- Joined
- Jan 20, 2017
What does the typical career of a senior-world-level figure skater look like?
Travel back in time, you are now 3 or 4 years old (or your daughter is 3 or 4 years old). You go to your first ice rink and join LTS classes.
Generally, do the "talented" kids graduate LTS classes around 5 or 6 years old?
For people (or parents) who know they want to be serious about this sport, do they travel and find "pro" coaches right from the beginning or do they wait a few years?
It seems like Russia has certain schools set up that are known for "creating champions".
Do people just fall into competitive skating after a few years or do they pursue it with intensity from the age of 4 with the best coaches and the best schools/clubs/ice-arenas?
I suppose by the age of 13-14, they will have generally reached Junior World events. And then, if they're lucky they'll get to move up to Senior events around age 15-16. By age 20-23, they generally retire from skating and move on to other things.
During ages 4-13, what are they doing to get themselves up to Junior World level?
For example, at what age have they likely passed all of their MIF tests? (but not the FS tests. They won't pass FS tests until they're ready to move up in competition levels. AKA if they want to continue to compete at Junior World events they can't take the Senior FS test yet.)
Paint me a picture of the typical progress of the girls who compete at the Senior level. I know they all start skating at age 4 for the most part, since that's what they all say when they're interviewed.
I know skaters blossom at different speeds, but in general, all skaters who arrive at the World stage have about 10 years of experience in figure skating by the time they're age 14. They also have all of their triple jumps by this age too.
I'm going to attempt to breakdown this "10 year progress" of what it takes to get them to the Junior World level:
Year 1-2 (age 4-6) - LTS classes
Year 3 (age 7-8) - single jumps (toe thru lutz) mastered, MIF up to Juvenile level?
Year 4 (age 8-9) - (axel, 2T, 2S) , MIF up to Novice level?
Year 5 (age 10-11) - (2Lo, 2F, 2L), MIF up to Junior level?
Year 6-7 (age 11-12) - (2A, 3T, 3S), MIF up to Senior level
Year 8 (age 12-13) - (3Lo, 3F, 3L)
Year 9 (age 13-14) - Junior World events
Year 10 (age 15-22) - Senior World events (those who can't cut it may stay at Junior level until age 19)
I added the extra year to the LTS era since that can take awhile if the kid/parents aren't serious yet and just testing the waters. And I added extra time to the 2A era since that's a huge stepping stone. I believe 2A and above is supposed to be the difference between "naturally talented" and "hardworker".
I might be being too generous with this time outline. They may learn the elements much quicker than this and then spend ages 11-13 fighting to get them perfect and consistent for competition at the Junior Word level.
Travel back in time, you are now 3 or 4 years old (or your daughter is 3 or 4 years old). You go to your first ice rink and join LTS classes.
Generally, do the "talented" kids graduate LTS classes around 5 or 6 years old?
For people (or parents) who know they want to be serious about this sport, do they travel and find "pro" coaches right from the beginning or do they wait a few years?
It seems like Russia has certain schools set up that are known for "creating champions".
Do people just fall into competitive skating after a few years or do they pursue it with intensity from the age of 4 with the best coaches and the best schools/clubs/ice-arenas?
I suppose by the age of 13-14, they will have generally reached Junior World events. And then, if they're lucky they'll get to move up to Senior events around age 15-16. By age 20-23, they generally retire from skating and move on to other things.
During ages 4-13, what are they doing to get themselves up to Junior World level?
For example, at what age have they likely passed all of their MIF tests? (but not the FS tests. They won't pass FS tests until they're ready to move up in competition levels. AKA if they want to continue to compete at Junior World events they can't take the Senior FS test yet.)
Paint me a picture of the typical progress of the girls who compete at the Senior level. I know they all start skating at age 4 for the most part, since that's what they all say when they're interviewed.
I know skaters blossom at different speeds, but in general, all skaters who arrive at the World stage have about 10 years of experience in figure skating by the time they're age 14. They also have all of their triple jumps by this age too.
I'm going to attempt to breakdown this "10 year progress" of what it takes to get them to the Junior World level:
Year 1-2 (age 4-6) - LTS classes
Year 3 (age 7-8) - single jumps (toe thru lutz) mastered, MIF up to Juvenile level?
Year 4 (age 8-9) - (axel, 2T, 2S) , MIF up to Novice level?
Year 5 (age 10-11) - (2Lo, 2F, 2L), MIF up to Junior level?
Year 6-7 (age 11-12) - (2A, 3T, 3S), MIF up to Senior level
Year 8 (age 12-13) - (3Lo, 3F, 3L)
Year 9 (age 13-14) - Junior World events
Year 10 (age 15-22) - Senior World events (those who can't cut it may stay at Junior level until age 19)
I added the extra year to the LTS era since that can take awhile if the kid/parents aren't serious yet and just testing the waters. And I added extra time to the 2A era since that's a huge stepping stone. I believe 2A and above is supposed to be the difference between "naturally talented" and "hardworker".
I might be being too generous with this time outline. They may learn the elements much quicker than this and then spend ages 11-13 fighting to get them perfect and consistent for competition at the Junior Word level.