A Beginner team is a team of 8-16 skaters with the majority having passed no US Figure Skating tests & no skater with higher than the Preliminary level test. These are not the Basic Skills badge tests. Beginner teams are divided into 3 levels as follows:
There are limitations on what skills are allowed during competitions. We have skated at the Beginner II level the past 3 seasons. Skaters should know how to do 3 turns and Mohawks. They should be working hard on their basic skating skills such as stroking, crossovers, and edges. They should also work on a forward lunge, a shoot-the-duck, & spirals. I would highly recommend the low power and competitive edge classes. As is true with anything you want to do well at, the more you practice the better you will become. This summer the team will practice 45 minutes or 1 hour on ice and have a few off- ice practices. This practice will either be Mondays from 5:00-5:45 pm or Thursdays from 3:45-4:45 pm. It is expected that this team(s) would practice during the school year on Wednesdays from 4:15-5:15 and have occasional practices on Saturdays sometime between 5:15 and 6:45 pm. We will discuss having this team compete at a maximum of 3 competitions. Costs: A separate information sheet on synchronized skating estimated costs is available. A Parent Meeting will be held Monday May 24th at 7:30 pm in the Activity 2 room located upstairs in the Rec Center. At this meeting a manual with important information will be given out including estimated budgets. We will be answering questions and distributing commitment forms. These forms will need to be signed & returned before summer skating begins. Please Hold August 13th, 14th, & 15th open for our local camp with Jeannine Cullen-Weinschrod. Jeannine is an International level coach from Detroit Michigan. Jeannine holds the highest rating & ranking that a coach can achieve from the Professional Skaters Association. Her teams have won many National Championships as well as numerous international medals and competed at first World Synchronized Skating Championships in 2000 where they placed 8th. Jeannine was named Synchronized Skating Coach of the Year in 2004 by the Professional Skaters Association. She now directs the Phoenix teams in Rochester Michigan. I am very excited to have her return to work with our teams for the 8th year. It is very important to have the entire team take part in this camp. Please make every effort to attend. Please fill out and return the Tryouts Registration Form to the RFSC office by Saturday, April 17th. See the 2010-2011 Tryouts Poster for more details. Thank you!
More information on the teams is available under Synchronized Team Information.
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