I know that the US terms for levels and UK terms are different. What's all this Alpha, Beta, Gamma stuff? What is it equivalent to in the UK? So Alpha would require you to do what? And the same for all the other levels...?

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Alpha, beta, etc. are the basic skills levels used in the ISI learn to skate program. My rink uses the USFSA program, but they would be similar. So alpha would be things like: forward swizzles, forward skating, rocking horses, backwards wiggles, etc. Then beta would be a bit above that, like backward swizzles, etc. Very low level basic stuff.

So it isn't the levels we test once we're in the testing/competition track. It's just the names of the levels for the basic skills group classes.

Our competition testing track is named (this is for freestyle & MITF).:
Prepreliminary
preliminary
pre-juvenile
juvenile
intermediate
novice
junior
senior

Dance levels are:
preliminary
pre-bronze
bronze
pre-silver
silver
pre-gold
gold
international

What about "Freestyle 3" and all that lot?

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The "freestyle" levels are still group classes, & come after the alpha, beta, gamma, delta classes have all been passed. The USFSA program has freestyle 1, 2, 3, etc. as well. These are still group classes, & passing these levels has nothing to do w/ making you eligible to compete. Usually once a skater is in the freestyle levels, they start working w/ a private coach as well, & start working toward their USFSA tests.

In my area, most kids don't stay in the group class setting much past freestyle 4 or 5 or so, which is where they're learning a lutz & an axel, I believe. By then most have a coach & are working in private lessons.

Man thats really what we should have in canada. Here we have Star Skate and Competitive skate. We all do the same things and you can compete either way but you cant become a senior level skater unless you become competitive increadibly young or else give up a year or two of competing so that you get to your correct age catagory of competitive.....so anoying.......if you dont skate in the competitive program you are stuck as a "recreational" skater even if you are landing double axels

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Isi terms




Tot 1 (Ages 3-6)
Standing
Proper way to fall
Proper way to get up
Marching in standing position
Marching while moving Tot 2 (Ages 3-6)
Two-foot jump in place
Forward swizzle in place
Forward moving swizzle
Beginning two foot glide Tot 3 (Ages 3-6)
Push and glide stroking
Preparation for snowplow stop
Dip
Forward swizzle
Tot 4 (Ages 3-6)
T-position push right and left
Backward swizzle
One or two foot snowplow stop
Backward wiggle Hockey Tot (no sticks)
One and Two foot Glides
Basic forward and backward skating
Balance Hockey Stop Pre-Alpha
Two foot glides
Right and Left one foot Glide
Forward swizzles
Backward swizzles
Backward wiggle
Alpha (must have passed Pre-Alpha)
Forward stroking
Forward crossovers (Right and Left)
One foot snowplow stop Beta (must have passed Alpha)
Backward stroking
Backward crossovers (Right and Left)
T-stop (Right and Left)
Gamma (must have passed Beta)
Right and Left outside three turns
Right and Left forward inside Mohawk Combinations
Hockey stop Delta (must have passed Gamma)
Right and Left foot forward inside one foot 3-turn
Forward outside and inside edges
Shoot-the Duck or Lunges
Bunny Hop
Backward wiggle


Freestyle 1 (must have passed Delta) Forward Inside Pivot, Two-foot Spin, Forward Arabesque, Inside and Outside backward edges, One-half flip jump, Waltz Jump, and 1 and ½ Minute program.
Freestyle 2 (must have passed Freestyle 1) Ballet jump, One-half Toe Walley Jump, One-half Lutz Jump, One foot spin, Two forward Arabesques, Dance Step Sequence, and 1-1/2 Minute program.
Freestyle 3 (must have passed Freestyle 2) Backward Outside or Inside Pivot, Salchow Jump, Change Foot Spin, Backward Arabesque, Toe loop or Toe Walley Jump, Dance Step Sequence, and 1 ½ Minute Program.
Freestyle 4 (Must have passed Freestyle 3) Flip Jump, Loop Jump, Sit Spin, One-half Loop Jump, Two Backward Arabesques, Dance Step with back 3 turns, and 2 Minute program.
Freestyle 5 (Must have passed Freestyle 4) Lutz Jump, Axel Jump, Camel Spin, Camel-sit-upright Spin, Fast Back Scratch Spin, Dance Sequence, and 2 minute program.
Freestyle 6 (Must have passed Freestyle 5) Split Jump, Split Falling Leaf Jump, Jump Combination, Double Salchow, Spin: Cross-foot or Lay-back or Sit-change Sit, Spin combination with change of foot and position, and 2 ½ Minute program.
Freestyle 7 (Must have passed Freestyle 6) Double Toe Loop or Double Toe Walley Jump, Two Walley Jumps in Sequence, Flying Camel Spin, One Foot Axel into One-Quarter flip into Axel, Jump in the Opposite Direction, Dance Step Sequence, and 3 Minute program.
Freestyle 8 (Must have passed Freestyle 7) Double Loop Jump, Split-Lutz Jump, Flying Sit Spin or Axel Sit Spin, One and One -Quarter Flip into One and One-Quarter Flip into Double Salchow Jump Combination, Illusion or Camel-jump-Camel-spin, Dance Step Sequence, and 3½ Minute program
Freestyle 9 (Must have passed Freestyle 8) Double Flip Jump, Double Lutz Jump, Axel-Double Loop Jump Combination, Axel in the Opposite Direction, Three Jump Sequence, Flying Camel into a Jump Sit Spin, and 4 Minute program.
Freestyle 10 please see ISI Handbook

http://www.sk8stuff.com/f_basic_ref/lts/basic_eights.htm basic 8 in usfsa

http://www.sk8stuff.com/f_basic_ref/lts/basic_freestyle.htm basic after you do basic 8 in group lessons has nothing to do with testing

http://www.sk8stuff.com/f_rules/mif_test_elements_low.htm test moves in the fieldhttp://www.sk8stuff.com/f_rules/mif_test_elements_high.htm
http://www.anchoragefsc.org/competition_program_elements.htm

The US has the same age cateogories for competitive skaters as we do in Canada. Juv is under 12.

In ordre to become senior you have to pass the senior level test...there is no age for senior

Alpha, beta, etc, are the equivalent of our UKSkate 1-10, and their FS1 is probably (roughly) the UKStar levels, FS2 about Level 1 Bronze and so on....

That's one system, but they have several others, including an adult skating system, so it's all very confusing! Like ours is simple, not!

There are also several significant differences in terminology, some of which you may have already picked up:

shoot-the-duck = teapot
lunge = drag
waltz jump = 3-jump
toe-loop = cherry flip
camel spin = parallel spin
freestyle session = patch ice
Moves in the Field = Field Moves

Those are the main ones that I can remember; I expect there are others! Their Moves in the Field are also different to our Field Moves - no easier or harder, but different! One covers the same sort of ground in the end, of course, but in a different order, and they have moves that we don't, and vice versa.

Plus in their standard tests, they only have Free and Moves, no Elements tests as we do, and in the dance stream they may test their dances one at a time (jammy whatsits) and don't have any Free or Variation/OD streams, so their dancers don't get to do a Free Dance until they are pretty far advanced. Plus, of course, they have different dances in their test stream - or some different ones, anyway.

Nor do they have separate dance moves (nor will we, after this year, so I'm told). And, of course, they have a separate test stream for adults, which we don't have.

And their tests and patch sessions are organised by skating clubs, not by the rink (NISA tried to make skating clubs responsible for organising tests in this country, but was met by serious lack of co-operation! So they left the system as it was, for once.).

However, having said all that, ice is ice and skates are skates, and we all manage to understand each other in the end.

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Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Hmmm - if your term for freestyle session is patch ice, what was the UK term for doing actual figures (back when we had them)? In the US, we called that patch ice!

Mrs Redboots,
Ice time and tests with usfsa is usually arranged with a club.Ice time and tests within ISI is though the rink itself.
Our rink here offers non club ice so you dont need to join until you really test through usfsa, which alot of people drop out before even one test.
Our Isi rink offers ice time and dont have to belong to use the ice.

Patch is, strictly speaking, figure ice BUT we tend to use it for all private figure or dance skating sessions now (or we did at the rinks that I was at ). The exception is when there is a club session when it is 'club' ice ... unless it was for figures when it's still patch!! Confused? You will be

When I first started out at Queens in London we used to have half an hours patch ice before Free ice. I never could get those lines straight or those circles round (and I didn't have one of those figure drawing thingys)

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lol, i like calling it a teapot. course, neither term makes much sense, but it sounds nicer as teapot, more compact. and the drag, i can see that. but teapot?

but a lot of hte terms are weird, like a camel spin. doesn't look anything like a camel to me. or even a spiral, most people think a spiral is some sort of a spin.

I thought that, when the teacher suddenly said "Spirals" I was thinking "Oh...My....God".

I call toe loops cherry flips. I think they sound very cool, like a drink.

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Some UK coaches still call the Flip a 'Toe Salchow' then we have 'Slaloms' which I *think* that you call power pulls???? We also have 'lemons' which I think are your swizzles
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Swizzle pattern

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One footed slalom pattern

(Ignore the . I had to put that in to keep the pattern when it posted)

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I've never heard of a power pull...Slaloms are slaloms...

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So what are power pulls then? I've definitely heard the term and it's not a UK term.

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I have absolutley no idea. I'll go and look it up now.

I can't find anything. I understand that they will help to improve your stroking, but don't know what they are exactly...

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1-foot slaloms

I'm glad that was cleared up! Thanks Jen!

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i learned slaloms as tandem skating (when on 2 feet). that was the first and last time i ever heard it called that.

So ... is there a difference in terminology between 1-foot slaloms (which is what I was talking about as power pulls) and 2-foot slaloms?

Ta x

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Melzorina - I take it that you're in the UK! So am I .... which explains the confusion

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1 has only 1 foot on the ice, 2-foot has both feet on the ice.

Erm, yes, I know that (you were joking, right?) I was wanting to know if the 2-foot slaloms were called something else as you said that power pulls were 1-foot slaloms!

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