Figure Skater: Qualifications (2024)

Figure skating is a sport that loves its rules. Rules and precision. And judging. You need to be able to handle a panel of qualified strangers who tell you if you're worthy of being in the sport. Not everyone is. In fact, most people aren't.

To be a competitive figure skater in the USA, you must pass eight Moves In the Field (MIF) tests, which closely examine your basic skating skills, edges, and ability to master speed, power, flow, turns, and spirals. Everything must be perfect. This is where perfectionists have an edge.

You must also pass eight freestyle tests that show you can do specific jumps, spins, and footwork in a program. Pairs skaters and ice dancers also must pass eight levels of tests in order to compete.

Each level's harder than the one before it. You're graded for all tests by a panel of USFSA judges, who are former figure skaters themselves and who'll be examining your every motion, hand position, and facial expression with a microscope. No pressure.

Single skaters cannot compete at a certain level until they've passed both the corresponding MIF and freestyle tests. Those who have passed all of their tests, be it MIF, freestyle, pairs, or ice dancing, are considered gold medal skaters.

They earn themselves the right to boast to colleges and strangers who probably don't give a hoot that they're gold medal skaters, and they have the ability to purchase their gold medal or a gold medalist jacket—because nothing says achievement like having to buy your own trophy.

All of that just qualifies you to compete. To actually succeed as a top figure skater, you need to skate every day or close to it, at least two to four hours a day. You also need to do off-ice training and stretching daily, as well as ballet or some form of dance.

You also need to be born with some talent. While there are skills that can be taught and learned, if you don't have talent, or at least a good sense of balance and spatial awareness, you'll be skating in circles.

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