How are you trained to be lifted as a Senior Synchronized skater?

[FSWer]

Say,I've been wondering about how you are trained to be lifted when you become a Senior Synchronized Skater? How does the coach actually start to train you or your Team for that? What exactly is done? Just courious. Thanks.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Although I skate on a collegiate team and are technically not allowed to do lifts in competitions, my team did do a lift for an exhbition, in which there are no strict rules whatsoever. Ironically enough, I was the one who got to be lifted since I am the lightest and tiniest.

When we first learned the lift, we did it off-ice without moving. Those who were lifting me learned where to hold, the type of hold to do, how much pressure I'd put against them, etc. I had to learn how to push my hips up, push against my teammates, keep my arms locked, etc.

The next day, we took to the ice and tried the lift on-ice. Our first attempt went well - it was a lot easier to do the lift on ice for some reason. After getting the general feel of the lift, we started to rotate it in place very slowly. Gradually, we began to move and rotate, which was even easier. We only had about two weeks to learn the lift, so my team had really no choice but to jump right in.

This fall we plan to learn more lifts for some hockey exhibitions we'll be skating in, as well as our holiday and spring show. I love being lifted; it takes a lot of trust in your teammates and yourself to get the job done, not get dropped, etc., but it's so much fun and when done correctly, it looks really cool!

[FSWer]

THAT'S AMAZING!!!!! Say please tell me...how are you Synchro. skaters able to balance on your skates on ice while holding up a heavy girl? I should think that no matter how much you pratice,a heavy skater would cause you to fall down. No matter how many were holding her up. Also a question. I know Senior is only allowed to do lifts. But if collatte is AFTER that, I would think yould be ABLE to do them from Senior on. Can someone please explain why?

[Clarice]

Collegiate isn't "after" Senior, just like the Adult levels wouldn't be considered "after" Senior. In synchro, levels are determined by the age of the skater but also by test level. According to last year's USFSA Rule Book, Senior synchro skaters have to be at least 14 years old and have at least their Novice Moves in the Field. Collegiate skaters will be older, since they have to be registered as full-time students in a college or university degree program, but they only have to have Juvenile Moves, so they don't have to be as advanced skaters as Seniors do. Senior is the most advanced level - there isn't anything after that. There are levels where the skaters can be "older", but not where the skaters have to be "better". Seniors are the only ones who are allowed to do lifts in competition - SynchroSk8r14 explained that her collegiate team did one in an exhibition, but they wouldn't have been allowed to put it in their competition program.

[SynchroSk8r114]

Deleted on purpose. Gotta love those double posts...

[SynchroSk8r114]

Thanks, Clarice. That explained it well. My rink doesn't have a senior team simply because we don't have that many synchro skaters. My university formed a collegiate team (which can have less skaters than a Senior level team) last year, but we are starting to grow this year and the team may really take off. So, we'll see down the road...

Ability-wise - yes, Senior is the highest level; however, all of my teammates and I have passed our Senior MIF and range in freestyle level from Intermediate - Senior (although freestyle levels don't affect the level you skate at for synchro). We're a very skilled bunch of girls who work really hard, and it'd be great to someday branch off a Senior team, but only time will tell with that one...we've got a lot of younger/lower level kids that skate on an Juvenille and Novice team, so we'll see...:D

To answer how we can lift someone and still balance, the lift we did required three girls. Two underneath my arms and one who held my leg. It looked like the one Miami U did at Worlds (http://synchronizedskatingmag.com/photos/2007-worlds-photos-pg2.html). I think the example is the 12th picture down. As you can see, no one person had to solely support all the weight and the weight of the lifted skater is evenly distributed.

[Clarice]

Yeah, the confusing part is how the age limits interact with the test requirements. Just because a team is affiliated with a college or university doesn't automatically make it a "collegiate" team. The members of a Junior synchro team have to be under age 19, Novice under age 16, Intermediate under age 18, Juvenile under age 13, and Preliminary under age 12. College students are normally 18 or older, so they can't be on Novice, Intermediate, Juvenile, Pre-Juvenile (under age 12), or Preliminary teams.

A college could have:
1) A Senior team if they had enough skaters with at least Novice Moves,
2) A Junior team if they had enough skaters under age 19 with at least Intermediate Moves,
3) A Collegiate team if they had enough with at least Juvenile Moves (same test requirement as a Novice team, but the skaters can be older than 16 and must be full time college students),
4) An Open Junior team if they had enough under age 19 with at least Preliminary Moves,
5) An Open Adult team if most skaters are over age 19; there are no test requirements, but in that case they would more likely have:
6) An Open Collegiate team, which has no test requirements and the team members can be either full or part time students at the college.

A team looks at what skaters they have available each year, and then competes at the level that fits them best.

[Clarice]

As I read SynchroSk8r's last reply, I see that her Collegiate team is affiliated with a rink, not a particular college. I was listing all the choices a college would have if it wanted to have a team. If a rink has enough skaters who are college students, it can have a Collegiate team, too, although the skaters wouldn't necessarily be going to the same school. It gets confusing, doesn't it? :)

[SynchroSk8r114]

As I read SynchroSk8r's last reply, I see that her Collegiate team is affiliated with a rink, not a particular college. I was listing all the choices a college would have if it wanted to have a team. If a rink has enough skaters who are college students, it can have a Collegiate team, too, although the skaters wouldn't necessarily be going to the same school. It gets confusing, doesn't it? :)

Whoops, sorry 'bout that. My team is affiliated with a college. Welll, colleges. We're also an intercollegiate team with skaters from 4 colleges in my area. Guess I should've been more clear about that... ;)

[FSWer]

How do the levels go? How are they listed? Anyone else to also tell me about how your trained to be lifted?

[SynchroSk8r114]

How do the levels go? How are they listed? Anyone else to also tell me about how your trained to be lifted?

This is taken directly from the USFSA's Web site:

Team Definitions

Rules for each synchronized team level as per the U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook, Rules 4660–4790. All ages are as of July 1, 2006, for the 2006-07 season. All test requirements must be met by the close of entries. (For complete rules please see the 2006-07 U.S. Figure Skating rulebook.)

Preliminary: A team of 8-16 skaters. Skaters must be under 12, with the majority of the team under 10.

Pre-juvenile: A team of 8-12 skaters. The majority of the team must be under 12.

Open Juvenile: A team of 8-12 skaters. The majority of the team must be under 19. All skaters must have passed the pre-preliminary moves in the field test.

Juvenile: A team of 12-20 skaters. Skaters must be under 13 and have passed the preliminary moves in the field test.

Intermediate: A team of 12-20 skaters. Skaters must be under 18 and have passed the pre juvenile moves in the field test.

Novice: A team of 12-20 skaters. Skaters must be under 16 and have passed the juvenile moves in the field test.

Open Junior: A team or 12-20 skaters. Skaters must be at least 12 years old and the majority under 19. All skaters must have passed the preliminary moves in the field test.

Junior: A team of 12-16 skaters. Skaters must be at least 12 years old and under 19. All skaters must have passed the intermediate moves in the field test.

Senior: A team of 16 skaters. Skaters must be at least 14 years old and have passed the novice moves in the field test.

Open Collegiate: A team of 8-16 skaters. Skaters must be enrolled in a college or degree program as either part-time or full-time students.

Collegiate: A team of 12-20 skaters. Skaters must be enrolled in a college or degree program as full-time students and have passed the juvenile moves in the field test.

Open Adult: A team or 8-12 skaters. The majority of the team must be 19 years or older.

Masters: A team or 12-20 skaters. All skaters must be 25 years or older, with the majority of the team 35 years or older.

Adult: A team or 12-20 skaters. All skaters must be 21 years or older, with the majority of the team 25 years or older. All skaters must have passed at least one of the following tests: preliminary moves in the field, adult bronze moves in the field, preliminary figure or preliminary dance.

Hopefully that helps you understand the various levels. There's a lot based around age, number of skaters, and MIF levels passed. This list is mostly comprised in order of skating level difficulty (from lowest to highest); however, Senior is the highest level with Preliminary as the lowest. Levels listed as "Open _____" are typically a little more lenient with the levels/requirements/number of skaters, which is why some rinks, schools, or clubs will sometimes field an Open Collegiate team if a.) there's not enough skaters, b.) skaters do not have the necessary requirements, or c.) if the team is fairly new/still developing.

If you're really interested in synchronized skating, perhaps you should check out synchroboards.com. I'm sure a lot of people can share their experiences about lifts and the whole synchro experience more so than some of the skaters on this board, who are mainly pairs, dancers, or single skaters. :D