Skills, Tests, Achievement, Recognition – this is what STARSkate is all about!

STARSkate offers opportunities for skaters of all ages to develop fundamental figure skating skills in the areas of ice dance, skating skills, free skate, and interpretive skating. Unique in Canada, this program teaches figure skating skills in a group and/or private lesson format in a progressive and sequential manner and includes specifically designed awards and incentives. Skaters have the opportunity to take Skate Canada Tests through a nationally standardized testing system. Skaters who have mastered figure skating skills in STARSkate may also choose to pursue synchronized skating or pairs skating.

The STARSkate legacy

STARSkate has been the mainstay of figure skating in Canada for more than four decades.When you/your child registers for a STARSkate program at your local Skate Canada club, you also become a member of Skate Canada and will have access to:

• opportunities to be recognized through a nationally standardized testing system for achieving specific figure skating skills

• complimentary Gold Test pins

• invitational and interclub competitions, including the STARSkate championship stream

• specifically designed awards and incentives such as badges, tattoos, and stickers

• STARSkate Skater of the Year awards program

• Progress updates and report cards

• Special STARSkate events and club functions

• Opportunity to be talent-scouted

• Opportunity for personal growth and the development of important life skills such as goal-setting, self-discipline, confidence, time management, healthy lifestyle and coping strategies to deal with success and failure.

How STARSkate works

The STARSkate program consists of figure skating skills in four areas – Skating Skills, Ice Dance, Free Skate and Interpretive. Each area is divided into the following levels:

Primary Level Tests

• Skating Skills: Preliminary, Junior Bronze

• Free Skating: Preliminary, Junior Bronze

• Dance: Preliminary, Junior Bronze

• Interpretive: Introductory

Intermediate Level Tests

• Skating Skills: Senior Bronze, Junior Silver

• Free Skating: Senior Bronze, Junior Silver

• Dance: Senior Bronze, Junior Silver

• Interpretive: Bronze

Senior Level Tests

• Skating Skills: Senior Silver, Gold

• Free Skating: Senior Silver, Gold

• Dance: Senior Silver, Gold, Diamond

• Interpretive: Silver, Gold

What options do I have as a STARSkate Athlete?

Once a skater is in the Skate Canada STARSkate Program, there are several options. Skaters may choose to remain in the STARSkate Program, taking tests (although not mandatory) at organized test sessions and honing learned skills. Skaters may also choose to enter competitions, while still trying Skate Canada tests. Other skaters may feel that they have progressed to a point where they may wish to enter the Skate Canada Competitive Skate Program or become involved in synchronized skating, evaluating or judging, or participate as an adult or varsity member.

Skating Skills

Skating Skills are a combination of fundamental skating movements, executed on a pattern and skated solo. The basic components of all disciplines of figure skating are incorporated into the program. The movements are derived from former compulsory figures, free skating and ice dancing. The objective of the Skating Skills program is mastery of the fundamentals of skating – edge quality, control, power, and speed.

There are 6 Skating Skills tests in the STARSkate program:

• Preliminary

• Junior Bronze

• Senior Bronze

• Junior Silver

• Senior Silver

• Gold

Ice Dance

Consisting of seven levels of tests, the Dance Test program teaches timing, musicality, rhythm interpretation, structure as well as basic skating skills such as edges, flow, control, and unison.The dances in the STARSkate Program can be tried in any order but a candidate must pass the required number of dances in a dance test before proceeding to the next level. In addition to the traditional compulsory dances, there are also Creative Dances to challenge skaters’ creativity, artistry, and originality.

The Dance Tests are as follows:

• Preliminary

• Junior Bronze

• Senior Bronze

• Junior Silver

• Senior Silver

• Gold

• Diamond

Free Skate

Free skating consists of the execution of jumps, spins, footwork, field movements, and stroking, either in isolation or performed in sequence to music.

There are six Free Skating tests in the STARSkate Program:

• Preliminary

• Junior Bronze

• Senior Bronze

• Junior Silver

• Senior Silver

• Gold

Each test consists of 2 parts – Elements in Isolation and a Free Program.

Interpretive

The objective of the Interpretive program is to encourage and develop skaters’ creativity, expression, musicality, movement, interpretation of music, as well as the use of space, rhythm, line, and style. The program provides skaters with the opportunity to explore the performance aspect of skating without focusing on technical elements.

The Interpretive tests consist of skating to and interpreting a piece of music 2.0 to 3.0 minutes (+/- 10 seconds) in length. Skaters can take Interpretive tests as individuals and/or as a couple (male/female, female/female or male/male) at four levels:

• Introductory

• Bronze

• Silver

• Gold

Competitions for STARSkate Athletes

STARSkate participants love to compete! Our feedback indicates that even though a skater may choose not to participate in the Skate Canada Competitive Skate Program, they still want the opportunity to test their skill in a competition situation. Skate Canada offers several opportunities to do this.

• Club Competitions Some Clubs offer competitions for their members to compete against each other. The Club determines the categories which generally follow Skate Canada STARSkate guidelines (e.g. length of the program, category name, type of event offered, etc.) The club may also offer other creative events such as longest shoot-the-duck, similar pairs, spins, and jumps, etc.)
  
  
• STARSkate Interclub Competitions These are events involving several Clubs in the same region or area. The competition categories offered generally fall in line with the applicable Skate Canada Section specifications so that all Interclubs within the Section are standardized. The STARSkate Championship circuit provides opportunities for skaters who want to remain in the STARSkate program but also want to have the challenge of competing at a Sectional level in a credible, nationally standardized event.
  
  
• Invitational Competitions These are events coordinated by a Section or Club(s) and offered, generally, to STARSkaters and competitive skaters. Most events fall within Skate Canada’s specifications regarding program length and eligibility to compete. For more information contact the hosting Section/Club or check out their website.

MHSC Program Descriptions

JUNIOR STARSKATE
Junior STARSkate program is an in-between program for Skaters transitioning from STARGroup, full group lessons to the Senior STARSkate program, which is based on private lessons and individualized work.

• JR STARSkate runs during STARSkate ice slots and will provide skaters with a 30-minute group lesson, and then Skaters will be on their own to work on what they learnt in group, skills, programs and have a private lesson with the Coaches.
• Skate Canada’s STARSkate program is designed to work with skaters through the Skate Canada STARSkate program focusing on figure skating skills in four areas – Skating Skills, Ice Dance, Free Skate and Artistic.
• Each area is divided into levels; Primary level, Intermediate level and Senior level tests. Each skater has the opportunity to test each level during in house test days or at organized test sessions and enter various competitions throughout Alberta or neighbouring provinces while still working on the STAR levels.

SENIOR STARSKATE
Senior STARSkate is the upper stage figure skating group at MHSC and it is designed to continue to work with skaters through the Skate Canada STARSkate program focusing on figure skating skills in four areas – Skating Skills, Ice Dance, Free Skate and Artistic independently.

• Each area is divided into levels; Primary level, Intermediate level and Senior level tests. Each skater has the opportunity to test each level during in house test days or at organized test sessions, enter various competitions throughout Alberta or neighbouring provinces while still working on the STAR levels.
• Senior STARSkate is 100% independent and Skaters are responsible for booking private lessons with their Coach directly.
• Skaters and their parents/guardians are recommended to sit down with their Coach(s) and create a yearly plan. This plan will include covering topics like private lesson fees, which levels will be focused on this season, testing goals, competition selections if your Skater is choosing to compete, decided which training days the Skater will be receiving private lessons and from which Coach. Some Skaters may choose to work with multiple Coaches during a season, setting one as a primary Coach and the others to focused specific training goals. For example, jumps or for the artistic portions of their Skate programs are a different Coach than their primary.