Test days: scheduling, warming up, and everything else!

[phoenix]

They're probably figuring the USFSA would never hear about it, so they'd never know. If they did know about it, I'm not sure what they would do with those tests, if they would be counted as legit or not. The rule is, 2 patterns.

[Icicle]

Whoa.  That really does not sound right to me.  However, the judges make these decisions, and if it's in favor of the skaters, I guess I wouldn't argue.

I would probably feel disappointment. Really, you work hard to make your program passable and then oops, the judges barely watch the real performance, just the warm up. It doesn't seem fair to me.

[jjane45]

I would probably feel disappointment. Really, you work hard to make your program passable and then oops, the judges barely watch the real performance, just the warm up. It doesn't seem fair to me.

This. And not quite fair for others who work hard, skate well in the warm up and fail the actual test.

On the other hand, what was the best solution, assuming additional ice time was not available? Turn away the last couple skaters and tell them to come back next session?

[icedancer]

On the other hand, what was the best solution, assuming additional ice time was not available? Turn away the last couple skaters and tell them to come back next session?

Having more available dance partners would have helped - they can do double and even triple and quadruple flights if you had enough partners.

[jjane45]

Having more available dance partners would have helped - they can do double and even triple and quadruple flights if you had enough partners.

As a tester, I may be hesitant to partner someone I've never skated with for tests though...

[icedancer]

Add a tester, I may be hesitant to partner someone I've never skated with for tests though...

Yes that is true but as you move up you should be able to skate with just about anyone... this is what social dance is all about - and also the judges could decide that your partner was somehow not suitable and you would have to skate it with someone else (yes this is in the rules) - so I guess what I meant by my comment was that if there were more suitable partners in the first place (more male dance coaches) and they could have scheduled the skaters such that there could be more testers on the ice at one time they could have gotten in both patterns for all of the skaters.

I am sure this is not the first time that someone bent the rules a bit because of some unforeseen circumstance.  In fact, stuff comes up all of the time and you just have to deal with it in the best way possible!!!

[jjane45]

True about social dance. I have no problem practicing with other skaters in the dance class, but for testing I would hope to get the most benefit from a strong and familiar partner.

I read about the partner assignment in rulebook and wondered what was the qualification for substitute partner.

[MimiG]

I've seen a partner substituted when the original partner was pretty significantly off time (a freestyle coach who was taking a few students through the preliminary dance tests) - all his students had to reskate their dances with one of the dance partners that was there for other skaters. The judge let them have another warm up and I think they all passed in the end.

[jjane45]

I've seen a partner substituted when the original partner was pretty significantly off time (a freestyle coach who was taking a few students through the preliminary dance tests) - all his students had to reskate their dances with one of the dance partners that was there for other skaters. The judge let them have another warm up and I think they all passed in the end.

How frustrating and can't imagine the post-test drama. Wonder how the students managed in practice.

Could a female ice dancer be recruited on the fly to partner female dance testers? The rulebook says it has to be the tester's own same sex coach right?

[turnip]

Re the one pattern only tests, I guess if someone wasn't up to scratch on the first pattern but had done ok in the warm up they'd be allowed to do another pattern to try and pass? I hope so anyway!

[Skittl1321]

Could a female ice dance be recruited on the fly to partner female dance testers? The rulebook says it has to be the tester's own same sex coach right?

The way the rulebook is written, I don't think so.  It appears a pre-existing coaching relationship (wouldn't have to be your primary coach) needs to exist to skate with a same sex partner.  However, if for some reason my* coach wasn't up to snuff and the judges thought he was the reason I was failing the test and Meryl Davis was standing on the sidelines offering to skate the Dutch Waltz, you'd think a judge could consider going by the spirit of the rule, rather than the letter.



*not MY coach, a hypothetical one. My coach is an awesome partner, I'm lucky.

[PinkLaces]

How frustrating and can't imagine the post-test drama. Wonder how the students managed in practice.

Could a female ice dance be recruited on the fly to partner female dance testers? The rulebook says it has to be the tester's own same sex coach right?

I don't know if they would be recruited on the fly, but I have seen a female coach take kids through the lower level dances - Dutch Waltz and Canasta Tango.  It was a club were just about everyone does dance and they have no male partner.  They bring in the male partner for test days and 1 practice before hand.  The male partner is pretty tall and also pretty expensive.  So they have the smaller kids working on lower dances partner with the smaller female coach.  They save the male partner for the older skaters working on higher tests.