2019 July/August PS Magazine

JULY/AUGUST 2019

2019

PHOTO OF THE YEAR BY

Mark Walentiny

A Community that Cares The Professional Skaters Foundation was founded to expand the educational opportunities of PSA members through a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable foundation. The Trustees of the PSF have developed several scholarship programs for its members through a selection process based on established guidelines and criteria.

www.skatepsa.com

JULY/AUGUST 2019

COLUMNS 2

Over the Edge

4

President’s Message

6

Ratings

8

SafeSport

FEATURES

| Jimmie Santee | Alex Chang

| Tim Covington | U.S. Figure Skating

12

Sport Science

14

Education

35

Best Business Practices

| Heidi Thibert

| Carol Rossignol | Angie Riviello

3

2019 EDI Award Recipients

5

Fritz Dietl Award Recipient: Palm Beach Ice Works

16

When Therapy Gets Physical

20

New PSA President Alex Chang

23

Nick Castaneda's Financial Tips for Coachs

26

2019 PSA Conference Recap

30

U.S. Figure Skating: New Rule Changes

DEPARTMENTS 7 11 32 34 36

Professional Development Recognition Board Profile Professional Skaters Foundation New Members PSA Calendar of Events

“Kurt was amazing – I could have listened to Kurt Browning speak for hours.“

| Kent McDill | Terri Milner Tarquini | Terri Milner Tarquini

| Carol Rossignol

“In the over 20 conferences I have been to, this was hands-down the best and most inspiring ever.”

Elizabeth Thornton | Editor/Advertising Carol Rossignol | Contributing Editor Amanda Taylor | Art Director

Find, Friend, Follow

Issue No 4 |

» COVER: Nathan Chen photographed by Mark Walentiny

WWW.SKATEPSA.COM

| Kent McDill

PS MAGAZINE

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OVER THE EDGE Jimmie Santee, MPD, MG

Words of Inspiration “We learned about honesty and integrity—that the truth matters... that you don't take shortcuts or play by your own set of rules... and success doesn't count unless you earn it fair and square.” Michelle Obama

PSA BOARD OF GOVERNORS West Mid-West East

A

s I finished my 13th year as executive director of the PSA, I took a jaunt down memory lane rereading many of my previous editorials. Some good, some not, but one consistent thread are the quotes I use for direction and motivation. Quotes have a way of “hitting the nail on the head.” The quote above by Michelle Obama is one such reference. I read quotes and most often they bring me clarity to those thoughts and ideas swimming freely in my head. Another of my favorite quotes which I’ve used in several editorials is by the Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

I realized however that the quotes I use most often are the lessons I learned while skating. Many of those quotes I use were from my coach, Evy Scotvold. Of course, decorum prevents me from sharing some those quotes in print, but so many are still perfect today, such as “Practice as you compete, compete as you practice.” Another favorite from Evy, “You want to meet the guy who’s going to kick your butt at Nationals? Go look in the mirror!”

Quotes are a very powerful coaching tool. I did a little internet search to see if there were any clues to why they work so well. One thought from Dr. Minette Riordan, Ph.D., is, “…perhaps the reason we love inspirational quotes is for that rush of mental stimulation in an otherwise normal day or a day where we long for a quick mental shift from one emotional state to another.”

From a coaching perspective, quotes to comfort and inspire do work. Here are some personal favorites: • “The game is 90% mental and 10% physical” Quoted by many • “Half of figure skating is opinion.” Scott Hamilton • “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Michael Jordan • “In group lesson number six I think we learned how to turn backwards and then just kind of wiggle. That wasn't really skating backward, but I guess I was going in the right direction.” Dorothy Hamill • “The most important thing about skating is that it teaches you to do the things you should do before you do the things you want to do.”

Barbara Ann Scott • "With steroids in baseball, dog fighting and other arrests in the NFL … game-fixing in the NBA, who knows, maybe the least controversial sport might just turn out to be figure skating." Janice Hough • “I firmly believe that the only disability in life is a bad attitude.”

Scott Hamilton • “Sometimes you just have to do something for the greater good.” John Nicks • “To me, figure skating is a divine sport. It's a sport made by the gods. It inspires people to cry, it inspires people to cheer, and it pulls the emotions out of people.” Frank Carroll

2

PSA OFFICERS President First Vice President Second Vice President Third Vice President Treasurer Past President

JULY/AUGUST 2019

Members at Large

Committee on Professional Standards Ratings Chair Seminar/ Webinar Chair ISI Rep to PSA U.S. Figure Skating Rep to PSA PSA Rep to U.S. Figure Skating Conference Chair Executive Director COMMITTEE CHAIRS Awards Coaches Hall of Fame Education Apprentice Program Area Representatives Hockey Skating Sport Science Endorsements Executive Executive Nominating Finance Nominating Professional Standards PSA Rep to ISI Ratings Adaptive Skating FCC

Alex Chang Rebecca Stump Tim Covington Denise Williamson Carol Murphy Christine Fowler-Binder Phillip Mills Michelle Lauerman Andrea Kunz-Williamson Patrick O'Neil Cheryl Faust Janet Tremer Derrick Delmore Tom Zakrajsek Phillip DiGuglielmo Kelley Morris Adair Tim Covington Patrick O'Neil Scott McCoy Kirsten Miller Zisholz TBD TBD Jimmie Santee

Teri Hooper Christine Fowler-Binder Denise Williamson Janet Tremer Angela Roesch-Davis Jordan Mann Heidi Thibert Jamie Lynn Santee Alex Chang Christine Fowler-Binder Carol Murphy Christine Fowler-Binder Kelley Morris Adair Gerry Lane Tim Covington Mary Johanson Janet Tremer

PSA AREA REPRESENTATIVES Area 1 Martha Harding Area Area 2 Kimberlie Wheeland Area Area 3 Andrea Kunz-Williamson Area Area 4 Tim Covington Area Area 5 Angela Roesch-Davis Area Area 6 Kevin Curtis Area Area 7 Robyn Petroskey Area Area 8 Melanie Bolhuis Area Area 9 Lisa Bardonaro-Reibly

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Stacie Kuglin Charmin Savoy Sharon Brilliantine Liz Egetoe Lisa Mizonick Don Corbiell Josselyn Baumgartner Karen Preston

DISCLAIMER: Written by Guest Contributor | PSA regularly receives articles from guest contributors. The opinions and views expressed by these contributors are not necessarily those of PSA. By publishing these articles, PSA does not make any endorsements or statements of support of the author or their contribution, either explicit or implicit.

THE PROFESSIONAL SKATER Magazine Mission: To bring to our readers the best information from the most knowledgeable sources. To select and generate the information free from the influence of bias.

And to provide needed information quickly, accurately and efficiently.

The views expressed in THE PROFESSIONAL SKATER Magazine and products are not necessarily those of the Professional Skaters Association.

The Professional Skater (USPS 574770) Issue 4, a newsletter of the Professional Skaters Association, Inc., is published bimonthly, six times a year, as the official publication of the PSA, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902. Tel 507.281.5122, Fax 507.281.5491, Email: office@skatepsa.com © 2017 by Professional Skaters Association, all rights reserved. Subscription price is $19.95 per year, Canadian $29.00 and foreign $45.00/year, U.S. Funds. Second-class Postage Paid at Rochester, MN 55901 and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER send address changes to The Professional Skater, 3006 Allegro Park SW, Rochester, MN 55902. Printed in the USA.

We'll let the comments speak for themselves!

Liability Waivers & Risk Management • “A must have for any coach. Very good clarity to many issues.”

• “Learned a lot about protecting my business. Great presentation.”

LTS USA Workshop • “It gave me some new ideas to bring back to my rink's learn to skate program.”

Managing Finances & Growing Assets • “Very helpful as a young coach.”

• “Great explanation of the topic! Thanks for bring this kind of information and super professional people!”

Music Editing • “I learned a lot about different apps to use for music editing.”

Off-ice Jumps • “Very useful hands-on info presented.

Loved this session.”

• “Loved the presentation, but the sense of team and respect for eachother was a perfect example of unselfish people!!”

Single, Double, Trip, Quad Jumps • “This was definitely one of my favorite sessions I have attended thus far. I learned a lot about teaching and drawing each jump.”

• “This was incredibly helpful, the three different coaches with their three different methods were wonderful.”

NQS Competition Pipeline • “This seminar is always helpful! Every single time it informs me of something new and up-to-date! I appreciate all three of them taking time to do Q & As after!”

U.S. Figure Skating Programs • “I learned about so much that I never knew existed.”

USOC • “All presenters are well versed and speak very well.”

• “Topic coordination and flow among speakers among their areas of expertise was excellent design. Chris had great fill-in among everyone.”

• “I have a handful of these skaters and this information was very helpful. Loved the ball toss activity!!”

2019 EDI Awards May 24, 2019 Palm Springs, CA – The Professional Skaters Association (PSA) announced the winners of the annual EDI Awards at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort on Friday, May 24, 2019.

The Education and Dedication International (EDI) Awards are named after the late World and Olympic coach, Edi Scholdan, who died in the 1961 world team plane crash. Scholdan was the first president of the PSA and inspiration for the awards, which recognize exceptional achievement in the sport of figure skating.

The PSA is sincerely grateful to the EDI award sculptors Meghan and Douglas Taylor-Gebler. This bronze award series is inspired by the rough etchings that the blade carves into the surface of the ice. The Professional Skaters Association is the proud owner of the largest collection of the Taylor-Gebler’s work.

2019 Joint PSA and U.S. Figure Skating EDI Awards COACH OF THE YEAR Laura Lipetsky PAUL MCGRATH CHOREOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR Shae-Lynn Bourne

DEVELOPMENTAL COACH OF THE YEAR Damon Allen & Christy Krall PIETER KOLLEN SPORT SCIENCE Dr. Caroline Silby

2019 PSA EDI Awards F. RITTER SHUMWAY Carol Heiss Jenkins

PHOTO OF THE YEAR Mark Walentiny

BETTY BERENS Gloria Leous

FRITZ DIETL Palm Beach Ice Works

JOE SERAFINE NATIONAL VOLUNTEER OF THE YEAR Ashley Wyatt

PRESIDENT’S EXCELLENCE AWARD Jackie Brenner Marc Weitzman Denise Williamson Melanie Lambert & Fred Palascak Jeremy Allen Paula Trujillo Darin Hosier & Corrie Martin Lisa Kriley Ivan Dinev & Angela Nikodinov

GUSTAVE LUSSI Nathan Chen SONJA HENIE Tammy Gambill SHULMAN AWARD FOR LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT Christine Fowler-Binder DISTINGUISHED OFFICIALOF THE YEAR Lynn Goldman

PS MAGAZINE

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PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Alex Chang, MFS, RM

Bringing Technology Into Focus I

write you today with a profound gratitude as your new president of the PSA. It is an honor to serve our immense and diverse coaching community and I look forward to supporting all coaches with excellent programming, events, and new learning opportunities. The PSA is committed to providing quality education, training, and accreditation to all coaches, and as such, is always looking for new shifts in programs and offerings to meet the industry’s evolving needs.

One of our key objectives has been to create more cost-effective education platforms. To that end, we leaped into the digital realm and began to deeply expand our digital platforms.

We recently launched PSA TV, a coaching companion resource with an entire library of recordings from many of our best presentations and seminars. Many PSA Conference segments are now just a few clicks away for those that could not attend in person, or for those that did attend but want to re-watch a particularly useful segment. You can also find footage from our various PSA Super-Sites on PSA TV as well as the U.S. Open with so many memorable performances by our fabulous professional skaters.

PSA TV also has discipline-specific categories if you are looking for spins, jumps, or skating skills tips and drills. It’s a perfect tool of inspiration and ideation for that morning drive to the rink, you know the one where we ask ourselves, “What can I do differently today to solve my skater’s issue?” We have ALL been there before… but now, you’re not alone.

Further digital initiatives this past year include the various webinars and live-stream events throughout the

Alex speaks at the 2019 PSA Conference & Trade Show in Palm Springs, CA.

season. Our goal and intention was to bring the education on-demand to each of you and support every coach in growing his or her expertise and instruction. Don’t worry if you missed something—you can now go back and subscribe to watch it again later. My personal goal is to continue this trend for on-demand education and provide new and relevant topics at an affordable price.

Part of our 2019 transformation included redesigning the entire PSA website (as you can see it is now noticeably cleaner and easier to navigate, and most importantly, mobile friendly). This year, we also launched our new e-learning platform through ‘Freestone’ to create a more integrated experience with the online store and e-learning products. We hope you enjoy the new and improved navigation.

My message today is not just about embracing change and new possibilities, but also about being true to our teaching and commitment to our skaters -- old and new, beginner to elite, fun and problematic. That is what makes coaching so unique and in the end, personally rewarding.

I am sure we each have our own special skating stories.

Let’s help the next generation of skaters create their skating stories too. Thank you for your time and trust.

Good luck to everyone this season!

“Our goal and intention was to bring the education on-demand to each of you and support every coach in growing his or her expertise and instruction.”

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JULY/AUGUST 2019

2019 Fritz Dietl Award Recipient

PALM BEACH ICE WORKS

Polishing a “Diamond In the Rough” W

hen she first stepped into the Palm Beach Ice Works five years ago, Martine de la Torre considered it a “diamond in the rough”.

A great deal of polishing has been done since.

Palm Beach Ice Works, a 10-yearold facility with one Olympic size sheet and every amenity an ice rink might need, was honored by the Professional Skaters Association as the 2019 Fritz Dietl award winner for Ice Arena Excellence.

“It is quite prestigious,’’ said de la Torre, the figure skating and marketing director at Palm Beach Ice Works. “I am very proud of my staff and how much we have all contributed to our success.”

De la Torre, who is a figure skating coach but whose educational and professional background is in nutrition, was introduced to the rink by the daughter of the rink owner Lori Alf. De la Torre was providing nutrient counseling to Caterina Alf at another rink but was planning a move north to Palm Beach, and Caterina asked a simple question.

“Have you ever seen our rink?

You should come up and see it. It is absolutely beautiful.”

So de la Torre went to the rink and thought “this is a diamond in the rough”. She met with Alf and told her “I think I could make changes that would bring in the

customer base that we would need to have the best figure skating facility in South Florida.” Alf said, “Show me what you can do.’”

“Lori has been a great inspiration,”de la Torre said. “Her kindness, support and business sense have been the reason PBIW has become so successful.”

At that time, the rink had a small Learn to Skate program that needed massaging, and had held no competitions. Located inside an industrial area of West Palm Beach, the rink was a facility providing mostly a recreational outlet to escape the Florida heat. It was not a vigorous facility with an aim to build a figure skating culture in the area.

De la Torre found figure skating coaches and ballet coaches who could help build that program, and those kids are now the centerpiece of the PBIW ice shows, competitions, camps, and seminars.

The facility has a full gym with Pilates equipment and a fully equipped dance studio, and, thanks to the owners, there is a focus on cleanliness. When the rink was built, a filtration system was built that provides not only clean ice but a clean air quality, as opposed to the “gymnasium” smell that sometimes permeates a figure skating facility.

There is also a sense of luxury to the rink. The locker rooms include

| by Kent McDill

leather chairs. The interior of the rink includes stadium seating for parents and others to watch skaters, and the rink offers concessions.

Besides the Learn to Skate programs, Palm Beach Ice Works is the home rink for the Breakers Travel Hockey program, an influence close to de la Torre’s heart as the mother of two hockey players. The Breakers have won state championships at both the U-14 and U-16 level. Former AHL player Ryan Sittler runs that program, and general manager Kenny Rheault runs the enthusiastic Adult Hockey program.

One of the figure skating coaches working at Palm Beach Ice Works is Evgeny Platov, the two-time Olympic champion and four-time World champion with Osaka Grishuk.

Because of area demographics, Palm Beach Ice Works is unique as a figure skating facility. But PBIW has progressed and has achieved a level of participation that has resulted in earning the Fritz Dietl award.

“For the past several years, our growth and success has put us in the competitive arena, rather than the purely recreational,” she said. “I am very proud and honored to be a part of this amazing PBIW family and have our facility at the standard to receive this kind of recognition.”

PS MAGAZINE

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RATINGS Tim Covington MFS, MM, RC

Transfer of Coaching Certification W

e are proud to announce our first “Transfer of Coaching Certification” candidate Steven Belanger! Steven is a NCCP Level 3 coach from Canada and applied to use his credentials to obtain a Senior Free Skate PSA Rating. Steven's credentials are quite highly regarded: • Canadian National Coach

Transfer Of Coaching Certification Policy Transfer of qualifications guidelines: 1. Must have a full PSA membership for at least one year prior to applying 2. Must complete a Transfer of Qualifications application with supporting certification documents in English 3. Must pay the applicable fee: • $100 for NCCP level 1 (registered rating equivalent)

• Canadian International Coach • Canadian National Technical Specialist in Singles and Pairs • He is one of the inventors of the Cha Cha Congelado • Steven also competed in dance, singles and pairs at the National level.

Did you know that anyone with NCCP certification from Canada, the UK, and Australia can apply? Congratulations Steven—we hope many of you will take this opportunity to become PSA Rated professionals!

• $150 for NCCP level 2 (certified rating equivalent) • $225 for NCCP level 3 (senior rating equivalent) • $325 for NCCP level 4/5 (master rating equivalent) • Coaches coming to the U.S. from Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom may apply for a transfer of coaching certification qualifications they have achieved from the National Coaching Certification Program (NCCP) to the PSA Rating System. Only countries using the NCCP program will be considered at this time.

• The certification must meet a level of knowledge and experience that is equal to or exceeds the requirements of the PSA Rating System to be granted an equivalency.

Trade your boots for slippers.

Watch and learn at your own convenience!

PSA TV is an on-demand video library of past conferences and seminars presented by the Professional Skaters Association as well as tips from master rated coaches, webinars, and podcasts. We proudly offer a selection of free content, videos for purchase, or subscribe for only $4.99/month for on-demand access to the full catalog.

www.skatepsa.com 6

JULY/AUGUST 2019

PROF ESSI O N AL D EV E LO PM E N T

Basic Accreditation (BA)

Congratulations to all who prepared for and took rating exams at conference.

PSA coaches had an 85% success rate with a total of 136 exams passed. Included are 46 first-time candidates and 8 master ratings. Way to go, coaches!

E-learning Academy

Congratulations to our newly-minted master rated coaches!

Joseph Breeden Christine Campbell Alicia Cavanaugh Jun-Hong Chen Danielle Eastman Arleth Joy Estaca Ellie Kawamura Annalisa McGuinness Moe Okuda Lily Prince Lisa Sayers Max Wang

Palm Springs, CA | May 20-21, 2019

Emeritus Rating Charlene Guarino Emeritus-19: MFF-75, MG-98, SD-74, CP-74

NOR EEL PHO TO BY MIC HAE L

Carol Rosenblith Emeritus-19: BA-06, RG-09, FCC-09

Congratulations to the pictured coaches who hold a PSA Ranking and were present at the Membership Meeting during the PSA Conference in May.

Michele Cantu Felix MFS Rebecca Ann Clark MM Kathy Goeke MPD

Amy Ladogana MG Ainis Lejins MM Lisa Nowak-Spearing MM

Dawn Piepenbrink-McCosh MPD Alina Ponomarova MD

Ratings Palm Springs, CA | May 20-21, 2019

Deanna Anderson RG Ashley Balch RFS Regina Barrera RFS Amy Lynn Battista RM Felicia Beck CC, SC, CFS Emma Borders RFS Jillian Bronson RFS Sara Bucio CFS Sara Buck-Lalonde RFS, RM Michele Cantu Felix CM Jennifer Cashen RPD, CPD Alicia Cavanaugh RM Alexey Crogh RG, RD Trista Demuth RG Tara Denkers CG, RFS Todd Eldredge RFS Alexandra Elizondo Perez RFS Jose Encinas-Garcia CFS Arleth Estaca RM Carly Gold RFS Michelle Hardin RFS, RM Tiffany Ho RFS, RM Brock Huddleston SM Sophia Jedrysik RG Elizabeth Judd RG Kristine Kerr RFS

Balam Labarrios SFS Sacha Lalonde RM Meghan Lamarre SM Veronica Le Rette RM Felicity Lothrop RG, CG Mariana Lucia Martinez RFS Vanessa Mascia RG Jacqueline Matson-O'Grady RC, RFS Samantha McCain RG Annalisa McGuinnes RFS Kristen Mersch RFS, RM, RS Christine Miller RFS,RG Danielle Montalbano CFS John Mucko SM Tatum Neustadt SG Madeleine Newby-Estrella RFS, RG Amanda Ng RFS, RM Grace Orpiano RM Kathi Pargee RM, CM Tara Patterson RPD, CPD Kristen Perdue RG Alina Ponomarova SD China Quinn RFS Fallon Racine RM Caitlin Ramsey RFS, RM

Rick Reyor CFS Kristen Robles RG Kaylar Rosenkrans RFS, RM Laurie Sanii RD Ferelith Senjem CFS Jacqie Shaffer RFS, RM Stephanie Siswick RD, RPD, SM Sharon Smith RFS, RM Darlene Sparks CM Deana Spencer RG Andrew Starzl RFS, RM Alison Stern RG Kelsey Stevens RG Chelsea Strouf RFS, RS Tammy Sutan RFS, RC Kelly Takemura CFS Junichi Takemura RFS Cheriyon Thomas RFS, RM Tiffany Thornton RPD, CPD Traci Veltre CM Ariana Veltre RFS, RM Monica Viola CFS, RM Max Wang RFS Laura Wishart RM Charlene Wong CM, SFS

PS MAGAZINE

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One-on-One Interactions Between Coaches and Minor Athletes B Y S H E L B I M E Y E R , U . S . F I G U R E S K AT I N G S A F E S P O R T M A N A G E R

T

he US Center for SafeSport creates the rules and policies each National Governing Body must follow.

U.S. Figure Skating takes these minimum requirements and makes them specific to our sport. U.S. Figure Skating’s implemented policies can be found in the U.S. Figure Skating SafeSport Policy Handbook which is located at www.usfigureskating.org/SafeSport.

Definitions (from the U.S. Figure Skating SafeSport Handbook Oct 2018): • A “Coach” is any Member who also meets U.S. Figure Skating’s compliance requirements for being a coach and/ or Learn to Skate USA Instructor.

• An “Athlete” is a U.S. Figure Skating member who is participating in, or training to participate in, U.S. Figure Skating-sanctioned activities such as competitions, test sessions, exhibitions, etc. o A “Minor Athlete” is an individual under the age of 18 years old.

• A “Covered Individual” is anyone who: a) Currently is or was at the time of a possible violation of the Code, within the governance or disciplinary jurisdiction of U.S. Figure Skating or who is seeking to be within the governance or disciplinary jurisdiction of U.S. Figure Skating. (For a complete list of Covered Individuals as determined by U.S. Figure Skating, please see Section III, Part 1 of the U.S. Figure Skating SafeSport Handbook); b) U.S. Figure Skating or the U.S. Olympic Committee formally authorizes, approves or appoints (i) to a position of authority over Athletes or (ii) to have frequent contact with Athletes; or, c) U.S. Figure Skating identifies as being within the jurisdiction of the U.S. Center for SafeSport • “Billeting” is defined as living with a host family—not a Covered Individual—in a location away from the athlete’s home.

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JULY/AUGUST 2019

In these policies, federal law requires reasonable procedures and policies to limit one-on-one interactions at a U.S. Figure Skating sanctioned event or activity between a Minor Athlete and an adult who is not the Minor’s parent or permanent legal guardian. Limiting one-on-one interactions and practicing two-deep leadership applies to meetings, individual training sessions, transporting athletes, or any other situation where it’s possible for the Coach and Minor Athlete to be left alone. Exceptions to this would be if the contact takes place in an area that is open, observable and interruptible, or if it is an emergency situation.

“Limiting one-onone interactions and practicing two-deep leadership applies to meetings, individual training sessions, transporting athletes, or any other situation where it’s possible for the Coach and Minor Athlete to be left alone”

Physical Contact During Instruction: Physical contact in sport is inherent in instruction and training. Appropriate physical contact has two elements: • The physical contact takes place in a public area where interactions can be easily observed and at an interruptible distance from another adult. There is no potential for physical or sexual intimacies during the physical contact.

• The physical contact is for the benefit of the Athlete or Non-athlete Participant, not to meet an emotional or other need of an adult.

Travel: • In an effort to limit one-on-one interactions, Covered Individuals shall not drive alone with a Minor Athlete unless the Covered Individual is an immediate family member or permanent legal guardian of the Minor Athlete. It’s preferred this third party is an adult, but this is not a requirement.

• A Covered Individual is prohibited from sharing a hotel room or other sleeping arrangement with a Minor Athlete (unless the Covered Individual is the parent/permanent legal guardian, or sibling of that particular Minor Athlete or under the conditions of a Chaperone as defined under “Chaperone Responsibilities”).

• If rooms are connected, such as a hotel room with adjoining rooms, a lock must be in place from both rooms.

• Coaches are never permitted to share a hotel room or other sleeping arrangement with a Minor Athlete unless that Coach is a permanent legal guardian of the Minor.

Billeting:

• The parent or permanent legal guardian of the Minor Athlete must sign a written consent to the Billeting, and all adults living in the host family household are required to have successfully completed the SafeSport Training and a U.S. Figure Skating approved background check with a green-light finding prior to a Minor Athlete Billeting with the host family.

• A Minor Athlete shall not live in the same physical residence with an unrelated Covered Individual under any circumstances. Although not prohibited, an adult Athlete residing with a Covered Individual is not recommended because of the actual and perceived power imbalance between the adult Athlete and a Covered Individual.

These policies are in place to protect all of our members.

Parent permission slips or signed waivers will not be accepted in place of compliance with these policies. U.S. Figure Skating encourages all of its members to review and be familiar with the SafeSport Policy Handbook. Revisions to the handbook will always be communicated to the U.S. Figure Skating membership, and a revision is upcoming in the next few months. Questions regarding these policies should be directed to SafeSport@usfigureskating.org.

Are you looking for additional PSA credits? Do you have an idea for a seminar or education event in your area?

Good news! The PSA offers the opportunity to broaden our outreach for educational credits and coaching seminars and is looking for educational partners and events that we can put a stamp of approval on and endorse.

If you have an idea for an event or are interested in an endorsement, please contact office@skatepsa. com or visit skatepsa.com for more information.

PS MAGAZINE

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[ BOARD PROFILE ]

REQ U I RE ME NTS

Tim Covington Tim Covington, the Professional Skaters Association Board Second Vice-President, is an experienced Master Rated coach figure coach with expertise in Free Skate, Moves in the Field and Choreography. He coaches at several rinks in the New York Tristate area, including Skylands Ice World and Ice Time Sports.

“I am at several rinks because of ice availability but that makes for a very diverse environment and I get to be around different students and coaches.”

Covington has held several positions with the PSA, and believes he can serve as an example to other coaches who as yet do not have a relationship with the organization. “I think we should increase our promotion of the value of having a PSA membership,’’ Covington said. “There is so much available to members but not everyone knows this.”

“We have been extremely busy,” Covington said of the board. “We have a new platform for CERs. Ratings has made some big changes in regard to how exams work, and more changes are on the way. And, as always, we are trying to do more and more things to support our membership.”

Covington has somehow found time to build a structure around his second favorite activity, gardening.

He has started a gardening blog at www.hudsonvalleyrivergarden. com. “I have a lot of tropical and exotic plants. I am always growing something new.”

To participate in the EOI program all coaches of the club or rink must be PSA members and carry liability insurance.

Member coaches receive a variety of benefits which include: seminars, workshops and conferences, eligibility for ratings and accreditation, group health insurance, liability insurance, PS Magazine subscription, and job placement services.

BE NE FI TS Register now and receive national and international recognition as a progressive training facility dedicated to excellence in coaching both on and off-ice. As a registered facility you will receive an ‘Excellence On Ice’ shield to be displayed in the arena, international recognition in PS Magazine, and access to a resource coordinator in the PSA office—all at no cost!

PSA is proud to offer our new e-learning platform!

The available programs, both online and at conferences, provide information on the many ways the PSA is changing in the current environment for getting information to coaches, he said.

BENEFITS of the NEW PLATFORM Above: MC of the 2019 U.S. Open Figure Skating Championships, Tim waits wtih competitor Themistocles Leftheris while the judges deliberate.

Left: Tim with his 2017 Joe Serafine National Volunteer of the Year EDI award and pictured with Lee Cabell, Patrick O'Neil, and Paula Trujillo.

No subscription fee! (a savings of $25) Single sign-on. Just log into your PSA membership account!

Pre-bundled modules & single exam = less confusion Single exam E-learning platform offers 24/7 customer support

PS MAGAZINE

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SPORT SCIENCE Heidi Thibert, MFS, MM, MC

Mindfulness and Awareness in Figure Skating L E E CA B E L L , E D D, M F F

F

igure skating is a beautiful sport, but there is a lot of physical training behind it. Figure skaters devote a lot of time practicing at an ice rink and exercising in a gym every day, but how much time do they spend preparing mentally for the precious minutes on the ice during training or competition? How do figure skaters and coaches improve their cognitive control, making their minds stronger and strengthening their attention control? One answer can be found in taming their minds through the practice of meditation, increasing mindfulness and awareness.

In the last 20 years, meditation and mindfulness/awareness have gone from being “kind of cool” to becoming an omnipresent Band-Aid for fixing everything from weight to relationships to achievement level. Cutting-edge research has revealed meditation’s many benefits and, as indicated below, how it can help practitioners achieve their goals.

At its root, mindfulness is about staying focused on what is happening in the present moment. The mind is like a wild horse that needs to be tamed. Finding a “focal point” can help tame the mind’s wild tendencies. We can focus on any object, but breath is the best object to focus on because it is always with us. Mindfulness means attention to detail; however, our mind must be calm in order to be focused.

Awareness means using your five sense perceptions at every moment. You are fully present sensing the outside world with the eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and skin. You notice we are here, facing the external reality we need to relate to.

Do I like or dislike this reality? What is my personal feeling about it? And we project our prejudices into this reality. We never see it as is, we only see our projection of it. That is why that it is like a dream, the rainbow or magic show. We only see our version of the external world.

We can learn about mindfulness and awareness by practicing meditation. In the West, more than 10 million people practice meditation every day. What is meditation and how it can help us? There are many kinds of meditation that influence the body and the brain, and scientists have just begun to scratch the surface of meditation’s possibilities. There is no need to become Olympic-level meditators or a yogi in a Himalayan mountain cave to learn about meditation and how to be mindful and aware. We can do it in the comfort of our home if we can have a quite space to sit on a meditation cushion or a chair.

You can begin mindful meditation by sitting with the

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back straight on a meditation cushion with legs crossed or sitting on a chair with both feet touching the ground and focusing your attention on your breathing. Basic and simple, is not it? Not quite. The breath is always with you and gives you a bridge between the body and the mind. If we are happy, sad, excited, or angry, our breathing patterns change. Our breath accurately reflects our state of mind.

As we focus on breathing, our breathing gradually becomes slower, then the frenetic activity in our minds becomes slower. We cannot breathe in the past or the future, we can only breath now. If we are conscious at the time of breathing, then we are in the present moment.

Your eyes should be semi-open with the gaze about three to four feet to the front. If you are too distracted at the beginning of meditation, close your eyes for a few minutes first then open them slightly again after you quiet your mind a bit. This can be repeated during your meditation session. I prefer my hands comfortably placed on my thighs to create a closed circle. Your sitting should be as natural as possible, not too tight and not too loose.

As we practice mindfulness meditation and sit and focus on our breath, we suddenly realize we are not the masters of our minds, yet the mind is with us all the time!

The mind feeds us with anything imaginary possible, and thoughts are coming and coming. We like these thoughts, dislike them or are indifferent; we do not have to follow our thoughts out. If our minds wander and we are aware, then we can notice our thoughts and bring our attention back to our anchor—our breath, “touch and go,” so to speak.

We should not be judgmental or pushing our thoughts away during the time of meditation. We are becoming friends with our minds and with ourselves. We certainly do not beat ourselves up because we are not the “perfect” meditators. We accept ourselves as we are. We observe our minds and what our minds are doing. We can see positive and negative states of mind, so we become more and more the masters of our minds rather than our minds’ slaves.

We are in control.

While we practice mindfulness meditation, we want to also practice awareness meditation: a more global concept of space, i.e., panoramic awareness. We are aware with our whole being rather than just seeing with the eyes alone.

Either we are conscious or not conscious, there is nothing in between. We are aware of our emotions, we have a moment

“Meditation is not about getting to a state of bliss, ecstasy, blanking out, or becoming thoughtless. It is about developing a clarity of mind, so we can see how much we are—or are not— imprisoned in our conceptual mind.”

of clarity, and we are aware and conscious of what is actually occurring. At the same time, we are aware of other peoples’ emotions and genuine communication can take place.

Meditation is not about getting to a state of bliss, ecstasy, blanking out, or becoming thoughtless. It is about developing a clarity of mind, so we can see how much we are—or are not—imprisoned in our conceptual mind. Most people identify with their thinking and feelings which are interconnected. We are thinking about the past or we are planning what we will do next, but all that is just a thought. It doesn’t exist. The past is gone; the future has not yet come. The only time we have is right now.

But even now is not now because the moment I say now, it is gone. We need to be aware of the space, not just the clouds covering the sky. There is nothing wrong with thinking, but if we cannot stop thinking, then we are in trouble. It is especially about how we recognize our negative emotions, so we become the masters instead of slaves of our destiny.

How often we should meditate? Even 10-15 minutes of sitting meditation in a quite space every day can make a difference. Regularity is key, however. Children as young as eight years old can meditate by lying on a soft surface, placing their favorite toy on their stomach and focusing on it rise and fall during breathing.

A practical effect of mindfulness/awareness meditation for figure skating coaches is the ability to focus and concentrate on the student during a lesson. How I feel inside is how I see people outside. My thoughts become my speech and my actions, and therefore affects others and the outer world. If I am there for my student at the present moment and can give her my full attention without any anger or distracting emotions, I know I have done my job. The same can be applied to our mind and behavior during a competition. There is nothing technically new we can teach our skater during a competition. We are only focused on our skater, “holding the space for her.” If we concentrate, we will start hearing and seeing more clearly and both the skater and coach can benefit.

Also, coach’s ego can hurt the skater. It is one thing to be proud of our skater’s achievement, and another to “massage” our ego. It is the skater’s achievement, and we have helped our skater to achieve her goal. Nothing more, nothing less. Compassion and caring for themselves and others are other benefits of mindfulness/awareness meditation. Coaches can change their relationship for themselves and others.

A practical effect of mindfulness/awareness meditation for figure skaters is that mindfulness/awareness can help students to learn by focusing on the coach’s instruction rather than being distracted by their surroundings. They can skate on the ice with 100% attention on their coach’s instruction during a lesson and practice afterwards. They are aware of the space around them, and what the coach is saying. Their attention is FULLY present, mindful of sense perceptions at the very moment.

When skaters perform their program, they must be in control and totally in the present moment. If they make a mistake in the program, they need to let it go and not allow it to negatively influence the rest of the program.

Today’s kids have a video babysitter and have less human and personal interaction than previous generations. There are more distractions these days than any time before. A wealth of information means poverty of attention.

There is some scientific evidence about meditation that can be helpful to our coaches’ health. Dr. Herbert Benson, a cardiologist and professor at Harvard Medical School and founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, published more than 190 scientific papers and 12 books about how meditation helps cardiac arrythmias, allergies, anxiety, bronchial asthma, depression, diabetes, blood pressure, and cholesterol. By meditating, you can become happier, concentrate more, and change your brain.

“A practical effect of mindfulness/ awareness meditation for figure skating coaches is the ability to focus and concentrate on the student during a lesson.”

Most scientific studies train participants to focus on their breath—to pay attention, for instance, to what it feels like when their breath moves in and out. But other types of mindfulness—related to physical sensations, thoughts, and emotions—can be employed with the same effect, according continued on page 19 PS MAGAZINE

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EDUCATION Carol Rossignol, MD, MS, MG, MPD, MFF

Taking Time for Your Feet B Y A N N E T T E T. T H O M A S

W

hile dancers have long had a “love-hate” relationship with their feet, more often than not, skaters seem to neglect them. And yet, as dancers and athletes, our feet are the foundation of all that we do. In this article, I hope to not only raise awareness of how strong, healthy feet are vital to you as a skater; but also to help you love your feet!

A few “feet facts”: • Much of accurate proprioception comes from sensitivity in the soles of the feet. If your feet have not been included as an essential part of your training they will not send accurate information to your nervous system. This inaccurate information can cause problems in every area of your skating as balance, timing and artistic sensitivity require that the entire body be fully attuned to every nuance of movement through time and space.

• The muscles, ligaments and tendons in the feet are connected through the ankle to the lower leg. Having strong articulation in the toes and feet will greatly improve balance, jump technique and even pointing your foot accurately (toes straight and not pointing down toward the ice!).

• Even though the feet are “locked” into the skating boot, the surface quality of the ice should still be “felt” through the floor of the boot. If your feet have been neglected they will lack the sensitivity to feel the ice. This in turn directly affects edge quality and as well as whole body line.

• A thin, sensitive membrane that covers all skeletal muscles called “Myofascia” connects at the bottom of the feet and continues in one “sheet” all the way up the legs, back and neck right to the top of the eye sockets. The condition of this Myofascia can determine whether your feet, legs, lower back and neck feel “stiff” or tense, your ability to breathe deeply; and even if you have a headache. (from Thomas W. Meyers Anatomy Trains: Myofascial Meridians for Manual and Movement Therapists (Elsevier Science, 2001) p.65) • Holistically, the condition of your feet has much to do with the condition of your entire body. It has long been known that acupressure points in the feet lead to every organ in the body. As Eastern medicine gains recognition in the West, these concepts will increasingly become an integral part of sports medicine and injury prevention techniques.

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Before and After Skating “Treatment” Here is a quick and easy self-massage foot treatment which will really do wonders for your entire body. It will help increase circulation, loosen up your calves and hamstrings, as well as enhance overall body sensitivity. Make this the last thing you do before you put your skates on and the first thing after taking them off.

Step #1: Take bare foot in one hand and with the other rub knuckles firmly into the plantar fascia from the ball of the foot to the heel. Do this for at least a half a minute.

Step #2: Flex foot and firmly stretch all the toes back.

Step #3: Crunch toes forward.

Step #4: Spread toes out as wide as you can.

Step #5: Firmly squeeze sides of foot inward toward the center. Hold in this position for five slow counts and release.

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* Repeat steps 2-5 and then work other foot.

In conclusion, these self-massages will raise mind-body connection awareness, increase blood flow to the entire body and release the Back Line (which is the stiffest line of the body) for better, safer jumps and higher extensions.

I call it “the warm-up before the warm -up”. For a skater, everything begins with conscious connection to the blade on the ice, so actively including your feet as an integral part of your training program is essential to becoming the best skater you can be. For dancers, these exercises, and other related ones which are in my book, eliminate the need for external foot articulation “devices” which can cause injury as you are forcing the foot without understanding how the foot works. Knowing how your body works is the very best and smartest way to up your game; your feet (and the rest of you too) will thank you!

Article and photos are copyright (c) 2008 -2017 by Annette T. Thomas and Prime Radiant Press LLC. This material may not be copied or distributed without the prior consent of Annette T. Thomas.

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Annette T. Thomas is the Education Director of American Ice Theatre and author of Fundamentals of Alignment and Classical Movement for Figure Skaters”, “Lessons in Classical Ballet for the Figure Skater” and instructional video “Lessons in Ballet for Figure Skaters Level -1”. She currently teaches on-line certification courses in conjunction with American Ice Theatre, and The Ohio Conservatory of Ballet, and conducts workshops worldwide in her exclusive “Ballet for Figure Skaters”. FloorBarre, and Russian Method Classical ballet.

For more information on teaching resources, books and video, please visit: www.balletforfigureskaters.com/store/

PS MAGAZINE

15

When Therapy Gets Physical

By Kent McDill

F

igure skaters have much in common with all other athletes in terms of the effort it takes to succeed. But there is a difference in the physical toll required to be a champion figure skater, because different specific parts of their bodies are employed, and when those body parts suffer pain or injury, specific forms of physical therapy are required.

Lauren Kriegel is a figure skating coach in Jacksonville, Fla., working at Jacksonville Ice and Sportsplex, as well as a physical therapist working out of Brooks Rehabilitation in Jacksonville. She received her doctorate in physical therapy from Pacific University in Oregon. With those two professional pursuits, she is wise to the specific physical therapy needs of figure skaters, and discussed with PS Magazine s how PT addresses figure skating ailments.

“Having a physical therapy

at my (future skating) students like I do my PT clients; they need to be proactive and learn how to move their bodies.”

When considering the physical therapy needs of figure skaters, Kriegel suggests going back to the beginning, when a child first adopts figure skating as a preferred activity.

“One preventative measure athletes and their parents can take from the start is avoiding overtraining or even really sport specialization,” Kriegel said. “In youth hockey, which I work with a great deal, they promote multi-sport participation. Don’t get so focused in one particular skill set that you are not moving your body to teach it to develop in various ways.”

The wisdom here seems clear; multi-sport participation at the early stages of development allow all muscle sets to grow and strengthen so that the entire body is ready when

those bodies,’’ she said. “They need to be stressed and challenged in all sorts of ways. Every type of muscle fiber; you need to work them all so they are more equipped later on to handle the higher demand of a specific sport. It is surprising the amount of core weakness that exists because we aren’t using arms and not supporting our bodies in the same way our sports require.”

Which brings us to the second first step, which is the influence of parents on the development of their athlete’s body. Parents need to understand that future physical woes of your figure skating athlete can be avoided or lessened by allowing that athlete to participate in more than one sport through most of their single-digit ages.

“Their parents are clients as well,’’ Kriegel said. “They need to be educated and encouraged to allow multi-sport participation.”

Displaying her wisdom, Kriegel avoided selecting a set age for figure skaters to begin concentrating on that sport specifically, but suggested that pre-puberty is when children are developing their coordination and need to have an expansive athletic experience through those years to develop all of their coordinating muscle groups successfully.

But, almost every figure skater that has ever progressed to a

“Their parents are clients as well,’’ Kriegel said.

“They need to be educated and encouraged to allow multi-sport participation.” background allows me to recognize unfavorable movement patterns and I have a skill set that allows me to address that and ultimately share information for both prevention and rehabilitation,’’ Kriegel said. “I look

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a child decides to concentrate on one sport. Otherwise, “you are not going to get that same strength and development,’ she said.

“Think of all your growth plates and the rate of change going on in

championship level has moved to participate in figure skating alone.

As Kriegel notes, “Figure skating is not a s port where you can just dabble and make progress.”

And once an athlete becomes

a full-time figure skater, he or she is apt to develop specific physical issues related to that sport. Knowing which injuries are most likely to occur in the constant and everyday training of their bodies can make it easier for those athletes to avoid those injuries with preventative physical work, which can be done at home as well as with a professional physical therapist.

Kriegel notes that because most figure skaters have a dominant leg for both jumping and landing, and that creates a dominant side of the body in terms of impact, it is on that predominant side where injuries are likely to occur.

“I am seeing valgus (outward) collapse of the landing leg, a femoral adduction and internal rotation moment at the hip, which compounds joint reaction forces at the knee upon landing,’’ Kriegel said, explaining how proper hip movement can prevent knee, lower back and hip pain. “Appropriate plyometric training and strengthening of the lateral hip and trunk ads in addressing this problem.”

So much of the strength necessary to compete in figure skating comes from the legs; at the same time, the muscles of the upper body need to be developed to handle the muscular demands of the sport. But, just like when a single misplaced dowel can ruin the construction of do-it-yourself furniture construction, skaters can suffer injury and pain because of a lack of strength in the smaller, multi-bone arrangement in the ankles and feet.

“Foot and ankle injuries are predominant,’’ she said. “They can be mitigated with strength and stability training of the intrinsic muscles of the foot and ankle.”

All of the aforementioned issues can be addressed before they happen or after in working with a physical

“There is something to be said for the training eye that can bring something to the table...

Video calls can be beneficial, when the skater understands self-correction and has the necessary body awareness.” therapist. However, there is a cost to such consultation, and often rinks do not have a physical therapist on site to work with figure skaters who may have limited time or financial resources to work with a therapist on a regular or recurring basis.

But we live in a world where people can get a full workout regimen designed to their body type by downloading an app, and there are a great many exercises skaters can perform at home under the watchful eye of their smartphone or tablet app.

“There are, in fact, advantages to someone working on it independently, individually, if they have really good body awareness and a good foundation on how to move from instruction from a training professional,’’ Kriegel said. “I use a lot-of slow-motion video and an app called “coach’s eye” for drawing on top of video and voiceover during

video for feedback and comparison.

PT is moving toward a lot more telehealth and virtual care and I see a use for this in training skater proper off-ice programming in the future.”

That being said, performing physical therapy at home is only beneficial if it is being done correctly, and only a professional set of eyes can best diagnose if an athlete is treating the correct body movements and body parts to reduce or remove pain. in their training home “There is something to be said for the training eye that can bring something to the table, but that does not necessarily need to be done in person,’’ Kriegel said. “Video calls can be beneficial, when the skater understands self-correction and has the necessary body awareness.”

Physical therapy is a natural way to correct body movements which create pain. When employed properly, the body (especially the young body) is not supposed to create pain. When it does, it is often because the body is being moving in a way that creates stress, and often that stress in unnecessary to the correct performance of the body’s attempted figure skating moves.

As stated earlier, physical therapy can prevent pain, and it can eliminate pain.

“Physical therapy is an empowering thing,’’ Kriegel said. “We don’t prescribe medication. We proscribe movement. There is so much scientific evidence that shows that exercise and movement and body awareness and self-recognition and self-correction is really the most powerful healer. Exercise is much more powerful than opioids when it comes to pain.”

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Sport Science continued from page 13

to Dr. Gaelle Desbordes, a neuroscientist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and Harvard Medical School who studies mindfulness.

In 2006, the scientific study of mindfulness was still picking up steam. “Now we’re in a much better place because there is a body of scientific evidence about these practices,” said Desbordes, who has done imaging studies to figure out how mindfulness training alters activity levels in the brain.

The weight of scientific evidence suggests that mindfulness is helpful for alleviating anxiety, she said. “That’s great because it means that there’s now another method available, and these things can be combined.”

A study by Dr. Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist and professor of psychology and psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as well as founder and chair of the Center for Healthy Minds, focused on reducing anxiety and achieving more happiness. He is best known for his groundbreaking work studying emotion and the brain (Goleman & Davidson, 2018). His subjects reported that they are more enthusiastic, more active, and experienced improved emotional well-being.

It is my hope that I have been able to show the benefits of mindfulness/awareness meditation to our figure skating

coaches and skaters. Mindfulness/awareness training takes time, and changes do not happen overnight. When you do it once, it is kind of like going to the gym and doing biceps curls once. You may say, “Oh gosh, I am so weak; that was not fun and now I am going to be sore for three days.” No one expects to see a bulging muscle mass after that—instead, the effect is borne out after weeks or months of regular visits to the gym. Mindfulness is the same thing because what we are doing is training our neurons to connect, and that does not happen after just one time. Give it a chance and discover benefits for yourself and your skaters.

Reference: Goleman, D., & Davidson, R. J. (2018). Altered traits: Science reveals how meditation changes your mind, brain, and body. New York, NY: Avery Publishing.

Lee Cabell is a PSA Master rated coach in Figures and Free Skate and serves on the PSA Sports Science and U.S. Figure Skating Sports Medicine and Science Committees.

He also incorporates mental and spiritual components in teaching. To help him achieve a body-mind-spirit connection, he has practiced meditation focused on mindfulness and awareness for the past 25 years and is a certified meditation instructor by Shambhala International and Interdependence Project in New York City. Dr. Cabell is also a university professor and scientist with a doctorate in biomechanics. He is a 2017 recipient of the PSA Pieter Kollen Sport Science Coaching Award and the prestigious U.S. Olympic Committee “Doc” Counsilman Sport Science Award in Figure Skating.

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PS MAGAZINE

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NE W PSA PRE S IDENT

Alex Chang

By Terri Milner Tarquini

Alex Chang, the newlyminted president of the PSA, is a blur of moving, planning, creating, collaborating, and accomplishing – and his resume shows it in spades.

“I think I bring a well-composed understanding of all areas of the coaching industry and the sport of figure skating,” Chang said. “I coached for so long, I know how it is to live and breathe as a coach. I was lucky enough to be involved in many initiatives with U.S. Figure Skating and PSA, work that I believe has been valuable to our sport. And, now that I’m on the rink management side, I get to see how things get implemented—and not just from inside my normal bubble, but from a new perspective for the good of the sport.”

Chang was a national men’s competitor, a Team USA and international coach, a Harvard graduate, the coach’s committee chair for U.S. Figure Skating for four years, and a PSA board member for the last eight years.

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As if that pedigree wasn’t enough, Chang still felt he might need a little more varied insight to bring to his presidential role.

“Becoming a rink manager was a unique opportunity to take on a different role and look at figure skating through a different lens,” said Chang, of his role of one year at a new facility in Irvine, California. “I realized that, no matter how good of an idea our organizations develop, we had to always get the rink management on board. I wanted to examine that piece a little bit further.”

Chang lauds the environment PSA has created for its membership and wants to continue building on those strengths.

“PSA brings infrastructure and education to a profession that could otherwise be very hard for coaches to find their direction,” he said. “They provide different methodologies, structure and resources for coaches to improve their teaching and skills. They have improved learning opportunities and provided a community and

resources to all coaches.”

With a membership that spans the most elite Olympic and World coaches all the way to the smalltown rink in the relative middle of nowhere, the challenge is in bridging that gap so all benefit.

“I’d like to ensure we develop opportunities that are in-step with what the coaches need,” Chang said.

“A key focus of PSA is sharing information from the best and brightest coaches and delivering it effectively and efficiently. We are always looking for delivery systems that are simple enough to understand the message, yet deep enough to provide detailed information. It’s always been a puzzle.”

As with any leader with a vision, they want to take the good and make it shine even more.

“I think PSA can support programming that can help bridge rink management with our skating community and the organization,” Chang said.

“I’m here to serve the coaches and provide a forum for ideas and to help create a direction for PSA to continue to move our sport forward.”

A piece of that plan might be found in the presentation Chang gave at the conference in May on the Academy System, a group-format training environment that provides on-ice and off-ice instruction to all levels of skaters.

“It’s meant to address the needs of the skaters across the whole development pipeline of an athlete,” he said.

“The format is affordable, while still providing a business for coaches.

FAR LEFT: Alex works with a skater at a

Shattuck-St. Mary’s skate camp

LEFT: Alex presents the Academy System

session at the 2019 PSA Conference & Trade Show in Palm Springs, CA this past May.

It can keep more skaters in the sport, which of course, will keep feeding coach’s businesses.”

The program that has been implemented by Chang over the last few months at three of the six rinks in Southern California he manages.

“If you have five kids working on the same thing, it makes sense to teach in a group. I could go on and on about the benefits of peer-to-peer environments, on visual learning, and the benefits of a dynamic format where everyone learns from each other.

A Stanford study discussed that students in a broad range of physical and mental activities, learn a great deal by participating in situations where they can learn from their peers, including working collaboratively with others, giving and receiving feedback, and seeing how others approach various skills.

“While still new, it’s already sprouting,” he said. The Academy System is a solid illustration of what a Chang project looks like: well-thought-out and takes as many angles as possible into account.

“I enjoy the process and due diligence of collecting varying views and thoughts and constructing a cohesive plan,” he said. “I’ve always tried to be a consensus-builder.”

Good leaders know the success of any organization lies on a collective set of shoulders.

“There’s always been a real team atmosphere in the organizations I’ve been a part of, and that’s the best working environment for me,” Chang said. “The executive board, the board of directors, all of the various chairs and representatives —we have a really strong roundtable of team players.”

Through a decade of many volunteer positions, Chang sees the presidency as another step in his pay-it-forward path.

“This is the greatest honor and opportunity to give back to the sport,” Chang said. “I am so honored to help improve the lives of our coaches.”

PS MAGAZINE

21

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Nick Castaneda's

Financial Tips for Coaches

By Terri Milner Tarquini

I

t’s figure skating’s own version of trickle-down economics.

“You have to get your income in order,” Nick Castaneda said, “to be able to get your savings and your financial future in order.”

It’s simple: Coaching can be a lucrative career, but one that needs to be managed wisely for the future.

“When you work for a company, they force you to save—401k, stocks— and it adds up,” said Castaneda, of Merrill Lynch. “Coaches usually get paid by personal checks and cash and they have to do those things themselves—and they often don’t.”

Castaneda was an international pairs skater who earned his master’s degree in Business Administration.

The son of Grete Borgen Castaneda, two-time Norwegian national champion, show skater, and coach of over forty years, he manages money for some of the biggest names in figure skating.

“The thing about skating is that, when looking at it from a per-hour basis, it appears to be a lot of money,” Castaneda said. “But the reality is that there’s no vacation pay, no disability pay, no health insurance provided and no forced savings. The first thing I recommend coaches do is set up an automated savings plan.

It’s easy to set up, it automatically comes out every month and soon you forget about it. It’s crazy how much you can save—and soon you start to see the results.”

Castaneda conducted a session

with Adam Rippon at the PSA Conference in May. “Adam has been through the spectrum,” said Castaneda, who counts Rippon as one of his clients.

“His mom struggled to pay for his lessons and later he coached to be able to afford to skate. And now he’s paying himself a living allowance and investing. He has experienced every phase.”

Robust financial futures typically do not just occur by happenstance.

“If you’re in good physical shape, it’s because you planned how to do that, you worked at it and you made it a priority,” Castaneda said. “Being in good financial shape takes that same planning it, doing it, and prioritizing it.”

Advice can be gleaned from many sources, for example The Vanguard Group, Charles Schwab Corporation, even the internet, but the important piece of the puzzle is that it gets done.

“There are a lot of places to learn more about a balanced portfolio set-up, basic index funds, mutual funds or IRAs,” he said. “Once the money grows to the $150,000$200,000 range, then it’s time to look for a financial planner. A really important aspect, however, is that you can’t access the money before a certain age without a penalty; for instance, with an IRA that is age 59-and-a-half. Having that penalty for withdrawal is a good incentive to leave the money in there. It’s less

about where you’re putting the money and more about the fact that you’re doing it.”

In the end, it’s a solid plan to have additional income sources, whether that be skating-related or otherwise.

“Coaches only get paid when they work; they don’t get paid when they’re sleeping,” Castaneda said. “It’s a good idea to have some passive incomes and those come in a lot of different forms.”

Castaneda’s history includes servicing vending machines to earn enough money to buy his first duplex to manage and rent out. That initial venture has led to apartment buildings in several major cities, a boutique hotel and a skyscraper.

“Buy assets, not liabilities,” he said. “Say you buy a Mercedes. Yes, it looks good—and, don’t get me wrong, I like nice cars, too. But, first, you must realize it’s not bringing in any money and it’s continuing to cost more because it needs to be maintenanced and, second, you need to be able to afford it. You have to be able to live within your means. If you’re not, you need to either bring in more income or adjust your lifestyle.”

That is advice for the short-term that will translate into the future.

“At some point, you’re not going to want to—or you can’t anymore—

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Nick sat down with client Adam Rippon for a session at the 2019 PSA Conference.

stand on thin pieces of metal in the freezing cold for hours at a time,” Castaneda said. “Or you get burned out or don’t want to travel all over the world, all the time. As you get older, being aware of what you’ll need to retire is important. There is software where you can put in what you’ll need to retire, and it will reverse engineer that back and adjust for inflation.”

But, for coaching, the real deal lies in getting paid for services rendered.

“Basically, every coach will tell you that they do what the do because they love doing it,” Castaneda said. “And that is all fine and good, but, if you’re 25 and you’ve been skating since you were five, that means you have 20 years of education accrued and now you have knowledge that is valuable.

Coaches must treat coaching as a profession, not a pastime.”

Coaches can keep things clean by being clear on expectations with the collection of invoices.

“Establish a teaching agreement right up front—and, if you haven’t yet—then do it immediately,” Castaneda said. “It should be clear what the agreed upon rate is for your services rendered and when those payments should be made.

It should also be made clear, if the payments are not made in a timely fashion or at all, what are the ramifications. You should be able to have expectations about when you are

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going to get paid.”

Two ideas for impressing a sense of urgency on prompt payments are instituting late fees or, for frequent offenders, having them pay upfront lesson-by-lesson.

“Nobody would work somewhere where they were told, ‘We might pay you or might not, it depends how much we spend on Christmas,’” Castaneda said. “Clients need to realize your bill is as important as the other bills. They bought a phone plan, and they pay for that service.

They signed up for garbage service, and they pay for that service. It is up to you to be very upfront with them that they agreed to pay for the services you provide.”

Along with being clear is being consistent.

“It’s not a nasty thing to do; it’s just setting parameters and being clear,” Castaneda said. “If you let them get away with it, then that is the standard you have set. Some coaches are bad about collecting. If you’re not getting paid, you’re not running a business, you’re running a charity.”

Also, good to keep in mind is that it doesn’t have to be the same protocol for all students.

“For instance, if you have a supertalented skater and the parents really struggle, you could agree to give a free lesson a week; however, when you send the invoice, show that donated time so they understand the

“Nobody would work somewhere where they were told, ‘We might pay you or might not, it depends how much we spend on Christmas,’” Castaneda said.

“Clients need to realize your bill is as important as the other bills.” value they are getting,” Castaneda said. “Another scenario could be you have a skater with a parent who has been laid off; you can agree to give them some breathing room. You’ll keep track and, when they get their new job, they will pay you back. But, again, be clear about what those expectations are.”

One of the more important takeaways, however, is that it’s never too late to get on track.

“If you’re young, that’s great, but if you’re older, it still has to get done,” Castaneda said. “Whatever age you are, that’s the age you are.

So, start then.”

Adam Rippon

By Terri Milner Tarquini

hen Adam Rippon became the breakout star of the 2018 Winter Olympics, capturing the attention of the skating world and beyond, he had no idea the places it would propel him.

“I have tried to take advantage of every, single opportunity that’s come my way,” Rippon said. “I am learning so many things outside of skating; I want to experience everything, learn more about it and refine how I do it. It has led to some really cool things. I mean, being on the set and having a cameo on ‘Will & Grace?’ It was crazy. Albeit it was only for five seconds and it can fit in an Instagram story, but it still goes on your IMDb (online enter-

W

tainment database).”

Crossing over into mainstream culture in fantastic fashion, Rippon’s biography is in a frenzy: 2018 “Dancing with the Stars” champion, a super-cool Superfruit video of “The Promise,” a self-authored book to be released in October and a YouTube channel and original new series “Break the Ice” that debuted May 1.

“I always had people saying, ‘I would love to go skating with you sometime’—well, now you can,” said Rippon of the show that will feature well-known athletes and people from the entertainment industry. “The format is I bring someone on the ice, interview them a little bit and teach them a few elements. I’ve always wanted to do this; I knew it would be so fun.”

What all this adds up to is that the refreshingly frank Rippon is at a place far, far away from where he started.

“Growing up, we did not have a lot of money,” said Rippon, the oldest of six children raised by a single mother. “My mom did whatever she could to make sure I got the lessons I needed from the coaches who could help me. She got a job at the rink and asked the rink manager, if she got a certain amount of people signed up, if he would open up the rink in the morning. He said no way.

So she asked if she could have a key to open it up herself and he told her she didn’t know how to drive the Zamboni—so she learned to do just that. My mom made things happen.”

His spectrum of experience certainly qualified him to speak from a variety of perspectives at the PSA conference session he conducted

with Nick Castaneda.

It wasn’t until his early 20s, when years of traveling to different cities to train coincided with a rough patch in his career, that Rippon realized the burden that skating was putting on his family and he recognized his need to contribute.

Ends didn’t quite meet with sporadic coaching and skating shows, but Rippon scraped together enough to pay for ice time and lessons by renting out a friend’s Lake Arrowhead basement and paying $50 a month to use the local resort gym, where he could eat the complimentary green apples the hotel provided—and, oftentimes, not much more than that.

“I didn’t have enough to pay for everything, so I went to the grocery store only when I had enough money,” he said. “I hustled and I worked hard.”

That diligence is what turned his skating around and he began reaping the benefits.

“Once I medaled at a Grand Prix event, the money started coming in,” Rippon said. “I used to balance my bank account between a two- and three-digit number. That was the first time where I had a little breathing room. Having between $1,000 and $1,500 in my bank account seemed like so much money.”

The men’s gold medalist at the U.S. Figure Skating Championship in 2016, Rippon wasn’t the front-runner when he arrived in PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Games.

“In a way, it was a blessing to me to not go in being the very best,” Rippon said. “I mean, everyone wants to be a winner, but at some point, the reality hits you that you’re 28 and you’re competing against Nathan Chen who’s breaking records every time he steps on the ice. Unless he totally gives up and skates off after the first minute of his program, there’s nothing that I can do to beat him. So I decided I continued on page 31

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1.

2019 Confe

PSA ow de Sh & Tra

rence

2.

2019 Palm Springs Conference & Trade Show a Success!

by Carol Rossignol, MD, MS, MG, MPD, MFF

We hope you learned a lot, laughed a lot, got a chance to visit old friends, and were able to make many new ones. Congratulations to all who prepared for and took rating exams at conference!

T

he 2019 PSA Conference was another resounding success in Palm Springs, CA held at the Hyatt Regency Indian Wells Resort & Spa. The weather was perfect—not too hot and not too cold. It is a famous destination in southern California and has been the home of many famous Hollywood stars and political figures such as Bob Hope, Dinah Shore, Frank Sinatra, Ginger Rogers, Gene Autry, Gerald Ford, Dwight Eisenhower, to name a few.

“Building a conference for our peers is fun, exciting, and terrifying,” said co-conference chair, Tim Covington.

“We all spent countless hours trying to ensure that what we were offering was relevant, timely, and could give everyone a bit of gold to put in their toolbox. Our coaches are a very diverse group so pleasing everyone is not easy.

This year was especially challenging trying to keep everyone in the main room with a clear focus as well as

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not being on the ice. Thankfully our presenters worked long hours to make this year’s conference successful.”

This year, we had around 500 attendees from all over the U.S., Canada, central America, Europe and Asia; 20 industry vendors; 42 speakers; 32 sessions; and no ice. What! No ice?

How did that work? Well, it worked out well. “I didn’t miss the ice at all,” said master-rated coach Jennie Walsh. She further added, “I gained a lot more and the presenters were in control.” Responses from other coaches were that they liked it as they could see and hear better, plus their feet didn’t get cold from standing on the ice. Speakers used video and off-ice demonstrations and other specialty tools to get their points across.

We had a fabulous start to conference with Kurt Browning, the forever comedian, as the opening speaker, who had lots of positive energy and very inspirational. He spoke about

having equality between a competitive skating mind and a professional skating mind. Agata Czyzewski from Deerfield, IL felt “Kurt’s speech was informative, motivating, loaded with jokes and anecdotes. He truly spoke from his heart and was very entertaining!” He entertained us with his engaging stories, he shared his concerns for the future of the sport, and things he learned from his coaches but most of all to have FUN! That evening hosted the Trade Show starting at 5:30pm and the President’s Reception at 6:30pm sponsored by Disney on Ice. One was able to mingle and network at the reception and then wander through the trade show trying on boots, examining blades, seeing a virtual reality of skating through the tundra, or the unveiling of the newest bronze, a perpetual trophy for the Grand Champion of the U.S. Open championships in memory of Haley Rose Gans.

The USOC Coaching Education Department along with Audrey Weisiger presented four sessions jointly on the American Development Model (ADM) of how to develop the

3.

4.

t’s n e d i s e r P n Receptio

1. John Nicks and Frank Carroll sat down for an entertaining interview. 2. Kathy Goeke received her certificate acknowledging her newly-minted Master Program Director rating. 3. Representatives from the USOC delivered a session on Performance Management Parent Engagement. 4. Tom Zakrajsek presented his popular and informative session on unconventional rotating positions as well as ideas to help young skaters rotate more quickly.

athlete fully. The USOC covered the concepts that included appropriate cueing, off-ice training, mental skills training, and how to manage performance for each age group while Audrey spoke to the practical application of the concepts from the perspective of the figure skating coach. The three stages covered were: The seeds (under 10 years of age), the sprouts (9 to 14 years of age), and the flowers (14-15+ years of age). USOC presenters were Chris Snyder, Nadine Dubina, Brandon Siakel, and Scott Riewald.

This year the EDI Awards Dinner “An Evening Under the Palms” was on Thursday night and was one of the best awards ceremonies ever! It started off with Kurt Browning, Master of Ceremonies, skating into the ballroom on his rollerblades with his hat and umbrella in hand to “Singing in the Rain” assisted by Alissa Czisny wearing rollerblades as well.

Friday morning saw Tom Zakrajsek’s “Aware in the Air: The New Aerodynamics of Rotating Faster”. Phillip Mills said, “Great idea for his opening! Clear concise information with video(s). Great ending!” And it finished ahead of

time and left time for Q &A. The IJS Update and Mocking Calling session was so well received that we extended the presentation to take questions later on the terrace at the end of the day. “The discussion and information was excellent,” Teri Hooper remarked.

“It’s my first PSA conference and it was outstanding. It made me evaluate what I teach and how I go about it. I definitely hope to attend next year,” said Daniela Sovak from Canada but originally from the Czech Republic.

One of the highlights is always the Saturday morning panel discussion. This year’s panel was with two legends in our sport, Frank Carroll and John Nicks, being interviewed by Mitch Moyer, Sr. Director of Athlete High Performance at U.S. Figure Skating. “What a wonderful experience to listen to two coaches whom I’ve looked up to and have [them] included in the conference, so thank you for setting this up,” stated Deanna Anderson from Utah. The audience had the opportunity to ask Frank and John their personal questions.

Canadian coach Kathy Stevens noted, “Best session of the weekend! As

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1.

Canadian coaches we never get this opportunity to meet USA coaches.”

Janet Tremer had this to say after attending the “Skate Sharpening and Stoning Blades” workshop by Mark Ladwig. “This was an exceptionally well-received presentation. Success factors: excellent PowerPoint, good graphics, real examples of issues on the blade, props, clear introduction

of learning content, perfectly timed, hands on activity related to content, and an expert speaker who kept the pace right. He was natural, warm, engaging and real.”

Our closing presentation with Audrey Weisiger, Jeremy Allen, and Nick Perna had great information on Off-ice Jumps. Attendees liked the smaller groups for more hands on

information and the rotation between Audrey with the jump harness, to Jeremy with the spinner, and Nick Perna with his iPad talking about the importance of the FLOX position.

Attendees felt that this session could have been longer to spend more time in each group.

“Thank you to the staff of PSA for a wonderful conference! You mixed

A Canadian in the Desert

By Daniela Sovak | Calgary, Canada

U

pon returning from the 2019 PSA Conference and Trade Show, I found my passion for coaching reinvigorated. Asking myself: What can I do to better myself as a coach and as a person? How I too can meaningfully impact others in a positive and effective manner? And make my students as good as they could be.

The 2019 PSA conference was excellent. It was outstanding! The organizers put together an interesting program ranging from

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technical aspects of on and off ice coaching to topics on effective and productive parent engagement, music editing, SafeSport, liability management, insurance and financial assets management, just to name a few. The SK8 PSA app was an excellent source of information, including notes and handouts from the presenters.

USOC Coaching Education Department sessions on Athlete Development Model with practical insights

of its application from the figure skating coach perspective by Audrey Weisiger were engaging and thought provoking.

Aware in the Air: The New Aerodynamics of Rotating Faster presented

by Tom Zakrajsek delivered in a clear and concise manner including video footage carefully selected to draw attention towards the latest development on how skating is taught in Russia.

The concepts of developing skills necessary to jumping was very well demonstrated by Jeremy Allen, Nick Perna and Audrey Weisiger in the

2.

3.

Thank you vendors for another successful Trade Show!

• Arrow Sports Group 1. Audrey Weisiger, Nick Perna, and Jeremy Allen present Off-Ice Jumps. 2.Coaches loved the First Aid and CPR Training offering. 3. The newest bronze by Meghan and Douglas Taylor-Gebler to join the PSA collection was unveiled at the President’s Reception.

business with pleasure perfectly! It was great to see so many familiar faces, all in one place, all sharing great ideas! Thank you for the opportunity to better myself,” said Dona GodarBengson of Aurora, IL. Mark your calendars now for the 2020 PSA Summit to be held in Chicago, IL May 20-23, 2020 with “A New Perspective in Coaching.”

Off-ice Jumps session on the last day of the conference. Special thank you for bringing in the equipment and the small group format chosen by the presents. Having the opportunity to ask questions enhanced the effectiveness of this session.

From the “Putting Out the “Welcome Mat— Newcomer’s Meeting” I found myself engaged in discussions with fellow conference delegates.

Reconnecting with a number of them I met over my many years of coaching or just briefly sharing on conversations

during breaks or the social gathering was wonderful.

We all were inspired when listening to such icons of our sport as John Nicks and Frank Carroll or the keynote speaker Kurt Browning.

Their words of wisdom, being it “Adapt—be the first”, “Be disciplined”, “Teach a good lesson” and most of all remember “Skating is skating but life is a lot longer” will stay with me as a reminder that I am very fortunate to have a career enabling me to share my passion for figure skating with my students.

The thoroughness and the energy of the

• Coach Concierge • Fairfax Ice Arena • Graf Skates • Harlick & Co • ICESkate Conditioning Equipment • Jackson Ultima Inc. • MK/John Wilson • Riedell Skate Co • Risport Skates • Skates U.S. Inc • Uplifter Inc. • U.S. Figure Skating

presenters was unifying characteristics of every single session or event I attended. This, indeed, includes the representatives of companies taking part in the Trade Show.

Thank you to the PSA for preparing the conference and choosing the location. The setting, accommodation, conference facilities and service were outstanding and enhanced in every way my experience!

My only regret is missing the Tuesday evening U.S. Open as my plane was delayed. I do hope to see next year’s competition in Chicago.

Foundation Donation Drawing: Five FREE registration winners to the 2020 Chicago Summit: Jill Jonkowski, Shannon Damiano, Amy Ladogana, Jessica Posada-Gonzalez, Karen Feccia U.S. Figure Skating Get Up PSA Winners: Melanie Black, Lisa Dahl, Jenna Dispenza, Trisha Hessinger, Darin Hosier, Shelly Kowalski, Farah Sheikh, Jessica Ward, Willa Zhao Fun Facts from Sk8 PSA App: • 80% of our attendees were active users of the app with 658 updates, 8,418 Likes, 359 comments, and 2,212 bookmarks • The top five most popular speakers were: Audrey Weisiger, Chris Snyder, Tom Zakrajsek, Alex Chang, Kurt Browning • The top five most popular sessions were: USOC Presentation #1; Single, Double, Triple, and Quad Jumps; USOC Presentation #2; Academy System; Aware in the Air: The New Aerodynamics of Rotating Faster App Contest Winner: Marie Furnary | There’s still time to complete app surveys!

Many thanks again to our generous 2019 sponsors: Jackson Ultima, Disney On Ice, Riedell, Coach Concierge, Integro

save the date

Hyatt Regency, Chicago, IL

May 20-23, 2020

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New Rule Changes Coaches Should Know and Where to Find the Details T

his year, the Governing Council delegates considered more than 60 rule changes and 10 bylaw changes. Among the bylaw changes was a new U.S. Figure Skating mission as part of the U.S. Figure Skating 2018-22 Strategic Plan. The new mission is “We create and cultivate opportunities for participation and achievement in figure skating.” U.S. Figure Skating hopes coaches will embody this new mission with their athletes.

Here is a summary of rule changes that will have the greatest effect on coaches. All of these changes go into effect July 1, 2019, unless otherwise noted.

Singles • To continue encouraging development, singles skaters will no longer earn a bonus point for jumps that have a wrong edge assigned. The jumps eligible for bonus points in novice ladies and men’s short program and free skate were also changed.

30

than 15 days after publication of the ISU Communication announcing the pattern dances for international dance competitions. For the 2019-20 season, the novice pattern dances will be the Starlight Waltz and the Quickstep.

• The free dance test requirements for novice, junior and senior will follow the competition requirements. Any changes to the competition and test requirements will go into effect July 1 each season.

• Effective June 1, 2019, the intermediate and juvenile free dance tests requirements will also clearly state that extra elements may be added without penalty.

• Effective June 1, 2019, the solo free dance test requirements and adult solo free dance competition requirements will match the requirements for the 2019-20 Solo Dance Series.

• Effective Dec. 1, 2019, the juvenile and open juvenile boys and girls well-balanced free skate, free skate test and Excel program lengths will increase to 2:30 +/- 10 seconds.

Pairs • To continue encouraging development, junior pairs teams can now earn a bonus point for each triple jump achieved (full value or under-rotated) by both partners.

Ice Dance • Going forward, the chair of the Dance Development and Technical Committee will announce the novice pattern dances for the upcoming competitive season no later

• Beginning with the 2019-20 season, the solo spin will always be required in the novice pairs short program, and the pair spin will always be required in the novice pairs well-balanced free skate and test (these

JULY/AUGUST 2019

requirements will no longer alternate from season to season).

Synchronized Skating • Going forward, the IJS must be used for all synchronized short program and well-balanced free skate events for juvenile and above. Pre-juvenile and lower and open synchronized events will continue to be judged using the 6.0 system.

Adult Skating • Death spiral requirements in adult pair tests were clarified.

• Skaters may now receive test credit from an IJS protocol for adult silver free skate tests.

• The adult test structure has been updated to bring consistency across all disciplines. There will now be two types of tests —standard and adult—with different passing averages for adult 21+ and adult 50+ candidates. Furthermore, the minimum age requirement was changed to 21 years old for all adult tests. The Adult Skating Committee has also added adult intermediate, adult novice, adult junior and adult senior free skate tests for candidates 21 years of age or older.

• Two age classifications were added for solo pattern dance and solo free dance events at the U.S. Adult Championships and Adult Sectional Championships.

All Disciplines • Changes to the committee structure and qualifying competition structure that were approved by the 2018 Governing Council begin going into effect in May 2019. Details of the new qualifying competitive pipeline are available on the U.S. Figure Skating website.

continued from page 25

• The names of all Special Olympics/Therapeutic Skating Tests were changed to Adaptive Skating Tests, and rules were added to provide guidance on passing standard for these tests.

• Effective May 6, 2019, it was clarified that there is no deduction if a referee stops a program in belief that medical attention is necessary. What constitutes an “emergency situation” that allows a competition to use only one technical specialist in an event was also clarified.

Combined Report of Action These changes only represent a portion of what was approved by the Governing Council on May 3-4. To get the full details of all of these changes and others, please see the 2018-19 Combined Report of Action, available on the U.S. Figure Skating website at http://www.usfigureskating.org. The Combined Report of Action is the ONLY OFFICIAL report of U.S. Figure Skating bylaw and rule changes and contains all changes that were made by the U.S. Figure Skating Board of Directors and the Governing Council this past season.

As always, we caution coaches from using word-of-mouth, Facebook or other unofficial information found via the Internet to educate themselves on rule changes. Coaches should utilize the Combined Report of Action with their 2018-19 U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook until the 2019-20 U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook becomes available.

The 2019-20 rulebook will be available online at the end of June, before the rule changes go into effect July 1. Once finalized, the rulebook will be posted online at www. usfigureskatingrules.org and made available through the U.S. Figure Skating Publications App. A link to order a printed copy will also be available on the U.S. Figure Skating website by mid-August.

needed to support Nathan and be the best I could be.

That can be a tough pill, but it can also be liberating. I had to give some serious thought to, ‘Why am I doing this? Why am I skating?’ But I always had confidence in certain qualities of my skating so I was determined to do those things well.”

In addition to three captivating programs filled with technical precision and emotional and choreographic fire, what he also did well was talk—openly, honestly and with a heaping dose of humor.

“The post-Olympic interviews were like a door opening and light pouring in,” Rippon said. “For some athletes, the a-ha moment comes when they’re standing on the podium and the medal is around their neck and the anthem starts playing. For me, the a-ha moment was the day after the Olympics when I started doing media. There was just an overwhelming feeling of, ‘This is so right.’”

It’s a feeling that has only grown stronger with time.

“I had three clean programs and the last jump I landed in what turned out to be my last competitive event, I had a moment of complete clarity,” Rippon said.

“I had two spins left and I wanted to go attack the heck out of those, but it was so clear to me that it was the right time to move forward. Of course, it was weird to watch nationals and not be involved, but I loved being a cheerleader for Nathan, Vincent and Jason.”

In November 2018, at the age of 29, the Scranton native announced his retirement—a move that, with his burgeoning popularity, has brought a lot of differences to his financial future.

“Well, I’m not doing my own taxes on TurboTax on April 10 anymore,” he laughed. “For a long time, my goal was to get $50 in my savings account. Then, when I started making some money, I had $25 directly deposited from my paychecks to my savings. I knew it wasn’t a lot, but I figured at least I was doing something to move forward.

“And now I’m invested in retirement funds and in real estate,” Rippon said. “The biggest change is that I have tried to educate myself so I can be in control of what’s happening with my money, but also surround myself with people who know what they’re doing and have the best of intentions for me.”

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P ROF ESSIONAL S K ATE R S F O U NDATIO N

Officers, Board Members and Trustees PRESIDENT Patrick O'Neil VICE PRESIDENT Carol Murphy TREASURER Scott McCoy SECRETARY Gerry Lane BOARD MEMBER

Paul Wylie Carol Rossignol Tim Covington Kelley Morris Adair Jill Maier-Collins TRUSTEE

Richard Dwyer Robbie Kaine Wayne Seybold Moira North Curtis McGraw Webster

Skaters' Fund – Donation Levels: • Platinum • Diamond • Gold • Silver • Bronze

$10,000+ $5,000+ $1,000+ $500+ $100+

Recognition opportunities for donors available The Professional Skaters Foundation (PSF) was founded to expand the educational opportunities of PSA members through a 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable foundation.

The PS Foundation recently joined the Smile Amazon Program. Amazon donates 0.5% of all eligible purchases to a charity that you designate on the Smile.amazon.com website.

AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support the PS Foundation every time you shop, with no additional cost to you.

Simply go to smile.amazon. com from your web browser, choose the PS Foundation as your designated charity, and use your existing amazon. com account with all the same settings! We all shop on Amazon today; please consider choosing the PS Foundation as your designated charity and start shopping on smile. amazon.com! Please spread the word to family and friends!

U.S. Open – a huge success!

Carol Murphy, PSF Vice-President

T

he Professional Skaters Association (PSA) was pleased to present 35 performing artists at the 5th annual rebirth of the U.S. Open Professional Figure Skating Championships, which was held at the Desert Ice Castle in Palm Springs, CA on May 21, 2019. What an amazing evening and an incredible display of talent!

Alissa Czisny Very special thanks to Desert Ice Castle staff, along with all of our volunteers who have worked very hard to make this one of the greatest and most memorable events imaginable. I would also like to thank our judges, Scott Brown, Andy Buchanan, Frank Carroll, Sarah Kawahara, Evelyn Kramer, and John Nicks. A 10-point scale was used with open judging and live comments after each program with the help of our 2019 Master of Ceremonies, Tim Covington.

A new annual Grand Champion Award bronze was revealed. The bronze was created by artists Meghan and Douglas Taylor-Gebler in honor of Haley Rose Gans, and donated by the Gans family. The Grand Champion Award will remain at PSA headquarters with engraved names from the start of the rebirth of this event and new names will be added each year.

• Grand Champion: Alissa Czisny • Creative Visionary Award – Most Innovative and Original: Themistocles Leftheris • The Skater’s Skater Award, Best Skating Technique: Jonathan Cassar • Ground Breaker Award, Breakout or up-and-coming Award: Ryan Santee & Kyle Shropshire “Trick & Track” I am also pleased to announce that the event was taped and all performances will be accessible on our PSA TV platform. This extraordinary event raised over $10,000 with all proceeds benefiting the PS Foundation.

Thank you supporters!

FMC Ice Sports (Facility Management Corporation) is an innovative leader of public recreational facility management, specializing in the management and operation of public ice arenas. Combined, FMC’s team has over a century of experience in the industry and provides its clients a high quality and professional business operation. FMC Ice Sports currently operates eighteen Commonwealth of Massachusetts skating arenas as well as providing management services for three municipal arenas.

Jackson Ultima is a global leader in figure skate boots and blades. Their expertise and passion for the sport is embodied in Jackson Ultima’s commitment to technology that enhances the performance of the World’s leading skaters. Jackson Ultima also offers a complete range of recreational figure and leisure skates to enhance the pleasure and enjoyment of all skaters.

The Skating Council of Illinois consists of seventeen member clubs representing skaters in Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin. The Council sponsors competitions, schools, and seminars and has hosted many qualifying and nonqualifying competitions. They also sponsor judges’ schools, technical panel schools, educational opportunities for coaches, and special events for athletes.

Cirque Du Soleil – launched from a group of 20 street performers at its beginnings in 1984, Cirque du Soleil is a major Québec-based organization providing high-quality artistic entertainment. The company has 20 unique productions presented around the world in 2019, 4,000 employees, including 1,300 artists from 50 different countries. The Cirque du Soleil Casting mission is to discover innovative and distinctive human performance, inspire creators and bring the best talent for all current and future projects of Cirque du Soleil.

We would also like to thank our Pewter sponsors, Debbie & Gerry Lane, and ISI District 1. We are also excited to announce that LambieAnn – Barbara Fitzgerald, Harmony Theatre Company, Icehouse Skating Academy, Tim Covington, and Christine Fowler-Binder are all Champion Sponsors. Thank you for your support.

A Community that Cares 32

JULY/AUGUST 2019

PRESENTED BY THE PROFESSIONAL SKATERS ASSOCIATION

2019

DONATING RETIREMENT ASSETS TO THE PS FOUNDATION

There are ways to contribute retirement assets to the PS Foundation that prove to be a win-win. Current regulations allow you to contribute with appealing tax advantages. Here’s how: IRS rules mandate that individuals age 70 ½ and older must take RMDs (Required Minimum Distribution) from their IRA each year regardless if the income is needed. These annual withdrawals are subject to ordinary income taxes. However, one can elect to make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD). A QCD allows those age 70 ½ and older to donate up to $100,000 TAX FREE to a charity (PS Foundation) directly from their IRA each year.

Making a QCD as opposed to a normal charitable gift has two main advantages. First, a QCD satisfies an individual’s required minimum distribution for that year.

Second, the distribution is excluded from the taxpayer’s income. This second benefit is particularly important under the new tax bill. With very few individuals expected to itemize under the new tax bill, the income tax deduction for charitable contributions will be lost for many people. However, if you make a QCD, you get a full exclusion of that income from your taxes.

By donating to the PS Foundation, you can enjoy the satisfaction that you are contributing to a worthy cause while effectively lowering your tax bill. This may also be a way to claim a state tax deduction as well.

Themistocles Leftheris Creative Visionary Award Winner

Donating an IRA to charity upon death: The benefits multiply when you name a charity as a beneficiary to receive your IRA or other retirement assets upon your death. Some of those benefits include: • No income tax paid on the distribution of assets by either your heirs or estate.

• The value of the assets is included as part of the gross estate, but the estate receives a tax deduction for the charitable contribution, which offsets the estate taxes.

• The full amount of the donation benefits the PS Foundation since charities do not pay income taxes.

• Retirement assets can be divided between charities and heirs according to any percentages that you choose.

• Lastly, allows you to support a cause you care about as part of your legacy.

PHOTO BY BR A NT TH ORNTON

To designate the PS Foundation the beneficiary of your IRA or other retirement asset, complete a designated beneficiary form through your plan administrator, bank or financial services firm. Once the forms are in place, the assets will generally pass directly to your beneficiaries (including charities) without going through probate.

If you are married, ask the plan administrator whether your spouse is required to consent. If required but not done, this could result in a disqualification of the charity as your beneficiary.

Be clear about your wishes with your spouse, lawyer and any financial advisors, giving a copy of the completed beneficiary forms as necessary.

Please consult a tax professional for further details.

Left to right: Kyle Shropshire, Ryan Santee, Alissa Czisny, Jonathan Cassar, Themistocles Leftheris

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Eliana Gropman

Dmytri Ilin

Amber Guizzotti

Kelly Lynch

Berrit Johnson

Stan Houston

Semion Kaplun

Mandy Pirich

30 YEARS

Barbara Kohlman

Rebecca Gallion

Allison Kymmell

Elizabeth Lamborn

Joanne Markow

Konstantin Kostin

Brittany Mock

Editha Dotson-Bowser

Ashley Morris

Susan Allen

Katie Paseka

Dawn Frisch Franklin

Sandra Reichman

Jennifer Houghton Morris

Katie Shipstad

Eddie Shipstad

Sarah Smilowitz

Carrie Smilowitz

Elizabeth Springer

Kathryn Janik

Catherine Adamoyurka Kim Alden-LaFave Camille Arioli-Mistura Jackie Brenner Lisa Brody Honey Burton Hollie Campagna Penny Carpenter Felita Yost Carr Louise Turek Cooke Pegeen Creede Cheryl Daub Nicki Davis Barbara DelaneySmith

Mike Tonkaryk

Carol Rossignol

40 YEARS

Chelsea White

Erin Cullen Dennis

Adrianna Desanctis

Katie Nyman

Sarah DeWitt

Leah Shirey

Kristin Gilbert Adams Lori Voepel Brakke Alice Gibbs-Jones Shirley Carlson Hughes

Anton Spiridonov

Marina Zoueva

Rachel Victorsen

Rosanna Tovi

Help them get a head start on their coaching career, and encourage them to join PSA! Visit www.skatepsa.com to learn more about PSA membership opportunities.

For an up-to-date listing of banned and suspended persons, see skatepsa.com

MEMBERSHIP ANNIVERSARIES Judy Ferris-Brunett Chris Gauthier Lisa Goldenberg Jenny Wesley Gwyn Janet Icenogle Pamela Jackson-Kurtz Andrea KunzWilliamson Joan Malarchuk Pamela Mascetta Lynn-Claudia Massone Lee Mastropasqua Judith Curry McDevitt Veronica Pershina Tina Randazzo-Coan Heidi Richetelle

We va our long lue -tim members e Thank y . ou!

Kelby Riley Renee Roca James Schilling Karen Sears Igor Shpilband Lori Stuart Andrei Torossian Nikki Toye-Helmer Roxanne Tyler Bernadette Tynan Herbert Wiesinger Susan Wynne

Gary Jones Kathie Kader Kathy Lyons Janice Henning Platzer

Kelly Rossbach Barbara Schulz Susan Crotty-Zuerlein

Alex McGowan John Nicks Christine Rivoire Penno

Norvetta Tribby Pinch Marcia Roussos Yolanda Taffi

Maude White

David Shulman

50 YEARS Frank Carroll Carol Keyes Ferrentino Tom Lescinski

60+ YEARS Marty MacDiarmid

34

JULY/AUGUST 2019

BEST BUSINESS PRACTICES

The Importance of Hiring a Rated and/or Ranked PSA Coach

BY A N G I E R I V I E L LO

A

s a parent you always keep your fingers crossed when they are posting your child’s schoolteacher for the year. You want the most educated teacher to help mold your child’s future; shouldn’t it be the same for your child’s skating coach?

The PSA official Rating System is for coaches who not only want to validate their skating skills and teaching experience, but also to affirm that they are updated and knowledgeable with the current standards for ethics, current rules of the sport, and SafeSport compliance. As a side-note, all coaches participating in U.S. Figure Skating events and activities must meet the coach compliance requirements. Those requirements include organizational membership, background checks, SafeSport training, liability insurance, and agreement to follow the Coaches’ Code of Conduct. Ratings are an assurance to clubs, rinks, skaters, parents and the general pubic that the coach they hire is technically qualified to instruct at the level in which they are rated.

Typically, coaches who take the time, expense and effort to obtain a PSA rating are highly invested in the quality of their instruction. The ratings process is long, challenging and is financially expensive for the coach. There are five different levels that can be obtained through the ratings process: Basic Accreditation, Registered, Certified, Senior and Master levels. In order to claim to be a “Rated PSA” coach, the candidate is required to successfully complete

two components to each level. Each level requires a written Sport Science and Medicine exam, as well as 60-minute oral exam that is facilitated by a panel of three master rated coaches in that particular discipline. When time and travel are factored in, the financial impact for a coach to take just the exam portion is several hundreds of dollars.

In order to prepare for an exam, coaches attend educational events, and study for hours. Many coaches who pursue their ratings form study groups to help each other succeed. Especially if the coaches are in the same rink or club, this forms a “community of coaching” in which the coaches bond and support each other long after the exams are over. This can create a positive environment within the rink or the club. Each coach is required to maintain 28 educational credits every three years in order to retain an active rating. It says a lot about the person that you are hiring if that coach has the dedication to prepare for and invest in obtaining a rating.

It shows the employer and skating parents the coach is dedicated to continuing education, always trying to improve what they teach, and believes in pushing forward.

It also shows the coach is learning new things and staying on the cutting edge of this ever changing sport. They are truly a role model to the athletes they work with.

U.S. Figure Skating, PSA, and rink management hold rated coaches to a higher standard in terms of their ethics, professionalism, and support of the rinks and clubs in which they teach. Simply put, we all expect more from them in terms of compliance, leadership within the rink and club, and in a role to facilitate a good working relationship with rink management.

The PSA Ranking System is becoming recognized world-wide. The criteria to qualify for this program is directed toward the career accomplishments of PSA coaches based on the performance of their athletes.

Seen as a distinguished honor, the PSA ranking is Continued on page 37

PS MAGAZINE

35

CALENDAR of E V E N T S

JULY

Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:

July 18-20, 2019 PSA Endorsed Event – American Ice Theatre 2019 CORE CAMP RecPlex Ice Arena, Pleasant Prairie, WI 12 PSA credits May 1, 2019

Dates: Event: Location: Credits:: Deadline:

July 21, 2019 Pre-Approved Event – Learn to Skate USA – Art of Teaching Cool Sports, Knoxville, TN 5 Pre Approved Credits July 21, 2019

AUGUST Dates: Event:

Location: Credits: Deadline:

August 7, 2019 PSA Endorsed Event – F.S.C. Charleston Summer Seminar with Frank Carroll Carolina Ice Palace, Charleston, SC 7 PSA Credits July 27, 2019

Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:

August 11 PSA Endorsed Event – Columbus Creates Champions Camp Chiller Easton, Columbus, OH 7 PSA Credits August 1, 2019

Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:

August 24 -25, 2019 PSA Super Site – Seminar for Coaches, Judges & Skaters Utah Olympic Oval, Kearns, UT 12 PSA Credits for Coaches & Judges Seminar July 15, 2019

SEPTEMBER

36

Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:

September 20-22, 2019 PSA Ratings Site – includes Master level exams Hilton Chicago O’Hare Airport 1 PSA Credit for each exam taken July 15, 2019

Dates: Event: Location: Credits: Deadline:

September 29, 2019 PSA Seminar Skating Club of Boston 12 PSA Credits September 6, 2019

JULY/AUGUST 2019

DECEMBER

Dates: December 6-8, 2019 Event: PSA Ratings Prep Location: Scott Hamilton Skating Academy /

Ford Center / Nashville, TN Credits: TBD Deadline: November 1, 2019

Please visit www.skatepsa.com for the complete Calendar of Events

Continued from page 35

To see a list of newly appointed Rankings and Ratings, see page 7.

Helping coaches in need.

The Skaters’ Fund

a recognition of a lifetime achievement by the entire skating community. The distinction is awarded each year at the PSA International Conference, where each recipient is presented with an official proclamation of his or her ranking level.

There are 10 different levels of Rankings ranging from Level 1 which is a coach who has coached at least at one sanctioned competition, all the way to a Level 10 in which a coach has had multiple World or Olympic champions in any discipline.

The PSA takes great pride in its rated and ranked members. It is evident these coaches truly believe in being the best coaches they can be in order to pass their knowledge onto the athletes. Parents should feel better knowing that their coach continues to dedicate themselves to education, new techniques and rule changes. The coaches that are able to advertise that they hold a rating or ranking continue to evolve through education and give back to one of the greatest sports there is.

If you are interested in more information on the PSA ratings and or ranking systems you can visit skatepsa.com.

100% supported through contributions from the general public. All contributions are tax-deductible.

www.skatepsa.com Donating is easy. Visit skatepsa.com and navigate to the Foundation page. Clicking the Donate button will take you to our online store where you may choose which program to support.

The Skaters’ Fund is a part of the 501(c)(3) non-profit, charitable Professional Skaters Foundation.

PS MAGAZINE

37

3006 Allegro Park SW Rochester, MN 55902

2019 DESERT ICE CASTLE | CATHEDRAL CITY, CA

May 21, 2019

Thank you competitors!

U.S. Open competitors AIT Boston, AIT New York, Jordan Bailey, Noelle Basta, Amy Berglund, Tam Bui, Bridget Carrig, Jonathan Cassar, Alissa Czisny, Sarah France, Jason Graetz, Themistocles Leftheris, Chiquita Limer, Sabrina Logren, Katie Payton, Kseniya Ponomaryova & Collin Brubaker, Ryan Santee & Kyle Shropshire, Matej Silecky, Nick Traxler, Rohene Ward, Dianna-lynne Wells & Sharon Lebron-Franks; PSA executive director Jimmie Santee and vocalist Anthony Callender.

Thank you to our guest judges!

Evelyn Kramer, Frank Carroll, Sarah Kawahara, John Nicks, Andrew Earl Buchanan, and Scott Brown.

Special thanks to our Master of Ceremonies, Tim Covington!