Test day....?

Question

im a figure skater and im currently skating in the isi program. im rly not that bad, my coach and some of the others are actually quite impressed at how fast im progressing. my only problem is that on the test days i get sooo nervous and i cant spin right no matter wut. the bad thing is that right after the tests i can do it just fine. its sooo frustrating. basically all im trying to ask is does anyone have any tips that they know or use on their test days to keep their nerves down?

Answer 1

i always get very nervous on tests, but on in competitions... weird. Okay. first make sure you get a good warm up. if they don't give u warm up time try and get to a freestyle/public session sometime that day. Don't try to ignore the judges, somebody told be that once and the judges failed me because I did not present to them.

pretend they are your best friends. they really do want you to pass. give them a good reason to pass you!

good luck!

Answer 2

im not in isi. so i dont know what kind of tests you take.

but when im taking moves tests and freestyle tests for usfsa, its actually quite relaxing for me. very different from competitions. i would just remember that you can do the stuff, and even if you might fall or mess up, if you do everything else good the judges won't care.

Answer 3

dpnt think it  is a test just think of it as practice tell your coach to not call it a test just take it out of your mind and think of a happy place plus if you fall just get back up and if you dont pass there will be more chances dont worry thats what i do on my tests and competitions

Good luck and God bless

Answer 4

I'm in ISI too, and I actually have my Freestyle 2 test today! I'm nervous, because my one-foot spin sucks and my dance step is too fast! The only thing I can say is that if you don't pass, you can always go for another session of that level. This is my 3rd Freestyle 2 session and I think I might need another one!

Don't be nervous! You can always try again!

Good luck!!!

Answer 5

Practice doing "tests" with your coach.  First do an off ice warm up as you would do on test day.  Then do a five minute warm up on the ice.  Take a short break, get a drink of water and talk with your coach as you would right before a test.  Then have her be a judge and judge your test program.  Some skating clubs even have judges available for consultation so you could even check that out.  That way you could get used to skating in front of a judge.  And deep breaths also work.  Breath in for 3 counts and then out for 3 until you feel more relaxed.  Make sure you don't rush yourself on test day and remind yourself that you can only do one thing at a time.  Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Uggg, I hear you!  I have 2 moves tests coming up tomorrow and I've been freaking out all week!

Usually with my group lesson classes, I really structure the last class prior to testing.  The week before, we run through everything on the test, in order, and I ask if anyone has questions or anything they need to go over again.  On the day of the test, I warm everyone up by going through the test again.  Again, I ask if anyone needs any last minute pointers and then I announce, "Okay, this is it," and we do the actual test.  By that point, I pretty much already know if someone can perform all the elements or not, but they've already had a few "pre-tests" to shake off some of the nerves and I don't treat the group lesson tests like they're the "end all."  Of course it's your goal to pass, but I don't think skaters need the added pressure of creating drama over the test being so official.  If a skater performed something just fine a few minutes ago in warm up, but has a rough time during the test, I take that into consideration.  It's obvioulsy not that they can't do it, they are probably just nervous.  Now, if they couldn't do it 3 weeks ago and still can't do it on test day....that's a different story! :)  

You could probably do this on your own too.  Go through all of your elements, in order, and critique yourself or get a friend, coach, parent who can tell you what you need to fix.  Go over the test in your head too.  You want it to feel like second nature so when you get to the test, it's no big deal.  Envision yourself taking the test and skating it perfectly.  Go into the test with a positive outlook and that you're totally going to nail the test.  Get a good night's sleep prior to you test, relax and remember, you've prepared this long for it, so you wouldn't be testing if you weren't ready.  On test day, warm up your elements, and maybe start with what you're most worried about so that if you run out of time to warm up everything, the things you're confident in don't need as much attention.  Relax, take deep breaths....and don't forget to breathe...I do...and have FUN with it.  Most likely, you'll pass, right?  You've been working hard on everything, so don't sweat it!  :)  Good luck!

Answer 7

Don't over think things, I know that a lot of the time if you do something well, then sometimes it is not in front of the judes or your coach. But just keep practicing and don't over think. You can do these things, don't forget it!