Prepreliminary Moves in the field Test?

Question

I know what moves I have to do for the test, but what about the extra stuff? This is my first test. What do you wear? When you are done with one part of the test, do you wait for the judges to tell you to move on or what? Do the judges talk? Do you bow/curtsy at the end? Basically, just walk me through what you do, the more details, the better. (I can do the moves, I just want to know about the testing)

Answer 1

Wear a plain dress.  Nothing with a lot of embellishments.  In some tests, the judges don't mind if you keep your warmup sweater on, which should also be fairly plain.  In a way, it's like competition -- you want your hair up, you want to look put together....no big holes in your tights, etc., yet it's less fancy than a competition.  You're not out there for flash, you're out there for the technical side of skating.

When you have completed a pattern, hold your ending pose for a count of 3-5.  Then go to where you would start your next pattern.  The judges will usually look up at you and nod when they want you to start.    The judges don't really talk to you, unless they call you over to them.  They may have a question or they may ask you to re-skate something.  At the end, you will know you're done because you have skated all your patterns (go in exact order that they're in the rule book because that is the order the judges will expect)....ask your coach, but sometimes it's either nice to just skate up to the judges and say thank you...or if your coach doesn't want you approaching them, after your last pattern, if they've motioned to you that you're set to go, you can always just say 'thank you' before getting off the ice.

Testing can be a little more nerve racking because for moves, there's no music.  It's just you and the sound of your blades...so the judges can hear if you're really hitting those edges.  Good luck!

Answer 2

Congrats on moving to your first formal test!

First and formost you DO have a coach right? Cause your coach should be preparing you for this as he/she will be there presenting you to the judges. NOBODY goes alone! You will depending where you test have an application parents or you and your coach need to fill out. If you belong to a club and this rink hosting the test isnt part of your club, you need a permission slip from your club sent along with your signed application, fees to the test host club.

1) you need a black plain one piece skating outfit, and a skating type jacket that you feel comfortable skating in if the rink is cold  or pant outfit for boys, no pants for girls, girls usually put hair in a bun no side bangs in the face allowed. Look almost like a traditional ballerina but in black.

2) You will get a 3 min warmup right before your test. your coach will go over silently with you any last minute suggestions and words of wisdom. You will present yourself to the judges when it is time to start your test on the ice, they usually ask what is your name etc.

3)You will begin the test as instructed by your coach while in practice before you even take the test. The test goes in order. Sometimes the judges will tell you to begin each part of the test pattern, So you will stop the test after each part to get confirmation from the judges to begin the next pattern. You will have 3 judges on a panel and up to two other testing skaters placed on your testing session at the same time. One judge will be assigned to each of you. You will be performing the whole test with these skaters with you. The three of you will have a circle each to do the Waltz Eights on. So get used to all of the circles in your rink to do them even an imagianary circle just in case.

4)Remember that you will not be skating your personal best the day of your test. No one does, and you will be nervous so on your coaches part he/she should be sending you to test when you are skating all of the patterns above test level.

I dont know if your coach ever told you what the judges look for each part of the test but here it is

Forward perimeter Stroking - Primary Focus power

                                                Secondary Focus  extention

Basic Consecutive Edges Forward/backward inside and outside edges - Primary Focus Edge Quality

Forward right and Left Spirals - primary Focus - Extention Hip height or higher

Waltz Eight - Primary Focus - Edge Quality

Remember the purpose of this test is to encoruge beginning skaters to learn the fundermentals of ice skating. No great deal of technical ability, carriage or flow is expected. The Test candidate must show knowledge of the steps, fairly good edges and some evedence of good form.

4)Test will be marked Pass or Retry with comments on how you did and what can be done better from the judge on each part of the test  it is to skate the weak or mistake portion of the test and they feel that a reskate of this one element is  to pass you. The Judge in Charge may request a reskate of one part of the test if only one element needs to be reskated which doesnt mean you failed.

You will get a copy of your test to take home.

5) a couple of monthes from the time you took the test and passed you will get a certificate from the USFSA and home club.

This is what a judges test form looks like for a pre-preliminary MIF test

http://www.usfsa.org/content/JP_MF-Pre%2...

How the Moves-in-the-Field Test will be Conducted  

Moves tests are usually performed in front of a panel of 3 judges (Note that in some cases, PrePreliminary and Preliminary tests may be judged by a single judge).  

When the judges are ready, an announcer will call out the candidate's name and test level. The skater(s) should approach the judges to await instructions.  For most tests, each skater will get exclusive use of the ice during her or his test.  In some cases (i.e. when time is short, and enough judges are available), two skaters will skate at the same time, with each one watched by a different panel of judges.  If this is the case,  they usually will start at diagonally opposite corners of the rink, and “follow each other around”.  

Usually, the judges will instruct the skaters to go directly to the starting point for the “next” element, whenever they finish an element.  The skater should then await a nod, wave, or similar sign from the judge-in-charge before actually starting to skate the next element.  It is always permissible to approach the judges and ask what the next element is, if you should happen to forget…  

Testing requires that the elements must be skated in the proper order.  The judge-in-charge may ask you to stop and restart on the proper element, if you should happen to start in the wrong order.  You are allowed to do this one time without penalty.  If more than once, the judges are supposed to deduct 0.1 from the mark they would otherwise have given

When all elements of the test are completed, the skater should stay on the ice until dismissed by the judges. On occasion, the judges will ask the skater to repeat an element which may have been performed less than adequately during the program.

When the skater is finished, the judges will complete the marking of their papers, which will be compiled and turned over to the Pro when all skaters in the group have finished.  

For all tests except Pre-Preliminary,  you will receive a numeric marking. The mark will be a sum of the markings for each individual element, and will be compared against a number called the “passing total”, which is printed on the test sheet.  The "Passing Total" is the number which your  totalled test marks must meet or exceed in order for you to "pass" the test. Each component may be individually higher or lower than the "passing average" so long as the total meets the required "passing total".  

In the event of a final marking of "Retry", the skater must wait for a minimum of 28 days before retaking the test

Some hints about skating the Moves  

During a Moves in the Field test, judges expect that the elements will be skated with good edges, control, flow, extension, carriage, and rhythm.

Skaters should strive for an effortless, flowing and graceful execution of the elements. The skater's upper body should be upright, with arms held gracefully.  The freeleg should extend with toe pointed during stroking.

Moves should be started from a standing, stationary position, with a maximum of 7 introductory steps, unless otherwise specified in the test description

The patterns shown in the diagrams represent the desired “shape” of the element. Judges will care that your turns are placed in the proper place on the lobes, etc. This shows that you are able to control your edge and hold it in a stable manner when required to do so. Many of the elements allow a varied number of turns or lobes, but if so, you should skate within the range specified.  

The most important thing to remember in skating the elements is that those characteristics noted as focus items must be demonstrated in order to get a good mark on the element.  Skating  beautifully shaped, perfectly edged 3-turns on the Preliminary "Forward Power 3 -Turns" will probably get you a better mark than if they're warped and scratchy, but if they're not done with good power they still won't pass…

Answer 3

Kate B's coach was right it is considered more "professional" to wear a solid colored plain but nice dress and to take off coats and gloves like a competition.

Additionally, in all the tests I have seen the skaters' coaches have taught them a sort of routine that incorporates all of the moves and somethings in between to get them from one move to the next move.  It isn't like a freeskate to music but it is a routine.

Do you not have a coach?  Not only is it her/his job to tell you all this - and more - but to make up the routine and get you ready to take a test.

You can test and choreography it yourself but the judges will not tell you what they want to see next or if you missed something.  

If you do something and they didn't quite see it they do sometimes ask you to repeat it in isolation of the routine but that doesn't happen enough to rely on it.

If your coach hasn't gotten you ready you need a coach.  If you don't have a coach see if someone will take you on for just a couple of session to get through the test.

The simplest thing I can say is that with the pre-preliminary test you are mostly getting your feet wet so that you know what to expect from testing.  As in this is a very easy test and while you should take it seriously it isn't about skating as much as psychology.

Good luck on it!

Answer 4

My daughter took the test a few weeks ago.  Her coach told her to wear a solid color, long-sleeved, unadorned skating dress in a dark color.  She also wore one of the nice jackets made for figure skaters, (GK-Elite) so the dress didn't even end up showing much.  The skaters were allowed to wear their jackets and gloves during the test because it was so cold.  Most girls had their hair in a bun and wore makeup, as in a competition.   Many of them wore sparkly, competition style dresses, except for my daughter who wore the plain dress, as instructed by her coach.  

There were two judges, and two skaters tested at the same time, with one judge assigned to each skater.  The judge will tell you exactly what to do.  You don't need to curtsy.  Some of the girls were asked to repeat something, so the judges were definitely giving them a second chance so that they could pass the test.  You have to wait a short while to get the result and find out if you passed.

It really turned out not to be as intimidating as it sounds.  My daughter was anxious beforehand, but she passed, and I think she'll be much more relaxed at her next test.  

Good luck!