usfs age limits

[falen]

Hi,
I read that for Juvenile level you must now be under 14 as of Sept.  So say a kid turns 14 in November, kid is 13 and under 14 at the september deadline.  Does that mean kid can compete at Juvenile until the next Sept or does kid move to open Juv

[Clarice]

The September 1 cutoff date only applies to qualifying competitions.  A skater who is under 14 on September 1 can skate Juvenile for Regionals, and can stay at that level if they continue to advance beyond Regionals even if they have a birthday.  For local competitions, though, they'd have to abide by the age cutoff stated in the announcement for that competition.

[falen]

thank you

dd is following her parental footsteps and looking at every "legal" angle.  She is so determined to get there, but she thinks she's behine the 8 ball because she started late.  Wish us luck. 

[icefrog]

How old is she? Some kids stay at Open-Juv for a year or two and then advance to intermediate and then novice. So if she's 13 and has a double or two now she could be a novice or junior lady when she graduates.

[isakswings]

How old is she? Some kids stay at Open-Juv for a year or two and then advance to intermediate and then novice. So if she's 13 and has a double or two now she could be a novice or junior lady when she graduates.

That is what I think will likely happen in my daughter's case. She is 13 now and about at the stage you mentioned. she was "old" when she started... 9.5 yrs old when she startted in private lessons.

[rsk8d]

You're never too old to start... Stephanie Cooke (twice Championship Masters national champ) started at 12, and placed 5th twice in Senior Ladies at New England regionals when she was over age twenty.

It bothers me that some skaters think there is something wrong with being in open juvenile.  Age is just a number.  Glad they upped the age for regionals.

[Skittl1321]

Angie Lien made it to nationals in 2007 and 2008.  I don't know when she started but she was born in 1981 (so at nationals at 27), so she had some good longevity.  You don't need to peak at 16 to do well.  You might not make the Olympics, but you can have your own success.

Here is an article about her: http://www.startribune.com/sports/13721116.html?page=1&c=y

[isakswings]

I honestly think there is nothing wrong with open Juv. It is bothersome when I hear other skaters or parents talk about it like it is a bad thing to be in open juv. But I feel the same way about TT events too. My daughter is currently skating in the standard track for competitions. She has no intention of quitting skating any time soon. She may or may not end up in TT. At this point, we'll keep her where she is but if it ever comes to her needing to switch tracks, we will have no problem doing that. It's all good! It isn't important to keep up with the "Joneses". What is important is doing what makes you happy. I do remember when I used to be concerned about making sure my own daughter was progressing at a steady pace. Now I just want to see that she is happy and making progress. Sure, she will be in Prelim at 13/14 but everyone porgresses at their own pace. Nothing wrong with that. We have never believed we were Olympic bound and personally, I couldn't afford to be! I've certainly evolved as a skating parent... I'm slowly learning what is important and what isn't important and when it boils down to it, the most important person is my daughter and my daughter only.

[1210]

I have no answer to the thread, but it kinda makes me wonder a little bit...because I'm 17, and I just started and will be testing in prepreliminary soon. Are there age limits for testing and competing just locally? I've heard that it's hard to compete in lower levels at a higher age because it's more of a cutsey contest for little girls than anything, and I am going to feel so weird if I am the only 17 year old competing against 6 year olds.

[Skittl1321]

There are not age limits for the lowest levels, but most competitions will split pre-pre and preliminary by age groups, and it is very likely you would end up competiting "against the book", rather than against little kids (although that can happen).

Unless I missed one, USFS only has age limits for the following levels, as currently in the rulebook.  I think juv just changed to 14, but I'm not sure:
Juv: Under 13  (Most non-qualifying competitions have "open juvenile" for 13 and over)
Intermediate: Under 18
Adult: 21 or older

All other levels, any age can compete.

I've seen a few competition announcements that limit pre-juv to under 13, and have an open pre-juv for 13+, but the rulebook doesn't require that.

[1210]

There are not age limits for the lowest levels, but most competitions will split pre-pre and preliminary by age groups, and it is very likely you would end up competiting "against the book", rather than against little kids (although that can happen).

Oh...so would that mean I would compete against skaters in the really high levels, or with other skaters in the lower levels but older?

[Skittl1321]

No, you only ever compete against skaters in your own level.  (Unless they combine levels, but that is generally with the next closest level- such as adult pre-bronze and bronze combined into one event.)

What would happen is rather than a giant "preliminary" event, there would be 3 different events.  Say "under 7", "7-12" and "12 and up" (i'm making those ages up- I don't know what age is typical for preliminary".  So you would compete in 12 and up.  

So other skaters in the lower level, but older.

But if the competition did "16 and up" you very well could be the only skater.  That's when you skate "against the book"- meaning you are judged at a set standard for the level and need to gain 90% of the points to win first place.  (Although I read that only ISI competes against the book now, and USFS automatically wins 1st... let me see if I can find anything about that.)

ETA: I can't find a USFS rule, but did find a thread in our archives about it.  Apparently in USFS competitions if you are the only one in your group it is treated as an exhibition, and you get a medal.  I would be competitions would call you and ask if you'd rather skate an exhibition, or compete against children if that was the only option. Or, since you aren't an adult yet, they might just group you in there.

[1210]

Ok, thanks - that makes complete sense! Just curious...is it very common to have older teens in the lower levels, or is it pretty rare?

[Isk8NYC]

That's true: the USFSA doesn't have the single-skater events judged, although some competitions treat it as an "exhibition" and allow the judges to give feedback, but not scores.  The ISI requires an 80% score or higher to win first against the book.

I tell my "against the book" skaters to imagine that they are skating against the perfect competitor so that they don't think they can coast with a half-hearted effort.

[isakswings]

I have no answer to the thread, but it kinda makes me wonder a little bit...because I'm 17, and I just started and will be testing in prepreliminary soon. Are there age limits for testing and competing just locally? I've heard that it's hard to compete in lower levels at a higher age because it's more of a cutsey contest for little girls than anything, and I am going to feel so weird if I am the only 17 year old competing against 6 year olds.

You likely won't compete against the very young kids unless it is a smaller competition. Plus, there are usually a lot of kids in pre-pre. Most of our local competitions are small and most comps have 2 or 3 groups of pre-pre. The last competition there were 3 groups of pre-pre and they divided the skaters by age. All of the girls in my daughter's group were 13 or older. There was another group for the kids 10-12 and another group for the kids under 10. All of the groups had around 6 skaters each. My daughter is competing this week and again, there are 3 groups of pre-preliminary. Again, they are grouped by age or perhaps birth year.This ia a bigger comp, so the groups are larger. I think all 3 groups had 8 to 9 skaters in them. The non test group has 10 skaters. I wouldn't worry too much about it. Just go out and do your best. It really is never too late to start!

[techskater]

**pst** skittl, the age limit changed in Juvenile this year - cut off is 14 now.