Freestyle and pairs
Competitions with freestyle and pair events are most familiar to the general public, because these types of skating are featured prominently on TV.
Freestyle skating consists of jumps, spins, and footwork, as well as other athletic and artistic movements skated to music. Skaters can compete in the well balanced free skate or test track free skate. Your coach can explain the difference and what is right for your skater.
Pairs, in which two skaters work together, adds elements such as lifts, assisted jumps, and skating in unison.
A new skater normally starts competing at a basic skills competition or non-qualifying competition. Levels for these events normally start at limited beginner or beginner all the way through senior by progressing through subsequent levels by mastering new elements and passing skating tests. Adult levels are also available. Skaters can participate in events called non-qualifying competitions, as well as qualifying competitions that ultimately lead to the national championships.
Compulsory
This is a prescribed and formatted style of footwork with emphasis on edges, power, posture, and speed. The levels normally range from beginner – juvenile.
Solo dance
Skaters compete dances without a partner
Artistic
Artistic freestyle skaters are normally judged on composition and presentation. Often time’s costumes are worn. Artistic feeling and presentation are stressed more than the technical difficulty in these events. Competitions often offer two kinds of artistic.
Entertainment artistic generally evokes funny, humorous or a lively response. Dramatic artistic events are considered to be of a more elegant, serious nature.
Ice dancing
Ice dancing is included in all qualifying competitions. There are also non-qualifying competitions throughout the year that offer ice dance events, as well as competitions that are exclusively for ice dancing.
Synchronized team skating
Synchronized team skating is a fast-paced, high-speed sport that requires intricate footwork, as well as the reliance on all members of the team to produce, in unison, a cohesive, beautifully orchestrated, yet complex program. Non-qualifying synchronized team skating competitions may be held at any time of the year.
For qualifying competitions teams first compete at one of three sectional championships, and top finishers at sectionals move on to the national synchronized team skating championships. Similar to the other types of skating, there are several levels in synchronized skating that are based on age and skating ability.
Currently, GGBFSC has three competitive teams called KICKS.
