Ice Dance testing

[Schmeck]

Daughter "Icy" is just starting ice dance (but has been skating for 8 years) and her coach says she's ready to test...

She's done freestyle and moves testing (working on novice moves now) but we've never even seen an ice dance test, LOL!

What should we expect?

Thanks in advance!

Schmeck

[jskater49]

Is she doing solo or standard with a partner?

If she's experienced testing, it's not that different. She'll get a warm up of perhaps a minute or so without music, then they will play the music for all the dances in her warm up. Depending on how many are testing. Back when I tested with a partner, there was one guy for all of us so we had a looong warm up to let him go around with all of us - but they don't always do that. Supposedly lower dances are only two patterns now, but that's up to the judge and they will signal when to stop the music. Although when my daughter tested recently her coach told her to just stop after 3 patterns, because they tended to just let the music go on and on.

WIth her experience, she'll do fine with the first dances.

j

[Schmeck]

Thank you so much for the info, now I know what we need to ask her coach. I have no experience with ice dance at all, so I feel clueless.

[jenlyon60]

The USFS requirement is 2 patterns per dance for all Preliminary through Bronze dances. This is stated on the test forms for each of the Preliminary through Bronze dances.

[jskater49]

The USFS requirement is 2 patterns per dance for all Preliminary through Bronze dances. This is stated on the test forms for each of the Preliminary through Bronze dances.

Shrug. There's the rules and then there's reality and if the music skips (like happened with my daughter and they made her do--I counted them --SIX patterns of the Willow Waltz) or or the judges just feel like making you do another pattern---I have seen them make kids do more than the required patterns.

j

[wasabi]

Shrug. There's the rules and then there's reality and if the music skips (like happened with my daughter and they made her do--I counted them --SIX patterns of the Willow Waltz) or or the judges just feel like making you do another pattern---I have seen them make kids do more than the required patterns.

j

They can also make you reskate dances, though this is very, very rare.

[jskater49]

Just like any other test, it's not the end of the world if she falls. I fell with a partner testing my Dutch Waltz. He was a big guy and he just pulled me back up and we kept going - the judges had us keep going for a couple of more patterns so I could show I knew the dance and I passed.

j