I have my Level 1 test tomorrow (Elements and program). I declined my coach's offer of accompanying me for £15 per test.. just wondering what happens on a test day and if there's anything particular that I need to know.

Thanks

peanutskates x

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The way test sessions run at our rink is as follows. Firstly you are notified by your NISA test co-ordinator what time you need to be at the rink. Always get there in plenty of time to warm up well off the ice and get your boots on. Tests are usually done in the following order at our rink - field moves, then elements and finally free and usually done in level order starting with the lowest first.

You will be given a few minutes of warm-up time on the ice and after that, when it's your turn to test you will be called over by the judge. Go to him/her and he/she will double check your name and test, and where there are options (eg in level one you can do a cherry-flip or a salchow) they will tick off which you are doing. You then go and skate your test in your own time then go back to your coach. If your coach isn't there just go back to where you got on and wait for the judge to call you back. They will then call you to let you know if you passed or not. Unlikely that you'll be asked to reskate anything but usually they call out during the test and ask you to repeat something then, else they may request a reskate at the end of the test.

Good luck - but I don't think you need it!

Nicki

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www.myspace.com/insatiableskater

I did my field moves level 1 a few weeks back, and this was how it went for me. Sorry, this might not be much help if your coach won't be there

I got there at about quarter to 7 (morning!) as my coach had instructed...hung around with a handful of other very nervous people and my mum in the lobby, and then my coach arrived with some other coaches and we all followed them inside. Because field moves were the first to be tested, we all got on the ice and skated around, warmed up, and went through our moves for a few minutes, until the judge (there was only one) was ready. Then we all skated back to our coaches. I was the first to skate (!?), so I went over to the judge when he called my name, confirmed I was doing my test, then ran through it. Then I went back over to my coach so he could write down the mark, but he called me back immediately (I actually turned around too close to the barried, grabbed it, realised it was the gate, and fell off the ice, literally - don't do that!). Then he just went 'congratulations,' shook my hand, gave me the slip of paper with my pass mark on, and I skated back to my coach and got off the ice. The next girl got straight on, and skated over to the judge.


Hope that helps and good luck!! I'm sure you'll be fine

With the elements test just skate through all the items in the order they're meant to be done. Don't worry about whether the judge is watching or not. They'll ask you to repeat it if they don't see it. If you think you messed something up, don't repeat it yourself. It may have passed anyway, it's for the judge to tell you that it's wrong.
If you get jelly legs don't worry about them. They do still work fine, it's just the nerves and I've started to believe they help. Make sure you're really warmed up before hand off-ice as the warm up is only a couple of minutes on ice. (If you need a long time to warm up the skating legs, you might be able to get patch ice before the test session if you can get out of bed any earlier).

Oh and one of the coaches at our rink reminded us that the judges don't have green horns and two heads even if you think they do. They're actually quite reasonable human beings and have seen LOTS of nervous skaters. And so far I'd say that they're all quite nice (but I think the antennae sticking out their heads are a bit odd).

Don't worry about not knowing the procedure. There will be other coaches at the rink keeping things going in order so if you're unsure what's going on ask them. And they should have a list of the skate order so you can see what's happening when.

Good luck with your test! Be sure to tell us how you did.

Thanks to everyone who posted, it was really good to have an idea of what happens before the test. Well - it was sooo cold, and lasted for about 2 hours (+30 mins before warming up) but I had so much fun! (I couldn't believe that testing could be so fun.. lol) The judge was really nice, not scary at all

I passed all 3 tests Levels 2 and 3 next! (I want to test them together).

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Well done. I hope you manage to keep having fun at them all.
I'm not sure I would describe the tests themselves as fun, but I do enjoy the camaraderie of the events. They're not all that scary, but the judges definitely become tougher after about level 2 moves. Not sure about elements and program as that's the goal for my next test session.

Congratulations and great job!

CONGRATULATIONS!!! And best wishes for your continued success!

Congratulations! Knew you'd pass!

Nicki

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www.myspace.com/insatiableskater

Congratulations!!