Athletic Requirements to Compete Successfully

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Competition Requirements

Receiving an Education is the first requirement for athletes 18 and under.
Every athlete should receive an education. In 2012 there are a variety of educational programs that can meet the requirements of the federal "No Child Left Behind legislation". Refer to Skaters Educational Choices for more information.

PDF A Brief History of Education in America Early American education was primarily private or religious, and it brought mass schooling and literacy to the nation well before the public school system we know today was legislated into existence. Public schooling arose in response to an influx of immigrants who had different religions or cultures.

Its primary focus was to establish social order and mainstream vast numbers of immigrant children into a common school setting. A mistrust of parents was common during the birth of public schools. As an 1851 article in The Massachusetts Teacher reported: “In too many instances the parents are unfit guardians of their own children … the children must be gathered up and forced into school”.

Over the past 150 years, mistrusting parents and forcing children into common schools has produced mixed results. Today, while some children receive a decent education, many, particularly those in urban areas, receive a poor quality education. In many instances, public schools have actually segregated the population more deeply between the have’s and have-not’s, creating a gulf of learning opportunities that is simply too wide for many parents to cross.

School choice bridges these gaps and returns education to its American roots by empowering all parents, regardless of economic circumstances, with the freedom and opportunity to choose a better education for their children.

Source -“The ABCs of School Choice,” Friedman Foundation, drawn from the work of
Andrew Coulson, author of Market Education: The Unknown History

National education standards March 31, 2010 Proposed national education standards for grades K - 12.

PDF Role of the Federal Government in Public Education Page 1 of 4. Role of the Federal Government in Public Education: Common Core Standards and Assessments.

National Governing Bodies that control Athletic Competitions

Responsibilities of Sport Governing Bodies
Sport governing bodies have a variety of functions. One of their first responsibilities is to be the sport's United States representative in the international sports organization. This can be important in creating international competitions and in promoting general goodwill among countries and their sports teams. Because every sport wants to promote greater success and achievement every year, the sport governing bodies facilitate this by making national sports goals and encouraging all participatory teams to strive to attain them.

One very important responsibility of sport governing bodies is to be the chief coordinator for all amateur teams, leagues, or individuals. Amateur athletics are just as important and regulated as the professional teams, but they just do not receive as much fame or attention. However, rules must exist to govern amateur participation to ensure that it maintains credibility and respect. In relation to this amateur governance, the sport governing bodies have control over amateur athletics in the international domain and decide what is allowable in terms of international sponsorship. The sport governing bodies also conduct amateur competitions and establish the standards for eligibility in these competitions.

An interesting action of the sport governing bodies is related to the Olympic Games. Because the sport governing bodies have knowledge of all the different athletes and teams, they recommend which ones should represent the United States in the Olympics and the Pan-American Games, as well as other international amateur competitions. There are many sport governing bodies because one exists for each sport, so if you are interested in contacting the one pertaining to your sport or knowing more about it, search the internet for the name and contact information.

Source - Fact Expert

The following organizations select athlete members to represent athletes to compete in national, international, world, and Olympic events:

USFS Figure Skating

There are other options that provide competitive opportunities for besides the elite programs whose purpose is to encourage, develop, and select athletes to represent the USA in international, world, and Olympic events.

USFS Competition Requirements

      School sponsored athlete competitions in many communities start in Junior High/Middle and continue through High School, Community College, and Universities.

      There are alternatives that provide options for younger athletes to participate in organized sports. For example Pop Warner Football, Little League Baseball, and Ice Skating Institute Figure Skating Events, Swimming, Tennis, Soccer, Lacrosse, Golf, Speed Skating, and Skiing represent a few of these sports. Some of these alternative provide a system to become eligible to compete in a National Championship.

Figure Skating Activities, Tests, and Competitive Events
      The sport of figure skating has activities for all ages and skill levels. Entry requirements for all regional and most non-qualifing competition are based on the rules and regulations of the USFS current season's rulebook. Exceptions to the entry rules are allowed in non-qualifying competitions as specified by the competition announcement. Refer to The International Judging System (IJS) and IJS Judging Criteria.

     Inaddition to the IJS competitions, the USFS also has events for non-qualifying competitions. Refer to ISI & Basic Skills Competitions and Basic Skills Competitions.

      The following articles will assist the skater and parent in understanding the competition rules and the requirements to enter specific event levels.

      A skater or team's performanace is judged by their skating at the date and time of the event. Unfornately sometimes skaters attempt elements that they lack skills to consistently perform well enough to avoid downgrading, negative GOEs and/or a deduction for a fall. When large numbers of skaters in an event have minor and/or major errors, it generally is difficult to achieve uninamious agreement among a panel of judges.

USFS Competition Regions

The mission of U.S. Figure Skating is to provide programs to encourage
participation and achievement in the sport of figure skating.