Competition Restructure by Skate Canada

Yes ... and still working thru the implications ... I know quite a few "sitting in novice" kids who are done after this year b/c of the age limits ... and a few Juvie parents who are scratching their heads ...

No more competitive tests at all. Now you can compete at any level you like up to pre novice if you have your junior bronze test and any level you like after that if you have your gold test, and you can move up and down between the levels unless you are on the national podium. There are some age caps now however and you can move over to a lesser second tier called "Active for Life". It's probably good for keeping lots of skaters competing, but I think the judges might have to sit through some rather large low quality events, and I think that a lot of kids will be held back for better results. (but they won't be the ones on the way to international skating).

More onus is going to be put on the coach to decide what track the skater should follow; before, if you 'passed the test' the implication was that you could skate the level. Now, with minimal test requirements, the coach is going to have make the assessment of whether, say, a skater should be skating pre nov, nov, junior, etc., barring the age caps.

However, as they pointed out, the test was only a 'bar' for one event a year - Sectionals - so skaters could skate in the comp events regardless of tests in every other instance.

It'll be harder to hold back ... the 17 year olds sitting in Pre-nov won't be able to ... nor in Nov ... once you hit the age cap, is move up or move out. The expanded Juvie age is a good idea; however, the low level test for pre-nov may make it a "why bother" - and as pre-nov is already the largest category in most comps, it will be interesting to see the effect.

It's almost as if they are de emphasizing pre-nov and putting Nov as the focus. Attaining the pre-nov test used to be significant ... now it's a Junior Bronze test that my one kid, frankly, passed with a wobbly lutz and no axel, and no sit spin of any real quality. What a contrast from 3 clean doubles and a minimum PCS score !

It's almost like roller skating, except they still have at least these two tests.

I don't know how helpful this will be for skaters. A lot of parents who are overzealous about their children's skating careers will probably try to move their children up. You are right; the coaches will have to be really strict about moving their kids.

On the flip side, you may have someone who "likes to win" and will stay at the lower level just to win...

blue dog said:

It's almost like roller skating, except they still have at least these two tests.

I don't know how helpful this will be for skaters. A lot of parents who are overzealous about their children's skating careers will probably try to move their children up. You are right; the coaches will have to be really strict about moving their kids.

On the flip side, you may have someone who "likes to win" and will stay at the lower level just to win...

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Yes, but, at least we have the age limits to move them out ... you won't have 16 year olds doing pre-nov ...

blue dog said:

On the flip side, you may have someone who "likes to win" and will stay at the lower level just to win...

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You think that this doesn't happen now? There are also coaches who discourage skaters from moving up and keep them at a lower level where they can win to encourage the parents to keep buying the lessons. Neither situations are helpful if the skater really wants to succeed in the sport.

At the opposite end of the spectrum are the parents who push the kids to skate at ever higher levels regardless of their age. I've known of kids under the age of 10 who are skating three times a day, 7 days a week and are pushed to the point of burnout.

CdnSkateWatcher said:

It'll be harder to hold back ... the 17 year olds sitting in Pre-nov won't be able to ... nor in Nov ... once you hit the age cap, is move up or move out. The expanded Juvie age is a good idea; however, the low level test for pre-nov may make it a "why bother" - and as pre-nov is already the largest category in most comps, it will be interesting to see the effect.

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CdnSkateWatcher said:

Yes, but, at least we have the age limits to move them out ... you won't have 16 year olds doing pre-nov ...

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I'm not familiar with the previous Canadian test/competition structure.

What about kids who start skating at 13-14-15 and can't pass the gold test by the time they're 16 or 17? Is the move-up-or-move-out philosophy going to tell them they're not welcome in the sport at all?

gkelly said:

I'm not familiar with the previous Canadian test/competition structure.

What about kids who start skating at 13-14-15 and can't pass the gold test by the time they're 16 or 17? Is the move-up-or-move-out philosophy going to tell them they're not welcome in the sport at all?

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I think they are covered in the "Active for Life" track.

gkelly said:

I'm not familiar with the previous Canadian test/competition structure.

What about kids who start skating at 13-14-15 and can't pass the gold test by the time they're 16 or 17? Is the move-up-or-move-out philosophy going to tell them they're not welcome in the sport at all?

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There are/were two tracks for Skate Canada members, the Test Track and the Competitive Track and there are competitions and Canadian Championships for both tracks, although the competitions for Test Track (recreational) skaters are never televised. I can't imagine that are skaters who start skating at ages 13, 14 or 15 who are in the Competitive Track, since it's extremely unlikely that they would ever have enough skills to compete in anything other than the Test Track.

The "move up or out" philosophy applies only to Competitive Skaters, not Test Skaters.

StarSkate is the Canadian test track, and it's the zone for the majority of Canadian figure skaters. There are multiple opportunities for competitions (this year, more for StarSkaters than Competitive in Ontario); they have regional and provincial championships; and there are no age limits at all. I've seen skaters start at 14 or 15, or as early as age 3, and they have a very good, well-supported competitive structure that gives them excellent avenues for competition. You also have different "categories" in the StarSkate stream, seperate from freeskate, etc, with Interpretive events and Triathlon events (freeskate, skating skills, interpretive combined in one event).

Thus, the skater who doesn't want the demands of the competitive track has a very real option.

CdnSkateWatcher said:

StarSkate is the Canadian test track, and it's the zone for the majority of Canadian figure skaters. There are multiple opportunities for competitions (this year, more for StarSkaters than Competitive in Ontario); they have regional and provincial championships; and there are no age limits at all. I've seen skaters start at 14 or 15, or as early as age 3, and they have a very good, well-supported competitive structure that gives them excellent avenues for competition. You also have different "categories" in the StarSkate stream, seperate from freeskate, etc, with Interpretive events and Triathlon events (freeskate, skating skills, interpretive combined in one event).

Thus, the skater who doesn't want the demands of the competitive track has a very real option.

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Similar to ISI, or USFSA Adult in the United States. Although once you've reached the peak of USFSA Adult or ISI, you're encouraged to try your hand at standard USFSA. I know of many adults who returned to standard and have not just passed but aced senior moves in the field. Many senior skaters have a hard time with senior moves, so when an adult passes it, it's a big accomplishment.