skating bronze when only passed pre-bronze FS?

[VAsk8r]

I competed at a USFS competition in June and skated bronze free skate even though I have only passed my pre-bronze free skate. Most of the adult skaters in my area who have passed pre-bronze or bronze FS skate at the level above the test they've passed.

But I'm doing another competition in September and I noticed the announcement states under the requirements for bronze FS: "Passed adult bronze free skating test." Then I looked at the 2012-2013 rulebook and it says:
Skaters must have passed at least one of the following:
1. The adult bronze free skate test and no higher adult free skate tests.
2. The standard preliminary free skate test and no higher standard free skate tests.

So I asked my coach, and she said she double checked and it was fine for me to skate up.

What's the deal? Is letting skaters skate up at USFS competitions at the discretion of the club?

[Skittl1321]

My understanding is it is at the discretion of the club. 

Most announcements have it listed skaters can skate up one level, usually in the introductory information.

[blue111moon]

Read the entire announcement.  If it does not explicitly state that skating up is allowed, then no, a pre-bronze skater cannot enter bronze.  The rules in the USFS Rulebook are written for qualifying competitions; clubs can adapt them, with permission, for the non-quals, so the announcement is the gospel there.

That said, in smaller open competitions, it's not unusual for events to be combined when numbers are low.  You can  put a note on your entry (or e-mail the registration person) saying that you are willing to skate up if they want to combine the group. 

This is something you want to check yourself though.  Taking the coach's word that it's okay might not be the best way, as not all coaches are 100% up on Adult competition rules.  Verify it yourself and save the e-mail and the name of the person you clear it with.

[PinkLaces]

Read the entire announcement.  If it does not explicitly state that skating up is allowed, then no, a pre-bronze skater cannot enter bronze.  The rules in the USFS Rulebook are written for qualifying competitions; clubs can adapt them, with permission, for the non-quals, so the announcement is the gospel there.

That said, in smaller open competitions, it's not unusual for events to be combined when numbers are low.  You can  put a note on your entry (or e-mail the registration person) saying that you are willing to skate up if they want to combine the group. 

This is something you want to check yourself though.  Taking the coach's word that it's okay might not be the best way, as not all coaches are 100% up on Adult competition rules.  Verify it yourself and save the e-mail and the name of the person you clear it with.

The announcement tells you if you can skate up or not.  In my area, lots of competitions you can skate up for, but there are a few that you cannot.  One is our state competition and the others are usually associated with basic skills competitions.  There was even one awhile back that was test track based on adult skating level...so you couldn't do any elements not on the test.  Yeah, they didn't get any entrants and switched it to well balanced for adults.

You could always contact the competition chair to make sure it's okay as well.  Usually there is contact information on the first or second page of the announcement.

[VAsk8r]

Thanks for the tips. I read the announcement more carefully, and it does state in introductory info that it's OK to skate up. So I feel confident about it now.