Competitive or Starskate?

[katieskater]

What do you think is worth it? Im 14 years old, and i have double sal, toe, loop consistent...im snr bronze ladies, but is it worth it to go competitive pre novice when i skate three times a week?

[jp1andOnly]

if you want to go pre novice and really don't care where you place then go for it. It is very different than starskate. If you are hoping to go onto the next level...probably not the best choice this year.

What do you think is worth it? Im 14 years old, and i have double sal, toe, loop consistent...im snr bronze ladies, but is it worth it to go competitive pre novice when i skate three times a week?

[Virtualsk8r]

There's no harm in trying your Pre-Novice test at this point in the year. If you pass the test then you can decide when your club registers you with Skate Canada in September - if you want to be registered as a Starskater or a Competitive Skater. If you register as a Starskater you can do competitive events at non-qualifying competitions and still compete Sr Bronze at Starskate qualifying.

The new pre-novice test is much harder, in my opinion, than the previous competitive test. If trying the test at a competitive test day, a skater must land three different double jumps plus the axel in order to pass the test. However, you also have to get a program component score of 12.00 - which is very hard to do with just three double jumps and a bunch of singles. Plus - each element, including spins and footwork or spiral sequence, will receive a GOE mark and you can only get -6 total for all elements. For example, traveling on a layback will get you a -1, a bobble on the axel will get you -1, a fall is an automatic -3......so you can see how the points add up!

In competition, you must land the three doubles and the axel, achieve a total score of 25.00, a skating skills score of 2.50, and a technical score of 15.00.
Pretty hard to get that technical score with just three doubles & axel ( 2S=1.3 2T 1.3 1A=.8 2Lo= 1.5 2F= 1.7 2Lz= 1.8 ) unless you have all level 4 spins!

That said - I always encourage skaters to take the plunge and try the competitive test. It's an accomplishment no matter what stream you choose to skate in.

If you really want to see what you are up against, take a look at the results for Pre-Novice in your section last year -- look up the details which will give you the report card of the skaters performances -- and you can see what jumps are needed to do well in your section.

[slusher]

Basicially my two cents on Star vs Comp is to go with what your coach or club does mostly. Comp kids need to be starting soon, and most of the star clubs have wrapped up for the season with a summer school here and there. You can't do comp with sectionals in November if your club doesn't have ice until September. If your coach is willing to put your test in, go for it, you get great feedback and even if you stay in Starskate, it's a great achievement.