competing figures

[Mel On Ice]

I compete ISI and USFSA. No USFSA competitions I have entered have figures events anymore, but ISI still offers them at Winter Classic, Worlds, Adult Champs, etc.

I'm interested in competing figures at least once, but have yet to pass a single ISI figures test. I am currently competing FS 4. My question is:

1. do I need to pass Figures 1 to compete at that level?

2. or am I forced to compete Figures 4 since I'm in FS 4?

I one handbook that illustrates all the skills for each level, but don't have the rules book. Help, please!

[pedonskates]

Your figures level in ISI has nothing to do with FS level. You would just need to pass figure 1 to compete.
If you have passed USFS figures tests though, then you have to also pass the corresponding ISI test. I believe there is a conversion table somewhere. I know that prelim figure = figure 1, but I'm not sure how the adult USFS figures tests correspond.
Hope that helps.

Pedonskates

[Mel On Ice]

that does, thanks. I started learn to skate in '98 and have taken no figures tests. I had some basics in figures taking a turns class a few years back, and my coach grew up with them. I'm sure the passing standard for a figure is same for ISI and USFSA, maybe I can humor her into teaching me a few so I can compete them at Adult Champs in Nashville by September.

[flying~camel]

If you want to borrow my scribe, let me know ;)

[Mel On Ice]

looked in the ISI handbook, and all I have to do is pass 3 figures for Figures 1: inside figure 8, outside figure 8, and the waltz 8. I haven't practiced those since my turns class, but I think with a little practice, I can pass this test by August 1 for sure!

[Figureskates]

That sounds like fun..

I am ready to test pre-figures USFS which is forward inside and outside 8s and the waltz 8. Maybe I should do ISI as well so I can do a figures competition.

Hmmm. Have to give this some thought!

[quarkiki2]

OK. I have no idea what a forward inside/outside 8 is. I'm working on the waltz-8 now, but could someone please post a description?

Thanks a million.

Oh, and Mel, your picture in the ISI magazine was wonderful -- I took it to synchro practice to remind everyone who you are!

[flying~camel]

looked in the ISI handbook, and all I have to do is pass 3 figures for Figures 1: inside figure 8, outside figure 8, and the waltz 8. I haven't practiced those since my turns class, but I think with a little practice, I can pass this test by August 1 for sure!

Thanks a lot! Now I have the patch bug :P

[Mel On Ice]

see? we can do it together, along with silver moves. I wonder if Mary Sue enjoyed figures, I did get an earful about some serpentine thing in the 8th test that she hated.

[Summerkid710]

A forward outside eight is exactly that. You maintain a forward outside edge for the entire circle. No flats. The hard part is staying on the edge when you come back into the center. Same thing goes for the forward inside eight.

[Isk8NYC]

I compete ISI and USFSA. No USFSA competitions I have entered have figures events anymore, but ISI still offers them at Winter Classic, Worlds, Adult Champs, etc.

I'm interested in competing figures at least once, but have yet to pass a single ISI figures test. I am currently competing FS 4. My question is:

1. do I need to pass Figures 1 to compete at that level?

2. or am I forced to compete Figures 4 since I'm in FS 4?

I one handbook that illustrates all the skills for each level, but don't have the rules book. Help, please!

I'll try to double-check the rulebooks and handbooks for you tonight.
There are revisions on the web, but my notes are better for me.

The rule of thumb for ISI is that you compete at the level of the highest test passed within the discipline. There's no correlation between disciplines, so your Freestyle level has no impact on your Figures level.

ISI has two different figures events: a straight patch figures competition and "Creative Figures." Creative Figures is the freestyle event - you try to do figures that trace designs on the ice, such as flowers, shapes, etc. You're right that there aren't a lot of competitions that offer the figures events. I guess it's too time-consuming when ice time is at a premium.

If you're competing ISI, you should have your own copy of the Competitors handbook.
There are some differences between testing and competing, mostly in freestyle.
Wouldn't hurt to get the Judge's handbook as well.

[quarkiki2]

Thanks, Summerkid710

OK -- one edge around the circle, then step onto the other edge for the other half of the eight?

Is there a certain size for the circles?

No one at my rink does patch...

[flying~camel]

see? we can do it together, along with silver moves. I wonder if Mary Sue enjoyed figures, I did get an earful about some serpentine thing in the 8th test that she hated.

That would be cool!

I was this -> <- close to taking my Prelim figure test when they dumped figures in favor of MIF.

I think our greatest challenge, however, will be to find ice that's clean enough to patch on and, preferably, not during a freestyle session :??

[saras]

Thanks, Summerkid710

OK -- one edge around the circle, then step onto the other edge for the other half of the eight?

Is there a certain size for the circles?

No one at my rink does patch...


each circle should be about three times your height. Or one times your height when you get to loops...

[saras]

That would be cool!

I was this -> <- close to taking my Prelim figure test when they dumped figures in favor of MIF.

I think our greatest challenge, however, will be to find ice that's clean enough to patch on and, preferably, not during a freestyle session :??

you can still take the USFSA tests if there are figures judges to be had in your area. No more figures judges are being trained - but plenty of the old ones are still around ;)

uh, yeah, finding patchable ice is a challenge. I've raised it to an art form though....there are three or four sessions a week at my rink that work.

[Isk8NYC]

Before you can take an ISI Figures TEST, you have to have passed Delta. (At FS4, you're well past that level.)

If you've already tested in USFSA FIGURES, here are the ISI equivalent tests that you must pass before you can compete:

USFSA Test - ISI TEST
Preliminary - Figure 1
First - Figure 2
Second - Figure 3
Third - Figure 4
Fourth - Figure 5
Fifth - Figure 6
Sixth - Figure 7
Seventh - Figure 8
Eighth - Figure 9
n/a - Figure 10

USFSA Freestyle/MITF has no impact on ISI Figures testing.

In the Competition Standards rulebook, it states that "Skaters in Pre-Alpha-Delta may not compete in Figure Events. This means that if your highest test passed is Delta, you can take the tests but not compete.

There are three sanctioned ISI figures events. They are: Figure, Creative Figures, and Free Figures. Figure is the old-fashioned, button-down tracings in silence. Creative Figures you have to doodle on the ice and you get to wear costumes that match the figure skated. ("...a mouse for skating a cheese design..." LOL) In Free Figures, which I've never seen, the skater combines the figures from their test level passed or below to create a unique design. You have to submit it in advance on regular-sized paper. Sounds interesting.

You only have to do one tracing in Creative Figures, although you can retrace parts of your design to continue the design. The Figure and Free Figures events require 2-3 tracings, specified by the judges/referree. All three events have time limits.

If you're looking to fill your "Competition Card" so to speak, had you considered the Footwork event? (You have passed FS1, which is the required test.) There's no special test - it's a one-minute program set to music (NO HANDHELD PROPS) that requires lots of turns and steps, and only allows spins less than 3 revs and 1/2 rotation jumps. Could be fun. Skaters are divided into categories based on their freestyle tests, although the director can combine if registration is low.

[jenlyon60]

There are people still taking figures tests. I watched a Preliminary Figures test last month at a test session, and in January, there was a 4th test Figures test at another club's test session.

you can still take the USFSA tests if there are figures judges to be had in your area. No more figures judges are being trained - but plenty of the old ones are still around ;)

uh, yeah, finding patchable ice is a challenge. I've raised it to an art form though....there are three or four sessions a week at my rink that work.

[flying~camel]

If I had the time and money for clean, empty ice I'd just work on them to improve my edge quality and get more comfortable on my edges for footwork and moves in the field.

[icedancer2]

There are people in my area still doing figures, but not a lot of tests. I took the "Adult Bronze" figure test about a year ago -- there are still judges trained in figure judging out there and they really miss judging figures and so it wasn't so hard to get someone to come and judge me. I'm not sure what will happen when I get to the next level and need a full panel of three judges, but I don't think it will be too hard to get it together.

There is one official patch session a week -- on Sunday morning before the dance session -- it's called "patch club" and we generally have 7-12 participants on any given Sunday. The group is varied -- from people who used to do figures and just enjoy them, to people like me who want to maybe test, plus couple of the pros like to have their kids work on figures because they know it helps with their Moves and just with their general skating. The kids don't worry about how neat their centers are and all of that stuff, they are just learning about the general idea of figures and the idea of the lobe.

For other ice time, I have 2-3 sessions a week where I know that at the beginning of the session there are only a few people and the ice is relatively clean. I will pick out a spot, usually somewhere in the middle and set up my figures. I have learned to not care whether someone skates through my figures or if I have to stop because someone is standing in the middle of my figure. I can't have the mindset of "you're in my figure and figures are supreme" or else I would never get any work done.

At this point there are often three of us who will set up our figures down the middle of the rink and then the other 2-3 skaters on the ice will just have to move around us. I don't think anyone minds (at least no one ever says so). It would be great if they set up an actual patch session at this rink, but so far it hasn't happened so we will just keep going in this manner. Maybe someday we will get an official "patch".

One can hope. I'm glad there are others out there still doing figures!

[Mel On Ice]

At the ISI Adult Champs in Breckenridge in '04, there were 4 figures events, 1, 2, 3, and creative. The creative was VERY cool, as one lady came out dressed as a butterfly and carved exactly that in the ice. There were several flowers.

There were lots of figures events last year in Vegas, 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 9 and creative.

I've thought about footwork, but it just doesn't interest me.