Competition levels
Amateur competition
Regional and national
The United States has some of the strongest amateur competition in the world and one of the most intricate structures of regional and national competition. Eligible singles skaters in the United States are divided by the USFSA into the following levels: pre-preliminary, preliminary, prejuvenile, juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior, and senior. Skaters advance to the next level only when they have passed both the moves in the field test and the freestyle test prescribed for each level. The juvenile-level freestyle test requires a single axel among other elements, while the senior requires four different doubles or triples. Pairs and dance levels include preliminary, juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior, and senior. Senior-level pairs skaters are required to include two synchronized double jumps, a pair spin, a double throw jump, and one double twist lift in their test program. Solo dance tests are divided into preliminary, prebronze, bronze, presilver, silver, pregold, and gold. Senior international dance competitors must pass 13 dance tests and master 31 different dances, from the relatively simple Dutch waltz to the very difficult tango romantica. Synchronized skating teams are divided into preliminary, juvenile, intermediate, novice, junior, and senior levels. The entire team, including alternates, is credited if the team earns passing marks on a test.
In the United States many competitions are held throughout the year for skaters of all levels. These competitions are sanctioned by the USFSA, and the participants and their coaches must be members of that organization. The Ice Skating Institute (ISI) also holds amateur competitions, but, unlike the USFSA, which is the organization for those with interest in Olympic-level or world-level competition, the ISI focuses on the recreational aspect of skating. Its competitions seek to reward all participants.
For USFSA amateur competition the United States is divided into three sections—Eastern, Midwestern, and Pacific Coast. Each section is further split into three regions. Nine regional competitions are held each fall, and the top four skaters from each discipline (men’s, women’s, pairs, dance) advance to one of three sectionals (three regions are combined into one section). The top four skaters in the novice, junior, and senior events at each sectional competition progress to the U.S. nationals. These events contain a minimum of 12 qualifying skaters (for singles skating), plus those who have been granted byes for medical reasons or because they have done well at national-level competitions in the past season.
The top four juvenile and intermediate skaters from each discipline at each regional competition advance directly to junior nationals rather than going to sectionals or senior nationals. The winners at all national competitions must move up to the next level the following season. The winners of the senior-level singles, pairs, or dance, however, can remain to defend their titles as many times as they choose.
USFSA officials select the world team at senior nationals. The team represents the United States at the world championships and other international events throughout the year. The world team is usually composed of the top three performers at the senior level from each discipline, but the number of skaters who actually attend the championships depends on the U.S. team’s performance at the world championship held the previous calendar year. In Olympic years the Olympic team is also chosen at nationals.
Skate Canada is the ISU member organization overseeing figure skating in Canada. It qualifies judges, provides financial support for skaters, and conducts training for coaches. Skate Canada also holds junior and senior nationals for its top skaters, who qualify for national competition in a manner similar to that in the United States.
The Russian Figure Skating Federation is composed of more than 40 clubs, each with its own separate championships. The clubs are then split into several regions. To gain a berth at the Russian nationals, skaters must acquire a high number of competition points and finish in a high position in the qualifying regional championships. The top skaters competing at nationals are then considered by the federation for the Russian junior and senior world teams. The federation also has training programs for judges and coaches and establishes criteria for the 10 levels of advanced skaters. Junior and senior competitors must pass several tests in their respective levels before they can be considered a “master of the sport.”
The Japan Skating Federation is charged with developing eligible skaters, hosting coaching programs, and training judges. The country is split into six regions, and senior skaters (age 15 and up) must finish high in the standings to advance to the eastern or western sectionals. They must have reached the seventh test level on a scale of one to eight. Generally, 30 skaters in each discipline compete at the sectionals, with the top-half finishers moving on to nationals, where the world team is ultimately selected. Japan also holds separate national championships for skaters in the levels of novice A (ages 11 and 12), novice B (10 and younger), and juniors (ages 13–18).
The National Ice Skating Association of Great Britain (NISA) governs eligible skating in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1879, the association organizes tests for skaters and oversees competitions for figure skating, ice dancing, synchronized team skating, speed skating, and recreational skating. Figure skaters who hope to become Olympians must complete a 10-stage Skate UK program before they are eligible to take their first novice test in such disciplines as freestyle and dance. Novice skaters then become eligible to advance to junior status and finally senior.
To qualify for the British nationals, the NISA has set up 10 qualifying events for primary, junior, and senior skaters. Singles skaters must compete in a minimum of three events, while dance and pairs must compete in two events. At each competition the top 12 skaters are awarded points in descending order. When all 10 qualifying series events have concluded, the top 12 skaters in each discipline advance to primary, junior, and senior nationals.
Ice Skating Australia is the ISU member organization governing figure skating in Australia. The country is divided into five skating regions, each with its own regional championships. The top four from each discipline advance to nationals, at which the junior and senior world teams are selected. Ice Skating Australia also promotes a learn-to-skate program in ice rinks throughout the country. Skaters advance through preliminary, elementary, primary, novice, junior, and senior levels.
International competition
World championships (worlds)
Worlds are held annually, hosted by ISU member countries throughout the world. The number of skaters sent by each nation is based on the team’s performance from the previous year. A country’s final placements (in men’s, women’s, pairs, or dance) must total 11 or less in order for it to send three skaters in that discipline the next year. Otherwise, the country will be able to send one or two skaters. Not all countries automatically qualify to send even one skater, however, but skaters who would like to qualify may enter particular fall competitions that allow them to attend the world championships for that year if they place in the top six. In 1999 the ISU introduced a scoring change at worlds by instituting a qualifying round for the men’s and women’s singles events. Each skater performs a long program first. The top 30 advance to the second round—the short program—and then the final 24 compete another long program in the final round. However, all three performances count toward the final result. The first phase counts for 20 percent, the second phase (short program) 30 percent, and the final phase (free skate) 50 percent. Each team accumulates points in each discipline on the basis of order of finish. The points gained for each discipline determine how many skaters from that discipline the country is permitted to send the following year.
Junior worlds are held each year for the top junior- and certain senior-level skaters from ISU members countries. These skaters have not yet competed at the world championships and must be under 19 (for singles) or 21 (dance and pairs).
Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix
Since the early 1990s the ISU has sponsored yearly Grand Prix and Junior Grand Prix events for the world’s top skaters. The Grand Prix consists of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada, Sparkassen Cup on Ice, Trophée Lalique, Cup of Russia, and NHK Trophy. Each event includes no more than 12 (singles events) or 10 (pairs events) entrants. Skaters who finished in the top six positions at the previous world championships are seeded at each event, and other top-level skaters from ISU member countries are also invited. Skaters earn money and points for each event they enter. Each of these skaters must enter at least two but no more than three events. Those placing in the top six from all the events will enter the Grand Prix Final, where each skater receives prize money based on final placement.
The Junior Grand Prix series gives international competition experience to promising future world-level skaters. Skaters are invited to participate by their home countries, and they must be under 19 (singles skaters) or 21 (pairs and dance) years of age when they enter. There are a total of eight events, but each skater may enter only two of them. Prize money and points are awarded for each placement, and a final event is held for the eight skaters who have accumulated the most points. Skaters who enter the Junior Grand Prix events may not enter Grand Prix events unless they participate in a different event—e.g., a singles skater who enters a pairs event at the senior level.
European and Four Continents championships
The European championships have been held since 1891 and are open to all countries in Europe. In 1948 no such restriction was stated, and two North Americans, American Dick Button and Canadian Barbara Ann Scott, both entered and won the competition as singles skaters. In Olympic years the Olympic team for those countries participating in the competition is chosen after the European championships have been completed. The Four Continents Championship was established in 1999, and participants include Australia, Canada, China, Hong Kong/China, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Mongolia, New Zealand, North Korea, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States, and Uzbekistan. The Olympic team for these countries is chosen at national competitions, however.
Olympics
Held every four years, the Olympic Games are the most prestigious championship in figure skating. The top singles, pairs, and dance teams in the world compete for gold, silver, and bronze medals in their respective disciplines. Skaters must be 15 years of age by July 1 of the previous year to be eligible for the Olympics. The number of skaters sent by each country varies on the basis of how well its skaters performed in each discipline at the world championships the previous year. Men’s, women’s, and pairs events have been held at the Olympics since 1908, but ice dancing has been an Olympic sport only since 1976. In 2011 a team event—consisting of individual female and male skaters, a skating pair, and an ice dancing couple—was added to the schedule for the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
