Jimmie Santee is Over the Edge

Quotes “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 Originally published July/Aug 2019 PS Magazine As I finished my 13 th 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 ...

Safety and Your Liability Originally published May/June 2019 PS Magazine As we get closer to renewal time, it is apparent that our liability insurance rates are going up. In discussions between our insurance carrier and their underwriters, surprisingly or not, the main issue is the number of collisions on free skate sessions that are resulting in an injury and our members being sued. In talking with our insurance carrier, it was suggested that PSA remind our coaches of their responsibility in helping foster a safe training atmosphere. Their comment reminded me of an article I had written years ago called, “The Forgotten Art of Skating Etiquette.” I did several seminars on the topic and a companion DVD was produced and can be seen on PSA TV- it is free for everyone! I encourage you to share the link with your skaters and fellow coaches. It is our responsibility to teach our skaters safety and the rules that help create a safe and efficient training environment. Here...

The State of SafeSport – How We Got Here  Originally published Mar/Apr 2019 PS Magazine   “The masses don’t think, the masses feel…” Juan Perón, 1951 No better example of this was the recent death of John Coughlin. As a group, skating was not prepared for the allegations and the sudden turn of events. The turmoil and conflict between the accused and victims was difficult to process. The open anger on social media sites was painful. The lack of information led to confusion and speculation. What and who do we believe? My perspective as Executive Director nonetheless is that I can’t make personal judgements when dealing with any type of accusation. I must think about the facts and the facts only, making the best decision with the information we have. This is not the first time a figure skating name has been placed on the interim measure list. In response to interim measures by SafeSport, PSA has been alerting members to the allegations of misconduct for the protect...

Black Monday  Originally published Jan/Feb 2019 PS Magazine As I sit down to write this editorial, the 2019 regional season has just finished. While most events went off with little hitch, once again I am baffled by the behavior of some PSA members. I still call the Monday after regionals “Black Monday.” But not because that’s traditionally the day that a skater’s poor performance results in a coach’s firing on the first Monday after. Now, it’s the reports of coaching issues I get. Some are minor and some not so much. Those who have been reading my column for a while know I have written about this before. I think that’s what bothers me the most… it keeps happening. The one that has me really upset happened on the east coast. This is a portion of the email I received from U.S. Figure Skating’s SafeSport Committee reporting a statement from a camera operator who is, by the way, SafeSport compliant and understands his or her reporting duty. During the [dele...

Planned Program Content Originally published Nov/Dec 2018 PS Magazine                                         I received this request from a very distinguished accountant: Next time you're looking for an editorial topic for PSA magazine, how about asking coaches why they aren't teaching their skaters to file PPCs for the competitions they do, and not following up to see if it's been done? We've been using IJS since 2005; 13 years later, folks should know how the system works by now. I can't tell you how frustrating it is for Accountants to try to get skaters to submit their PPCs on EntryEeze or EMS. We spend hours reminding them to file, then entering PPCs and reprinting paperwork that was completed up to a week earlier so the Tech Panel and judges can have the information in fro...

Changes for Better or Worse? Originally published Sep/Oct 2018 PS Magazine “We would not have change if there wasn’t any progress.” -Gale Tanger ISU Communication No. 2168 was published on May 23, 2018 with little fanfare. The move to +5/-5 was expected. The Scale of Values were re-valued to capture the original intent and not place too much weight on a few selected quadruple jumps. Under-rotated jumps were addressed to now make the quarter mark under-rotated as opposed to achieving full value. Rulemaking today is more about correcting unintended consequences of previous rules. A back entry into a camel spin was considered a difficult entry until everyone did a back entry, and in most cases, better than a forward entry. Why do we keep making so many changes? When Communication 2168 came out, I gave Gale Tanger a call to ask some questions to help me understand. “Jimmie,” she said, “we would not have change if there wasn’t any progress.” So true! Who would have th...

This is Not a #MeToo Moment. Originally published July Aug 2018 While what I went through has left emotional scars, nothing I went through can be compared to the victims of sexual misconduct.  My coach from 1968 to 1976 was Rubin Huron. Rubin was a former student of Carlo Fassi, and his first student to win a U.S. title was my brother, David. Rubin was a good figure coach and an adequate free style technician. Where he excelled however, was as a master motivator. Not in the Frank Carroll sense. Nor was Rubin a “spare the rod, spoil the child” type either. Rubin’s “rod” came in the form of a rubber skate guard that was used to motivate. I felt the sting of that guard often. Punishment and motivation came in different forms and wasn’t always predictable. I remember one painful experience. Rubin carried a key ring with about a half-dozen or so keys on it. When I was close to landing my first double Lutz, his solution to keep me from falling was to place the keys in my ba...

A Look Back at “Is the Triple Axel Becoming Irrelevant?” Originally published May/June 2018 PS Magazine A year ago I asked, “Is the triple Axel becoming irrelevant?” My hypothesis was twofold. One was the program component mark that maxes out in the long program at 100 points for the men (80 for the women) creates a stationary target for the best jumpers. Specifically, I wrote after the 2017 U.S. Championships that if Nathan Chen landed two more quads than Fernadez, Hanyu, or Uno, he would win. If not for Chen’s disastrous short at the PyeongChang Olympics, I would have been right. The International Judging System scale of values is currently weighted heavily to the quadruple jumps- too heavy if you ask me. At the highest elite level, barring a mistake, the spins are irrelevant, as well as the dance step, and the PC marks. If you added up three level four spins and the step sequences, all with +3 GOE, you still don’t have the points of a 4T + 3T combination. Adding the se...

Reporting Abuse Originally published Mar/Apr 2018 PS Magazine Earlier this year I was following a post on social media. Some coaches were complaining about the costs of coaching and all the requirements – background checks, insurance, CERs, etc.  Another recent thread started after a coach was arrested for sexual misconduct. Instead of showing sympathy for the victim or shame at the coach involved, comments were made instead that implied SafeSport was just a money-grab, the training is only so organizations like PSA can use it to their benefit if they get sued, and background checks only catch those who have already been caught. Unfortunately, these coaches miss the point completely. It is [ET1]   the responsibility of the associations to help provide a safe environment for all. I do, however, agree that background checks only catch the guilty. But what if we didn’t have that in place? What would keep abusing coaches from moving to the next state? What i...

Professional Courtesy   Originally published Jan/Feb 2018 PS Magazine I received an email from a highly experienced coach following this past season’s regional championships. In a closely contested qualifying round, skater “A” edged out skater “B” by less than one tenth of a point. Skater “A” qualified for the final round by being the last of the “next four highest scores.”  The problem, however, was that skater “A” went home. She went home and neither the coach nor skater formally withdrew from the competition. As each skater received a congratulatory email with the primary coach and secondary coach being copied, it can be assumed that they knew that they had qualified. This is where the coach of skater “B” makes a very valid point. Skaters train all year long for the opportunity to participate in Regionals. No practice can replicate the intensity of competing at the Regional level and the growth opportunity this provides a skater. Many skaters goal is to ...

A True “Get Up” Moment Originally published Nov/Dec 2017 PS Magazine One of the more challenging aspects of writing an editorial is the fact that I have to write months in advance of the publication. I’m writing this in the beginning of September…regionals haven’t even happened. Yet as I sit here wondering what to write about, a subject presented itself. Texas and Florida have been devastated recently by natural disasters. Not one, but two storms of immense power. Millions without the basic necessities of life… a roof over their head, food, water, power. Even as power comes back and aid becomes available, it is a struggle for many to get back some form of normalcy. In our chosen life of figure skating, what has happened is truly a “Get Up” moment. Even though most rinks in the affected areas were shut down, for the most part they “weathered the storm.” Many rinks in Florida and Houston were without power and some lost their ice, but fortunately no significant damage. The questio...

All is Quiet on the Western Front Originally published Sept/Oct 2017 PS Magazine It has been a little over a year since Ottavio Cinquanta finally left office as the President of the ISU. I’ve missed writing about him. There has been little to complain about that I haven’t already written about. So I went to the ISU website and poked around. Interesting… There are currently fifty-seven ISU office holders which include only two Russians. Yes you read that right. Of the people that run the events and make the rules only two are from Russia. There are thirteen Council Members and only one who is Russian- 2 nd Vice President for Figure Skating, Alexander Lakernik. What strikes me as a significant change is that Cinquanta, who once said, “I don’t know figure skating so well,” was a polar opposite from the new ISU president, Jan Dijkema of the Netherlands. Mr. Dijkema, who will be president until the spring of 2018, has stayed away from influencing the direction of figure skating...