1 meter? 6 seconds?

What does 1 meter and 6 seconds have in common?

I was trying the spiral sequence again on Monday, after having read ISU Communications 1494, on the Scale of Values and Guidelines for marking GOE and Levels for the season 2008-2009 in Single and Pair skating.

So, what is this about 1 meter and 6 seconds? Well, having tried out spiral sequences based on last season's definitions, I was curious to see how that would be affected now. While many of the features and requirements remained unchanged from last season, there are a few significant changes:

First, the feature of "Spirals on both feet, forward & backward, inside & outside" no longer counts as a feature, but is mandatory for Levels 3-4.

Next, the requirement for change-edge spirals has been modified:
"Change of edge in Spirals requires minimum 3 seconds hold before and after the change with the distance used for the change not longer than 1 meter"

Lastly, a new features for level of difficulty in spirals:
"Holding spiral position (without any interruption) for 6 or more seconds"

Ok, these rules make it just a tad bit harder for me to try for a Level 4 spiral sequence. I can still use the spiral sequence I made up last year, but making sure that the edge change takes less than 1m, and having one of the spirals hold for 6s or more.

1 meter
I was trying to estimate the distance in my change-edge, but found it really hard to tell from the tracing - actually what was hard was to find the tracing. I suppose I need to have someone look or video while I do it! Truth be told, I think it is a challenge to make the change within 1m...

6 seconds
The 6s feature is not too big a deal for me - I think its more a matter of leaving enough music time for the spiral sequence!

So, this makes it a little harder to get a Level 4 spiral sequence, but its still not impossible. :-) Next step is to figure out the spins...