Test Chair Handbook Responsibilities of Club Test Chair: Skate Canada Rules and Technical Information Regarding Test Sessions:

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1 Test Chair Handbook Responsibilities of Club Test Chair: Know Skate Canada Rules and Technical Guidelines regarding procedures for test session. Know Section local rules applicable to test day organization/management. Determine the need for tests via the club coaches. Set up test days. Collect test applications and test fees. Ensure that skaters are eligible for the tests (prerequisite test requirements passed). Obtain evaluators for tests. Prepare test sheets and test summary sheets, available for download from the member s only section of the Skate Canada website. Provide a room for officials with refreshments. Arrange for payments of evaluators expenses for travel, accommodations and meals. Encourage club members to trial evaluate. Liaise with club coaches and the club executive. Maintain a record keeping system for test records of skaters in your club. In larger skating clubs it is advisable to form a Test Committee. The Test Chair would chair the Committee and delegate responsibilities such as preparing test sheets, providing food, music, ice captain, runner to other committee members. The Test Chair should ensure that jobs get done if he or she is not personally responsible. Skate Canada Rules and Technical Information Regarding Test Sessions: SC Members Only Technical & Programs Rules Official Rule Book Technical Handbook Section 4000 page Skate Canada Test System: A basic understanding of the Skate Canada STARSkate program is an asset to a Test Chair. It is not necessary to know the detailed procedures for conducting tests as this is the responsibility of the evaluators. However, an understanding of the different types of tests and their general requirements is helpful particularly to the new Test Chair. Prerequisites for Skate Canada Tests: The Skate Canada Technical Handbook states that the Test Chair shall not permit a skater to participate in a test session unless: 1. that skater has a current registration number. 2. All eligibility requirements have been verified prior to test day. A candidate for a test must have passed all the preceding tests in the same discipline. Credit for tests completed will be given regardless of any subsequent changes in the test system. Free skating test parts can be taken individually and/or in any order. The candidate must have passed the previous elements portion in order to take the next elements portion and similarly the previous free program in order to take the next free program. The Exception to this is:

2 A candidate may try the Gold free skating test without passing the previous free skating tests. The candidate must pay the appropriate fee for challenging the Gold test as outlined in the Notice Board. Dances can be tried in any order. A candidate must pass the minimum number of the dances in a dance test before progressing to the next level. The Exceptions to this are: (1) A candidate may try all the Pattern dance tests without trying any of the Creative Dance tests. (b) A candidate may try the Gold Pattern Dances without passing the previous pattern dance tests. The candidate must pay the appropriate fee for challenging the Gold test as outlined in the Notice Board. Test Fees: The fee for each test can be found in the Skate Canada Notice Board SC Members Only Technical & Programs Rules Official Rule Book Notice Board The fee for each test can also be found in: SC Members Only Technical & Programs Test Sheets Test codes and fees Evaluators: The Test Chair should have on hand the most current list of Judges and Evaluators. Only Evaluators on this list are permitted to be used for test days. You must contact the Section Judge/Evaluator Chair if you require a High level Evaluator (Junior Silver Gold). Interpretive Tests require a High Level Evaluator and should be scheduled at High Level Test Days. The Test Chair is permitted to contact a Low level Judge/Evaluator for tests Preliminary - Senior Bronze. Not all evaluators are qualified in every discipline, so check carefully before calling. Requests for Evaluators from other Sections must be made through the SCNL Judge/Evaluator Chair. How To Set Up A Test Session: Tests can be conducted in two ways: Individual Club test days or Regional test days. A Regional test day is held when two or more clubs in an area hold a joint test day. Due to the increasing number of tests and lack of available evaluators, clubs usually get together and run regional test days to pool resources. Regional Test Days reduce the cost of ice rental and expenses of Officials. A skater may attempt each test (or test part) one time per test session. A test session is a period of time during which tests are evaluated. A test session can be a few hours on the same day in one rink or it can be divided over several days and ice surfaces. Before deciding on the dates for holding tests, access a list of the Section s competitions for the coming year, and avoid these dates to ensure that evaluators/judges are more readily available. Ask the Club Coaches for a list of all possible tests, approximately four weeks prior to the test day. Determine the amount of ice time required and the number and qualifications of evaluators needed for each type of test. Decide time of day to run tests that will allow for evaluator availability (after 5 p.m. or weekends for working people). Contact evaluators well in advance of the test day. It is advisable to use different evaluators from a variety of clubs to provide skaters with an opportunity to have different viewpoints. It is helpful to

3 vary those officials from test day to test day to allow for the development of new evaluators and to prevent overuse and fatigue in the others. At least two weeks before tests are to be held, post a notice listing: the tests to be held, the date of the tests and the closing date for applications. A skater who withdraws within fourteen days of the time announced for the test shall be liable for the test fee and the skater s name is entered on the Test Summary Sheet as not tried. The test is considered as a retry or failed test. The above shall not apply if the Test Chair at the relevant session is satisfied that illness or accident necessitated the withdrawal. Design a schedule that allows for floods and coaches and officials breaks. If coaches have many students or are partnering, they need time to recuperate, and the officials need time to prepare for the next events. Inform the evaluators of the tests to be taken (send them a schedule when available), location of the arena and how expenses will be covered. Inquire if the evaluator will require accommodations and if they have any special dietary requirements. Download Test Sheets from the Members Only section of the Skate Canada Website: (SC Members Only Technical & Programs Test Sheets). Test Sheets change so make sure you have most current sheets from the Skate Canada Website. Obtain a master set of test sheets to keep on hand for photocopying. If a photocopier is not available at the rink during test day, make sure you have extra tests on hand. Test sheets for all evaluators should also be prepared in advance. Collect test fees from candidates. Arrange for Test Summary Sheets to be prepared prior to test day. The codes for completing the Test Summary Sheet, the Test Summary Sheet and Summary of Test Fees sheet can be downloaded from the SC Website: SC Members Only Technical & Programs Test Sheets Clipboards should be provided for evaluators. Arrange for a warm room with refreshments for officials. Coffee/tea or hot chocolate and soup/sandwiches should be available to officials during breaks. If an evening session is being run, with officials coming in over the supper hour, a meal should be provided. Appoint an ice captain to inform skaters when and where they are to go for warm-up and test. Arrange for a volunteer to play music for freeskate programs, interpretive and dance tests. Arrange for periodic floods with the arena staff. Remember to have the evaluators initial all Test Summary Sheets at the end of the test day. Thank all of the officials and other volunteers who have helped with test day. Arrange for payment of evaluators expenses for travel, accommodation and meals (as applicable). See the Notice Board at the front of the Rule Book for the current reimbursement rate for mileage. Expense Claim Form can be downloaded from the Skate Canada Website. SC Members Only Members Officials Expense Claim Form The club is responsible for the expenses of the evaluators. Payment should cover actual receipted expenses (or mileage) only, as evaluators are volunteers of Skate Canada.

4 Procedures for Reporting Tests to National Office: Within 3 weeks of the test day, the follow info must be sent to Skate Canada: Test Summary Sheets (initialed by the evaluator) A Test Summary Sheet must be completed for all tests. When completing Test Summary Sheets, a test day number must be assigned to each test day hosted by the club during the membership year. Starting with 1 for the first test day held after September 1st, 2 for the second and so on. A sheet number must also be assigned in sequential numbers for each test summary sheet used at any given test session. The official must initial the results of each test in order to validate the summary sheet. It is advisable to use a separate summary sheet for each evaluator s tests if there are a large number of tests being taken. The Test Summary Sheet contains boxes for the judges marks for the Competitive Singles Tests, Competitive Pair Tests and Competitive Dance Tests. The referee must initial the results of each test in order to validate the test results. Withdrawal of Candidate : A candidate who withdraws within fourteen days of the time announced for the test shall be liable for the test fee. A line is drawn through the entry and not tried or withdrawn is written. The test is marked a retry and the Skate Canada fee must be paid unless due to illness or injury. This fee shall be submitted with the fees for the tests tried. This test should be initialed on the summary sheet. If a higher test was conditional on passing a lower test and the skater did not pass the lower test, no fee is paid for the higher test. Cross out the higher test and write in Conditional. This test should be initialed on the summary sheet. Within three weeks after Test Day, send Test Summary Sheets, Summary of Test Fees Sheet and Test Fees to Skate Canada. Send a copy of Summary Sheets to the Section Judge/Evaluator Chair. Keep a copy of the Summary Sheets and tops of Test Sheets on file at Host Club. Scheduling a Test Session: The Test Chair should have all test applications at least two weeks before the test day. At this time the schedule should be finalized and posted in the club. Skaters, coaches and evaluator(s) should be informed of the schedule. Tests should generally be scheduled from lowest to highest (e.g. Preliminary to Gold) to accommodate tests which are conditional upon passing a prerequisite test. There is no rule requiring this and a club may set up the schedule to suit its needs. One skater performs all three exercises or elements in a skills or freeskate test before the testing of another candidate begins Elements in isolation must be skated prior to the skating of the free programs. Allow enough time for resurfacing the ice.

5 Estimated time required for each Test (these times do not include warm ups): Skating Skills Tests: Preliminary 5 minutes Junior Bronze 6 minutes Senior Bronze 6 minutes Junior Silver 6 minutes Senior Silver 6 minutes Gold 7 minutes Free Skate Tests: Preliminary Elements/ Program 15 minutes / minutes Junior Bronze Elements/ Program 15 minutes / minutes Senior Bronze Elements/ Program 18 minutes / minutes Junior Silver Elements/ Program 20 minutes / minutes Senior Silver Elements/ Program 20 minutes / minutes Gold Elements/ Program 20 minutes / 6.0 minutes Dance Tests: Preliminary & Junior Bronze 2.0 minutes per dance Senior Bronze to Diamond 4.0 minutes per dance Preliminary Creative Dance 3.5 minutes per dance Bronze Creative Dance 3.5 minutes per dance Silver Creative Dance 4.0 minutes per dance Gold Creative Dance 4.5 minutes per dance Interpretive Tests: All Introductory, Bronze, Silver and Gold are 4.0 minutes. Warm-ups: Dance: 5-10 minutes to warm-up each dance. If one partner is skating with many candidates, allow more warm-up time. Not more than 5-6 skaters on the ice at the same time. Skills: 5 minutes. Freeskate Elements: 10 minutes. One skater performs on test while the other practices and so on. Freeskate Programs: 5 minutes. Not more than 8 skaters on the ice at the same time. Double Panelling Tests: Two or more evaluators on the ice at the same time will reduce the required time and is recommended where there are several of the same skills or freeskate tests being taken. Two evaluators may be used alternately for dance and skills tests to save time. Evaluator #1 observes Skater #1. While Evaluator #1 is writing comments, Evaluator #2 observes Skater #2. This allows for one skater to go right after another, resulting in less time for the test session. Two evaluators may be used simultaneously for dance tests, but careful planning is necessary or you may find the same person is required as a partner at both ends of the rink at the same time!

6 Test Retry Policy : A Test Session is a period of time during which tests are evaluated. A test session can be a few hours on the same day in one rink or it can be divided over several days and ice surfaces. Updated: May 2013