Alas, it is the fateful day you have been training for! Every test will be a little different and unexpected, and different test centers will run their tests differently, but here’s a general run-down of what to expect.
Arrival
The first think you want to do when you enter the test center is sign in and find your coach. A sign-in table will probably be placed either at the entrance of your testing center or somewhere near the rink where tests are being held. Go up to the person in charge and let them know you’re here. If your coach is unavailable at the moment as they help another skater, try to at least let them know you’ve arrived, and they’ll find you later. Next, check the schedule to see if the tests are ahead or behind schedule and be notified of any changes in test order. Use this to gauge when to put on your skates, stretch, warm up on your own, and enter the rink for the official warm up.
Warm-ups
There will be an official 5 minute warm up for every 4-6 skaters. The other skaters you warm up with are the ones you’ll be testing before or after, and they are usually testing the same level as you (as you progress, since less skaters are where you are at, you will start seeing skaters testing levels immediately above or below you as well). Once the 5 minute warm up ends, testing begins for each of those skaters who were on that warm up session. Once all 4-6 have tested, the next warm up begins and the next 4-6 skaters take the ice.
Before the warm up, make sure you figure out when you test within that group of skaters you’re warming up with. If you’re first, you might stay on the ice when warm ups end and the rest of the skaters leave the ice. If you’re third, make sure to keep track of how many people have tested and be ready to step on the ice when the second skater is dismissed by the judges.
After the Test
After you’ve performed all of the patterns, make sure to stand near the judges and get their confirmation before getting off the ice. Judges will occasionally signal for you to repeat a certain pattern so that they can see it again. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is unclear–don’t worry too much about it and just perform it again to the best of your ability.
Once you’ve stepped off the ice, you can go take off your skates and wait in painful anticipation for your test papers to come out. There will either be an official working there who brings it to you, or you have to go to a table to ask for it. It can take up to half an hour for your paper to get out of that ominous printer, so try to have patience and relax.
There are two results: pass or retry. Once you get your paper, you’ll see the result circled at the bottom. If you pass with flying colors, you could pass with Honors or above! There are usually 3 judges, but lower levels usually have 1 judge. With 3 judges, majority rules. If you pass, congrats! Onwards to the next test or, if you’re done, mega congrats! go get that jacket. If you have to retry, don’t worry. Practice for a few more months, and give it another shot. Retrying a test doesn’t always mean your ability wasn’t there–different panels of judges have different areas they focus on, and their mood is an unavoidable factor in their scoring. Make sure to hold onto the test papers and show them to your coach–judges will leave valuable feedback for each patter, assisting you on your retest.