Skaters from the Skating Club of Maine-Northern Region traveled to Falmouth March 23 for a United States Figure Skating (USFS) test session. A USFS test session consists of panelist judges flying in from across the United States to watch skaters at all levels and to help them accomplish their goals to move onto the next figure skating level.
In the event that a skater fails a test, notes of improvement from judges are written down and the skater must work at perfecting those elements. Out of 20 tests, the Skating Club of Maine brought back 17 “passes,” with three tests that need improvement.
Those who attended the Falmouth USFS test session were: Devin Craig and Katie Smith, both of Caribou; Shayna da Cruz of Presque Isle; Jessica Scott of Mapleton; Sarah Hebert of Fort Fairfield; Chelsey Carroll of Presque Isle; Abbey Player of Fort Fairfield; and Carly Bell of Presque Isle.
Devin Craig and Katie Smith, who tested together in the pairs portion of the test session, passed their Preliminary Pairs Test; Shayna da Cruz tested and passed in three disciplines of skating – Dance, Freestyle and Moves in the Field. Those tests consisted of the Canasta Tango (Dance), Pre-Preliminary and Preliminary Freestyle, Preliminary Moves in the Field.
Jessica Scott passed the Cha Cha in the dance portion of figure skating. Sarah Hebert tested the same disciplines as da Cruz and passed her Cha Cha and Swing Dance, Preliminary Freestyle and Pre-Juvenile Moves in the Field. Chelsey Carroll was successful in passing her Pre-Preliminary Freestyle and Rhythm Blues (Dance); Abbey Player tested in two areas of figure skating, passing her Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field and Pre-Preliminary Freestyle. Lastly, Carly Bell passed her Pre-Preliminary Moves in the Field.
The skaters are now done training for the winter season, but will be back on the ice at the Forum in June. In addition, some will choose to travel and train in areas such as Boston, Connecticut and Augusta this summer. All skaters are coached by Haley Kelley and Sarah Duncan.
