges are a separate entity. They come along to competitions and tests and pass judgement and go away again. They're not really people in the same way that "the Government" isn't really people. Skaters see coaches and other skaters every day. The relationship difference means judges are an easier target for rants.

I think this is really sad. We are lucky enough to have 4 judges who are all very involved in our club so well known by most of the skaters who test (and their parents if applicable). 2 are our test organisers and all 4 are on the club committee too! The 2 who skate (both dance judges) are very friendly and spend quite a bit of time helping skaters understand a dance pattern or having trouble with a dance move during our club sessions because they want to encourage people to enjoy dance and enjoy skating whether they want to test or not!

[VAsk8r]

I don't really understand - the way you described it (outside outside, inside inside) is how it's supposed to be done - you alternate feet, the 3rd circle is on top of the 2nd circle as icedancer2 said.  I'd almost wonder if there wasn't something else weird going on with that one that made it not pass.

Oh, there were other things wrong with it, trust me. But I wasn't doing it as you describe it -- the correct way. I was doing my 3rd circle on top of the 1st, essentially, and my 4th on top of my 2nd. Or that's what I recall, anyway. It's been over a year, and I'm so used to the correct way now I don't really remember how I did it before.

I would probably be madder about those issues except those aren't the only reasons I failed. I failed because the test wasn't ready, plain and simple, and I was much wobblier than usual due to nerves.