Difference between test program and competition program

[jjane45]

I think I have an idea how an average competition program looks like. I've been wondering though if the intricate choreography, pretty arms, and dramatic emotions are often taken out from the program for tests purposes? To play it safe by focusing on compulsory skills maybe? Would this be different for ISI and USFSA? Or judged differently for lower and higher levels?

[techskater]

In the same way that the skill expectation goes up level by level, the presentation "expectation" increases at each level in USFS.

[jjane45]

Thank you, guess I had low freestyle levels in mind. Would test programs be judged heavily on pcs or they tend to be crossover crossover jump, crossover spin and still get passed alright as long as the required elements are there?

[Sk8tmum]

In Canada, competitive (and as of July 1, test stream) tests taken at a test day also require skaters to achieve minimum  scores in the PCS categories, albeit calculated a bit differently. As the test level increases, the minimum PCS category requirements increase.

That said, a skater may remove a difficult spin or a difficult jump combination and substitute in a "safer" element that meets the test requirements.

[fsk8r]

Sometimes the technical requirements for a test program and a competition program vary for the same level. This in itself will mean that sometimes the programs are vastly different. But this isn't always in terms of choreography.
Generally if you are competing one level you are working towards testing at the higher level so you may have some of the skills from the higher level already which you will be competing to increase the difficulty in the program, whereas when you test you may have just reached the test level and no higher in your skills.

Presentation is always important but it's something which improves along with the skills, so the expectation increases as you move up the tests.

In terms of transitions, crossovers with power and pretty arms can be more impressive than scratchy 3 turns for a transition between elements. And a lot of it depends on the skater and the choreography added to the program. There's a balance between smooth flowing skating and complicated footwork and sometimes flow is more valuable than difficulty.

[techskater]

Thank you, guess I had low freestyle levels in mind. Would test programs be judged heavily on pcs or they tend to be crossover crossover jump, crossover spin and still get passed alright as long as the required elements are there?

Basically, I would recommend looking for a test session that has the test you are thinking about.  For example, for Prebronze, there ia no program, just elements and see if there's a Bronze test going out at the same time and see if you can figure out if that test should be "passing" in your expectation and see if you can find out if it passed.

[jjane45]

Thank you techskater!! I am not testing anytime soon, and if I do, I trust Coach will know what it takes perfectly.

It's another "just out of curiosity" question to see how things differ in various regions / levels / programs. Your inputs are truly appreciated!