Questions.. What is the order? Sectionals/regionals then nationals? Or is is regnionals sectionals then nationals

Who if anyone automatically gets to go to nationals. And how can you find out what skaters qualified for regionals?

Regionals then sectionals then nationals.

This year dance teams at the juvenile and intermediate levels automatically go to Junior Nationals, due to the low numbers of teams.

There are also byes to Nationals based on your last year's results (I think top 4 or 5 at Senior?). Also if you have a Grand Prix or Junior Grand Prix assignment that would interfere with your ability to go to regionals or sectionals, you get a bye to the next level of competition.

Regionals is open, meaning you don't have to qualify to go there. All you need is to meet the test requirements to skate at whatever level you're competing at. After that, you qualify to Sectionals & then Nationals by placing in the top 4 or 5 (I forget) at each.

I'm sure someone else will have more concrete info!! My rulebook is in the car.

To add: top 5 from last year's nationals get a bye, as well as all those making the JGP final (in addition to anyone with a conflicting assignment).

Four from each regionals go to sectionals; top four from sectionals go the nationals. There is a "fill-in" rule, at least for regionals, so that if, say, skater A is assigned to a JGP that conflicts with sectionals but not regionals, they must compete at regionals. If they place in the top four, the top five then (four skaters and skater A) "qualify" for sectionals, and four (not skater A) compete there. This is also done when there are too few entries -- only 3 junior men in one region but five in another.

off topic... but, littlekateskate... I can see you're very enthuastic about your dd's skating... but aren't you going a bit OTT? you keep asking really far-ahead questions, let litte kate just enjoy skating, don't think so competitively already! esp. when she's older, I'm pretty sure that she'll appreciate you being as little involved as possible. I mean, I'm 14, my parents are completely uninvolved in my skating, they show some interest If I raise the topic, but otherwise it's just my thing. and that is really good. I know that this forum IS for asking questions to answers and stuff, but your little dd is very little and by the time she gets to regionals/nationals, enhancing her program with cool stuff (as mentioned on another thread) etc. etc. all advice and procedure is going to change... relax, step back, and just have fun watching her. don't become a pushy mum who is more interested in skating that her kid.

I'm saying this in the nicest possible way... please don't get me wrong. but this is the impression I get...

peanutskates x

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Peanutskates - I'm totally wowed by the wisdom and maturity of your post! Are you sure you're only 14 and not 40?

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To give some idea of the competition:

Last year at UGL (my region), there were 4 groups of 18 girls in Juvenile (the lowest level for qualifying). For each group, the top 4 advanced to the final round. The top 4 out of the final round advanced to Junior Nationals (Juv & Intermediate don't do Sectionals). At Juvenile you'd need at least few strong doubles to be competitive, possibly more. I don't think triples are allowed yet at that level.

You can look up the results at sk8stuff.com under Competitions.

Triples aren't allowed in juvenile -- it's the only jump restriction at qualifying competitions. Final round juveniles typically have all their doubles (minus double axel) and double-double combos. The very top of those are (in some regions) doing double axels and double-double-doubles.

The latter. Here's an old article from October 2005 that summarizes the U.S. qualifying system/process (2005-2006 season): http://www.usfigureskating.org/Story.asp?id=30970

The current rule is that the top 5 finishers in senior in the 4 disciplines at the most recent Nationals automatically qualify for the next year's Nationals. For the 2007-08 season, these skaters/teams with automatic byes to 2008 Nationals are:
Kimmie Meissner, Emily Hughes, Alissa Czisny, Bebe Liang, Rachael Flatt;
Evan Lysacek, Ryan Bradley, Johnny Weir, Jeremy Abbott, Scott Smith;
Pairs: Castile/Okolski, Inoue/Baldwin, Nam/Leftheris, Evora/Ladwig, Vise/Trent;
Dance: Belbin/Agosto, Gregory/Petukhov, Davis/White, Navarro/Bommentre (the 5th place senior dance team split up).

And to give you an idea of how many ladies are competing at Intermediate - always the largest group around here. The schedule is up at Upper Great Lakes in Cedar Rapids and one Wed the Ladies Intermediate start at 8:30 in the morning and goes on until close to 9 pm at night. Which is very annoying because we still don't know what group my daughter is in and it's kind of difficult to make plans. Since it's only two hours away, I'm only going to get a hotel if she's in the morning....but since I still don't know that yet and it's probably too late to get a hotel...grrrr....

j

I appreciate the concern. And my daughter wont be going to regionals anytime soon, lol. But I was watching Ice princess with dd and noticed they did regionals then sectionals. But in hs we always did sectionals then regionals, then state. So it seemed backward. SO i was curious as we all know sometimes movies mess things up.

And as for nationals. I know people from last year who were at nationals and was curious as if they would get byes or not. I was not asking this for my dd sake.

ewe one more question...

What about like someone who places say first/second at novice level and then moves up to junior? Do they get a bye to nationals at the next level. I thought i read somewhere that last years junior winner was getting a bye at senior level. I may be mistaken or so may be where i read that. But i thought that is odd because i didnt think it worked that way at hte lower levels

It's only at Senior level that you get a bye to the next Nationals if you place in the top 5. Winners at a lower level still need to qualify if they move up a level. Sometimes skaters get byes to the next level of competition if they have an international assignment that conflicts, but I'm not sure about the rules regarding that, so I can't tell you for sure whether a skater with an international that conflicts with sectionals would get a bye to Nationals. Maybe Sylvia will chime in and clarify. But if a Junior winner is getting a bye at the Senior level this year, it will be because of something like that, not because they won at Junior.

You probably want to find another source of info on skating besides "Ice Princess"

j

dbny-

My guess is as good as yours, I mean, I'm trusting my parents to tell me...
but thanks for the compliment!

littlekateskate-

OK, sorry I assumed you had evil-mom ulterior motives.
But yeah, Ice Princess isn't exactly the best source of info on skating... like, in Casey's "tiara routine", she had perfect ice and lighting, she wouldn't get that at a competition, esp. performing last (what, like they really Zam'd the ice right before her?). But I love the movie anyway

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If a skater's international assignment is within 2 weeks of their Regional or Sectional comp, then they get a bye through to the next level of comp. Some skaters who are on the Junior Grand Prix this fall will get byes through Regionals but will compete at Sectionals b/c the JGP is early in the fall (right now) and the comps will be over by the time Sectional comps take place in mid-Nov. However, some skaters, who get a Senior Grand Prix assignment but were not in the top 5 at Nats in Senior last year (Megan Oster is one), will have the 2-week conflict with Sectionals and so will get a bye to Nationals. Also, if a skater qualifies for either the Junior or Senior Grand Prix finals, they automatically get a bye to Nationals regardless of what level they are in or where they placed at Nats the year before. And medalists at the Olympics have a bye to Nationals for the 4 years following their Olys - so if Sasha Cohen comes back to comp next year, she will not need to qualify for Nats.

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

The 2007 U.S. junior national champions are: Mirai Nagasu (ladies), Eliot Halverson (men), Keauna McLaughlin/Rockne Brubaker (pairs) and Emily Samuelson/Evan Bates (dance). Pairs and dance teams do not have to compete at Regionals, and both McLaughlin/Brubaker and Samuelson/Bates have qualified for byes through Sectionals to 2008 Nationals -- M/B because they are competing in the Cup of China Senior Grand Prix competition (Nov. 8-11), which is the week before their Sectional comp. and S/B because they have qualified for the Junior Grand Prix Final by winning the gold in their JGPs in Lake Placid and Vienna. Nagasu, who also won gold in the Lake Placid JGP, competes in the JGP in Croatia this coming week (which gives her a bye through her Regional the following week) and a medal in Croatia should ensure her qualification for the JGP Final and a bye through her Sectional to Nationals as well. Halverson's Regional/Sectional bye status remains up in the air right now.

The 2007 U.S. novice champions are Angela Maxwell, Armin Mahbanoozadeh, Tracy Tanovich/Michael Chau (pairs) and Maia & Alex Shibutani (dance). Maxwell currently is required to compete at her Regional; Mahbanoozadeh has a bye through his Regional due to his second JGP assignment in Croatia this coming week (if he qualifies for the JGP Final, then he will not have to compete at his Sectional); Tanovich/Chau and the Shibutanis are scheduled to compete at their respective Sectionals in order to qualify for 2008 Nationals at the junior level.

Technically the rule is seven days, but there are exceptions.

As far as I know, Oster is currently required to compete at her Regionals because it's more than 7 days before her first Senior Grand Prix competition (Skate Canada). However, she may qualify for a bye through Sectionals to Nationals because her 2nd Grand Prix comp. (NHK Trophy) fulfills the criterion that says: "The seven day period may be extended if an athlete is selected for events both before and after a regional and sectional."

Correct! (see above re. Samuelson/Bates)

I heard today and Juvenile and Intermediate Dance and Pairs can go to Sectionals if they want to instead of just going on to Junior Nationals - something about not having enough technical people for Dance and Pairs for Regionals but since they will be at Sectionals anyway for the upper levels, they will hold Juvenile and Intermediate events there but it is not required for Jr. Nationals.

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

That's correct. The catch is, if they choose to compete at Sectionals they MUST go. If they withdraw for any reason, they forfeit their straight shot to Jr. Nationals.

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"Without a struggle, there can be no progress" ~ Frederick Douglass

And I THINK that is just for this year only?
Ice princess had very little truths, and the regionals they showed is nothing like the real regionals. You dont test all the way to to Jr with a show piece :}

I hadn't made any assumptions (in spite of my reply to peanutskates), but since the question was raised, it's good to know that you're not going overboard!

I think when it comes to figure skating, it's more like movies always mess things up!

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Ice Princess definitely took the cake for that one. I went with a whole group of coaches & we whooped it up over all the wrong things. I particularly liked the part where one of the skaters was a CCW jumper in the first half, and later was a CW jumper. (must have switched doubles for her).

Reigning Olympic medalists get a bye also, good for 4 years.

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It's all about the dress!

I'm going to have to go back and look for that!

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