Hi there!
I will be attending AN this year as a spectator, and hopefully in the years to come as a competitor. I'm hoping someone here can help me to understand the different categories. I understand that I would compete in Bronze Ladies lll because I'm 43, but I don't understand why a skater would be in the "masters" or "championship" categories?? Perhaps one of you very experienced ladies could enlighten moi?? Thanks in advance, Laura.

Youtube: "http://www.youtube.com/user/SK8G4FUN?feature=mhw4"

Masters is the level for adult skaters who have passed Intermediate FS or higher. As you can imagine, most Masters skaters skated as kids, although there are a few adult-onset skaters in the group. Championship is the term for competitions within Gold and Masters where skaters have had to qualify through their Sectional competition. Usually the top 4 skaters from each section make it; depending on the discipline, sometimes more than 4 from a particular section if another section had less than 4 entries. So the Champ competitions are generally the top Masters and Gold level skaters. Winning a Champ title is considered very prestigious and the medalists are profiled in Skating Magazine.

There are also open events in Masters and Gold, just like all the Bronze and Silver events, where skaters can enter just by signing up and paying the entry fee, provided they have passed the tests necessary to compete at that level. Within each level, groups are divided by age class - at 43, you would indeed be in Class III. Champ events do not divide by age.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Masters categories are for skaters beyond the Gold level, if you're talking free skating. After Gold, adult free skaters go back to the standard test track, and would then compete Masters Intermediate, Masters Novice, Masters Junior, or Masters Senior. Skaters who tested high enough as kids go straight into those categories.

If you're talking ice dance, Masters is an age category. People taking Masters ice dance tests are age 50 or older.

Skaters qualify for the Championship events at Adult Sectionals. All the non-championship events at ANs are open events. Anyone can enter if they have passed the necessary tests.

If you are watching interpretive events, skaters who are gold free or higher do masters interp, as do any skaters who have at least one silver dance test, irregardless of freestyle level. So there are some people who you may see competing silver free doing masters interpretive. (Or in my case, I was bronze free and doing masters interp the first year I did freestyle and interp at ANs, explaining that one to people was fun...I danced as a teenager but didn't start freestyle until 08.)

Adult interp is for bronzes, silvers, and anyone with pre-silver dances or lower who doesn't compete freestyle.

Since the jumps/spins aren't as important for interp (you are not allowed to do an axel) and the presumption is that someone with gold moves (or higher) and gold free, OR someone with a silver dance or more under their belt has the skating ability of a masters skater.

This confused the heck out of me my first ANs (as did all the other categories). I was familiar with synchro, where "adult" means 21+, most skaters on the top teams skated on junior/senior teams at one point; "masters" means [either the majority or 75%, can't remember] of the team is 35+ and you can't be younger than 25; "open adult" means 19+ and your team has less skaters, and in some cases the club also has an adult/masters team and the skaters on the open team don't have the skating ability for adult/masters. Needless to say, when my friend said "let's go watch masters ladies" and someone who was clearly in her 20s got on the ice, I was really confused.

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2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything

Wow...They should offer a short course to learn all of these categories !! Thanks so much everyone for helping me out here...this makes a lot more sense now. I had been told by a skater at a competition here in San Diego that "Masters" was for any skater that competed as a younger person. I think this is where the confusion started. Anyway... thanks again!!

That's generally true but not always the case. There are a lot of us (particularly in age class I) who started skating as kids, but aren't in masters for freestyle for various reasons--either we focused more on dance/moves in the field, were more recreational skaters as kids, some people got to preliminary/pre-juv/juv free then quit and came back to skating as adults, or some skaters in I may have started skating as teenagers (not that long ago when you're in your 20s). A few of us were synchro skaters who didn't really do any freestyle until we were adults.

I don't think we've even gotten to age classes yet, but that's much easier to understand.

I - 21-30
II 31-40
III 41-50
IV 51-60
V 61+

This doesn't apply to pairs/dance, although dance has a Centennial event where both skaters must be 50+.

And for championship events that skaters qualify for, age classes don't apply. Be sure to catch all the championship events, they're very inspirational, there are some skaters in their 50s who skater circles around us 20-somethings.

And you'll learn very quickly that a lot of skaters look younger than they actually are. There were many times at my first few ANs where I met someone, thought they were in their 30s, then saw them out on the ice in age class III!!

__________________
2010-2011 goals:
Pass Junior MIF test
Don't break anything