2nd Aerial Challenge announced

[misskarne]

Just saw this on my timeline - the jumps competition is back!

Tom Z posted this on his Twitter/Facebook (includes quotes from Max who will be back to defend his title).

The big thing to take from it is that there will be LIVE STREAMING, hopefully for real this year.


(The other thing I took from it was that it looks like it'll be open to US skaters only. Oh come on, I wanna see Brendan win the backflip contest!)

 

[Sylvia]

From the press release: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=917576175007771&id=424453407653386

On Thursday, June 23, the Broadmoor Open's Junior and Senior Jumps event will serve as an open qualifying round for skaters. Winner of those events will advance to the final round of competition, being held on Friday, June 24, to challenge competitors on Team USA and International Selection Pool of athletes eligible for future international competitions. We are pleased to offer live streaming of the event this year following numerous requests to follow our inaugural event.

ETA:

Tom Z. just replied on Twitter that he hopes the qualifying round will be live streamed as well as the final round.

Last year's event thread is here: http://www.fsuniverse.net/forum/ind...llenge-to-debut-at-2015-broadmoor-open.95471/

 

[casken]

Will Tom being telling how the judges to vote via hand signal at this "competition" again?

 

[Tavi]

Sounds good, except didn't they promise to stream this and Broadmoor last year? Also, if TCC is any guide, I bet there's an extra charge.

 

[misskarne]

Sounds good, except didn't they promise to stream this and Broadmoor last year? Also, if TCC is any guide, I bet there's an extra charge.

That's true, but I'm hopeful that this time with further advance notice of the live stream it'll work out better.

Just hope they've got their accreditation sorted early this time. The press release isn't hopeful, but maybe it'd be good if they got their ducks in a row and opened it to non-US skaters as well.

 

[insideedgeua]

Looks like they lost their naming rights sponsor. I guess that's what happens when the sponsor's child stops skating.

 

[Tavi]

That's true, but I'm hopeful that this time with further advance notice of the live stream it'll work out better.

Just hope they've got their accreditation sorted early this time. The press release isn't hopeful, but maybe it'd be good if they got their ducks in a row and opened it to non-US skaters as well.

I have to laugh remembering their Facebook post from last year citing "inconsistent Internet" in the facility as one of the reasons why they decided not to stream the aerial challenge or broadmoor open last year. Like Broadmoor wasn't streamed successfully in years past! In any case it will be really fun if they do stream both. I wonder about limiting to US skaters - is logic to encourage US skaters to focus on jumps and US audiences to get excited?

I'm sure Max will participate and perhaps Vincent, Alexi K, and Tomoki, but I wonder if Nathan will be jumping by then? My guess is Jason won't, both because of his back and his Israel trip - probably will be a bit out of shape.

 

[misskarne]

Max is quoted in the press release as saying he'll be back.

The big problem last year was IceNetwork. Until they got involved, the whole Broadmoor Open would have been livestreamed as it had in past years. Then IceNetwork proceeded to make a hash of it.

At least, this year, they appear to have made it set that it is US-only from the outset, rather than promoting international skaters and then said international skater finding out two or three days before the event that the appropriate sanction had not been got by the organisers for him to compete...

 

[maatTheViking]

Still would be more for as an international event. Hope everything will work out.

 

[casken]

Why would a fake competition be sanctioned, or skaters travel from other countries just to lose?

 

[misskarne]

The competition format is available here.

This part might be considered pertinent for those who think that it's rigged for Max :

Championship Round Men -
Skaters will perform two different quadruple jumps back to back using the full ice surface.
o Quadruple of choice (may include a combination) performed on one end of the ice followed by a different quadruple of choice on the opposite end

 

[ZilphaK]

Just a curiosity question...compared to traditional multi-rotational jumps, how difficult is it to learn/do a backflip on ice? I know it looks and must be wicked dangerous, and I won't deny that. But I was doing a search the other day on YouTube after reading an article on Surya Bonaly, just to see how many people can do one, and I found, to my surprise, that YouTube it littered with videos of skaters--some just kids goofing around or hockey skaters--doing backflips on ice. Any insight on how one learns to do this or even gets to the point of wanting to try it? And other than the impressively dangerous look to a backflip, how difficult would you say it is compared to dong single/double/triple jumps?

 

[insideedgeua]

I think that the back flip is really unrelated to other skating jumps. It is more of a gymnastic move.

If you can do a backflip off the ice, first on a trampoline and then on gymnastic mats, then you move to a band on ice. Hard to explain but the skater has something akin to a large elastic band around their waist. The ends of the bands are then held by another skater either side of them. The skater goes for the flip and the other two skaters use the band to ensure that if the backflip goes wrong, that the skater's face doesn't hit the ice.

When you're consistently flipping this way then you'd have your first attempt off the band.

That clip of Suraya doing the rounds this week is quite misleading in its 'facts'.

 

[insideedgeua]

Just adding, a skater with only single jumps could quite conceivably do a backflip easily if they had some sort of gymnastics background first.

 

[Sylvia]

Tim Dolensky recently learned how to do a back flip on the ice: https://www.instagram.com/p/BF4lPlas8cg/
So did Jeremy Abbott for the Stars on Ice tour.

https://www.facebook.com/AerialFigu...1553285713776/536606309875139/?type=2&theater

Check out the hi-def 3-D logo for the Aerial Figure Skating Challenge designed by Jeff Ames of jacreative.org featuring Max Aaron. All of the competitors will be able to submit video to be featured in the logo during the actual event June 24 at the Broadmoor Open. Stay tuned...