Bemidji Figure Skating Club

*** Junior Advanced Program ***

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What is Junior Advanced?

Junior Advanced is a "bridging program" designed to help your child make a smooth transition from being a Basic Skills skater into our Advanced program. The Junior Advanced program is structured with both basic skills components and advanced ice components.

What are the costs associated with Junior Advanced?

The cost of the class lessons and private lesson time is usually $130 for each calendar session but may vary from one session to another. There is also a yearly fee (July to June) that the United States Figure Skating Association (USFSA) requires. This charge is $50.00 and means the child and one parent are both members of the USFSA as well as the Bemidji Figure Skating Club (BFSC). You will receive the monthly skating magazine (published by the USFSA) and the parent is encouraged to attend monthly BFSC board meetings (held the 3rd Monday of every month at 6:30 at the Holiday Inn Express) and has the right to vote at the board meetings.

When does my child move into the Junior Advanced program?

Once your child passes Badge 8, and begins working towards their Freestyle 1 badge, they will be in the Junior Advanced program. The Freestyle 1 through Freestyle 6 badges are considered Junior Advanced. It usually takes about 1 to 2 years to earn all of these badges

How does it work?

Your child will be skating for one hour now, rather than the 30 minute sessions in the Basic Skills program. For 30 minutes of this session, they receive a group lesson that will be structured very similarly to the basic skills group lessons they are used to. For the remaining 30 minutes, they will be able to either work on the skills they just learned in their group lesson or receive private instruction one-on-one. It is these remaining 30 minutes that are structured just like our advanced program. If your child is not receiving private lessons they will be expected to work on skills they learned in their group lesson. When your child moves to advanced ice, and is not getting a lesson from their coach, they will be expected to work on the skills they learned during their lesson.

Private Lessons - What are they?

The Bemidji Figure Skating Club Board of Governors has contracted with coaches who have met our strict qualification guidelines to give private lesson instruction. As a parent you must contact and hire a coach of your choosing. These private lessons will be given during the 15 minutes your child is not in group instruction. The coach you hire will bill you directly for these private lessons, and you must pay them directly, according to your arrangement with them.

When hiring a private lesson coach, you must select a coach from the current list of private lesson coaches published both on the bulletin board in the lobby of the Neilson Reise Arena, or by visiting our web page at www.paulbunyan.net/users/bfsc. Once at the web page, click on the "Coaches" tab. You may call as few or as many as you feel necessary until you find one who is available, and you are comfortable with.

How to hire a coach

When hiring a coach there are several things to take into consideration: (1) Is the coach available during Junior Advanced time to give private lessons, (2) Is the coach going to be with the club for a long period of time, (3) Is the coach's fee within a price range I can afford, (4) Does the coach work on goal setting with my child, and how is that information collected, (5) What motivational methods are used by the coach to get the best out of my child, (6) If my child is not working to his/her potential, what discipline methods are employed by the coach, (7) Will the coach selected for Junior Advanced lessons prepare my child for the Advanced program, and continue to coach my child in the Advanced program. (8) Will they give my child skills to work on when not receiving a lesson, and are they written out for them. These are a few possible topics you may want to discuss. There may be more things, however, you wish to discuss with the prospective coach before settling on one.

How does my child become an Advanced Skater?

When you hire a private coach, your child's coach will teach them the elements necessary to prepare them for their first formal test of the Advanced program called Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field. Your child's coach will be the one preparing them for this test, and will determine when they are ready.

Advanced testing -- How does it work?

When your child's coach informs you that your child is "Ready to test", you will be doing something very different. Our club's Basic Skills and Junior Advanced coaches will no longer be testing your child.

Advanced testing is held by the Bemidji Figure Skating Club usually 2 times per year, but sometimes 3 times per year. The test session is held at the Neilson Reise Arena. A panel, consisting of 3 judges, is flown into Bemidji from across the United States. These judges meet the qualifications set forth by the United States Figure Skating Association, for which our club is a member.

The test session is always held on a weekend, usually encompassing both Saturday and Sunday. Your child's coach will hand you a test form indicating the test they are ready to take and that they will have also signed. As a parent, you must then complete the additional information required on the form, enclosed payment for the test, and mail to the address indicated on the form by the deadline. Our Bemidji Figure Skating Club Test Chairperson will develop a schedule of all testers, and your child's timeslot will be assigned and mailed to you. You and your child will come to the arena approximately 1 hour before your child's scheduled test time. Your coach will meet you there. When your child tests, your child and their coach will go down to the ice and the judges will tell your child what they would like to see them do.

Our Junior Advanced program and Private lesson coaches work very hard with your child to prepare them well for this test. By the time they are recommended to test, your child has mastered the required elements of this test level. At the end of the test, the judges will complete their evaluations of your child's skills and determine whether they passed, or need to retry at a later date. Your child's coach will receive these forms and review them with you and your child.

If they pass the test, your coach will work with you to fill out the paperwork required to move your child from the Junior Advanced program into the Advanced level program.

Additional information:

You will have many more questions as your child progresses through the program. There are many resources for you to use in getting the information you need. You may talk to the Basic Skills Coordinator who is at the rink most days during the basic skills sessions. Another resource is any member of the Bemidji Figure Skating Club Board of Governors who can be found by going to our web page at www.paulbunyan.net/users/bfsc and clicking on the "About BFSC" tab. Any of our advanced coaches can also answer questions regarding our program. The list can be found on the club bulletin board at the Neilson Reise Arena, or by visiting our web page and clicking on the "Coaches" tab.

We, the Bemidji Figure Skating Club Board of Governors, hope this information has been helpful to you. If you have recommendations or suggestions on how we can improve this communication, please feel free to mail them to: Bemidji Figure Skating Club, PO Box 24, Bemidji, MN 56619.

Walk-On Ice:

Jr. Advanced skaters are welcome to skate on advanced ice to prepare for their upcoming test or competitions. Skater should be already registered for said test or competition and the event must be within a thirty-calender day time frame. They may do so only if their private lesson coach will be at the rink during the time the Jr. Advanced skaters is skating and if they will be receiving a lesson. The cost of walk-on ice is $1.00 pre than the cost to advanced skaters already contracted to skate. You must sign in on the walk-on sign-in sheet in the locker room on the bulletin board and will be billed for the time. Your private lesson coach should show you where the walk-on sign-in sheet is located.