Figure Skating Competition Specifics

INITIAL COMPETITION SCHEDULE:

Dates:

Sunday August 10 - Practice – 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Fee paid by skaters: $10 per 50 minute session. Pay at the rink.
Monday August 11 – Practice – 12:30 p.m. - 5 p.m. Fee paid by skaters: $10 per 50 minute session. Pay at the rink.
Tuesday August 12 – Competition – 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Wednesday August 13 – Competition - 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Thursday August 14 – Exhibition – 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. practice for Exhibition; 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Exhibition

Venue

Serpentini Arena - 14740 Lakewood Heights Blvd., Lakewood, OH. 44107

Parking: Free parking at the venue

*Water will be provided at the venue

Divisions:

Women	Men	Mixed Pairs
Open Freestyle Artistic Solo Spotlight Solo Ice Dancing Solo Open Pair Couples Ice Dancing Free Dance	Open Freestyle Artistic Solo Spotlight Solo Ice Dancing Solo Open Pair Couples Ice Dancing Free Dance	Open Pair Ice Dancing Free Dance

The 2014 Gay Games presented by the Cleveland Foundation offers the following age classes at all levels:

Class Level	Age Range
Young Adults	18-24
Class I	25-35
Class II	36-45
Class III	46-55
Class IV	56+

General Admission:

General Seating:Two-day pass for Tuesday and Wednesday ($25)

Champions Exhibition Show (Thursday): $25

* To purchase Figure Skating tickets click here.

Participation:

Participants must be active individual members, hold a valid individual membership to the Ice Skating Institute (ISI), and be tested to their appropriate level. Testing will be made available during the practice days prior to the start of the competition for skaters that do not have testing available in their area. Individuals must compete at the appropriate skill level in their appropriate age level. ISI test levels can be found here.

Testing will be made available during the practice days prior to the start of the competition for skaters that do not have testing available in their area. Skaters will be informed of their specific practice schedule two weeks prior to the competition. 

Events:

Open Freestyle

There are no required maneuvers for the Open Freestyle events. However, the program should be well balanced including jumps, spins, connecting moves, gliding maneuvers, etc. Judging criteria includes: Correctness of Jumps, Correctness of Spins, Correctness of Turns & Edges, Variety of Moves, Music Interpretation, Posture, Choreography & Pattern, Presentation, Duration and General Overall. Props are not permitted in this event.

Skill Level	Program Duration		Maximum Technical Elements Allowed
Bronze	2:00 minutes		Freestyle 3 and below
Silver - No Axel	2:00 minutes		Freestyle 5 and below, no Axel
Silver - Axel	2:00 minutes		Freestyle 5 and below including Axel
Gold	3:00 minutes		Freestyle 6 and below
Platinum	4:00 minutes		All elements allowed

*Any spin can be performed at any level. There is no penalty for skating under the prescribed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over the duration. 

Artistic Solo

This event is open to all skaters who have passed FS1 or higher. There are no required maneuvers. Skaters perform a program to music with emphasis on strong edges, flow, choreography, innovative moves and musical interpretation. There is no score for technical ability in this event. Props are not allowed in this event.

Skill Level	Program Duration	Local and Maximum Technical Elements Allowed
Bronze	1:30 minutes	Freestyle 4 and below
Silver	1:30 minutes	Freestyle 6 and below
Gold	2:00 minutes	All elements allowed
Platinum	2:00 minutes	All elements allowed

*There is no penalty for skating under the prescribed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over the duration. 

Spotlight Solo

The event is open to skaters of all levels. There are no required maneuvers in Spotlight events. Emphasis is placed on the theatrical and entertainment value of the skater’s performance rather than on the technical accuracy of specific maneuvers. There is no score for technical merit. The three categories of Spotlight events include Character, Dramatic and Light Entertainment. For this event, these three categories can be consolidated into one general Spotlight category at the discretion of the competition director. Props are permitted at this event.

Skill Level	Program Duration	Maximum Technical Elements Allowed
Pre-Bronze	1:00 minute	Freestyle 1 and below
Bronze	1:30 minutes	Freestyle 4 and below
Silver	1:30 minutes	Freestyle 6 and below
Gold	2:00 minutes	All elements allowed
Platinum	2:00 minutes	All elements allowed.

*There is no penalty for skating under the prescribed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over the duration

Open Pair

There are no required maneuvers for the Open Pair events; but all skaters and coaches should carefully check the maneuver limitations for the Bronze, Silver & Gold levels. The program should be well balanced including jumps, spins, pair lifts, pair spins, footwork and connecting moves.

Open Pair event judging criteria includes: Correctness of Jumps, Correctness of Spins, Correctness of Turns & Edges, Variety of Moves, Music Interpretation, Posture, Choreography & Pattern, Presentation, Duration and General Overall.

Skill Level	Program Duration	Maximum Technical Elements Allowed
Bronze	2:00 minutes	Open Pair 4 and below
Silver	3:00 minutes	Open Pair 6 and below
Gold	3:00 minutes	Open Pair 8 and below
Platinum	4:30 minutes	All elements allowed.

*There is no penalty for skating under the prescribed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over the duration. 

Ice Dancing

Solo and partnered Ice Dancing will be offered. Skaters must compete at their highest completed ISI level. Both partners must pass tests for the same ISI level as entered. The age grouping for ice dances will be determined by the age of the older skater. Skaters may compete in any one or two dances at their level. For the traditional dances, no more than seven (7) introductory steps may be used before the dance begins. The Gay Games will supply music for the ice dancing competitors.

Skill Level	Dances
Dance 2	Dutch Waltz
Dance 3	Canasta Tango, Rhythm Blues
Dance 4	Swing Dance, Cha Cha, Fiesta Tango
Dance 5	Willow Waltz, Hickory Hoedown, Ten Fox
Dance 6	Fourteen Step, Foxtrot, European Waltz
Dance 7	Rocker Foxtrot, Tango, American Waltz
Dance 8	Blues, Killian
Dance 9	Paso Doble, Quickstep, Starlight Waltz
Dance 10	Westminster Waltz, Argentine Tango, Viennese Waltz

Free Dance

Dance teams will enter at their registered ISI Dance Level and perform a free dance of their own design, using any rhythm or a change of rhythm in their music. The Free Dance program should express skaters’ own inspirational and artistic capabilities and might contain sequences and segments from various dances within the ISI Ice Dancing, levels 1-9. Half-rotation jumps will be allowed at all levels.

Judging criteria includes creativity, interpretation, pattern, presentation, duration, timing, unison, posture and general performance. Dance teams will enter at their registered ISI Dance Level and perform a free dance of their own design, using any rhythm or a change of rhythm in their music. The Free Dance program should express skaters’ own inspirational and artistic capabilities and might contain sequences and segments from various dances within the ISI Ice Dancing, levels 1-9. Half-rotation jumps will be allowed at all levels. Judging criteria includes creativity, interpretation, pattern, presentation, duration, timing, unison, posture and general performance.

Skill Level	Program Duration
Free Dance 1-2	1:00 minute
Free Dance 3	1:30 minutes
Free Dance 4-5	2:00 minutes
Free Dance 6	2:30 minutes
Free Dance 7	3:00 minutes
Free Dance 8	3:30 minutes
Free Dance 9	4:00 minutes
Free Dance 10	4:30 minutes

*There is no penalty for skating under the prescribed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over the duration.

Production Team and Ensemble

A Production Team consists of 8-32 members in an ensemble performance of a creative, artistic work marked by extreme freedom of style, structure and costumes to illustrate a theme, mood or statement. An Ensemble consists of 3-7 members. Any and all types of skating elements are permitted including jumps and spins. Props are permitted

Skill Level	Program Duration
Production Team	4:30 minutes
Ensemble	3:00 minutes

*There is no penalty for skating under the prescribed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over.

Medals will be awarded to the top three finishers in each event’s skill level and age level.

Schedule:

Day One	Open Freestyle, Open Pair, Ice Dancing
Day Two	Artistic Solo, Spotlight Solo, Free Dance, Production Teams

Rules:

The 2014 Gay Games Figure Skating has secured a Competition Endorsement from the Ice Skating Institute that can be viewed here. ISI rules will be used for each of the events being offered. Please note that Open Freestyle and Open Pair have different rules than standard ISI Freestyle and Pair events. For clarification on terms and elements, please refer to the 2012 ISI Handbook. For durations, there is no penalty for going under the listed duration and no penalty for the first 10 seconds over the duration. 

A participant's age is determined by that persons' age as of the first day of the Games, 9 August 2014.