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ADAPTIVE SKATING
Spread the Word!
By Courtney Fecske
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Throughout the years serving on the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee for U.S. Figure Skating, the adaptive programming has gone through multiple iterations. Understandably our subcommittee often gets asked questions from emerging or growing adaptive program directors, coaches, and parents. Please continue reading to see some of our common questions and answers!
What is the difference between Adaptive, Special Olympics, and Skate United?
While the terminology and program names may have changed over the years, our mission has not! As the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee, we aim to provide testing, competition, and skating development opportunities for all skaters with disabilities. In the past our programming consisted of Adaptive Skating, Special Olympics, and Therapeutic Skating opportunities. The current programming for testing and competition includes Adaptive Skating, Special Olympics, and Skate United.
Skaters participating in adaptive programming can test and compete under this umbrella. Adaptive skaters may have physical and/or intellectual disabilities. Adaptive Skating testing levels are Pre-Bronze, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. Adaptive skaters may choose to also test on other tracks if appropriate (Standard, Adult 21+, Adult 50+, Special Olympics and/or Skate United). Adaptive badges, which can be found in the Compete USA Manual, can be turned into programs with a time maximum of 1:10 minutes.
Special Olympics facilitates a wide array of sports opportunities for their participants and figure skating is offered through events such as free skate, pairs, and ice dance. U.S. Figure Skating implements the Special Olympics guidelines for skating programming and skaters may test and compete in Special Olympics events hosted by competitions and clubs.
Skate United offers both testing and competition tracks. For testing, all levels and elements parallel the standard track, but the passing expectation is one level below standard. Skaters may test standard and switch to Skate United but not the other way. Skate United is offered for free skate, moves in the field, ice dance, solo dance, pairs, and any Compete USA event that competitions offer such as jumps, spins, and compulsories. For competition, Skate United skaters abide by all rules similar to standard events, but compete in their own group against skaters with physical disabilities using 6.0 judging.
It is important to also note that the Skating Accommodation Memorandum (S.A.M.) is available to skaters with disabilities in any of the above programs. A S.A.M. request can be completed by a skater and sent to the Adaptive Skating National Vice Chair who will facilitate medical and skating experts to review the request and provide appropriate reasonable accommodations for testing and competition specific to the needs of each skater. This process is similar to a school 504 or Individual Education Plan for students with disabilities who receive supports in school.
How can I start a program?
This is one of the most common questions our committee gets asked! Anyone can start an adaptive skating program with their rink or club, and I encourage you to do so. It is easier to learn about your community of prospective skaters with disabilities than to learn about figure skating, which you already know. You can reach out to the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee and we can give you advice and suggestions on how to get started and offer support as you go. Networking and advertising, both within our skating community and within the disability community, is a great means to getting started, as this spreads awareness about your program and recruits skaters. Ensuring that you have appropriate ice time, if you want to recruit children with disabilities after school or weekends are best and thinking about the needs of the skaters is important.
This saves money and gives your skaters (who may become future coaches) a great volunteer opportunity to share their passion for skating! You may also think about creative coaching methods, adaptive/assistive devices on the ice, and the accessibility of your ice rink and the entrance to the ice surface. Many of our programs also reach out to local schools and community programs for individuals with disabilities to collaborate and work together so that everyone finds a place on the ice. If you have more questions please reach out to the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee or other adaptive skating programs; we want more programs and more skaters with disabilities skating!
Who do I include in my program?
In short, everyone. Unfortunately, a question that has come up is, “who do I include?” or “who can I exclude from my adaptive program?”. Again, the answer is, include everyone. We cannot discriminate against skaters with a specific type of disability, so when you offer programming for skaters with disabilities, any prospective skater with a disability can and should be supported to register for your programming. If you do not know about someone’s needs, ask. Get to know each skater and what their specific needs are so that everyone can enjoy getting on the ice and developing their skating skills.
For more information please check out the Adaptive Skating page at www.usfigureskating.org or email courtneyjweisman@gmail.com the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee National Vice Chair.
Author Bio
Courtney Fecske, PhD, CTRS is the National Vice Chair of the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee and serves as the Skate United lead. Dr. Fecske is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at Indiana University-Bloomington in the School of Public Health within the Department of Health & Wellness Design, is a former Team USA Synchronized skater, and current official for US Figure Skating. She has founded and worked with adaptive skating programs and conducts research focused on examining the impact of participation in adaptive sports.
