What is ISI? 

The Ice Skating Institute is an international industry trade association encompassing all aspects of the ice skating industry.

ISI was founded in 1959 as a nonprofit organization for owners, operators, and developers of ice skating facilities. For over 45 years, ISI has become the industry trade association for progressive ice skating facilities, managers, coaching professionals, suppliers and individual skaters.

ISI:

• Encourages participation in ice skating as a recreational sport.

• Provides information for the development and construction of ice arenas.

• Produces trade and educational publications and literature.

• Holds an annual educational conference and trade show for arenas managers, skating directors, instructors and skating industry manufacturers, suppliers and retailers.

• Provides ice skating programs for skaters of all ages and abilities.

• Hosts four recreational skating competitions annually.

• Organizes consumer shows in conjunction with its recreational skating events.

Why Join ISI?

ISI is the leading ice industry trade association with over 600 facility members, 3,500 instructor members, close to 40,000 individual skater members, 15,000 hockey players and 150 plus builder/supplier/retail members.

Whether you're a beginning skater; skate for fun; teach figure skating or hockey; manage a skating school or skating club; or own or operate an ice arenas, the Ice Skating Institute is your chief advocate and number one source of leadership, education and services.

Testing Sessions:

1. Coaches will determine when a skater is ready to test and will sign the skater up for a test session based on availability.

2. Test sessions are regularly scheduled during the season with additional sessions added based on coach requests/needs. Please check with your private coach.

3. The coaches will decide the test order of the skaters.

4. Prior to the start of the testing session, the testing monitor will collect the nonrefundable testing fee.

5. Testing skaters only allowed in box, all spectators should be in bleachers.

6. Skaters will be allowed a few minutes to warm up on the ice prior to the test session.

7. During the compulsory skill portion of the test, a coach will call out each element for the skater to complete. Skaters need to complete each element without additional instructions. If the skater passes the compulsory portion of the test after 2 attempts, he/she will be allowed to complete the program portion of the test.

8. Three coaches will be testing the skater. At least two coaches need to pass the skater.

Hutchinson Figure Skating Association Levels
Freestyle Level 1 - Freestyle Level 10
ISI Freestyle Ice Skating Tests General Rules

The skater must have passed the Delta test.

1. The compulsory part of the test, consisting of the six maneuvers, must be taken first before the program portion of the test may be taken.

2. During the compulsory part of the test, each maneuver may be attempted twice, and the better performance will be graded. If the examiner is satisfied with the first attempt, no second attempts are needed.

3. If the skater falls to perform any of the compulsory maneuvers during the program, either by omission or by unacceptable performance, then the test shall be considered incomplete, and the entire program must be taken again, with the time between the tests left to the examiner's discretion. Skaters are limited to three attempts per required maneuver during their programs, and as always, the best attempt will be judged. If the skater attempts the maneuver a fourth time, it will not be judged. At the discretion of the Referee, a skater may be asked to restate one element.

4. In the compulsory portion of the test, each jump, and the first in a sequence of jumps, must be preceded by at least four continuous accelerating skating strokes with, where necessary, a one-foot or change-foot turn to prepare for the takeoff position. This refers only to the compulsory part of the test.

5. On all jumps, the landing strokes or edges must be a distance at least equal to the skater's height and the landing edge must be held a minimum of three seconds. This refers to the last jump in a combination only. This refers only to the compulsory part of the test.

6. The exit from all spins must be on a controlled edge on one foot for a minimum of three seconds for the distance equal to the skater's height. This refers only to the compulsory part of the test.

7. In all spins on one foot, the skater must not travel a distance exceeding three blade lengths from the point of the first revolution. In change-foot or jump spins, the distance of travel must not exceed the skater's height.

8. Pattern for required arabesques, excluding Freestyle 1, is optional as long as it is performed on an edge (i.e. FS 3 backward outside arabesque may be done in any pattern - spiral, semi-circle, circular, oval, etc).

9. No substitutions or omissions are permissible and any deviations from the listed requirements will render the test invalid.

10. The minimum passing standards are described in this book; credit should be given if standards are exceeded when grading maneuvers.

11. For all dance step sequences, emphasis should be placed on the correctness of the required turns. Remember, the required turns in the FS 4, FS 5, and FS 7 dance step sequences must be performed separately and in the dance step sequence pattern to show that the skater has proper edge control and posture.

12. The dance step sequence requirements in Freestyle 2,3,4,5,7 and 8 have mandatory patterns and may be performed in either direction for ISI testing and ISI competitions.

13. Timing for the program portion of the test begins with any action after the music begins. Timing stops when the skater stops moving completely.