Tag Archives: ice
Testing & competing with the World Figure Sport Society
This organization runs the annual World Figure & Fancy Skating Championship & Festival as well as numerous workshops. Upcoming events that offer figures are included on this site’s calendar. WFS exams differ from ISI and USFSA tests in that the … Continue reading
Testing & competing with US Figure Skating (USFSA)
USFSA figure tests were the standard for many years, and are still the most commonly discussed. They are still on the books and can be offered by request. You have to take all the figures in a test at once … Continue reading
Overview of testing & competing on ice
Yes, you can still take tests and compete in figures! When testing or competing figures, you can expect to skate your figure(s) on a sheet of clean ice while one or more people watch you. When you’ve finished, the judges … Continue reading
What if I don’t have a scribe?
You can pace out a circle using bladelengths or steps. Mark the center of your eight and measure eight to ten bladelengths or about four paces. Make a mark. This is the center of your circle. Measure eight to ten … Continue reading
How big should my circles be?
Ice In general, the diameter of the circle should be approximately three times the height of the skater. To set your scribe to the right length, calculate your height in inches and multiply by 1.5. A skater who is five … Continue reading
There are no patch sessions near me! How can I do figures?
Look for poorly attended freestyle and public skating sessions. These may be early in the morning or in the middle of the day, depending on the time of year and your local rink culture. Then, go and do figures. The … Continue reading
Blades for figures: Where to get them
Special blades designed specifically for figures are no longer made, but some stores still have old ones in stock. If your local skate shop has been around a while, it may be worth asking if they still have any. Here … Continue reading
Blades for figures: Notes and specifications
Patch blades (blades that are designed specifically for figures) are not the same as freestyle blades. They lack the bottom toe pick and that they are sharpened to a much flatter radius of hollow. Both of these are modifications that … Continue reading
Boots for figures on ice
Any old boots should work. The trick is that they need to be soft enough to let your ankle bend from side to side. New, stiff freestyle boots don’t allow this. Back in the day, people used to use their … Continue reading
Equipment for figures
You don’t have to have special skates for figures, but they can help you skate them better. It used to be that every ice skater had two pairs of skates, one for figures and the other for freestyle, and a … Continue reading