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Judging the Inline Skater
by Jeff Higgins

For you judges out there, or critics who want to compare one
skater to another, here's what to look and listen for when watching
the inline dance skater. For you inline skaters who think they can
continue to get away with sloppy skating, your days are numbered.

Double take-offs or Clunking - Listen for thumping on the floor as
the skater fails to set the direction of the stroke properly for the
intended travel. When the skate is set down incorrectly, the wheels
resist the angle of attack, causing the skate to hop up into the air,
and "clunk" as the full weight of the skater is applied. You may not
hear it, but the skater will know when it happens. It's a like
setting a bowling ball down too hard, causing it to bounce once
before it finds the right direction.

Patterns full of angles instead of lobes - Even if a baseline is
adhered to, watch for angled take-offs, and noticeable struggling to
maintain speed and flow. You'll notice that the pattern appears to
be a series of angled flats instead of circular lobes. Usually the
pattern will seem small for the amount of effort. This is a fairly
severe error and indicates a need to look in the direction of
intended travel and practice doing true edges by following (or
dancing with) quads skaters. (Asking them to practice on a figure
circle is a futile effort, though.)

Pedaling - Ex-Ice skaters will pedal quite a bit more that ex-Quad
skaters. Pedaling is picking up the heel of the free leg before
setting is back down for the next stroke…like pedaling a bicycle.
This is because of fear of the toe-pick catching the ice, causing
unexpected falls. It is also a result of laziness or ignorance.
(i.e. poor coaching). Less pedaling = higher score, all else being
equal.

Progressing - The skater will walk, or step-ahead, instead of
stroking from the parallel-and position. This is the result of
leaning too far forward. To keep from falling, the skater must step
ahead instead of stroking. The fix for this is pushing from the
heel, and skating over the center of the skate instead of the front
wheel. Judges should reward the skater who appears centered over the
skate.

Although evidence of the past is not always indicative of the future,
take a look an the wheels of the skate up close, if you notice uneven
wearing left to right and uneven wearing among wheels, (especially on
the front wheel), the skater has been skating incorrectly for quite
some time. Point this out to coaches if there is any argument
concerning leaning forward and thus progressing. On today's indoor
roll-on floors (even concrete) one set of wheels can last a year
without significant uneven wear.

Two-footed skating - One-foot lobe transitions are extremely
difficult to perform on inlines…much more difficult than on quads.
Give them some slack. Skaters may choose to cheat by sliding the
free-leg on the floor during the swing to stabilize and set the new
edge. This is not too different then the `scuffing' on the
Counter/Three-turn on the International Iceland Tango.

Flats - On inlines, it is very difficult to set the direction of a
new edge perfectly every time. Incorrectly set edges
cause "clunking", flats and scalloped edges. The accomplished skater
will be able to set more edges correctly. You should reward this
effort, because there is no `subtle' recovery from a poorly set edge,
as with quads or ice.

Twisting - Twisting (or any exaggerated torso movement) is employed
by the skater as a quick fix to correct other problems such as
incorrect starting position of the torso and incorrect amount of
shoulder rotation begun during take-offs. This takes special
concentration during each step and should be rewarded. Other causes
for twisting are poor take-offs, incorrect angle of lean, and poor
posture baseline (double leans).

Slipping/noisy edges/chirping take-offs - Inline skate are noted for
being very quiet, but occasionally you'll hear squeaking as the
wheels slip on the floor surface. Almost always it is a result of
not putting the weight over the center of the skate. If the weight
is mainly over the front wheel, it will slip more easily than if the
weight is evenly distributed over all wheels. There should be no
sounds from the wheels at all, except a low rumble as they roll over
uneven boards on the floor.

Turns - As a general rule, Mohawks are harder to do on inlines; and
three turns are easier on inlines. Judges should reward accordingly.

These are all I can think of, for now. Questions, comments???

Jeff Higgins <jhiggins@...>

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