StarSkate and CompetitiveSkate
StarSkate offers opportunities for skaters of all ages to develop figure skating skills in the areas of ice dance, skating skills, free skate and artistic skating. Skaters have the opportunity to take Skate Canada Assessments through a nationally standardized testing system, as well as attend StarSkate competitions, including the StarSkate Championships.
The StarSkate program includes group sessions as well as private and semi-private lessons with a certified professional skating coach. StarSkate offers participants the opportunity for personal growth and the development of important life skills such as goal setting, self discipline, confidence, time management, pursuing a healthy lifestyle, and coping strategies to deal with success and failure.
Program Areas
Skills are a combination of fundamental skating movements, executed on a pattern and skated solo. The objective of the Skating Skills program is mastery of the basic fundamentals of skating – edge quality, control, power and speed.
Dance teaches timing, musicality, rhythm interpretation, structure as well as basic skating skills such as edges, flow, control and unison.
Freeskate consists of the execution of jumps, spins, footwork, field movements and stroking, either in isolation or performed in sequence to music.
Artistic develops the skater’s creativity, expression, musicality, movement, interpretation of music, as well as the use of space, rhythm, line and style. The program provides skaters with the opportunity to explore the performance aspect of skating without focusing on technical elements.
CompetitiveSkate is a program for skaters who want to challenge their figure skating skills, and also show potential as a competitive skater. Skaters compete in qualifying events within Skate Canada in the areas of singles, pairs and ice dance.
Skaters have the opportunity to be selected to Skate Canada’s provincial and national teams, and to compete at Skate Canada Sectionals, Skate Canada Challenge and/or the National Skating Championships. Skaters also have the opportunity to take Skate Canada assessments through a nationally standardized test system. Competitive skaters learn a variety of life skills as they progress up the competitive ladder. These include goal setting, focus, ability to deal with success/failure, time management, and principles of fair play and sportsmanship.
Lessons
Skaters in the STARSkate and CompetitiveSkate programs will receive a combination of private, semi-private and group lessons along with off ice training.
Level Clarification
Figure 8 Skating Club has sessions based on these levels:
STARSkate Jr A
Junior A is a focused program where skaters will work on jumps, spins, and stroking techniques through semi-private lessons and independent practice. This program is designed for skaters who have recently graduated from PreSTAR and are not yet working on a STAR 2 freeskate.
STARSkate Jr B
Junior B is a program designed for skaters working on STAR 2+ in an independent practice environment, with the opportunity to receive private or semi-private lessons.
STARSkate Int
Intermediate is a program designed for skaters working on STAR 4+ in an independent practice environment, with the opportunity to receive private or semi-private lessons.
STARSkate Sr
Senior is a program designed for skaters working on STAR 8+ in an independent practice environment, with the opportunity to receive private or semi-private lessons.
If you have any questions regarding how to register your skater, please contact the Skating Director at skating.director@figure8skating.ca
Volunteer Policy
Figure 8 Skating Club is a non-profit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors. The success of the Club depends on the volunteer efforts of members. Volunteering with the club is a great opportunity to learn about the sport of figure skating, to meet other club members and have a good time while helping out. It is required that every family with skaters registered in PreSTAR, Adult Learn to Figure Skate or STARSkate to volunteer for 12 credits. Note that the volunteer requirement is by family, not by the number of skaters in the family. The volunteer roles are available for selection upon registration, and you will be able to choose a position that would best work for you. To see the list of open volunteer roles, please click here.
We also have a casino every 2-3 years, with the last one being January 2023 at Pure Casino (7055 Argyll Road). When we have a casino, we ask that all PreSTAR, Adult figure skate and STARSkate members also sign up for a casino shift so that we have a full roster of volunteers for the casino. This casino funding is extremely important to pay for our ice rental and other program expenses.
We appreciate all our volunteers!
If you do not wish to volunteer there is a volunteer buy out fee of $300 that can be purchased at registration. Note that if the volunteer commitment is not performed, the Club reserves the right to process the volunteer buyout fee at the end of the season.
Drop In
Drop in fees are $18 for members of Figure 8 Skating Club and $25 for non-members. To drop in, please notify the Skating Director (email skatingdirector@figure8skating.ca) in advance. Drop-in fees must be paid online prior to going on the ice.