What is StarSkate?
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.
How STARSkate works
The STARSkate program consists of figure skating skills in four areas – Skating Skills, Ice Dance, Free Skate and Interpretive. Each area has level Star 1 to Gold (and Diamond for dance).
The Fergus Skating Club divides the star levels into two programs as followed:
Junior STAR (Formerly "Star 1 & 2")
- Advanced Canskate Badge 4 - 6
- Skating Skills: Star 1 and 2
- Free Skating: Star 1 and 2
- Dance: Star 1 and 2
Senior STAR (Formerly "Star 3+")
- Skating Skills: Star 3 - Gold
- Free Skating: Star 3 - Gold
- Dance: Star 3 - Diamond
- Interpretive: Star 5, Star 7, Star 9, 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 CompetitiveSkate 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 basic fundamentals of skating – edge quality, control, power and speed.
Ice Dance
Consisting of seven levels of tests, the Dance Test program teaches timing, musicality, rhythm interpretation, and 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.
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.
Artistic
The objective of the Artistic program is to encourage and develop skaters’ creativity, expression, musicality, movement, and 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.
Competitions for STARSkate Athletes
STARSkate participants love to compete! Even though a skater may choose not to participate in the Skate Canada CompetitiveSkate Program, they still want the opportunity to test their skill in a competitive situation. Skate Canada offers several opportunities to do this and many of these opportunities are available right here at the Fergus Skating Club. Please contact the Skating Director, Deb Montgomery or an FSC Board member to find out about Team Fergus.