*Note: Please read Lesson 2 and Lesson 3 so you understand test levels for skaters BEFORE you try to read and understand this page about competition structure.
US Competitions - Qualifying vs. Non-Qualifying
This is how the USA competition system works. Other countries are very similar.
In the USFSA competition structure, there are 2 categories of competition. Most of the competitions throughout the year are called "non-qualifying" or "local" competitions. Usually skating clubs host at least one or more of these "friendly" competitions every year, so there's always a competition going on somewhere each weekend at some ice rink.
"Qualifying" competitions includes Regionals and Sectionals which are considered to be the qualifying events or the "elimination rounds" for the US National Championships.
There are three different types of National Championship competitions:
In the USFSA competition structure, there are 2 categories of competition. Most of the competitions throughout the year are called "non-qualifying" or "local" competitions. Usually skating clubs host at least one or more of these "friendly" competitions every year, so there's always a competition going on somewhere each weekend at some ice rink.
"Qualifying" competitions includes Regionals and Sectionals which are considered to be the qualifying events or the "elimination rounds" for the US National Championships.
There are three different types of National Championship competitions:
- US Championships - (only this competition leads to the Olympics)
- US Adult Championships - (must be 21 years or older)
- US Synchronized Skating Championships
Path to the Olympics
The path to the Olympic Winter Games happens in three steps:
1. Regionals
2. Sectionals
3. National Championship
1. Regionals
2. Sectionals
3. National Championship
Pacific Coast Section | Midwestern Section | Eastern Section | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Northwest Pacific | Central Pacific | Southwest Pacific | Southwestern | Upper Great Lakes | Eastern Great Lakes | South Atlantic | North Atlantic | New England |
Alaska Idaho Montana Oregon Washington Wyoming |
California Hawaii Nevada Utah |
Arizona California |
Arkansas Colorado Kansas Louisiana Nebraska New Mexico Oklahoma Texas |
Illinois Iowa Michigan Minnesota Missouri North Dakota South Dakota Wisconsin |
Alabama Indiana Kentucky Michigan Mississippi Ohio Tennessee |
Delaware Florida Georgia Maryland North Carolina Pennsylvania South Carolina Virginia West Virginia |
New Jersey New York |
Connecticut Maine Massachusetts New Hampshire Rhode Island Vermont |
1. Regional Competitions
There are 9 regional competitions: Northwest Pacific, Central Pacific, Southwest Pacific, Southwestern, Upper Great Lakes, Eastern Great Lakes, South Atlantic, North Atlantic, and New England.
This is the very first step on the path to the Olympics.
There is no requirement other than test level (and some age restrictions) for entering into a Regional competition. Any eligible USFSA skater of the appropriate test level may enter his or her region's Regional Competition.
The application is very long and usually requires proof of age (birth certificate) and test level.
Skaters who place well enough to qualify for advancement to Sectionals will probably be expected to sign up and pay on-the-spot.
Regional competitions are usually held in October each year.
Only skaters who place in the top 4 spots in their event will advance to Sectionals.
These Regional competitions are so popular (with the female skaters), they usually have several QR "qualifying rounds" just to get the amount of participants down to about 20 skaters. Then those skaters compete in the CR "championship round", which decides the top 4 skaters who advance to Sectionals. For the male skaters, they skate just as well as the girls, however there often is only 3 or 4 boys competing in an event, which means they all advance to Sectionals regardless of how they place. Boys have a huge advantage in figure skating just from the lack of participants.
This is the very first step on the path to the Olympics.
There is no requirement other than test level (and some age restrictions) for entering into a Regional competition. Any eligible USFSA skater of the appropriate test level may enter his or her region's Regional Competition.
The application is very long and usually requires proof of age (birth certificate) and test level.
Skaters who place well enough to qualify for advancement to Sectionals will probably be expected to sign up and pay on-the-spot.
Regional competitions are usually held in October each year.
Only skaters who place in the top 4 spots in their event will advance to Sectionals.
These Regional competitions are so popular (with the female skaters), they usually have several QR "qualifying rounds" just to get the amount of participants down to about 20 skaters. Then those skaters compete in the CR "championship round", which decides the top 4 skaters who advance to Sectionals. For the male skaters, they skate just as well as the girls, however there often is only 3 or 4 boys competing in an event, which means they all advance to Sectionals regardless of how they place. Boys have a huge advantage in figure skating just from the lack of participants.
2. Sectional Competitions
There are 3 sectional competitions: Pacific Coast, Midwestern, and Eastern.
Sectional competitions are usually held in November each year.
Only skaters who place in the top 4 spots in their event will advance to the US National Championships.
Age & Test Level Restrictions:
*Note: Regional and Sectional competitions are only open to skaters in test levels Juvenile thru Senior. Any skaters who have not passed the Juvenile test cannot participate.
Juvenile - age 13 or younger
Intermediate - age 17 or younger
Novice/Junior/Senior - no age restrictions
The reason they have these age limits at the Juvenile and Intermediate level is to make sure older kids move up into the Novice/Junior/Senior level eventually and don't stay in the Juvenile level in order to steal medals from younger kids competing at that level. Making a 13-year-old compete against an 18-year-old with more experience isn't fair.
If a 13-year-old is talented enough to skate in the Novice/Junior/Senior level, that's fine. They just don't want the 18+ year olds competing in the lower levels (Juvenile/Intermediate).
The biggest reason older skaters are discouraged from competing in this competitive track and instead are encouraged to compete in non-qualifying competitions is because the main reason for the Regionals/Sectionals is to choose champions for the Olympics. So a 14-year-old who started skating late and hasn't yet passed Juvenile level isn't a viable prospect for international competition. Neither are adult skaters who started skating at 20 or 26 years old etc. Instead, they are encouraged to participate in Adult competitions and try for the US Adult Championships.
*Note: The skills needed to survive and excel in these Regional/Sectional competitions are FAR ABOVE what is required in the FS test a skater takes. For example, the Juvenile FS test only requires a single axel. But skaters who compete at the Juvenile level in Regionals/Sectionals usually have all of their double jumps up to double axel. Skaters in the Intermediate level usually have double axel and at least one triple jump. Novice/Junior/Senior level do triples, even though none of the FS tests require triple jumps.
So passing FS tests is nothing compared to being a competitive figure skater attempting to qualify and move up the ranks to one day get to the Olympics or US National Championships.
Sectional competitions are usually held in November each year.
Only skaters who place in the top 4 spots in their event will advance to the US National Championships.
Age & Test Level Restrictions:
*Note: Regional and Sectional competitions are only open to skaters in test levels Juvenile thru Senior. Any skaters who have not passed the Juvenile test cannot participate.
Juvenile - age 13 or younger
Intermediate - age 17 or younger
Novice/Junior/Senior - no age restrictions
The reason they have these age limits at the Juvenile and Intermediate level is to make sure older kids move up into the Novice/Junior/Senior level eventually and don't stay in the Juvenile level in order to steal medals from younger kids competing at that level. Making a 13-year-old compete against an 18-year-old with more experience isn't fair.
If a 13-year-old is talented enough to skate in the Novice/Junior/Senior level, that's fine. They just don't want the 18+ year olds competing in the lower levels (Juvenile/Intermediate).
The biggest reason older skaters are discouraged from competing in this competitive track and instead are encouraged to compete in non-qualifying competitions is because the main reason for the Regionals/Sectionals is to choose champions for the Olympics. So a 14-year-old who started skating late and hasn't yet passed Juvenile level isn't a viable prospect for international competition. Neither are adult skaters who started skating at 20 or 26 years old etc. Instead, they are encouraged to participate in Adult competitions and try for the US Adult Championships.
*Note: The skills needed to survive and excel in these Regional/Sectional competitions are FAR ABOVE what is required in the FS test a skater takes. For example, the Juvenile FS test only requires a single axel. But skaters who compete at the Juvenile level in Regionals/Sectionals usually have all of their double jumps up to double axel. Skaters in the Intermediate level usually have double axel and at least one triple jump. Novice/Junior/Senior level do triples, even though none of the FS tests require triple jumps.
So passing FS tests is nothing compared to being a competitive figure skater attempting to qualify and move up the ranks to one day get to the Olympics or US National Championships.
3. United States Figure Skating Championships (US Nationals)
In December and January, US Nationals holds events for Juvenile, Intermediate, Novice, Junior, and Senior level skaters. The best skaters are selected at the US Championships to represent the USA at international competitions, such as the World Championships and the Olympic Winter Games.
Annually there are more than 100,000+ skaters who participate in the Basic Skills Program, 30,000+ will actively test and compete in U.S. Figure Skating-sanctioned events and only 15 skaters (3 ladies, 3 dance couples, 2 men and 2 pairs teams) will be named to the U.S. Figure Skating World and Olympic Team.
100,000+ skaters in Learn-to-Skate programs
30,000+ skaters in non-qualifying competitions/tests (pre-prelim thru pre-juve will always test in NQ competitions)
3,000 skaters compete in the 9 qualifying Regional Championships (only levels allowed are Juvenile thru Senior)
900 skaters compete in the 3 qualifying Sectional Championships (only levels allowed are Juvenile thru Senior)
300 skaters compete in the US National Championships (only levels allowed are Juvenile thru Senior)
150 skaters - top novice, junior, and senior skaters are selected for international competitions
100 skaters - top junior and senior skaters are selected for the Junior Grand Prix and Junior World Championships
15 skaters - top senior skaters are selected for the World Championships and Olympic Winter Games
Annually there are more than 100,000+ skaters who participate in the Basic Skills Program, 30,000+ will actively test and compete in U.S. Figure Skating-sanctioned events and only 15 skaters (3 ladies, 3 dance couples, 2 men and 2 pairs teams) will be named to the U.S. Figure Skating World and Olympic Team.
100,000+ skaters in Learn-to-Skate programs
30,000+ skaters in non-qualifying competitions/tests (pre-prelim thru pre-juve will always test in NQ competitions)
3,000 skaters compete in the 9 qualifying Regional Championships (only levels allowed are Juvenile thru Senior)
900 skaters compete in the 3 qualifying Sectional Championships (only levels allowed are Juvenile thru Senior)
300 skaters compete in the US National Championships (only levels allowed are Juvenile thru Senior)
150 skaters - top novice, junior, and senior skaters are selected for international competitions
100 skaters - top junior and senior skaters are selected for the Junior Grand Prix and Junior World Championships
15 skaters - top senior skaters are selected for the World Championships and Olympic Winter Games
Adult categories and Synchronized skating categories are not Olympic disciplines, therefore these skaters will never go to the Olympics.
US Adult Championships
The Adult competitive track only has Sectionals: Pacific Coast, Midwestern, and Eastern. So adults don't have to go through Regionals at all. This is because there are far less Adult skaters compared to kid skaters. Sometimes, adults advance automatically in their category if there aren't enough participants. The top 4 skaters in their event in Sectionals goes to the Adult Nationals competition. Adult Sectionals and National competitions are only for levels Adult Silver thru Adult Senior. Some participants started skating as adults; while other skaters started as kids and returned to skating as adults.
There are some non-qualifying international adult competitions. Perhaps as Adult Figure Skating grows in popularity we will one day see a qualifying international World event for adult skaters. Although we have seen massive growth of adult skaters in certain countries, most countries still do not have a large population of adult skaters, which is why international competitions are rare.
There are some non-qualifying international adult competitions. Perhaps as Adult Figure Skating grows in popularity we will one day see a qualifying international World event for adult skaters. Although we have seen massive growth of adult skaters in certain countries, most countries still do not have a large population of adult skaters, which is why international competitions are rare.
US Synchronized Skating Championships
The Synchronized Skating competitive track only has Sectionals: Pacific Coast, Midwestern, and Eastern. Teams from Juvenile thru Senior level, including Collegiate and Adult teams, compete at their respective Sectional competition. The top 4 placements advance to the National Championship. The top teams in the Junior and Senior division can earn a place on the US national team with the top two senior teams going on to represent the US at the World Synchronized Skating Championships. Because Synchronized Skating is a fairly new discipline, not many countries participate in the World Championships, but it is slowly gaining in popularity over time. One day we might see it added to the Olympics.