User Guide 2007_01.pub
Contents
1. SIL AdL IdsoJ TASIS gsds eg Idsooo cds J oje ZI dST SOS THOM OS Sc OI LC SIL AL eC SIs zisds Idsooo Ids dso JE Urari dST v0Ad9 9 9C OILC SIL AL eC SIs zysds Idsooo rds q ds JE o c 2 dS I PONHO TIST Ol LC SIL AdL eC SIs zisds Idsooo rds q ds JE o c 2Z1 dST FOMBN 08 6C 06 67 SIL AL eg SIs sds Idsooo cds dso JE O Z dST rovsn OCNV PHA 40J Areuruns wA Saving and Printing Graphs The graphs generated by the Program Planner can be saved and or printed At the top of each graph there is a menu bar with a series of icons One of these looks like a small blue printer Clicking on this icon brings up the many options for the graph control Under the System tab you may select printer options and print the graph You may also select export options and write the graph to a file You can then e mail the file to grandma and show her how fine your double Axel is working this week Graph Control x Fonts Markers Trends Overlay Error Bar Background 2D Galley 3D Gallery Style Data Titles Axis 3D Legend Labels System About Printing Export Image Border r Format Mono WMF BMP JPEG C Color Target Landscape Clipboard Browse I Full page f File JE CAJ_NV draw wM Ein Copy Esport Map File Graph Template Format Client v Save Da2. e Conformity to pattern and stop requirements for original dance Transitions include e Half jumps and other unlisted jumps e Spins and spinning movements of less than 3 rotations e Step sequence fragments e Isolated moves such as spread eagles spirals and Bauers etc e Other steps and transition movements between elements e Arm leg and body movements Crossovers and stroking are not transitions Although not directly called out in the criteria the quantity of transitions is also taken into account in scoring Transitions Each element should have one transition after the element and one transition before the next element In effect that means there should be two transitions between each of the elements The ideal however is that one complete continuous set of transition movements should connect each element with the subsequent element Transitions should show variety through the program Transitions should be seamless between the elements Elements that are telegraphed adversely affects the mark for Transitions One element may immediately follow another In such cases each element is the transition for the other and it should be considered that the need for for transitions between the elements has been met The difficulty of the transition in this case should be based on the actual difficulty of executing the second element immediately after the first Timing This Program Component replaces Transitions in Compulsory
3. Coverage None C Weak C Med Good C Complete None C Weak C Med Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Perfect Mastery of One Foot Skating Projection Phasing and Form G None C Weak C Med C Good C Compete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Perfect Originality G None C Lite C Some C Mosty C Total Transitions 0 0 PWN ll s Variety G Singes Pais CCD Cop C FD G None C Little C Med C Good C Complete intarpretation K Difficulty Effortless Movement This tool allows the userto ESTIMATE where the skater s command of the Program Component criteria places them on a 10 0 scale Intricacy Expression of Music e None C Little C Med C Good C Complete fe None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete The tool ASSUMES each ofthe criteria is marked on G None C Simple C Med Good C Complete B None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete an absolute scale and is given equal weightin the Quality Subtle Use of Music YDS TET None C Poor Ced C Good C Perfect Nene C Weak C Med C Good C Complete 9 P This tool is only intended as a guide and as a way of tracking progress in the Program Components Judges do not assign PC marks in this systematic way For each Program Component all its criteria are listed Since the Compo nents and their criteria vary slightly from event to event an event must be selected using the option buttons labeled in red Select either Singles Pairs or on
4. elements have been defined for Spins Sequences Lifts and Death Spirals e Moves in the Field and custom Compulsory Moves have been added e A reduced number of Program Component marks are used for some divisions These special rules are subject to change in the future as the new judging system develops Level Calculator The Level Calculator is used to determine the difficulty level of an element based on a description of the element Many types of skating elements are assigned levels of difficulty These include spins sequences lifts death spirals and twizzles The level of difficulty of an element is determined by the number of difficulty factors features in ISU terminology included in the element The nature of these difficulty factors and the number of difficulty factors available to Limitations to the Level Calculator Skating has never been known for the clarity of its rules and the ISU level descriptions continue with that tradition The Level Calculator is a literal implementation of the ISU descriptions We have made every effort to insure the Level Calculator conforms to the ISU rules but due to ambiguities in the rules potential changing interpretations etc we cannot guarantee the levels indicated by the Level Calculator will be 100 correct We believe the Level Calculator will return the correct level nearly all the time and for some simple classes of elements all of the time We will make e
5. have the maximum Total Base Value Since many different elements have the same Base Value other combinations of elements may have the same Total Base Value In general this example program is far more difficult that one would want to choreograph for use in actual competition The purpose of this tool it allow the user to begin with the most difficult program content from which the user can then back off on difficulty until a program of the desired difficulty is reached In this process the user can clearly see how many points are lost in reducing the difficulty of the program and how far the choreographed program is from maximum possible Total Base Value Creating Typical Content Programs Click on the Typical Content command button and the list of elements will be filled with the median content for a skater at U S Nationals for the current event segment This is the content or equivalent a skater must typically have mastered in order to be competitive as a middle of the pack skater at U S Nationals The skater of course must also be competitive in Program Components to be competitive at the National level Naturally this is not the only content the skater can execute to be competitive at the Nationals level Any program of equivalent Total Base Value or greater can get the job done and strengths in Program Components can also compensate for weaknesses in elements Step 3 Evaluate a performance Once the content of a
6. routine has been decided upon its execution can be evaluated for example in a practice session run through GoEs To evaluate the GoEs use the column of text boxes next to the element identifications When you click on a GoE text box the Evaluate Entry form will appear When you click on a GoE the Evaluate Entry form will unload and the GoE text box will update You may change your evaluation whenever you wish Program Components To enter the Program Component scores use the Enter PCs command button The following form will appear E Skating Skills Click Labels for Criteria SKATING SKILLS Is about the ability of the skater to skate on each foot on each edge o 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 oo both forwards and backwards with the ablility to turn both clockwise and counter clockwise 0 00 0 25 050 075 tis about the ability to skate with power Transitions extension quickness of blade movement and edge quality lo 1 213 4 5 6 7 8 9410 oo TRANSITIONS Is about the quantity 000 025 050 075 pn Est gn crossovers and stroking meronmence ES usoni PERFORMANCE EXECUTION Is about the ability of the skater to relate to the purpose of 0 1 2 3 a 5 6 7 8 9 1 0 0 0 the program to connect with the audience and to communicate the purpose to the audience 0 00 0 25 050 075 It is about the variety quaiity and control of Choreography the positions and movements executed perform
7. segment For example do not combine Junior and Senior Short Programs in the same file Organize your files by event level event segment and gender Program content files are binary files That can only be viewed and modified within the Program Planner Trend Files These are the files that contain the scoring information for each run through saved on the Create a Program form You may combine the scoring information for all skaters at all levels in a single file When trend files are used by the Scoring Analysis form the Program Planner will sort out the skaters and event segments for you An arbitrary number of scoring datasets can be combined in a single file Nevertheless we do NOT recommend this approach Over time the files will become unnecessarily large and confusing and execution of the analysis tool will slow down The only motivation to organize your data this way is that it allows a more direct inter comparison of the performance of two or more skaters at the same event level In general we recommend the same approach to organizing trend files as we do for program content files one file for each skater in this case Short Programs and Long Programs could be mixed together or one file for each event segment at each event level for each gender of skater For example My Novice Ladies SP Trends txt Trend files are standard ASCII files They can be viewed and edited in any text processing program In general
8. ASSOCIATION PSA Competition Program Planner User Guide Version 2007 02 COMPETITION PROGRAM PLANNER For Windows 2000 XP Copyright 2007 by George S Rossano Overview The Competition Program Planner is based on a scoring and analysis software tool whose development began in 1998 Hereafter the Competition Program Planner will be referred to as simply the Program Planner The Program Planner has the capability to support all standard events in the U S Figure Skating competition structure ISU event requirements and U S Figure Skating event requirements are identical for the Senior and Junior divisions Thus the Program Planner is directly applicable to ISU Senior and Junior events For Novice events U S Figure Skating requirements differ from ISU requirements for some events Users of the Program Planner outside the U S should keep this in mind when using the Program Planner for Novice events The Program Planner offers skaters and coaches tools to aid planning a program and then training that program to maximize the effectiveness of training time and to monitor competition performance The Program Planner includes the following tools e Level Calculator A tool to determine the level of elements from descriptions of the elements All level based element types in singles pairs and dance are supported e Create a Program A complete annotation and scoring tool for setting programs comparing content scoring pr
9. Content aa m Jam gt a q m q K L u U S u SS S u SS im 81 50 JUMP SPIN SEQN MITF CM Elm u Program Content Status While creating the program content the Program Planner shows the user a summary of various program information for the event segment being worked on in the center text box as illustrated in the above screen shot At top the number of elements of each type that have been selected is provided If you enter more than the permitted number of elements the program planner will flag each extra element and the element will receive no points For Novice and below the number of permitted elements is taken from the U S Figure Skating competition requirements These requirements can be changed by modifying the Event Model data file used by the Program Planner The user can also manually unflag an extra element to force scoring of that element Next error and warning messages are provided for program content verification Each time an element is added or edited the elements are compared to the program requirements to verify the selected elements are valid The Program Planner checks for the correct number of elements and also if specific program requirements are met The Program Planner will allow the user to choreographing a program that does not fully meet program requirements but warns you if you do so Finally the user is provided the median Total Base Value and median Program Component scores for
10. Dance The criteria are e Skating in time with the music e Skating on the strong beat e Skating the prescribed beat values for each step e Meeting the introductory step requirements The expectations for these criteria should be self evident and are not new to ice dancing PRESENTATION PROGRAM COMPONENTS These consist of e Performance Execution e Choreography e Interpretation or Timing in dance Designating these as Presentation components is not ISU terminology but reflects the reality of the nature of these components compared to Skating Skills and Transitions which are primarily techniques based Rather than attempt to describe these program components in detail which space here does not allow instead ask yourself the following questions If the answers to these questions are yes the skater deserves high marks for these components If the answers are no the skater is dead meat Performance Did the skater e Look like they were performing on their own or were they mechanically following their coach s instructions e Have good positions that were under control when they changed positions e Have an identifiable style consistent with the music which displayed the personality of the skater e Have finished positions precisely executed e Have a variety of speeds tempos rhythms and body positions e Keep your attention or bore you to death Did the pair couple e Have unison in motion positi
11. EQ Lo 2 Lo 3 Lo 4 Lo F 2F 3F 4F DOWN Lz 2 Lz 3Lz 4Lz GRADE A 2A 3A 4A UNDO 1 2 Lo CANCEL EAM GED If multiple jumps are executed a combination is assumed If a sequence is being entered the SEQ command button MUST be used at the end of the list of jumps W if for Walley and 1 2 Lo is for a half loop These latter two jumps are not ISU standard and should not be used in Novice events and above The column for popped jumps is used during a run through if the skater cheats a single jump For cheated jumps the user enters the designation for the jump attempted and then click on the Downgrade command button to add the downgrade symbol lt to the jump description to flag the jump as cheated It is recommended that cheated jumps be specifically annotated so that the user can track how often the skater is cheating jumps or landing them cleanly For historical reasons the Program Planner recognizes two symbols for downgrades the standard lt symbol and also the pound symbol Use the ENTER command button to unload the form As a shortcut if you right click on an jump it will be added to the element description and the form will automatically unload Spins The following screen shot shows the form for entering spin elements Level 0 elements are not ISU standard They are included for future use in lower level U S Figure Skating events The designation NL is for a f
12. Points from technical PC marks TOTAL TECHNICAL POINTS Points from presentation PC marks TOTAL PRESENTATION POINTS 42 600 13 000 26 100 61 3 of potential max 92 600 51 100 55 2 of potential max 17 2 of total points 14 3 11 7 7 8 13 7 64 8 35 2 35 2 For these statistics the following terminology is used POTENTIAL MAX ELEMENTS MARK The maximum possible mark for elements if all elements were scored 3 POTENTIAL MIN ELEMENTS MARK The minimum possible mark for elements if all elements were scored 3 ACTUAL TOTAL ELEMENTS MARK The actual total mark for elements for this run through ignoring deductions POTENTIAL MAX TOTAL MARK The maximum possible mark if all elements were scored 3 and all Program Components were scored 10 0 ACTUAL TOTAL MARK The actual total mark for this run through ignoring deductions Points from technical PC marks The points from the first two Program Component marks Points from presentation PC marks The points from the remaining Program Component marks Although the designation of some of the Program Components as technical marks and others as presentations marks is not ISU standard it is a useful distinction for tracking the major skill areas that are included in a skating program The statistics include the breakdown of points for each type of element in the program expressed as points and percentage of the total po
13. ailed attempt at a spin during a performance and stands for No Level If the skater fell on the entry to a spin the element identification would have to be updated to No Level in order to calculate the score for the run through correctly w Spin E _ of x BASIC SPIN xSp CHANGE FOOT SPIN CxSp ONE POSITION NO CHANGE OF FOOT ONE POSITION WITH CHANGE OF FOOT Upright Layback Comel Sit Upright Layback Comel Sit 0 1 2 3 4 NL 0 1 2 3 4 NL FLYING FLYING Upright Loyoock Comel Sit Upright Loyoock Comel Sit 0 4 NL 0 4 NL COMBINATION SPIN CoSp CHANGE COMBINATION SPIN CCoSp CHANGE OF POSITION NO CHANGE OF FOOT CHANGE OF POSITION AND FOOT MESES es ea ES on ee Saas es FLYING L 0 1 2 3 4 NL 0 1 2 3 4 NL Sequences Sequences ol xi This screen shot shows the form for ER entering sequences The columns are z i i i for straight line circular and gt serpentine step sequences and spiral 3 5 5 sequences of any pattern Again 4 A A 7i level 0 is reserved for use in lower level U S Figure Skating events and noj Lm Le seg is not part of the ISU standard MITF and Compulsory Moves The Program Planner supports Moves in the Field elements and Compulsory Moves elements These are included for future use in non standard U S Figure Skating events They are not part of the ISU standard and should no
14. andy at rink side during practice sessions it is expected that the user will record the scoring on paper and then enter the run through data into the computer at a later time The Worksheet command button allows the user to print a form that can be used for this purpose The printed form includes the skater s name event and planned content Step 4 Save the trend Use the Save Trend command button to save the scoring values for the current run through for the current skater The Program Planner will suggest a file name derived from the current date and time The user should change this name to one they find more useful If the file name chosen does not exist a new file with that name is created If an existing file is selected from the File Save dialog box the scoring for the current run through is ADDED to the END of the existing file The program will also suggest a name to identify the run through within the trend files This also will be based on the current date and time The user may change this name to any they find convenient Do not however use duplicate names For competition results the name of the competition should be used again all names used must be unique Program scoring for each performance must be saved in the trend file in chronological order for trend graphs to display correctly Entering Competition Results Competition results are entered in the same way as practice run throughs The user can co
15. cution For each element you assign a grade of execution from 3 triple minus to 3 triple plus A quick and dirty standard for these is the following e 3 Every aspect of the element is very well done This element is one of the best of its type you ever see ISU judges only give this GoE about 1 10 of 1 of the time that s right about one in a thousand marks e 2 Significantly better than a minimally correct example of this element ISU judges give this mark about 1 of the time e 1 Noticeably better than a minimally correct example of this element e O A minimally correct example of this element Every aspect of the element meets a minimum standard for correct execution e A minor error in some aspect of the element e 2 A major error in some aspect of the element or two minor errors e 3 Two or more major errors or three or more minor errors or similar combinations of errors Basically nearly a total failure of the element Spin rotations are counted in GoE Rotations above the minimum number required increases the GoE Rotations less than the minimum number required reduces the GoE Strengths in one aspect of an an element can be traded against problems in another aspect of the element but only to a limited extent and only in non SPs In SPs deductible errors must result in negative GoEs for the element ISU Communications provide a detailed list of the conditions under which a GoE must be reduced fo
16. de spins and sequences are entered using the same forms as in Singles Pair lifts pair spins throws and death spirals have their own forms for entering elements If a throw or twist lift is cheated during a run through drag and drop the element description onto the lt icon at lower left and the downgrade code will be added to the element In compulsory dance the user is prompted to specify which dance is being evaluated when the Create a Program form is loaded The elements for these dances are the step sections specified by the ISU These elements and their values are automatically set when the Create a Program form is started For the Original Dance and Free Dance there are separate forms for dance lifts dance spins dance sequences and twizzles The Program Planner element entry forms include standard and non standard elements to support both standard ISU events and non standard U S Figure Skating events When entering elements for a standard ISU event Do not include Level 0 elements Do not include MITF or CM elements Do not include Walley or half loop as elements Use the NL designation to indicate elements with no level Use the downgrade designation to allow tracking of cheated jumps Managing Your Files It is important that you organize your data files carefully to avoid confusion and errors We offer the following suggestions for how to do this Program Content Files These are the f
17. due r1 r3 r 1 r 5 to a fall use the Deductions r4 r2 r6 command to enter them The arene ere r3 E x ostume following screen shot shows ate the Deduction form for singles oo El lo CHT a tte 1 0 for every 5 seconds simultaneous enter 1 fall and pairs ENTER Editing the Element List If the skater does not execute the planned content during a run through the element identifications must be changed to reflect the content actually executed for example the program content must be updated for the execution of cheated jumps omission of elements etc Changing an Element Description Click on the element description highlighted in green An element entry form will appear Enter the new description for the element Examples of this might include executing a lesser rotation jump or different jump cheating a jump or changing the content of a spin by executing different positions or a different number of rotations in position Omitting an Element If the skater does not attempt an element at all in a run through the planned element is deleted by dragging and dropping the element on top the trash can Splitting an Element During a run through the skater may commit an error that requires splitting an element into two elements For example in a jump combination or sequence errors between the jumps may convert the combination or sequence into two solo jumps Another example would be where the skater
18. e DCOF difficult change of foot counts as a feature COE change of edge on the same foot COD change of direction e g from counter clockwise to clockwise while changing foot but maintaining the same position Distinguish between simple examples of a position and difficult variations of position using the two sets of command buttons in the center of the form The asterisk indicates a difficult variation of position To see a common example of a level 2 change foot spin choose the Change Foot option and then enter the following Backward Sit COE COF Sit In this spin one common difficult variation that is used is a sideways turned position on the ending sit position Other choices are the free leg wrapped over or under thigh positions When the cursor is moved over the command buttons for difficult variations some examples of difficult positions are displayed These are just examples and not a comprehensive list of all difficult variations Step Sequence and Spiral Sequence 5 LevelofStep s e ID x Step Sequence for Singles DIFFICULTY CHANGES OF DIRECTION CHANGE OF SPEED UPPER BODY USE TURNS TO STEPS Basic 1 or less None None Little None Slow r anges of C Variety Es C Some C Modest Position Complex C 4 or more C Quick C Full Quick N EVENT This Step Sequence is Level 1 Singles Level 2 criteria met 3 Required 0 Level 3 criteria met 4 Required See ISU doc
19. e of the three dance segments Compulsory Original or Free Dance Rate the skill of the skater in each of the criteria on a scale ranging from non existent though complete perfect As you rate each criteria the form will update with a value for the Program Components on a 10 point scale The scores are calculated assuming each of the criteria is marked on an absolute scale and contributes equal weight to its Program Component This view of the Program Components was the original intent of the point based judging approach but whether that is still the case or whether the judges actually mark that way remains to be seen This tool is only meant to provide an ESTIMATE of where the skills of the skater places them on this theoretical absolute 10 point scale Its main purpose is to aid the user in thinking about each of the Program Compo nent criteria individually about how each impacts the skater s score and whether sufficient attention is being given in training to all the criteria Scoring Standard To get maximum use out of the Program Planner trending tools performances must be evaluated with a consistent standard and should be evaluated using a standard as close as possible to the official judging standard This section offers a brief unofficial introduction to the judging standard The opinions expressed in this section are solely those of the author ELEMENTS Each elements receive a Grade of Execution GoE Grades of Exe
20. ed with a coherent style 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 0 CHOREOGRAPHY Is about the purpose of the program the structure of the program in 0 00 0 25 050 0 75 time and space used to achieve the purpose of the program consistent with the structure of the music and the originality shown in 0 1 21 314 5 6 7 8 91 10 achieving the purpose 0 0 INTERPRETATION Is about skating in time 0 00 0 25 050 075 to the music and expressing the style and character of the music CANCEL ENTER MARKS Interpretation Select a mark for each Program Component then use the Enter Marks command button to return to the Create a Program form The total Program Component score with component weighting factors applied will appear on that form in the text box next to the Enter PCs command button A description of the Program Components appears on this form If the user clicks on one of the five Program Component labels the criteria for that Program Component will be displayed Program Content Statistics If you use the Statistics command button at this point you will find the breakdown of the element content and also the fraction of the maximum possible points the program earned for the current run through Before displaying the statistics the Planner will also do an element verification Deductions pe MISC DEDUCTIONS If deductions must be applied Ilegal Element Falls to a run through such as
21. evels for pairs spins use a format similar to the form used for solo spins The main difference is that the position of both the lady and the man must be specified In addition one must specify if one or both skaters are in difficult variations of position To keep track of all this the Program Planner uses a two letter abbreviation for positions where the first letter is for the position of the lady and the second letter is for the position of the man If both skaters are in easy positions there in no asterisk If one skater it doesn t matter which one is in a difficult variation one asterisk is used and if both skaters are in a difficult variation of position two asterisks are used To help guide you when you move the mouse over the left hand positions command buttons examples of positions will be displayed This form functions the same way as the form for solo spins Enter the description of the spin in the order it is executed The Level Calculator will track the difficulty of the spin Some examples of using the position abbreviations e UU Man in upright lady in layback e U U Man in upright lady in difficult variation of upright e CU Lady in camel man in simple upright e SS Both skaters in sit positions e SC Lady in sit position man in camel position e SC Lady in sit position man in difficult variation of camel position e CC Both skaters in simple basic camel position e C C Both skaters in difficult variat
22. falls at the entry to a spin and then gets up and pushes in again This would result in the spin being scored as two spins in free skating except in the case of an simple spin to mark time To split an element drag and drop the element into the split icon a single horizontal line above two parallel horizontal lines The element will be replaced with two entries in the element list Then click on the first entry created to change the element identification and click on the second entry created to change the element identification If splitting the element results in the skater exceeding the permitted number of elements the Planner will flag the extra element to be omitted from the scoring Inserting an Element If the skater improvises an unplanned element in a run through enter the element using the element entry command buttons The element will be added at the bottom of the element list Drag and drop the element to the correct position in the list corresponding to the actual order of execution of the element Time Bonus When scoring a run through the user must also insure that the time bonus flag is properly set Errors or variations in the speed of execution of a run though may require changes to this flag if a jump is no longer in the intended half of the program A time bonus is set by checking one of the column of check boxes labeled with the symbol T Since it is unlikely the user will want to have their computer h
23. g your installation up to date simply copy the most recent versions of the files to the installation directory It is the user s responsibility to insure they are working with the most current versions of the configuration files Revisions that require changes to the executable are made available through periodic software updates These software updates are provided free of charge for the season of your purchase A season is considered to begin on July 1 and end on June 30 of the following year Getting Started When you start the program an opening screen will appear genon E Level Calculator Spins PSA Judge an Event Create a P Competition Proqram Planner Program Step Seq Ver 2007 3 2006 07 Rules F I Am Caller Create Highest Spiral Seq Copyright 1998 2006 Point Program e E il by George S Rossano Pair Twist E E All rights reserved Create Typical Build Event Programi Pair Lifts Pair Spins Accounting PC Check List Death Spirals Scoring Dance Lifts Check Key Print Reports Analysis ERAS Twizzles Publication reproduction or distribution without prior written permission prohibited ii STH C Simple Mear Dance Step Seq EE Levels Matrix EXIT From this form the user can access the main features of the Program Planner The two list boxes at upper left are used to select the division of the event and segment to be planned The default lists includes all the standard compet
24. gnificant improvement in jumps Skill 1 and a moderate improvement in sequences Skill 3 Over this time period the skater made no significant improvement in skating skills and transitions Skill 4 or in presentation Skill 5 The skater declined somewhat over this time interval in spins Skill 2 By considering these trends in the context of their training regimen a skater or coach can assess what is working in a training program and what is not From that an informed decision can be made for planning future training activities Analysis Menu Skater The Skater entry in the Analysis menu provides program trend information in a numerical form The table on the next page gives the point total in each of the major skill areas for the skater in her Long Program over the past two seasons The table lists the points in each skill area for each competition and the average over all the competitions To determine the trends a straight line is fit to the point values and the slope tilt of the line tells the story of whether the skater has improved or not in each area This approach takes out the ups and downs from day to day or one competition to the next and focuses on the longer term trend over time which is the more important thing to know At the bottom of the table the trends are listed in points and as a percentage of average points For those that hate working with tables of numbers the trend values are given descriptive des
25. ignations from sharply improving through sharply declining This report can be cut and pasted into another program or printed from the report form Analysis Menu Elements This menu entry allows the user to track performance of individual elements over the course of time When you select this menu entry you will find three options and two sub menu choices The two sub menu choice are One Element and All Elements One Element The default search for this analysis is All Competitions For this case the search will include all competitions run troughs for the selected event segment and the selected skater The search can be modified by Point trend for Carolina KOSTNER 6 82 7 5 Sharply Improving 2 38 7 9 Sharply Improving 1 53 30 0 1 28 6 3 0 00 0 0 1 85 6 8 Improving Improving bn s gt S a E E Ea I ZZ Constant Trend points per year choosing other option combinations The user will be prompted to enter an element description This MUST be entered using standard ISU nomenclature The Program Planner will then find all executions of that element in the trend file and return a report The report shows how the requested element was scored each time it was executed From this report the success the skater is having with that element over the long term can be assessed All Elements This command initiates a search of the entire tre
26. iles that contain the program descriptions for the skater s They should not include any scoring information Programs for up to twelve skaters can be stored in a single file For an individual skater each event segment should have its own program content file for example one program content file for the Short Program and one for the Long Program Only the first of the twelve skater entries in the program content file would likely be used in that case If the user wishes different variations of a program could be saved in the twelve available skater entries in the content file The file might be named with the name of the skater and the event segment For example Suzie Skater Novice SP caj For a coach managing several skaters in the same division having one file for each skater may prove cumbersome The coach might prefer to have one program content file for each event segment that includes all skaters in the same division For example the coach might have several Novice skaters All their programs might be saved in one file such as My Novice Ladies SPs caj A total of twelve student s program content can be stored in one file A second file can be used to save the Long Programs for these skaters Do not mix different event segments in the same program content file i e do not mix Short Programs and Long Programs in the same file Also do not mix skaters at different levels in the same file even for the same event
27. in a single program content file For singles you must enter both a first and last name for the skater For pairs and dance enter the first and last name for the lady and then the first and last name of the man separated by a comma For example Tiny Girl Greatbig Guy Step 2 Create a program e Select a skater from the skater list e Enter the program content using the element command buttons Jump Spin etc at the lower left The ISU code for each element will be listed when entered highlighted in green e Use the Undo command button to remove the last item from the element list e Drag and drop any element onto the trash can to delete it e To reorder the element list drag and drop the element identifications e To change an element identification click on the element identification highlighted in green e Use the Statistics command button to view statistics for the program e Use the Save Content command button to save a program content file e The Total Base Value for the elements appears at the bottom of the element list Program content files should not include any scoring information They should only include lists of elements Elements can be entered in any order though in the end having elements in order of execution facilitates the program evaluation step Elements can be entered in order of execution or alternately the user could first add all the jumps then al
28. ination double with triple or triple with triple Double Axel Jump 3 E3 00 mj Individual Triple Jump out of footwork 3 Spin Elements E4 00 a Layback no change of fool may not fly Flying one foot and one position 5 E5 00 m Change Combination may not fly 6 E6 00 r 2 Sequence Elements Spiral 7 E7 00 a Its maximum duration is 2 minutes and 50 seconds 8 E8 00 L 9 Eg 00 m 10 E10 00 mi n En 00 mj 12 E12 00 m 13 es 00 mj Enter PCs 0 000 Statisties C fStatoror P 14 E14 00 a Deductions 0 00 Worksheet 15 E15 00 r R Load Content Save Content Save Trend 16 E16 00 m Most Difficult Typical 17 E17 00 a Content Content m x Emi boo JUMP SPIN SEQN MITF CM To work with a program content file that already exists use the Load Content command button to input a program content file The program content file may be for a different event segment that the one selected when the Create a Program form was loaded The Program Planner will force agreement when you load the content file Sample program content files are distributed with the Program Planner To create and use your own program content files proceed as follows Step 1 Setup the skater list The names of the skaters are entered in the list box at the right of the form Type the skater s name and update it using the Enter key on your keyboard The skater list is the list used to select any of twelve programs that can be stored
29. ints The comparison of the actual points achieved compared to the maximum possible points that could be earned from the program is a simple measure of how successful the run through was For this run through the skater achieved 55 2 of the maximum possible points he could earn with this program Tracking this number is a useful way of gauging the skater s training progress A second useful measure of training progress is the percentage of the maximum element points the skater achieves To obtain the most meaningful indications of a skater s progress the same person should evaluate the run throughs using a consistent standard of judgement This will generally be the skater s coach The ideal of course is that the person making the evaluations judge according to the same standard used by the judges At the end of this booklet we provide a brief overview of the judging standard The statistics report can be cut and pasted into another program or can be printed from the Statistics form Element Entry For each event singles pairs and dance there are a series of element entry command buttons on the Create a Program form Using these command buttons opens up the selected element entry form These forms are used to enter the element identifications Jumps For jumps the following form is used The jumps are entered in the order executed Jump Elements ENTER POP SINGLE DOUBLE TRIPLE QUAD T li ie 3T 4T s 2s 38 4s
30. ions of camel position Dance Elements The Level Calculator for all four types of dance elements uses a series of option buttons for each difficulty factor Further in dance the choices are more highly structured so for the dance elements the Level Calculator also provides specific examples for each level of difficulty Creating a Program The Create a Program form is launched from the opening window of the Program Planner This tool is used to e Game the ISU point model to find which program content maximizes a skater s chance for points and to compare the possible points for different combinations of elements e Obtain program statistics for the selected program content e Score run throughs and save performance trends e Determine how close a performance comes to the ideal value of the program or to the points for the most difficult possible program or for a typical program The following screen shot shows the Create a Program form for a singles short program when the form is first opened The text box to the right lists the program requirements for the event segment selected The text box at center provides other information about the program being created which will be described shortly ix SENIOR LSP Skater 01 _ a x 1 E1 00 mj PROGRAM SUMMARY A Senior Ladies Short Program must contain Jump Spin Segn CM 3 Jump Elements 2 E2 00 0 0 0 0 lump Comb
31. ition divisions used in the U S Figure Skating competition structure however all events are not necessarily included in the Program Planner configuration files The column of command buttons at the left hand side of the form are for judging events and calculating results These features are not enabled in the Program Planner The five command buttons in the middle column launch the tools for setting a program checking Program Component skills and for scoring analysis The user may begin planning a program with a blank set of elements a sample most difficult set of elements or a typical set of elements for the event segment selected The right hand column of command buttons under Level Calculator are used to determine the levels of skating elements The user selects a class of element and inputs a description of the element The calculator returns the level designation of the element Standard ISU scoring rules are used for all Junior and Senior events For Novice through Juvenile standard U S Figure Skating scoring rules are used For all lower level events Pre Juvenile and below modified scoring rules are available in anticipation of special rules that may be used in the future These special rules include the following e Base mark values for jump combinations and sequences have been changed to give greater credit to the second and third jump e Half jumps have been added for use in the lowest level events e Level 0
32. kill 1 Skill 2 Skill 3 Skill 4 the marks into five skating skills for each event The five skating skills tracked by the Planner consist of the following Skill 5 Jumps Spins Sequences Skating PC 1 and 2 Presentation PC 3 4 and 5 Lifts Throws and Solo Spins Pair Spins Sequences Skating PC 1 and 2 Presentation PC 3 4 and 5 and Death Spirals Solo Jumps Presentation PC 3 4 and 5 Lifts Skating PC 1 and 2 Spins and Twizzles Sequences The user can track performance in each of these major skill areas over to time In summary the program planner allows the user to track e performance in total points e performance in major skill areas e performance in individual elements and Program Components Graph Menu The Graph menu lets the user plot the scoring for the skater s training history These graphs show the number of points over the course of time The user can plot total points points from each of the skill areas or from the individual program components Different combinations of points can be plotted on the same graph to allow a direct comparison As an example the graph at right is an All Skills graph for Carolina Kostner s Short Program spanning two season This type of graph is used to visualize the progress the skater has made in the main skill areas of their event As measured by points earned this graph shows a si
33. l the spins and finally all the sequences Afterwards the order of the elements is rearranged to correspond to the actual choreography Element entry will be described further in a later section of this guide The user can try different combinations of elements to find which combination best suites a skater s skills and maximizes their chance to earn points The following screen shot shows the form filled with the typical content for a Senior Ladies Short program amp SENIOR LSP Skater 01 EE mm O Hammmms 00 oo me oo ES PROGRAM SUMMARY Jump Spin Sen CM 3 2 0 ELEMENT VERIFICATION Requirements met A Senior Ladies Short Program must contain 3 Jump Elements Jump Combination double with triple or triple with triple Double Axel Jump Individual Triple Jump out of footwork 3 Spin Elements Layback no change of foot may not fly Flying one foot and one position Change Combination may not fly CURRENT NATIONAL STANDARD m oo E O o JENH 00 2 Sequence Elements Step The median competitor at U S Nationals typically has Spiral lts maximum duration is 2 minutes and 50 seconds A Total Base Value of at least 32 0 Program Compenents greater than 5 00 w m to EEEEEEEEEE m m a N puh tea D N Enter PCs 0 000 Statistics c Skater 01 zl P Deductions 000 Worksheet N Load Content Save Content Save Trend Most Difficult Typical Content
34. mbine competition scoring and practice performances in the same or different files as you prefer To enter competition results e Open the program content file for the performance e Revise the element descriptions to match the element descriptions listed on your protocol e Enter the GoE for each element For tracking performance it is unnecessary to enter every judge s score Enter the typical GoE received for each element use the median middle GoE This is close enough for tracking performance e Enter the Program Component scores Use the single trimmed mean score for each Program Component listed at the right hand side of the protocol Round off the average score to the nearest 0 25 points That is close enough for tracking performance e Enter any deductions taken for the performance Which Mark is the Median Mark If five judges gave the following GoEs for an element 1 0 1 0 1 In ascending order the marks are 1 0 0 1 In this case 0 is the median mark Program Statistics The following is an example of a statistics reported generated by the Statistics command button found on the Create a Program form PROGRAM STATISTICS FOR SENIOR MSP POTENTIAL MAX ELEMENTS MARK POTENTIAL MIN ELEMENTS MARK ACTUAL TOTAL ELEMENTS MARK POTENTIAL MAX TOTAL MARK ACTUAL TOTAL MARK POINT DISTRIBUTION Points from jumps Points from jump combinations Points from spins Points from sequences
35. nd file for the selected skater i e the search will always include all competitions run throughs and all event segments Every execution of every element is searched and the trend for each element is determined for the selected skater This command creates a trend graph for every element It also creates a report of the scores for each element For example if the skater s program includes 6 different jump elements a trend graph is created for each of the jump elements and the scores for each jump element are part of the total element report The element reports can be cut and pasted into another program or printed Content History This command initiates a search of the entire trend file for the selected skater using the selected options A report is printed that lists the content for each of the skater s programs listed in the protocol file This report provides a side by side history of the content executed by the skater for a given program An example of this type of report is shown on the following page In this case all Short Programs for Miki Ando are shown for one season 2004 05 TBV is the Total Base Value for the elements TES is the Total Element Score for the elements Base Values plus GoE scores Using this report the user gets a easy to follow summary of changes in the choreography during the season variations in the levels called for the elements points received for elements etc 6S TE OL CE
36. ograms and saving results e Scoring Analysis Provides tabular and graphical trending analysis of programs using scoring of practice run throughs or competition results e Reports and graphs can all be saved as files or printed for a hard copy record of skater performance e Coaches can easily manage multiple students in the same or different events The Program Planner runs under Windows 2000 and Windows XP Installation Before using the Program Planner you must first install the hardware key device driver Step 1 Install the hardware key driver by running Install exe from the setup disk This step is not necessary when upgrading software if you have previously installed the hardware key device driver For the USB key install the device driver before you insert the key For the Parallel Port key insert the key before you install the device driver Step 2 Run Setup exe from the distribution disk Installation should take no more than a few minutes Keep Your Planner Current The Program Planner makes extensive use of text and data files in the application directory to control its operation This allows quick updating of the Program Planner whenever errors or changes in the rules require revision without having to reinstall the software Up to date versions of these files are available on our website Users should regularly check to see if updated files have been posted on the website www skatesoft com To brin
37. one should not edit the trend files and there is little reason to do so The File menu on the Scoring Analysis form allows the user to delete specific performances from a trend file If you edit a trend file do not change the formatting of the file It will render it unusable by the Scoring Analysis tool Always save a backup of a trend file before editing it Practice safe computing Backup your data files regularly EIES Ew g ore T E sEpEEEBELLLLLLIIEEEEEEE T E E E E K N K K Kul K KT T K uN Scoring Analysis Form 6o10 6330 6430 6450 6350 7100 6810 6590 6850 6870 6280 6840 fas So S ra Scoring Analysis Once a trend file has been created and evaluations for several run through stored in it the Scoring Analysis form can be used to examine trends in a skater s performance By examining the trends the skater and coach can determine what areas need the most work what areas are showing the most improvement which elements are the problem areas which are the skater s strengths In the past this was something one could only crudely estimate Now the skater and the coach can quantify what is working and what is not in training and adjust their training accordingly The preceding screen shot is an example of a Scoring Analysis form for a Free Skating program by Irina Slutskaya The Program Planner can do a complete analysis for an entire competition with up to 14 judges For use in a ska
38. ons and technique e Contribute equally or did one partner do all the work e Have mutual awareness of the location motions positions of each other or where they constantly looking and groping for each other Choreography Did the skater e Demonstrate an identifiable purpose story concept theme in the program or where you unable to figure out what it was about e Use all major sections of the program to tell the story e Use all steps movements elements etc to tell the story e Tell the story throughout the program as a coherent whole e Use both local space and the performance space to tell the story e Use a layout that makes full use of the ice in telling the story e Construct the program to match the overall phrasing of the music e Demonstrate originality in construction of the program consistent with the music Did the pair couple e Use each partner equally to tell the story Tell the story means project the purpose Telling a story is the most common purpose of a program but it not the only choice possible Interpretation Did the skater e Move effortless in time to the music or did they struggle to stay with the music e Express the music s overall style character and rhythm e Express the subtle characteristics of the music through the use of subtle movements and positions Did the pair couple e Demonstrate a clear relationship between the par
39. ort Technical support is provided all registered users via e mail only Contact technical support at Support SkateSoft com Our goal is to answer support inquiries within 24 hours of receipt subject to the constraints of our busy travel schedule Technical support is limited to the following Installation issues Version update issues Hardware key functionality Bug fixes and work arounds We do not provide technical support or advice on program construction competition strategy training strategy or explanations of ISU or USFSA rules Contact Us Technical Support Support SkateSoft com Error Reporting Sales Sales SkateSoft com Feature Requests Features SkateSoft com Mailing Address Stellar Images Program Planner 1116A 8th St 51 Manhattan Beach CA 90266 www skatesoft com
40. r certain errors and also errors for which the GoE must be negative or must be a specific value for example when a GoE must be a 3 In jumps you judge Preparation Take off Rotation air and Landing In combinations and sequences you judge these for each of the jumps and assign a GoE for the combination or sequence as a whole In spins you judge Preparation Entry Rotations and Exit In sequences you judge the cleanness and sureness of the execution of the sequence PROGRAM COMPONENTS Program components receive marks on a scale of 0 to 10 in steps of 0 25 Skating Skills The criteria are Balance knee action and foot placement Flow and glide Cleanness and sureness of edges steps and turns Power energy and acceleration Mastery of multi directional skating Mastery of one foot skating Equality of technique shown in unison for pairs and dance Ice coverage for compulsory dance Bottom line Skating Skills include Edge quality and control extension Flow speed speed control variety and power Command of turns and steps Ability to skate forwards and backwards on each foot Ability to skate and turn clockwise and counterclockwise Skating Skills are basically what we test for in our MITF tests and compulsory dance tests Transitions The criteria are e Variety e Difficulty e Intricacy e Quality e Balanced contribution from both partners for pairs and dance e Variety of dance holds for dance
41. rs FS The calculator assumes difficult variations in the same basic position on the same foot are different changes of foot 1 change s of edge UNDO 0 change s of direction 1 total difficult variation s CLEAR 1 difficult variation s on first foot Features Feature First difficult variation Feature Change of edge This Spin is Level 2 This is a spin on one foot in one position 2 Level 2 criteria met 2 Required 2 Level 3 criteria met 3 Required 2 Level 4 criteria met 4 Required See ISU documentation for definitions and requirements Step 1 Select Singles or Pairs and Short Program or Long Program Step 2 Select the type of spins Basic one foot and one position Change Position Combination on one foot with more than one basic position Change Foot only one basic position on more than one foot or Change Combination more than one basic position AND on more than one foot Step 3 Using the controls at the left of the form enter the Entry method of the spin Flying or Backward if appropriate Step 4 Using the controls in the center enter the Positions and Transitions within the spin in the order they are executed As the user enters the spin description a text description of the spin will appear at the top of the form and the description and level of the spin will appear at the bottom of the form Some abbreviations COF change of foot does not count as a featur
42. t be used in standard events Pairs and Dance Elements in pairs and dance are handled in the same way as in singles The forms for the elements in these events have the same formats and designations In all cases Level 0 elements are not part of the ISU standard and are included to support lower level U S Figure Skating events The No Level designation is also included for scoring run through An element receives no level when it is committed to and thus counts as an attempt but nothing is actually executed or minimum requirements are not met so no points are received A Note on Cheated Jumps If a jump is under rotated by more than 1 4 of a rotation the base value of the jump is reduced to the base value of a jump with one less rotation This is referred to as downgrading the jump in ISU jargon On an ISU protocol the abbreviation used for a cheated jump is the less than symbol lt which is added to the code for the jump that was attempted In assigning a GoE to a cheated jump one is evaluating the cheated attempt at the higher rotation jump not an over rotated attempt of the lower rotation jump The GoE for a cheated jump is reduced by at least 2 due to a major error in the landing phase If the skater falls a deduction is also taken Once users are familiar with the element forms for singles they should find the forms for pairs and dance self explanatory For Pairs side by side jumps side by si
43. ta Browse Tag Fle Ref Strings Browse Name gt Fille Load Save OK Cancel Apply Now Help The question mark icon brings up the help screens for the graph control should one want to explore other formats for the graphs Program Component Check List The Program Component Check List is a tool that is accessed from the opening form of the Planner The Check List uses the following somewhat fearsome looking form but it is actually very simple in concept m Program Component Check List EE xl Skating Skills 00 Performance Execution 00 Choreography TO Balance Knee Action Foot Placement Personal vol yement Nd tifa Pupe G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Lite C Med C Good C Complete G None C Lite C Med C Good C Complete p Flow and Glide Carriage p Proportion G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete p Clearness and Sureness of Edges Steps and Tune p Style Unity G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete p Power Energy and Acceleration _ laily of Movement Ug Spa sm G None C Weak C Med C Good C Complete G None C Weak C Med Good C Complete G None C Weak C Some C Good C Complete p Mastery of MultiDitectional Skaling __ Vaiety and Contrast Pattern and lee
44. ter s training program however most of the analysis form will be blank since there will be only one set of marks for each run through To get started the user opens a protocol file from the File menu The protocol file is another name for the trend file created on the Create a Program form From the File menu the user can also print a protocol file To select a run through the three list boxes at upper left are used The first has the skater s names the second the event segment and the third the name of the competition run through The competition names will be the names the user chose when creating the trend files Once you select a run through the form will be filled with the scoring for that run through as well as the total points for the run through Total points are the highest measure of performance but the lowest level of detail in understanding a run through The goal is to get the most points but if the total points are not very good one doesn t know why from that one number alone or what exactly to do about it The most detailed measure of performance is the scores for each element and Program Component But this level of detail can be confusing and hard to interpret To aid the skater and coach in understanding performance the Scoring Analysis tool provides an intermediate level of detail and also several ways of visualizing the marks To better understand skating performance the Program Planner groups S
45. the median competitor at U S Nationals for the event segment being worked on based on results from the prior season These are the values that a middle of the pack skater typically receives at U S Nationals in each event segment This allows the usr to gauge how the program being created compares to the National standard Time Bonus and Extra Elements For singles and pairs free skating use the column of check boxes above the label T to indicate which jump elements are executed in the second half of the program You may only flag jump and throw elements in the second half No other elements earn time bonus points The check boxes above the label X are used to flag extra elements Copying and Pasting Content Use the C and P buttons to copy and paste program content from one skater to another in the skater list Select a program from the skater drop down list Click on C Select a different entry in the skater list Click on p Saving Content Files Use the Save Content command to save your program content Creating Most Difficult Content Programs Click on the Most Difficult Content command button and the list of elements will be filled with example content that has the highest possible Total Base Value for the current event segment In some cases assumptions are made for the maximum element difficulty for the program based on the abilities of current competitors This is not the only program that might
46. tners in interpreting the music e Use each partner equally to interpret the music A Starting Point for Marking The following table is offered as a rough initial guide to marking Program Components for each competition level This is the range of marks one might expect to find in a typical U S Figure Skating competition Skaters who are in over their head or are more advanced than their current competition level may of course deserve marks considerably outside the ranges listed The Program Planner also provided a frame of reference for the marking scale when the user creates a program by providing the median Program Component scores skaters receive at U S National championships For the purpose of keeping track of a skater s development in the Program Components during training the most important thing is that the evaluator mark on a consistent scale over the course of time Since the main goal is to keep track of whether the skater is improving or not for that purpose it doesn t matter a great deal if the marking scale used by the evaluator is a little different from the actual marking scale used in competition although one should still try to get close so long as the evaluator is consistent over time Competition Level PC Scores Juvenile 1 50 3 50 Intermediate 2 00 4 00 Novice 3 00 5 00 Junior 4 00 6 00 Senior 5 00 7 00 Senior 7 00 10 00 Champion Quality Technical Supp
47. umentation for definitions and requirements The form for step sequences levels is an example of a level calculation based on option buttons In general for this type of form the options at the top of a frame apply to the lowest least difficult level and as you go down each list the contribution to difficulty increases Start by first selecting the event Singles or Pairs Then add difficulty factors beginning with the skills the skater has mastered best The goal is to reach the highest difficulty factor one can with the least amount of risk and the least amount of effort The form for spiral sequences is very similar to the form for step sequences and is used in the same way Pair Lifts Levels for pair lifts both twist lifts and overhead lifts are determined using option buttons Death Spirals Levels for death spirals are determined using option buttons Pair Spins E Pair Spins ENTRY TRANSITION POSITION ea First letter is position of Lady Backward COF oy Second letter is position of Man COFL r Balance of both partners coru e w D uc UC UC su SU su ss SS ss sc sc SC CU CU cu cs cs cs cc cc cc One partner in difficult variation of position Both partners in difficult variation of position Al This Spin is Level _ This is a UNDO Level 2 criteria met CLEAR 0 Level 3 criteria met See ISU documentation for definitions and requirements L
48. very effort to update the Level Calculator as the levels of difficulty evolve Skaters and coaches have the ultimate responsibility to insure that programs meet ISU and U S Figure Skating requirements Do not make competition or training decisions based solely on the the Program Planner achieve a given level of difficulty varies from one element type to another The Level Calculator gives the user the ability to determine the level of an element by inputting a description of an element Using the Level Calculator a choreographer can optimize a program to include the highest value elements matched to a skater s greatest strengths Spins The Level Calculator uses two different formats for entering element descriptions One approach uses groups of option buttons the other uses a description of the element For spins including side by side spins in pairs the description of the element is used to determine the level The following screen shot shows the Level Calculator for spins eo FY x Spins for Singles Free Skating S coe S ENTRY TRANSITION POSITION SPIN TYPE 2 mj Biellmann after Flying COF Upright Upright layback Basic Backward DCOF Layback Layback pts g Summa C Change Foot a Landaro COE Side Lean Side Lean C Change Comb Difficult variation i i cop Sit Slee oleae EVENT p SEGMENT p Variation of flying Camel Camel Singles entrance Difficult variation C Pai
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