Intro to StarSkate (formally Juniors)

Welcome to STARSkate - Skills, Tests, Achievement, Recognition – this is what STARSkate is all about!

 

STARSkate offers opportunities for skaters of all ages to develop fundamental figure skating skills in the areas of ice dance, skating skills, free skate and interpretive skating. Unique in Canada, this program teaches figure skating skills in group and private lesson format in a progressive and sequential manner. Skaters have the opportunity to take Skate Canada Tests through a nationally standardized testing system and the tests are taken at the discretion of the skater and his/her private coach. Additional fees apply. Because of judge and ice availability Test Days are held during the daytime.

 

How STARSkate works

The STARSkate program consists of figure skating skills in four areas.

1. Skating Skills – the objective of the Skating Skills program is mastery of the basic fundamentals of skating - edge quality, control, power and speed.
2. Ice Dance - the Dance Test program teaches timing, musicality, rhythm interpretation, structure as well as basic skating skills such as edges, flow, control and unison.
3. Free Skate - Free skating consists of the execution of jumps, spins, footwork, field movements and stroking.
4. Interpretive - the objective of the Interpretive program is to encourage and develop skaters' creativity, expression, musicality, movement and interpretation of music.

These four areas are divided into the following levels: Primary, Intermediate and Senior. On the Primary (Junior) session the skaters can expect to learn the Preliminary Dances, which are the Dutch Waltz, Canasta Tango and Baby Blues and may also work toward their Preliminary Skills and Preliminary Free-skate tests.

Selecting a private coach - Arrangements for private and semi-private lessons are made directly between the skater’s family and the professional coach. Please refer to the listing of our private coaches and their qualifications on this website.

 

When selecting a private coach families should consider the following:

• Availability – does the coach have time during the day and session you require?
• What are the skater’s objectives and how many lessons per week are needed to achieve these goals?
• Fees – how much does the coach charge per 15 minute lesson? Consider a semi-private lesson.
• Does the coach’s philosophy match that of the skater? Coaches have different strategies with respect to attending competitions or taking tests etc.
• The personalities of the skater and the coach.
• To avoid disappointment, book private lessons well in advance and confirm if you are returning for another season.Skating Attire -   Girls: skating dresses/skirts or close fitting athletic pants/leggings. Boys: skating pants with stretchy material. No jeans or other restrictive clothing (street wear) allowed on the ice. All long hair should be tied back. All members of a Skate Canada sanctioned club pay an annual registration fee which registers them as a member of the National Skate Canada organization. This non-refundable fee is included in your program registration charge.All Club information is communicated by email and will be on our website. Please make sure the office has the email address that you check often. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the skating office.The Stouffville Skating Club regrets we are unable to offer makeup classes when a skater is away due to illness, vacation or injury or due to unforeseen cancelled sessions (i.e. inclement weather).