so, I'm now test chair...

[VAsk8r]

Suffice it to say, my club is really small and many of our members are new skating. I was elected secretary this spring, which I thought was a job I could do well, but our test chair had to quit and the club president asked me to step in. And she wants to do two test sessions next year!

My duties will include organizing volunteers and heading up a committee to host these test sessions, plus, since we have a Basic Skills membership option, ordering badges.

I'm a little freaked out. I've never even volunteered at a test session before and don't know much about what's involved in planning one. More experienced club members have offered to talk to me more about it, but I'm anxious and impatient!

Plus, due to a mix-up with my own testing records, it looks like my first duty as test chair will be to figure out what happened there.

So, does anyone have any tips for me or any links to info? I'm told USFS has good info on its site, but I've looked and looked and can't find anything at all.

[Clarice]

I'm a new test chair, too.  I couldn't find the information on the web site, either, but the outgoing test chair has been guiding me.  I just put together my first test session - I think I must have revised it at least 6 times.  I just finished pre-registering the tests on line, and now am in the middle of printing out the test forms, but the Members Only site has gone down for some reason and I'm only halfway through.  Grr.

[Skittl1321]

This is the only thing I've ever found on the website for Test Chairs: 
http://www.usfsa.org/content/Guide%20for%20Test%20Chair.pdf

It definately isn't an easy job, but I think most people are very appreciative of those willing to do it.

[VAsk8r]

Thank you, Skittl. That looks like enough reading to keep me busy for awhile!

Fortunately, I've got a few months before we need to begin serious planning.

[mkp]

Wow you are allowed a lot more independence/discretion than test organisers in the UK. And you are allowed to use your brain about late entries/withdrawals, and you actually tell coaches/skaters when tests are going to be - here in the UK you have to just put your application in without knowing when a test is going to be, and if you can't take the date offerred you lose your money. I particularly like the section that says

[PinkLaces]

I was the test chair for 4.5 years at our club.  I was going to post the link that Skittl did.  It is a very good resource.  It gives you the estimated times of how long a test takes so you can plan your schedule. I have an excel spreadsheet that I used with a time function that was pretty darn accurate.  Most of my sessions ran ahead of schedule which presented some problems at first, but allowed me to get more tests on a session.  It also gives you the guidance to put higher tests after an ice cut (Moves & Dance).  If you are using the Members only part on-line, you don't need to send in the test registration form (our new test chair was confused by that).  The website is a little finicky about entering the tests but not bad.  It goes down every day at 1:00 pm Mountain time for maintenance.

The two hardest things about being the test chair are getting the judges availability and the ice availability to match up.  If you've got that covered, everything else is just a bunch of little stuff.

One thing I highly recommend is that you double check the judges math before making  copies and giving the skater the test form.  I found wrong scores almost every test session.  Most of the time it didn't make a difference.  I heard that a skater from our club thought she passed her junior moves (she tested at another club). She got a call from the test chair - math was wrong and she didn't pass.  I'd hate to have to make that call.  So check the math on every paper.

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.  Thank you for being the test chair.  It is one of the most important jobs in the club.  Just about everyone tests.

[Clarice]

I survived my first test session yesterday!  After a false start, I got the schedule together pretty well.  We finished on time.  Actually, we were ahead in the middle of the day, but I let the judges take a longer break because there were only 3 of them.  There was a practice session in there.

I did remember to check all the math, and did find one error - the judge simply had the wrong passing average in mind and marked accordingly.  I also had one mistake with papers - the skater was to do an Intermediate free test, and I had somehow printed out Novice free test papers.  The accountant for the competition was already there, and so was able to print out new papers for me, but I don't quite understand how it happened.  Even assuming I entered the wrong test on the computer, it should have alerted me that the skater was not qualified to take that test.  I haven't entered the results yet, so maybe when I do that tomorrow I'll find out more about what happened.

The actual running of the session wasn't bad, but putting it together for the first time gave me nightmares!

[PinkLaces]

Glad to hear it went well!

I've printed out the wrong test paper before.  Which I agree is weird, because if you're printing from the pre-registered test page, it should print the correct test.  What I did was to keep 3 extra copies of each test form so that I could just hand the judges the right sheets.

I had one judge mix up the test papers for a string of Juvenile FS tests...she wrote down the wrong scores on the wrong papers. That was a mess.  It turned out okay in the end though.

[VAsk8r]

I'm now planning a session for late June. I'm starting to recruit volunteers. Does anyone know of any USFS guides that explain what each volunteer does? Things like hospitality I can explain myself, but I don't really know what the accountant does or what exactly a runner is responsible for. And if I can't explain it, there's no way I'm getting anyone to sign up.

Also, which of these roles are OK for older kids/teens to do?

[hopskipjump]

jobs my daughter has had (ages 9-11)
music/judge runner
results runner
awards table

at 12 they can
be a door monitor (let competitors on the ice, make sure they are there, find out how to pronounce names)
registration table
music monitor

[Clarice]

I'm now planning a session for late June. I'm starting to recruit volunteers. Does anyone know of any USFS guides that explain what each volunteer does? Things like hospitality I can explain myself, but I don't really know what the accountant does or what exactly a runner is responsible for. And if I can't explain it, there's no way I'm getting anyone to sign up.

Also, which of these roles are OK for older kids/teens to do?

Are you asking about planning a test session, a competition, or both?

[VAsk8r]

Are you asking about planning a test session, a competition, or both?

Actually, our club is planning both, but I was thinking specifically about the test session. Explanations of volunteer roles for both would be helpful, though.

[FigureSpins]

IME, some of the prior answers are fine for a competition, but a test session doesn't require as many volunteers or roles.  I'm the main volunteer coordinator for our competitions, but our test chair recruits volunteers for the test sessions.  Our club keeps test sessions simple and low-key, which I appreciate.

Here are our volunteer roles for a TEST session:

. Test Chair - responsible for everything and ours is an elected official.  (And one of my fav adult skaters) She prepares the list of test-takers and verifies current membership/eligibility status.  I believe the Test Chair prints out the judges' sheets for the session and afterwards, sends the official results to the USFSA and makes sure that they are registered properly. 

. Test Schedule - Again, unique situation; our Referee makes up the judges' schedules and assignments.  I believe she recruits the judges as well.

. Hospitality - our sessions run early Sunday mornings through lunchtime, so having coffee and breakfast for the judges in the morning, a simple luncheon at midday.  They coordinate the setup, cleanup and judge's comfort/access on the ice. (Blankets and heaters, chairs or ramps if needed)

. Accounting - our test chair handles the accounting because our sessions aren't that big.  At larger sessions, clubs recruit a volunteer who checks the math on the sheets and verifies the pass/retest scores.  They also make sure all the forms are signed and create skater/coach and file copies as needed. 

. Results - Our test chair or club president discreetly distributes the results to the coaches/skaters. 

. Music Monitor - during the freestyle or ice dance tests, a volunteer will man the CD player and start/stop the test music as instructed by the referee.  I've done this and it's coooooold!  I didn't notice the heater under the desk until the next-to-last freestyle skater, lol.  We don't announce anything, it's just "Put in the CD, wait for ref to nod, push start, eject when it's done.  Repeat."

If you want, I have a list of competition volunteer roles with descriptions that I can post separately.

[Clarice]

Thanks, FigureSpins!  That's exactly what I was getting at when I asked for clarification of test session vs. competition. 

[VAsk8r]

Thanks so much, FigureSpins! That's exactly what I was looking for. 

I would never want to do music for anything. Something always seems to go wrong.