Adult or Standard Track

So, I'm ancient, 48 years old and a beginning skater. I have passed pre-pre moves and the first two prelim dances and am currently working on the preliminary MIF. I am interested in continuing on the traditional track for as long as my as possible, simply because I want to push myself and truly earn my skating skills. My coach has asked if I want to switch to the adult track and I am not sure. If it's possible for someone my age to progress through the standard track, that's what I want, but now I worry that I could be setting myself up for failure! Any thoughts or advice???

Also, anyone have any tips for helping me gain more flexibility for better spirals? Mine, especially the left side, are marginal at best!

Thanks all!
Dave

I skated as a kid up to preliminary level (worked on first figure test for a year but quit before I tested it).

As an adult I passed the standard pre-preliminary and preliminary MITF, but I got stuck on the prejuvenile. After two retries, I switched to adult track and passed the bronze test with ease and the silver by getting extra points on some other moves because my back threes are still not up to snuff after many years of working on them. (Not coincidentally, those are one of the first new skills I learned as an adult without ever having done them as a kid.)

That's probably as far as I'll get. I'm working on additional moves from the juvenile and adult gold tests, but some of them (back power threes, brackets) I really can't skate the patterns at all and don't know that I ever will. I may try the prejuvenile moves again someday if I ever get confident enough about the threes.

Your experience may or may not be similar to mine. It certainly can't hurt to start on the standard track, but if you do decide to switch you may need to pass an adult test that includes some moves you've already passed on the standard.

For spirals, try stretching with your foot on the boards, and then try to lift your foot a few inches higher to hold it without support for a few seconds but still holding the boards with your hand(s). Try this in skates and off ice without. If you're tall and the boards are below your hip level when you're on the ice wearing skates, try from outside the ice if there's a ledge outside the Plexiglas at your rink and the floor is lower than the ice, or in shoes (with ankle weights if/when you're ready to work on the strength part as well as the flexibility) outside the ice or with a similar or higher support in a different location.

You can look online for general stretching suggestions, but make sure you do include practice in a good approximation of the spiral position.

Don't stretch first thing when your muscles are cold -- warm up with skating, jogging, etc., before you stretch

I'd say it depends on which discipline you're thinking about.

I've known ice dancers who stayed on the regular track into their 50s and passed the gold test.
For others, it was only after failing a dance (usually a higher level one) several times that they switched to the Adult track. They no longer wanted to solo and they were quite happy with the switch and subsequent achievements.

Freestyle - not so much hwell: especially if you are just starting at 48. I passed my Adult Gold at 40 and I'd say that was my freestyle peak after starting serious skating around 19.

As long as your body cooperates, skate and test on whatever you prefer! And gkelly's stretching tips are right on.

Also, don't forget that past Adult Gold, the Adult track merges into the the standard track. (For MIF, at least. I don't know about dance) So, after you've finished Gold MIF, the next test is Intermediate in the standard track. So it's a parallel route to the standard track, and although the Adult tests have modified expectations (to accommodate the skater's age), you yourself can set your own standards when learning the moves.

Oh, I didn't realize the MIF tracks merged! I'll need to take a closer look at that! Thanks everyone!

In my opinion I support adults taking the adult track. You have the option of a lower passing standard so just take it. The adult tests are still hard to pass. In the end no body is going to care if you took standard or not. You can always go back and retake a test at standard.

You can also test standard track, but at the adult points. They have that option now so you aren't held to the same point standard as the kids, but have the opportunity to do the same track.

davincisoprano said:

You can also test standard track, but at the adult points. They have that option now so you aren't held to the same point standard as the kids, but have the opportunity to do the same track.

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That's only for dance, starting with Pre-Bronze, and for higher level moves starting with Intermediate.

If you want to take standard moves tests up to Juvenile, you have to pass them at the same standard as the kids.

Well then, color me wrong. A gentleman at my rink who has been testing standard is sorely wrong then (I'm testing standard, so I didn't look to see adult options, I went off what he said, and clearly he was wrong).

leafygreens said:

In my opinion I support adults taking the adult track. You have the option of a lower passing standard so just take it. The adult tests are still hard to pass. In the end no body is going to care if you took standard or not. You can always go back and retake a test at standard.

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This would be my preference as well, only because it saves time and money. If you pass the adult test, or the standard test at the adult passing standard, you have qualified for any test or competition that requires that test to have been passed. You can always go back and try to pass at the higher standard after you've done that, but at least you aren't keeping yourself back by NOT passing the test. I can tell you, the difference in adult passing standard and regular passing standard is a big one. I passed Adult Gold MIF on the first try, then it took me 6 tries to pass Intermediate MIF (which was mostly the same moves) at the non-adult passing standard.

vlaurend said:

This would be my preference as well, only because it saves time and money. If you pass the adult test, or the standard test at the adult passing standard, you have qualified for any test or competition that requires that test to have been passed. You can always go back and try to pass at the higher standard after you've done that, but at least you aren't keeping yourself back by NOT passing the test. I can tell you, the difference in adult passing standard and regular passing standard is a big one. I passed Adult Gold MIF on the first try, then it took me 6 tries to pass Intermediate MIF (which was mostly the same moves) at the non-adult passing standard.

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Right... I tried taking one of the tests at standard and failed a few times. I finally passed at the adult level. I should have taken that one from the beginning. Everyone is different and you may pass standard with flying colors, but you never know. Your chance at passing adult is always higher because the passing average is lower. So if you fail at adult you know you're definitely not ready to take standard.

If you're talking about MITF, it depends which moves you fail, because the adult tests mix elements from different standard tests.

E.g., I passed the adult silver by getting extra points on some of the moves to make up for my bad three turns. Since the threes are on the prejuvenile test, which is the same passing average as silver, I figure there's no chance I'm ready to pass those moves on the prejuvenile test either.

But if I'd passed the threes and failed the juvenile moves on the silver test, that wouldn't tell me I wasn't ready to pass the prejuvenile test.