Adult Test Track in Competition

[PinkLaces]

Anyone ever heard of this? What are the elements? Just limited to the what's on the tests (Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver, Gold)? Anyone have a link to the rules on an Adult Test Track program?

One of my goals this year is to start competiting so coach has been looking for local competitions that open to Adults. There are Basic Skills competitions that have Adult Pre-Bronze and Adult Bronze levels. Most of them are well-balanced....except for one in March. Coach e-mailed the competition chair (also a well-known judge in the area) to see if perhaps they had made a mistake and it was really well-balanced not test track. The answer came back that it is indeed, Adult Test Track. Coach had never heard of Adult Test Track.

[Clarice]

The USFS Test Track flow chart does not include anything called "Adult Test Track". However, clubs are allowed to offer whatever events they want at local competitions, so this may be an unofficial event that this club is offering. It makes some sense to me, though - maybe it's a pilot event? In any case, the competition announcement should spell out the details.

[PinkLaces]

The competition announcement doesn't specify for the Adult Free Skate Program, but in the Adult Jumps, it does. You can do a flip or a lutz and then any combo jump with a loop as the second jump.

[Debbie S]

Sounds to me like it's a case of the comp organizers not knowing anything about adult skating. Particularly if it's a Basic Skills comp. The comp chair probably decided to make the non-badge FS events (No-Test, Pre-Prelim, Prelim) Test Track so he/she just labeled the Adult FS events the same way. Or maybe the events were labeled that way b/c the levels are based on the adult "test track" - who knows, you would be surprised how clueless some people are.

The announcement should spell out what's allowed in the program. If it doesn't, and the comp chair can't tell you, I would just steer clear of this event. A Basic Skills event probably isn't a great place for adults to compete anyway - the focus is on kids, and there will be tons of little kids and neurotic parents and just general craziness. If there are no all-adult comps in your area, even a regular club comp with adult events would be better than a Basic Skills comp. JMO.

[PinkLaces]

The competition chair is a well-known area judge. This person also has a reputation for being difficult and probably wouldn't admit to making a mistake. There is nothing listed for the Adult Pre-Bronze/Bronze on either the Test Free Skate or Well-Balanced Free Skate. However, the Adult Jumps requirements are spelt out and it lists Adult Pre-Bronze and Bronze Free Skate on the registration form under Test Track.

I'm not going to enter this one. I was just wondering if anyone else had ever heard of it and what the requirements were. There are quite a few adult skaters in my area so there opportunities to compete against them.

[Debbie S]

There is nothing listed for the Adult Pre-Bronze/Bronze on either the Test Free Skate or Well-Balanced Free Skate. OK, so the FS event is called "Pre-Bronze/Bronze"? Hmmm, I've seen compulsory moves and spins events with combined levels like that but not FS. But as Clarice said, a non-qual comp can offer whatever they want, basically. To me, though, combining levels for FS sounds bizarre and not a very adult-friendly move - they probably want to offer just one event for cost-saving reasons. :roll:

I think you did the right thing by skipping this comp. It sounds like you will have plenty of opportunities to compete in the future.

[Skittl1321]

OK, so the FS event is called "Pre-Bronze/Bronze"? Hmmm, I've seen compulsory moves and spins events with combined levels like that but not FS. But as Clarice said, a non-qual comp can offer whatever they want, basically. To me, though, combining levels for FS sounds bizarre and not a very adult-friendly move - they probably want to offer just one event for cost-saving reasons. :roll:

I think you did the right thing by skipping this comp. It sounds like you will have plenty of opportunities to compete in the future.

It's not uncommon at small comps. One of the "state games" competitions (that feed to a national thing) had "adult" as the level of competition. It would have been no-test (wiggles backwards) through gold (axel, flying spins) had there not been a massive uproar of the gold and silver skaters that it was completely unfair to the lower level skaters. The event was split into not-test/bronze (3 skaters- surprise the bronze skater won. prebronze 2nd, nt third) and silver/gold (2 skaters- gold won, silver second).

Absolutely ridiculous. But it happens.

[PinkLaces]

We actually have a very nice State Championships. My club sponsored it last summer. In addition to the kids' levels, there were 9 Adults who competed total. Levels were Pre-Bronze, Bronze, and Silver.

[Ellyn]

OK, so the FS event is called "Pre-Bronze/Bronze"? Hmmm, I've seen compulsory moves and spins events with combined levels like that but not FS. But as Clarice said, a non-qual comp can offer whatever they want, basically. To me, though, combining levels for FS sounds bizarre and not a very adult-friendly move - they probably want to offer just one event for cost-saving reasons.

Sometimes they offer the separate events, but then combine depending on who signs up.

The last event I competed in, there were four women, all of whom had passed adult bronze tests and I think only one who had passed adult silver. But at least one of the bronze skaters signed up to "skate up" to silver.

The competition chair asked me if I would agree to compete in a combined event. Or just consider it a silver event. The bronze program is certainly legal there. Makes no difference to me. I just wanted to compete, wasn't worried about placements.

Sometimes I've seen combined events like preliminary/prejuvenile boys, if there was one of each entered. Yes, the results are probably known in advance, but if it's hard to find enough adults or boys in the same area to get a competition together, and the skaters want to compete, better to combine events than to cancel them.

I've also seen on one occasion a competition that offered both test track and well-balanced adult events and then ended up combining them, both because of entry numbers and because the rules for what would be allowed are not very different for prebronze and bronze levels.

For the original poster, if the event is convenient for you to enter you might want to pursue it. Do you know other adults in your area at your level who might also want to enter? Do try to check with the competition chair or referee regarding the rules for the event.