Should FS tests decide comp level?

AndreaRu said:

In my perfect world, there would be no tests at all. You can try out for the NFL even if you've never played football before! There are so many reasons why the test system is counterproductive, especially in areas of the country where test sessions are difficult to find and difficult to enter. Ice time is generally at a premium in these areas, too, which leaves whole areas of the country struggling to advance -- half your time needs to be devoted to learning and mastering moves patterns. It's unnecessarily prohibitive and I think it also makes the sport very confusing.

Skating skills come with more time on the ice. If you've mastered the jumps and spins you think you need to be competitive at say, novice, then you've likely spent enough time on the ice developing your skating skills enough that you'd be able to pass a novice moves test. Realistically, if you're competing at novice well balanced, you're likely much more proficient at moves than what's on the novice test since most people test ahead anyway. If not, well... you probably won't do that well in competition.

I know tests are generally profitable fundraisers, but I think they should go.

Click to expand...

I'm a relatively new skater and I find all the testing levels SO confusing. It's also expensive because each freestyle level has 2 tests and offered I think once a year where I live, forget having a coach with me, I'm too broke to afford someone to come along. I wish the Moves in the Field test was combined with the freeskate to 1 longer test that can be passed to music or not. Save money, save time! I found the testing costs so disheartening since I'm an adult skater and have so many other bills.

TallAdultSkater said:

I'm a relatively new skater and I find all the testing levels SO confusing. It's also expensive because each freestyle level has 2 tests and offered I think once a year where I live, forget having a coach with me, I'm too broke to afford someone to come along. I wish the Moves in the Field test was combined with the freeskate to 1 longer test that can be passed to music or not. Save money, save time! I found the testing costs so disheartening since I'm an adult skater and have so many other bills.

Click to expand...

If you live in the US and money for testing and competing is a big issue yet you still want to do those things, you could look into ISI. It is far cheaper than USFS. It is a much simpler and cost-effective system for recreational figure skating. When I was a kid, I took ISI tests through FS 4 before taking USFS preliminaries, and competed in a couple ISI competitions (we didn't have USFS here back then, so I had to join an out-of-state club). ISI levels are much easier to understand, testing for the lower FS levels does not require judges, competition levels requirements are the same as the test levels requirements, and competition judging is based on how well the elements are done, not on how much harder someone has officially decided that one type of jump or spin is over another on the exact same test level.

TallAdultSkater said:

I'm a relatively new skater and I find all the testing levels SO confusing. It's also expensive because each freestyle level has 2 tests and offered I think once a year where I live, forget having a coach with me, I'm too broke to afford someone to come along. I wish the Moves in the Field test was combined with the freeskate to 1 longer test that can be passed to music or not. Save money, save time!

Click to expand...

If the moves and freestyle tests were combined into one long test, then fewer people would be able to pass tests at all. Sure they'd save some money by not testing, but they wouldn't get the validation of passing a test to confirm what they had mastered.

Clubs or areas with more skaters offer more testing opportunities than isolated areas. In populous skating areas with several local clubs there may be tests every month, several tests per month at more popular times of year. In isolated areas maybe only one test session per year. But most clubs fall somewhere in between, maybe with 2-4 test sessions per year, depending on the needs of their members and the logistics of reserving ice time and bringing in judges.

Tailoring the test requirements only to meet the needs of isolated skaters will not serve the needs of serious competitors, nor vice versa.

The standard-track tests are designed to ensure that competitors will master all the basic moves -- stroking skills, steps, and turns as well as jumps and spins -- as they move up the test structure.

The adult tests are designed to allow adult-starters (or people like myself who return as adults after having reached only a low test level as kids) to demonstrate progress through low to mid-level skills up to a level that a committed adult-starter can reasonably be expected to achieve. Now there are also options for adults to pass the higher-level Moves in the Field at lower passing standard than that expected on the standard track.

It takes a lot of work for most people to pass the middle let alone higher MIF tests. A young person who practices many hours per week can often work through several test levels per year, but people with less time on the ice each week and more physical limitations that come with age often need a whole year or several years per test level even at lower levels.

As I understand, the purposes of testing are, in no particular order,
*To separate skaters into comparable skill levels for meaningful competition with a relatively level playing field
*To make sure that skaters who compete will be well balanced in the types of skills they perform and not just excel at their favorites while being completely deficient in other areas -- specifically, officials don't want to see skaters attempting axels and double jumps who can barely skate on edges
*To allow skaters to measure their own progress by validating their skills when mastered to an established standard, irrespective of whether they also enter competitions or not

There is no requirement for any skater to test if they don't want to.

If you want to compete at a level that allows skills that most beginners can't do and that are therefore not allowed in beginner competitions, you need to test to the correct level for the skills you can do.

Competitors will usually be better at some skills than what is required on the tests to reach that level, but they may be lacking in one or more areas that would prevent them from moving up to the next level.

For more recreationally focused skaters, progress in MITF skills may be very different from progress in freestyle skills.

For those who are better at the moves, the ability to test further in moves for personal pride would be lost if they weren't able to test before mastering more jumps and spins. Combining moves and freestyle tests would make it almost impossible for these skaters to pass any tests at all, especially past pre-preliminary/pre-bronze level.

For those who are better at freeskating moves, the freestyle tests themselves will not be very challenging compared to the other skills needed to compete successfully at the corresponding level. So these skaters can pass the freestyle tests easily and then attempt harder jumps and spins in competition, but they will need to challenge themselves to achieve at least the basic skating skills expected at that level let alone needed to compete successfully.

Also one reason for keeping the minimum jump and spin requirements at each test level lower than what is needed to compete successfully at that level is that skaters often push their own limits in competition, but test requirements should be more about skills that have already been fully mastered.

If you are an adult and planning to test or compete as an adult, then don't worry too much about the standard track test. And if you're just starting at out in the sport, don't expect to get to gold or even silver level in a year or two. It's a long-term project.

concorde said:

To the best of my knowledge, Philadelphia Human Society & Skating Club has one only one rink (which it owns) and that rink has only one sheet of ice. From reading their bulletin board, members essentially get unlimited use of that facility for a "nominal" membership fee which includes unlimited ice time. My guess is that members there probably only want to use that skating facility since they have essentially pre-paid for it. If we lived in the area, I would seriously consider joining it since the club membership looks to be a good deal and that rink has produced some great skaters - I believe that is Scott Hamilton's "home" rink. Skaters there tend to have "balanced" MIF/FS.

Click to expand...

Hi, I belong to PSCHS. We pay a membership to belong to the club and a separate fee for our ice time (of which there are various tiers available). An "unlimited" package means you can skate as many sessions as you want, but that's really where it ends. A bunch of things determine how much ice time you really have (test levels, one's schedule, personal preferences).

I will say that PSCHS has a strong adult community and dance program, which is appealing to many. It is the only place in the area with dedicated adult skating in the evening, which is why I shell out the money (and my bank account would disagree on the fees being "nominal"). But I can see why many of the junior skaters augment it with ice time at other area rinks (Wissahickon, Skatium, Iceworks, Delaware).

gkelly said:

As far as I can tell this is already possible for Adult Gold.

Click to expand...

Yes! The USFS Adult Committee managed to squeeze that one in just under the wire. The intention is to get the rest of the adult levels added for next season.

vlaurend said:

Yes! The USFS Adult Committee managed to squeeze that one in just under the wire. The intention is to get the rest of the adult levels added for next season.

Click to expand...

I think it's great they did it for Adult Gold FS! Many adults have difficulty with getting their Axel, double Salchow or double Toe, yet are able to get wonderful Leveled spins. This new rule allows them to reach Gold FS through a different avenue.