New Rule Changes Coaches Should Know and Where to Find the Details

This year, the Governing Council delegates considered more than 60 rule changes and three bylaw changes. After years of significant revisions in test, competition and committee rules, no sections were overhauled this year, but there are still many rule changes of which coaches need to be aware.

Here is a summary of rule changes that will have the greatest effect on coaches. All of these changes go into effect July 1, 2020, unless otherwise noted.

Singles

• Novice ladies and men are now allowed to attempt quads in the wellbalanced free skate and free skate test. The singles jump bonuses have also been adjusted.

• The NQS will no longer include qualifying rounds, so every participant will perform a short program (except at juvenile) and free skate, and earn a competition score to be included in the standings.

Ice Dance

• Effective June 1, 2020, the Dance Development and Technical Committee added the definition of a choreographic sliding movement to the solo free dance test rules so skaters can include this as an optional element in a test without penalty. The committee also added language that allows extra elements to be added without penalty in all solo free dance tests.

• Also effective June 1, 2020, the twizzle requirements were changed for the junior and senior solo free dance tests. Candidates are now required to perform only one twizzle series, but the twizzles must have a different entry edge and different direction of rotation.

• Effective with the 2020-21 season, pattern dance warm-ups will allow for a group maximum of six teams and will be reduced to three minutes. Free dance warm-up times for novice and below will also be reduced to three minutes.

• Starting with the 2021-22 qualifying season, all ice dance teams will be required to compete in a sectional ice dance challenge unless there are fewer than two entries in their event or fewer than 18 teams nationwide. The top six teams will qualify from each sectional ice dance challenge to the U.S. Ice Dance Final.

Pairs

• Effective June 1, 2020, the elements required in the intermediate pairs well-balanced free skate and pair test have changed. Also, for novice pairs, teams are now required to do a solo spin combination in the short program and a pair spin combination in the free skate.

• Effective Sept. 1, 2020, the prejuvenile pairs level will be removed from the U.S. Figure Skating test and competition structures.

Synchronized Skating

• Preliminary, pre-juvenile and open juvenile events will now be judged using the IJS.

• The pre-juvenile synchronized free skate length has been increased to 2:30 +/- 10 seconds.

• All levels will now follow the warm-up rules that allow for a warm up of at least one minute during the judging of the previous team prior to being called to start (rule 2911).

• The age requirements were changed for preliminary and open adult.

Adult Skating

• The Adult Skating Committee added rules to restrict skaters who have competed in the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, an ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event or an ISU Championship at novice, junior or senior from competing in adult gold or lower events in pairs and ice dance.

• The test requirements have been amended for the adult pre-gold partnered dance event and the adult pre-gold solo dance event to account for passing international pattern dance tests.

• Adult ice dance competitors may now perform an optional sliding element in the championship adult, adult gold, adult pre-gold and masters open (partnered) free dance, but it will not be identified or evaluated as an element.

Showcase

• Going forward, the National Showcase competition will be judged using the IJS, as modified and delineated in the Showcase Guidelines.

All Disciplines

• Language specifically prohibiting retaliatory conduct has been added as rule GR 1.05.

• Effective starting this past January, compliance rules (rules GR 4.01, 7222, 8222 and 8322) have been updated to match the new requirements from the U.S. Center for SafeSport and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.

• For the 2020-21 season, the coaches late fee (rule GR 4.04) will be waived due to the impacts of the coronavirus.

• The Domestic Officials Recruitment and Management Committee has expanded who can test to become a technical specialist.

COMBINED REPORT OF ACTION

These changes only represent a portion of what was approved by the Governing Council on May 16. To get the full details of all of these changes and others, please see the 2019-20 Combined Report of Action, available on the U.S. Figure Skating website.

The Combined Report of Action is the ONLY OFFICIAL report of U.S. Figure Skating bylaw and rule changes and contains all changes that were made by the U.S. Figure Skating Board of Directors and the Governing Council this past season.

As always, we caution coaches from using word-of-mouth, Facebook or other unofficial information found via the Internet to educate themselves on rule changes. Coaches should utilize the Combined Report of Action with their 2019-20 U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook until the 2020-21 U.S. Figure Skating Rulebook becomes available.

The 2020-21 rulebook will be available online at the end of June, before the rule changes go into effect July 1. Once finalized, the rulebook will be posted online at www.usfigureskating. org/about/rules. A link to order a printed copy will also be available on the U.S. Figure Skating website by mid-August.