When do you know you're ready to test?

[drskater]

This question is inspired by Sierra's topic about learning advanced MITF...

When do you think you're ready to test? Do you go on your coach's assessment or your own intuition? In my neck of the woods, testing sessions are hard to come by, so people tend to strategize, especially in light of qualifying competitions.

My coach wants me to test my Bronze MITF soon. I feel I can do everything to a bare minimum passing level, but frankly I'd rather work on the elements a bit longer. At the same time, I may just waste a lot of time trying to get to the perfect, Platonic Ideal.

Hmmm--would love to hear your experiences and opinions.

[Skate@Delaware]

I go with what my coach says, she is very experienced and knowledgeable.  If she says I'm not ready, I wait. If she says "go" then I set a date. She knows what the judges are looking for and what is passing standard, and sets the bar a little above that. That way, I don't waste my time or hers failing test after test "hoping" to pass.

Does your coach feel you are ready even though you don't? Why don't you feel ready? Are you just nervous about it?

[icedancer]

I think you have to be really comfortable with the Moves before you test - I try to make sure that (in my mind) the Moves are WAY above passing average before I would be comfortable testing them.  I was so surprised by how nervous I was when I took my pre-Bronze MITF that I skated like an "an old slow, adult skater" (the judge's words, not mine) - so for the Bronze I really worked to get them good.

FINALLY my coach was like, "Aren't you ever going to test these?" - I think she was waiting for me to decide and so I took them about a month later - worked like a dog the last few weeks to really get comfortable and then took the test.

Of course I still felt like an old slow adult skater but I passed by two out of three judges -

One thing be did when a bunch of adults were testing was to do a "mock test" in the weeks before the test - we pretended we were the judges and everyone got out there and did their Moves just like on a test.  This really helped with the nerves a bit and gave you that feeling of what it was like to be alone out there on the ice.

Good luck with your test - there is also the possibility that given say, two weeks of intensive practice before the test that you can get those Moves to where they are really comfortable even if they are not that way at this very moment - your coach should be your guide of course.

[Bill_S]

My coach and I both felt similarly about my level of readiness, so when I was feeling good about moves, the coach tended to agree. We'd pick the next available testing date (opportunities available several times per year for me), and I'd go for it.

One thing I found about testing is that I always performed worse on the test than in my daily practices. I like (need?) a long warm-up time, and that wasn't possible on my test days. Nerves, too, take their toll.

I always had to be somewhat overprepared for the tests.

[Skate@Delaware]

And before your actual test date, run thru the test sequence several times each time you skate, just as you would in an actual test session. I did this two months before my test date and it helped me. Plan out your "test outfit" and wear it a few times to be sure you will be comfortable. I had to change mine, since I had gained weight    But if your coach believes you are ready, that should be good. We are always more critical of our own skating than our coach!

[Kim to the Max]

I tend to go with what my coach thinks. For me, I am never going to feel 100% comfortable and confident, so I need her to tell me when they look good enough. For me, I like to self sabotage - I did that 3 of the 5 times I took my junior moves. The first time I wasn't entirely ready (it was a let's see where you are thing...they were close to standard), and the last time I passed. I talk my self out of it, get way nervous, and don't skate with the power I have...which at the Novice/Junior/now Senior level...is an issue... And on Junior...those darn power pulls were scary as all heck...

I always practice my moves in the order they are in the test and I get really messed up if I do them out of order. I do that so it becomes a habit.

There is a pattern to me and tests:

1) Coach and I decide on testing. Send in paperwork months in advance to make sure I get in (around here it is common to be closed out of sessions).
2) I go gung-ho practicing.
3) Total breakdown for about a week before the test...moves look like crud, I'm all over the place, can't stay on my feet, etc. I get tempted to pull the test...then I remember how much $$ tests are Coach knows that this needs to happen because if it doesn't happen before the test...it will happen on test day (I had that happen during my Novice test...luckily I kept it together enough to pass on the first attempt).
4) Test day - I need to get to the rink with plenty of time otherwise I get nervous about missing my time. I generally take the day or at least a 1/2 day off work. Before warmup (timing is iffy on this - it depends on the skating order) I eat a pack of Twix bars (it MUST be Twix...nothing else works) so that the sugar rush will kick in when I start my test...my coach and just about everyone else thinks this is the weirdest thing ever, but hey, it works for me! Warmup is pretty much on my own. Coach will help if needed, but she usually lets me do my thing. During the test, I will stop to get water once and usually blow my nose.
5) Wish for the best! Since I test standard track (started testing as a kid), I sometimes don't know what the expectations from the judges will be since "power" is subjective. I have had coaches (and some parents) shocked that I didn't pass some of my tests because I do generate a ton of power.

[FigureSpins]

For MITF, when the Club opens a test session for online registration, I print out copies of the appropriate Moves TRIAL JUDGES test forms.  I like those forms because they define the focus and narrate the moves in order, so they're a nice "take home" worksheet for the skater to tuck in their practice notebooks.
http://skatingforums.com/index.php?topic=937.0

The skater and I spend a lesson going through the moves IN ORDER while I critique. I write notes in the judge's notes area and discuss the skater's strengths and weaknesses after each pattern.  If there are issues, like not knowing the patterns, remedial work needed, or exercises to do, I write those on the back or tell them to write it in their notebooks.  I give the sheets to the skater to review with their parents, along with a note about when I think they'll be ready to test. 

I do this again two weeks before the test session.  During that review, they wear their test clothes and start their session with off-ice and on-ice (timed) warmups, greeting and instructions from the judge (me).  I stay in the box and make notes on the sheet.  The only real feedback I give them is a nod to go ahead with the next pattern; they are supposed to know the order of patterns.  Oh, and everyone gets at least one reskate of their weakest element.

I just did the first part tonight for four of my students.

[miraclegro]

Sometimes i don't know if I'm EVER ready!  Mostly because my nerves get ahold of me; last time i WAS ready and I had trouble with my breathing on the Intermediate moves.    I now have to figure out how to mentally "breathe" as i go, but now, they've change the moves!  lol

I had one coach who insisted i wasn't ready but i hadn't worked with her in months; i had worked with my other coach, and it worked to my benefit that time.   I've moved since then, and have different coach now.

But i like the one post where the person said they had a "mock" test.  I just don't know whom i could ask about that.   

[momsk8er]

I tested Bronze moves when I thought I was ready, or close, but given my test results, I was not at all. At that time I did not ask my coach if I was ready, I just signed up for the test. After I failed, it took me several years to feel like maybe I was ready again, but I  was very unsure. My coach thought I was ready though, and I obviously was, as I passed by all three judges with extra points. But, in the week or two before I tested the second time, I thought to myself "why am I doing this? I'm no-ways good enough, I should never have scheduled this test." So ... my advice would be to listen to your coach, as most of the other posters have said. I don't think we are objective enough about our own performance to recognize where we are with proficiency. Well, at least I was not. I had no idea my moves were so bad to start with, and I could not see that I had improved so much over time. But my coach did.

[Sk8Dreams]

My rule of thumb is that the skater should have the moves down good enough to pass on her/his worst day.  As for when they are that good - it's up to the coach.  I know coaches who have refused to sign a test application because they didn't want their name on a test that they thought didn't have much of a chance.

[PinkLaces]

I took Pre-Bronze MIF & FS at the same time.  I also tested Bronze MIF & FS at the same time.  We were on a time schedule because I wanted to compete at AN.  We knew we wanted me to test in May and then again in November.  We kind of took a chance in November, but still had enough time to re-test in December if necessary.  The Bronze MIF were pretty good but the FS was iffy on 2 elements.  I had to reskate the backspin.

My coach is normally not that way at all.  She wants her skaters to be above standard.  Plus judges out this way take pride in being "tough."  My advice would be to let your coach decide.  

ETA: It is amazing how much better MIF get when you focus most of your practice time on them for the 2 weeks leading up to the test.

[Sk8tmum]

It also depends on your philosophy; some skaters and some coaches are comfortable testing at a "satisfactory" level, others want to see "excellents" on the test sheet.  (Canadian tests are done at NI/S/G/E as measures). 

It depends also on the "way" that you test. Some skaters skate at a  higher level on test day, some don't have good skates in a test.  The first skater might have the test put in by a coach who knows that that particular skater will pull it off brilliantly, regardless of whether it's perfect in practice; whereas the latter, the test might be held off until the practice sessions are perfect, as on the day of the test, the skater will not generally perform to his/her normal level. 

[fsk8r]

I've also seen coaches pushing their luck with some tests. So and so passed such and such test, therefore you're about the same standard so we'll enter you. If the judges are being lenient over time the standards end up coming down a little.
We've had this happen at my rink and now the judges are toughening up and there's a lot of fails at the moment. The coaches are now pushing their standards back up and are expecting skaters to be at a higher standard to ensure they pass (even with the allowance of performing better or worse on test day). Once things starting passing regularly again, there'll be the gradual push down to find out what the minimum level is. But at my rink we work on the basis a pass is a pass.