thank you Alison

I have been remiss in not posting this sooner but better late than never.

I knew Alison from many years ago when she competed in highland - having had an extremely successful time, including winning the Worlds in 1989.

She contacted me several months back to ask about taking part in a marathon for Logan (aside from her family life and work, Alison is an avid charity marathon runner - regularly taking part in events to raise awareness and funds for good causes).

On 26 October she completed the Dublin marathon in a personal best time of 3 hours & 49 minutes and it looks that the dedication and desire to succeed that pushed her forever upwards with her dancing have now moved into her running (puts my flings well in the shade!).

Alison sent me some photos - you can see them on the flingforlogan website

Congratulations Alison and thanks again

flingforlogan website

Freshened up the website last night - new layout and couple of new links

- logansbear.com - new line of products with funds going to Logan (more to come)

- easyfundraising - difficult to explain this one but if you buy goods from online stores (NEXT, Tesco, Asda etc) then the stores will make a donation to Logan on each purchase - costs nothing to use and everyone, ie Logan, wins

Other projects

Bit busy with a couple of other projects just now - mainly trying to finish our long awaited national DVD.

I am now back in control of it and am keen to get it online before the end of October

Logan's Bear locator map

I have spent a wee while playing with my mapping and have put together a map showing the location of the 'fling for logan' challenges, logan bear sales and donations.

If i have missed your please let me know.

www.flingforlogan.com then then click on the 'map' link (top right)

Where did you fling?

As I get updated from my friends about the various 'fling for logan' fundraising campaigns that they have undertaken I though it might be interesting to try to map them.

Please contact me with the location of your fundraising event and I will try to put together a summary with categories example:

- furthest from me
- most northerly or most southerly
- highest or lowest
- shortest or longest
- earliest in the day or latest
- most participants
- strangest

photos would be good too

Please give it some thought and do get in touch.

Gareth

wipe out

just finished a great practice session - not sure where the motivation or energy came from but did 40 minutes to ipod on ramdom - started by jiggin' it and finished with a wipe out

feels like i've just had a shower (reminds me of the old practice sessions i used to have)

Cowal 50 step fling challenge

Part 2

Cowal 50 step Fling Challenge

part 1 of 2

Cowal Fling video

I hope to get a video of my Cowal Fling on youtube later today.

It seems to have taken for ever to do this but I did encounter several problems:

- Deryck had my camcorder (eventually got it back last weekend)
- I needed to renew my software licence so that I could process the video footage
- eventually got this all done early Thursday morning & uploaded
- when I checked last night I got a message to say that the video was deleted as it was longer than the maximum allowed on youtube of 10 minutes (guess I'll need to dance faster next time!)

I am now splitting the video into 2 bits and hope to finish this later today.

Photos now uploaded

You can see pages from the US album with some others on the flingforlogan site / photo page.

Click here

Photos from the US

Yesterday we received a package in the from post from David Tague on on behalf of FUSTA containing a cheque for funds raised at various events held at the Pheonix, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Costa Mesa, Campbell, San Diego & USIR events. In addition, we received an amazing album containing photos of some of the raffle winners, USIR qualifiers and some of the youngsters taking part in the coloring in events.

We all loved going through the album, talking about the competitions and venues and seeing some dancers that we know and many that we do not but Logan and the girls were puzzled at one of 2 guys dancing with no socks or shoes - check the photo for details when I get it uploaded.

I will be creating a photo page with some of the pages from the album.

Many, many thanks to all.

Started practicing again

Gave myself a few days off after Cowal but am back practicing again.

What for? I don't have anything specific in mind but am playing with a couple of ideas.

Anyone else doing any flinging?

Video clip of Cowal Fling

Video footage of a video by the STV.com team

click here

Cowal Fling Challenge - what now?

Well, the fling has been flung and my legs are back to normal but the challenge goes on.

This fling challenge was not about me but instead was about raising public awareness of the duchenne condition and pressure on government to bring forward clinical trials, currently underway but underfunded, and treatments for our boys.

If I could do this then we can do anything - please help me to make it happen.

Gareth

Cowal Fling Challenge - the fling

I was not sure what sort of crowd to expect - I knew that the Cowal committee gave me the prime spot before the major bands but thought that the tent would be quiet with people taking a break - WRONG - the tent was packed!

I got onto the stage, found a spot between the speakers, mikes and cables and was looking for some decent space when the music started - flinging had begun.

I started trying to pace myself but the noice from the crowd was so deafening and enspiring that excitement took over.

I knew that I needed to be backstepping til step 16 but I lost count and found that I had danced 2 toeandheel steps when the music changed - got a bit tired at this point, mentally more than physically but the same effect

Toe and heels, shakes & rock steps went pretty well and I think I got back on schedule.

The crowd cheering all the way, some girls screaming in the front (I know who you are!) each time I changed step type - I got a boost each time they did - THANK YOU

I was determined not to repeat steps - my fling was intended to comprise 50 unique steps and this was my challenge.

I think I moved onto pointing steps more or less on schedule but was feeling the heat and so my waistcoat came off - not sure why I did this but I did get a big cheer.

I heard the music change and knew that I was on step 4o - I could feel the end in sight and now knew that I should have enough steps left to complete my fling.

Onto the crossovers and a 5th or 6th wind kicked in - lowcutting, pause, extended, shake, pause & extend, pause & shake and then onto my last steps.

The normal last step first and then onto no 50 - 8 turns.

Adrenaline had truly kicked in by now - a few more turns and then it was over - 50 steps.

Fling done - pumps off - talk to some guys from the media and then, as I forgot to bring water, head down the hill to the catering tent - no chance of water - got a couple of bottles of the sponsor's finest straight from the fridge!

Cowal Fling Challenge - day of the challenge

5.00 am - got up around and jumped about a bit in the house - it was raining and when I checked the forecast I realised that it was on for the day.

6.30 am - got into my kilt, had breakfast and went down the field.

7.45 am - started printing off Worlds Finalist certificates and getting the system ready for the day

10.00 am - dancing started and we started crunching the numbers

1.00 pm - I decided that I needed time out to stretch my legs

1.30 pm - met an old friend then headed up to the ceiligh tent

1.50 pm - time to put my pumps on (toeandheel GOLD open to 4 in case you are interested!)

1.55 pm - started jumping about to get warmed up

2.00pm - Deryck & dad arrived and the MC announced the challenge

Cowal Fling Challenge - Cowal schedule

My practice schedule, once I got to Dunoon, grinded to a halt.

Deryck & I run the scrutineering for the dancing at Cowal and so we spend all day Thursday (7.30 am til 6 pm) and Friday (7.30 am til 6 pm) and Saturday (7.30 am til 5 pm) in the scrutineering cabin (which is a wee bit more cold and damp that is ideal in the final run up for a physical challenge).

In addition we take part in the UKA Championship step lecture on the Thursday evening.

I did manage to dance early Thursday, Friday and Saturday mornings - but not as much as I would have liked.

Cowal Fling Challenge - the week of the challenge

The week of the challenge was pretty crazy on a number of fronts:

- our school term started on the Thursday the week before the challenge and so morning school preparations were still new and routines not yet set

- Deryck & I were putting finishing touches to our latest DVD

- I was trying to manage my work schedule to work around my time off

- my legs were getting a bit tired and starting to get sore

I left for Cowal straight from work on Wednesday - no looking back now

Cowal Fling Challenge - PR

The main drive behind this Fling Challenge was to increase public awareness of the Duchenne condition and through this to drive forward the current clinical trials to some kind of treatment.

Pauline Foster from Cowal Gathering's PR company got on the case - press releases were prepared and distributed to all the Scottish media and articles appeared in many of the papers, radio and online advising of the challenge and pointing them to the actionduchenne website.

A considerable amount of time was spent on the phone with Pauline discussing our PR angle - working out the delicate balance between family, duchenne and the fling challenge - and I have to say that it appears to have been successful.

An article was also put in the Cowal Games programme and space was given to us in the games Information Kiosk to sell our Logan's bears.

Many thanks to the Cowal Gathering committee and Pauline for all their assistance.

Cowal Fling Challenge - injury worries

As this was quite a physically demanding challenge my family was a bit concerned that some of my old dancing injuries might raise their heads (truth be told - they have never gone away!) and so enquired of some local sports clinics for some preventative treatment.

I was very lucky, and extremely grateful, to the Simon Grant of the Rannoch Physiotherapy and Sports Injury Clinic (Balneggie, Perthshire) and the Liz McColgan Health Club in Carnoustie for the treatment that he provided by way of sponsorship.

I received twice weekly physio sessions, including massage, ultra sound and some needles (I thought it was some kind of voodoo medicine but Simon assured me it was accupuncture!)

Thanks again Simon - all done and new new injuries.

Cowal Fling Challenge - workout schedule

I had planned my workout schedule to give me plenty of time to build up the stamina and memory required to make the 50 steps with everything in place by the middle of July.

I started my daily routine (walk, jump then dance through at 5 am and then also 10 pm each day) and managed to achieve this most days (I was keen to get this underway quickly as we had a family holiday planned for July and also August during which the required intense practice would not be possible.)

Some sessions were great whilst others were a bit more challenging - my studio is separate from the house and so sometimes I got a bit wet and cold crossing the garden at 5am in the rain!

I managed some dancing during our July holiday (as were were in a cottage) but only danced twice during the August one - we had hired a campervan and so the only opportunity I had to dance was at 6am outside on the grass (still damp with morning dew!) in my pyjamas.

Back home and normal service resumed 15 August - only 2 weeks to go!

Cowal Fling Challenge - music

Sorting out the music was a major issue for my initial fling and could have been a problem for the Cowal Fling.

However, I decided that rather than becoming concerned whtether the music was exciting I needed to make sure that it told me where I was in my challenge.

So I decided to work from my old music and just add to it.

This gave me certain milestones where I could quickly and easilly determine my progress:

The music changed after 16, 32, 38 and then 44 steps and after this I should be able to plan my final few steps.

Pulling the music together only took a few minutes - and updating my trusty ipod only a few seconds.

SO by the start of August I was good to go (really!!!)

Cowal Fling Challenge - memorising the steps

Now that I had the steps sorted it was time to commit them to memory.

How?

Repetition.

I printed the steps (in large type) and stuck them on the mirror of my dance studio and my daily schedule was roughtly as follows:

5.00 am - get up and walk through the steps as an aid memoire and also a bit of a warm up

5.15 am - put the music on and jump through the steps

5.30 am - dance the 50

5.45 am - ease the legs out

I then tried to repeat this at night (once the gang had gone to sleep!)

Cowal Fling Challenge - steps

Figuring out my steps should be fairly easy since I had already done & scripted 42 - well not as easy as I thought!

One of my main difficulties in my 40 step fling in April was recalling the steps - not during practice sessions but when the adrenaline kicks in and tiredness starts to bite - I was determined that this would not be an issue with the Cowal fling.

There are a great number & variety of old fling steps (way more than I needed for this challenge) but I needed some that would be interesting, could be danced at speed and were easy to remember.

I decided to link my steps with the music - the music changed after 16 and then 32 steps and so it followed that I should change steps at those milestones also.

The plan was -

1 - 16: 1 first step then 15 backstepping steps

17 - 32: 8 toe and heel steps then 8 shake / rocking steps

33 - 42: pointing steps

43 - 50: 6 crossover then 2 last steps

I sorted out the steps and then started the challenge of memorising them.

Cowal Fling Challenge - how did it go?

Well, after several months of planning and several weeks of intensive training Saturday 29th August (and time for my Cowal Fling challenge) came along very quickly.

It was my favourite Cowal games weather - cool and wet - and the ceilidh tent was packed. Adrenaline, music, cheering, screaming (and that was just in my head) and some 12 1/2 minutes later it was over - 50 steps.

Want to know a bit about my build up? - OK

Muscle rub anyone?

Anyone got any spare muscle rub?

All contributions welcome, Gareth Mitchelson, 74 Dalhou.......

Fling challenge update

Training is up and down (and that's not just the hopping!)

Just back from a week's holiday and had no opportunity to train so after a quick 40 last night and another this morning the legs are a bit stiff.

Not to worry - plenty muscle rub in the drawer.

Check the Cowal Ceilidh tent blog for details

My next fling

I am back in training again.

Cowal Games have generously offered to assist in my campaign to spread awareness of the Duchenne condition by making available time in the Ceilidh Tent on the Saturday for me to attempt to push my forty step fling a bit further.

I am now sure of all the details, not have I started looking out the steps, but will keep you posted.

Gareth

40 minutes reel

I have been a bit slow in getting back to the blog but have not forgotten.

Friends of mine completed a 40 minute reel at the Dance Faculty of the University of Limerick to raise funds for Logan and the profile of the Duchenne condition.

The event was a huge success - en evening's entertainment, not to mention a bit of a work out, for all - including many friends and notable dancers & musicians.

Thanks to all

Gareth

Courtney Flinged for Logan

I have attached a photo of a young dancer who performed her own Fling for Logan.

Although suffering from torn ankle ligaments, not having competed for 6 months previously and only knowing 4 steps to begin with, she worked up to and successfully danced an 8 step of the fling at her school.

Thank you very much for this.

Gareth

fortystepfling 030409 with script

i danced this one this morning and scripted the steps

40 steps - live from class

logan
x

just watched it

not the most technical fling that i ever did - sorry

the pain is now starting to move upwards already past my eyes (but i think that's my judges eyes!)

still editing

gareth

done it

well, a bit later than i had initially hoped (i am a morning person - nights are not good for me)

however, it seemed to go ok and i think i did the 40

thanks to everyone that came along to cheer me on and help with the counting (and also to Gemma for working the music)

editing the video just now - should be up soon

a very sore gareth

1 day to go

well, just 1 day to go now

still working on my memory, legs are a bit tender, lots of meeting with work today and tomorrow and so my plans for a restful build up are off

just need to wait and see if i am ready

fling challenge time & venue

I had planned on dancing my fling to a closed audience on Thursday evening but after receiving a number of phone calls & emails asking about attending the challenge I have made new arrangements.

I will be dancing my fling shortly after 8.45 pm this Thursday at the Mayfield Sports Centre (Arbroath Road, Dundee, DD4 7HS) in one of the dance studios.

The studio is in use until 8.40 pm and is not huge and I am not planning on performing my fling more than once - so if you intend to come and watch please do not be late.

Footnote: Outdoor shoes are not permitted in the dance studio and will have to be removed and left at the door

only 2 nights to go

had a good run through this morning

feeling pretty good now - looking forward to Thursday

Weekend practices

Practices went well at the weekend - I could have done with fitting in a few more but I was busy with other things.

I still think that I am in good shape for Thursday.

last weekend of practice

Well, I'll be heading home from work soon and then up to the studio later - I only hope that it is warmer than last night.

I am still not too great on warm ups (never was and those of you that know me will know what I mean) and I'm not too keen on trying a 'frozen forty'

I'll let you know how I get on - if it's not too bad then I might try another short fling for the video again (but then again I might not)

teaser 260309 script

This fling is my interpretation of a fling listed by D R McKenzie.

1. Flinging
bar 1 fling R
bar 2 fling L
bar 3 fling R
bar 4 turn R whilst flinging L

2. backstep
bar 1 hop & point R in 2, hop take R to3RA, hop & point R in 4IA, hop & take R to 3A
bar 2 dance 1 backstep, hop & hold L in 3A, dance 1 BS, hop & hold R in 3A

3. toe & heel
bar 1 fling R
bar 2 dance toe and heel L,R
bar 3 as bar 2
bar 4 turn R whilst flinging L
bar 5 fling L
bar 6 2 toe & heels R
bar 7 2 toe & heels L
bar 8 turn L whilst flinging R

4. Shake
Bar 1 hop & point R in 2, hop take R to 3RA, hop point R in 3, hop extend R to 4IA
Bar 2 turn R whilst flinging L

5. Shake
Bar 1 hop & point R in 2, hop take R to 3RA, hop point R in 3, hop extend R to 4IA
Bar 2 dance 4 rocks (hornpipe style)

6. Crossover
bar 1 fling R
bar 2 hop & point R in 2, hop & ext R to 4IA, jump onto R, hop & point L in 3

7. Shake
Bar 1 hop & point R in 2, hop take R to 3RA, hop point R in 3, hop extend R to 4IA
Bar 2 dance 4 rocks

8. last step
Bars 1 - 3 fling R R R
bar 4 turn R whilst flinging L

I hope that you can understand my shorthand (which uses some of the narrations and terminology from some of the booksthat I have researched)

It's cold tonight

Further to my post this morning it got cold!

The studio is near freezing and my feet are numb but I decided to blast through a quick 8 step fling.

I will post up the scripts in the morning.

teaser 260309

a quick 8 steps in a cold studio on a cold Spring night

Early morning sessions continuing

I am please to say that I am managing to keep up with my planned early morning practice sessions.

It is a beautiful day today and it was great to be dancing whilst watching and listening to the birds in the garden.

I have a busy night planned and so will not be teaching any new steps at the class tonight - lots to do and not enough time to fit it all in.

intensified practice schedule

I have now intensified my practice schedule by adding a morning session.

It's amazing how a quick 40 steps first thing in the morning helps wake you up - more refreshing than a cold shower on a frosty spring morning!

I plan to keep up the momentum all the way till the 2nd - will update the blog between sessions if I have time.

9 days to go

Only 9 days to go but now I am definitely on target (I think).

Did not manage any dancing over the weekend as I was in Glasgow on Saturday and at the United Kingdom Championships in Meadowbank on Sunday and so I was a bit concerned that my fitness level may have dropped.

However, I had a good run through last night and all seems well.

I am now keen to run through my practice regime at least twice a day every day from now until next Thursday - stamina, memory and technique all in my mind.

Steps update

I have now finalised the steps that I will (well, I am hoping to) be dancing in my challenge.

If I put the steps in categories then I get:

- 12 backstepping steps

- 8 toe and heel steps

- 10 shake or rock steps

- 5 crossover steps

and a few others.

Still working on committing them to memory . . .

Teaching update

I taught about half of the backstepping steps at the class last night - the dancers did pretty well.

Some of the steps were pretty basic but there were a couple of more complicated ones.

Once we had been over the a few times we tried dancing to music. Slow music initially but as this seemed to be too easy I put on the music I am dancing my challenge fling to - this was certainly more exciting.

I videoed some of the dancing and hope to put up some footage tonight.

Practice improvement

Well, I have thrashed myself through several sessions since my last posting and at long last seem to have got back on track.

I have sorted out the start, pretty much figured out the steps (still working on committing them to memory though) and stamina is building.

Picked up a few new aches, pains, sores & strains though - but not to worry.

I will be teaching some of the steps at class tonight and will post some video footage but I have still to decide what tempo to use - do I let them off lightly and go with competition tempo? or do I push them . . . . .

Practice update

Practice sessions since my last post have not been too great.

- hit a mind block over the steps

- got a twinge in my left leg

- still struggling with the start

I held off updating till things improved - but no joy yet!

Mindful that I have only 16 days left to practice this is not so good.

I will be thrashing through another session tonight - hopefully a bit improved on recent ones.

Blog later . . . .

Fling - different steps

I was asked am I planning to dance 40 different steps in the fling? and are there really 40 different steps?

Well, yes - I am planning to dance 40 different steps and am trying to avoid those currently danced in SOBHD competitions (but I will be dancing the 1st step).

And there are loads of old steps (Fling & other dances). I do intend to post various steps after my challenge - so keep watching ...

some more scripts

steps from 'needing to practice'

backstep

bar 1: spread, ass RF, spread, ass LF

bar 2: spread, ass RF, spread, ass RF

bar 3: 4 backsteps

bar 4: turn

another backstep

bar 1: shed RF then round the leg to 3RA (1 2 3 4&)

bar 2: hop LF ext RF 4IA, spring RF take LF 3RA, 2 BS

bar 3: dance bar 2 on LF

bar 4: turn

needing to practice

need to learn my steps

false start

take 1...take 2 ... take ... well take a few!

need a bit more practice!

Had a good session last night but the results were a bit variable.

I seem to have lost the timing of the intro, then hen I found it, forgot my steps! But on the plus side I did get a good work out and got the video from a new angle.

I eventually managed a few steps and have uploaded a couple of clips.

Making progress

Made good progress with my practice sessions at the weekend - did not manage to record any new video footage but will try to get some done this week.

I was at a dancing comp on Sunday and lost count of how many people came up to me offering best wishes and to say that they are following the blog and my video progress - this was very encouraging (but also reminded me of the task ahead!)

I will try to keep the blog up to date.

Countdown Timer

I have added a countdown timer to the blog - counting down to 5pm (GMT) on April 2 when I hope to upload a video of my completed 40 step Fling challenge.

It is quite scary watching the seconds tick away - watching my stamina building schedule quickly disappear!

Great feedback

Just a quick post to say thanks for all the great feedback that I have received so far.

If you want to leave any comments the just click on the 'comment' link and type away.

Videos speeded up?

Someone asked me 'why did you speed up the videos on the blog?'

They are not speeded up - this is the speed I am dancing.

Approx 13 seconds per step (152 bpm) - this makes my fling about 9 minutes long (long enough I think!)

vdieo trials 200209

video from 210209

still warming up!

New video coming ...

I said that I would be putting up some new video over the weekend.

Well, I just need to find time.

I have some good footage of practices and hopefully will find time to upload it tonight.

Video testing

Started testing my video setup last night.

Hit a few teething problems but got most of them ironed out.

I have some footage that I will be putting up over the weekend - keep watching.....

Good practice session

I had a good practice session at the class last night.

Got through more steps that I thought I might.

Also, as I have now found some music I am now dancing to speed (which is quite fast!)

Better weather - better practices!

Now that the snow and ice has gone (well for a day at least) I am hopeful of increasing my practice schedule.

My dance space gets a bit cold in the winter and although I warm up pretty quickly after 10 or 20 steps of the fling I needed to tidy it up.

Moving boxes in subzero temperatures was not high up on my agenda and so with the mild weather today I should get this done tonight.

Then I can dance my little feet off...

Monday update

Day off work today - time to spend with my family.

Tonight I will be pushing a bit further with my practices.

Update later.

Gareth

Practice update

Had a good jump about at the class last night.

Ran over most of my steps - couple of tricky ones that I still have to master up to speed but I reckon I am making good progress.

Got a busy weekend with meetings and so I will not get much of a chance to work on my Fling - but I am hoping to find some 'early' or 'late' gaps in my schedule.

Music update

Still hunting for music - not as easy as you might think.

Needs to be

- pipes (just a preference thing)
- uplifting (need to keep me going for 40 steps!)
- L O N G...

I have a couple of tracks in mind - see what I can do over the weekend.

Warn up steps script

Some scripts for the initial 3 warm up steps per the video

pointing step

Bar 1
hop L point RF 2 count 1
hop L take RF to 3RA count 2
repeat counts 1, 2 counts 3, 4

Bars 2 & 3
dance bar 1 with L then again with R

Bar 4
fling turn by R

pointing step 2

Bar 1
hop L point RF 2 count 1
hop L take RF to 3RA count 2
hop L take RF 4 count 3
hop L take RF to 3A count 4

Bars 2 & 3
dance bar 1 with L then again with R

Bar 4
fling turn by R

toe and heel step

Bar 1
hop L point RF 2 count 1
hop L take RF to 3RA count 2
dance toe and heel RF counts 3, 4

Bars 2 & 3
dance bar 1 with L then again with R

Bar 4
fling turn by R

What is a 40 step fling

My friends were helping me look for music when they asked - how long does it need to be? to which I answered - 40 steps of the fling.

How long is that in real money? they asked

Well, I answered, if you have been to Cowal and watched the worlds finals - it is like all the flings in the adult section danced back to back with no break!

I hadn't really though about it like that before.....

Music

The next thing that I need to do is sort out some music for the challenge.

In my initial I danced without music but I guess that trying to complete 40 steps without music might be a bit monotomous for viewers (not to mention that I could probably do with all the help that I can get to see me through all the steps).

However, finding music will not be straight forward:

- needs to be 40 steps
- tempo will need to be fairly up beat ( I do not fancy dancing 40 steps at today's tempos!)

I will start hunting for something appropriate today.

Video of initial steps

Here is a sample of some of the steps that I will be dancing in the challenge

Step scripting

Now that I have the steps listed I needed to amend my notes and re-script them into 2 formats

1. into a summarised format
2. into a detailed format

I plan to use the summarised format as an aide memoire when I am dancing and so it contains only brief details of each step (and as most of the old steps comprised 3 bars then a fling turn the 1st step of fling would be scripted as 'shed R L F')

The detailed format will be the script that I will publish on completion of the challenge. The notes are still summarised (when compared to SOBHD text) but I believe they give all the information required to allow dancers, along with my video, to understand and then perform the steps.

I have now completed the scripting of all the spets that I plan to dance (although depending upon what actually happens I may have to make some changes!)

Step selection

Selecting the steps to be danced was fairly easy.

I have a database of many old fling steps which I compiled over the last 12 or so years. I have performed many of these steps (and also submitted them to the SOBHD with the intention of bringing them back into competition) so all I had to do was review and select some interesting ones.

I categorised the steps into rough groups based on the step's main contents:

flinging (shedding)
backstepping
toe and heel
shake
crossover
pointing (covering pretty much everything not in the above)

and then selected a sample from each category.