club test chairs--rule clarification?

[phoenix]

Hi, does anyone know if there's a rule about how long you can be made to wait between your warmup & when you skate for a test session? I was thinking there was a time limit, but can't remember what it is.

[Skittl1321]

I'm not a test chair, and I've heard before that there was a rule, but looking through the test rulebook (http://www.usfigureskating.org/Content/Tests%20Book%20without%20diagrams.pdf): there doesn't seem to be.

Hopefully the test chairs get some sort of guide from USFS that gives them a suggested guideline, if there isn't something "official"

[coskater64]

As a test chair no, there is no time limit. However, that said, I generally don't put more than 6 skaters out on the ice at a time so the wait is only 5 skaters long, but if they are all doing longer tests then, it is what it is. Of course I have skated dance tests with 10 skaters and had to wait a sizeable amount of time to test.

You should communicate with your test chair if this is an issue or if you have a time constraint, but, someone always has to skate last.

L8O

[Debbie S]

Hopefully the test chairs get some sort of guide from USFS that gives them a suggested guideline, if there isn't something "official"Yes, there is a guide for test chairs (I think it's in PDF format on the USFSA website somewhere) and there is a limit on how much time a skater can wait - 30 minutes from the end of their warm-up. So for MIF tests, generally only 3 skaters are in a group (and that's usually safer anyway) unless it's the lower levels (Pre-Prelim and Prelim) and 2 or 3 tests are put out at the same time (each skater gets 1 judge). For FS and dance tests, there can be more, but usually 6 is the max per group, at least that I've seen.

[Skittl1321]

Couldn't find it using USFSA's search engine, but google found it.

http://www.usfsa.org/content/Guide%20for%20Test%20Chair.pdf

Yes, it does say skaters should not wait more than 30 minutes. That should be put into the rulebook- that way skaters can demand it be met. In a "guide" it seems like they can skirt the issue if they want.

[phoenix]

Thanks very much to all!!

Esp. to Skittl who managed to find the guide--I was foolishly trying to find it within the centaur's maze that is the USFS web site; never thought of using google! :bow:

[icedancer2]

I wonder how long that rule has been in effect - I definitely have had times when there was basically HOURS between the time I got to warm-up (usually on a freestyle session before a test session) and a dance test - those sessions were really huge - not really time to have a proper warm-up. I remember asking my coach at the beginning of the dance (like, during the intro -) "Is this the test""

"yep" - okey, dokey.

[PinkLaces]

I wonder how long that rule has been in effect - I definitely have had times when there was basically HOURS between the time I got to warm-up (usually on a freestyle session before a test session) and a dance test - those sessions were really huge - not really time to have a proper warm-up. I remember asking my coach at the beginning of the dance (like, during the intro -) "Is this the test""

"yep" - okey, dokey.

My printed out copy of the Test Chair Guide says "Revised May 2007." I went to a Test Chair seminar that was put on by a couple of local judges who are also test chairs for their clubs.

The guide is very specific about the amount of time for warm-ups and how long a skater can wait between the warm-up and the test. From the guide in bold letters Each skater should have to wait NO MORE THAN 30 MINUTES to test following the warm-up Usually, you can't have more than 3 Moves tests unless they are low Pre-Pre and Pre tests and are double or triple paneling. There are also rules about what level skaters can warm-up together. On Moves you can put Pre-pre through Juvenile together, but Intermediate and up have to have a separate warm-up. Moves have a 5-8 minute warm-up. Free Skate has a 6 minute warm-up.

Dance tests - you are supposed to warm up each group of dances together. Preliminary, Pre-Bronze, Bronze, etc. It's a 4 minute warm-up. The first minute is silent. Then 1 minute of each song in the group.

Those are the rules, but that doesn't mean the test chair is following them. have had some coaches complain to me after testing somewhere else. I usually try to schedule a 45 minute practice ice session before the test session, but sometimes can't get ice.

[Mrs Redboots]

The 30-minute rule is certainly applied to competitions, so there's no reason it wouldn't be applied to tests, either. The test chair should schedule the warm-ups so that no skater need wait longer than this, and, ideally, not as long.

[frbskate63]

The 30-minute rule is certainly applied to competitions.

Really? A group of six senior men takes nearly an hour, so the last one or two would certainly skate more than half an hour after the warm-up.

However, if there is an interruption of more than ten minutes between skaters, the remaining skaters in the group are supposed to get an extra warm-up.

[Debbie S]

My printed out copy of the Test Chair Guide says "Revised May 2007." A test chair told me about this rule at a test session in June of 2006, so the rule has been in effect since at least then.

There are also rules about what level skaters can warm-up together. On Moves you can put Pre-pre through Juvenile together, but Intermediate and up have to have a separate warm-up. Interesting. When I tested Silver MIF, one time I warmed up with an Int MIF tester; another time with 2 Novice and a Junior. I've seen Adult Gold paired with Senior MIF. 8O

[PinkLaces]

Interesting. When I tested Silver MIF, one time I warmed up with an Int MIF tester; another time with 2 Novice and a Junior. I've seen Adult Gold paired with Senior MIF. 8O


There are no rules that say anything about Adult skaters and who they can warm-up with. The free skate tests can be any level so long as there are no more than 6-7 skaters on the ice. Then there is the puzzle of trying to schedule tests so that you can get the maximum benefit of ice time within the warm-up/rules boundaries.

[blue111moon]

Well, given the length of some of the MIF tests, it's pretty difficult to keep to the 30-min. wait rule if you have more than a couple skaters testing at the same level, especially the higher ones. Even if you only warmed up three or four skaters at a time, it would be more than 30 minutes before you got to the third and fourth skaters.

[Debbie S]

Well, given the length of some of the MIF tests, it's pretty difficult to keep to the 30-min. wait rule if you have more than a couple skaters testing at the same level, especially the higher ones. Even if you only warmed up three or four skaters at a time, it would be more than 30 minutes before you got to the third and fourth skaters.If you have more than 3 skaters testing at a certain level, you just have more than 1 warm-up group. I've seen it happen all the time. There's no rule that says each level can have only 1 group.

[PinkLaces]

If you have more than 3 skaters testing at a certain level, you just have more than 1 warm-up group. I've seen it happen all the time. There's no rule that says each level can have only 1 group.

ITA! For example on my September test session, I had 5 Pre-Juvenile MIF tests. This is how I scheduled them.

Warm-up (1,2,3)
1. PJM
2. PJM
3. PJM

Warm-up (4,5)
4. PJM
5. PJM

[PinkLaces]

I am an Excel nerd so I have function that I use to schedule my tests and warm-ups. I use the warm-up and test times in the USFS Test Chair guide. The last 4 tests have pretty much run on schedule to 5+ minutes ahead.

The only time that I would probably schedule 4 skaters for MIF warm-up is if I had 4 Juvenile MIF tests. The test is only 10 mins so technically when the 3rd skater finishes her test it would be 30 mins. between the start of the warm-up and 4th test. However, I don't like to do that. I want all the skaters on my test session to have an opportunity to have the best test environment possible.

[Mrs Redboots]

Really? A group of six senior men takes nearly an hour, so the last one or two would certainly skate more than half an hour after the warm-up.

However, if there is an interruption of more than ten minutes between skaters, the remaining skaters in the group are supposed to get an extra warm-up.

That's true - I was thinking in terms of when the computer goes down and there's a long interruption.