Details: Category: Procedures; Created: 04 February 2025; Last Updated: 05 March 2025

Officials

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- 1. Officials Appointment and Qualification Procedure

Terms used:

Base Level Technical Official

An individual sixteen years of age or older who is responsible for accurate technical panel process and for authorizing, correcting, deleting and adding elements to the list of elements performed during an event. The BLTO assists with the identification of elements in competition. The BLTO also assists with the identification of falls and illegal elements where appropriate to the level. The BLTO is qualified to act on a panel at or below a specified level of competition in singles only and can only be assigned to events where elements can be called no higher than base level and juvenile singles.

Base Level Technical Officials

CEO

The chief executive officer of Skate Canada.

Challenge

A championship that qualifies athletes toward and including, but not limited to, the Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

Chief Data Specialist

The data specialist who oversees the team of data specialists at a competition.

Cumulative Points Calculation

The Cumulative Points Calculation Judging System is a method for the calculation of results in the sport of figure skating. This system is based on the principle that a performance can be divided into elements (of difficulty) and program components, each of which can be evaluated individually. The total of the marks for all of the elements and components forms the score for each skater or team in a competition. The highest scoring skater or team is declared the winner. The second highest places second and so on.

Data Specialist

An individual sixteen years of age or older who has been trained and appointed to calculate the results of sanctioned figure skating competitions.

Data Specialists

An individual sixteen years of age or older who has been trained and appointed to calculate the results of sanctioned figure skating competitions.

Evaluator

An individual sixteen years of age or older who is responsible for evaluating assessments in the STAR 6-Gold structure. Evaluators are qualified to assess in one or more disciplines.

Evaluators

An individual sixteen years of age or older who is responsible for evaluating assessments in the STAR 6-Gold structure. Evaluators are qualified to assess in one or more disciplines.

Event

The name given to a group of skaters entered in a category. There may be one event per category or several events per category depending on the number of total entries. Each event is independent of the other events within the category.

Events

International Skating Union

The International Skating Union (ISU) is the exclusive international sport federation recognized by the International Olympic Committee administering the sports of Figure Skating and Speed Skating throughout the world. The ISU is composed of a number of national associations called ISU Members that administer ISU sports at the national level and recognize that all international matters are under the sole jurisdiction and control of the ISU.

Judge

An individual sixteen years of age or older who has been trained and appointed to officiate at or below a specified level of competition in one or more of singles, pairs, ice dance or synchronized skating.

Judges

Level Of Difficulty

The term given to certain features of elements that increase the value of an element. There are 5 levels of difficulty ranging from Level Base to Level 4.

Member

Each person that meets the requirements of any of the three Member classes as defined in Article 3 hereof and that has been duly admitted as a member of Skate Canada.

Members

Each person that meets the requirements of any of the three Member classes as defined in Article 3 hereof and that has been duly admitted as a member of Skate Canada.

Officer

The President and such other officers as the Board may determine by Ordinary Resolution.

Referee

A referee of an event within a competition is an experienced judge who has received further training to conduct an event and monitor the performance of the panel of judges. Referees are qualified to referee or judge at or below a specified level of competition in one or more of singles, pairs, ice dance or synchronized skating.

Referees

Rhythm

The regularly repeated pattern of accented and unaccented beats which gives the music its character.

Section

An organization incorporated or organized in a particular province or territory (and in some cases, a combination thereof) strategically aligned with Skate Canada, that may receive funds from provincial or territorial Governmental Authorities and be subject to applicable sport recognition programs and transfer payment arrangements. Each Section is held to the governance and operating requirements of their respective province and / or territory(ies) and is responsible for skating in their respective jurisdictions.

Segments

The name given to a portion of an event. Some categories have two segments (e.g., short program and free program) and some categories have only one segment.

Skate Canada Challenge

A championship that qualifies athletes toward and including, but not limited to, the Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

Technical Controller

An individual sixteen years of age or older who is responsible for accurate technical panel process and authorizes, corrects, deletes and adds elements to the list of elements performed during an event. Technical controllers are qualified to act on panels at or below a specified level of competition in one or more of singles, pairs, ice dance or synchronized skating.

Technical Controllers

Technical Specialist

An individual sixteen years of age or older who identifies elements and levels of difficulty of elements in competition. The technical specialist also identifies falls and illegal elements. Technical specialists are qualified to act on panels at or below a specified level of competition in one or more of singles, pairs, ice dance or synchronized skating.

Technical Specialists

Officials Appointment and Qualification Procedure

General Appointment and Promotion Procedures for All Officials

Individuals who meet the established criteria and are interested in seeking initial promotion as an official must apply or communicate their intention to the appropriate officials committee within their section.

Individuals who have completed the requirements outlined in this procedure in one or more disciplines shall submit an application for promotion to the appropriate Section Officials Committee or the Officials' Assignment and Promotion Committee.

All training requirements outlined in this procedure shall be valid for three years from the date of completion. Requests to extend the validity of training requirements must be made in writing to the respective Section Officials Committee. The date of submission for promotion applications for Challenge exams is March 1 of every year. The selection of candidates for Canadian and International exams shall be made by the Officials Assignment and Promotion Committee.

The Section Officials Committee or Section Data Specialists Committee, as appropriate, may require any official to attend additional seminars or clinics and/or write an examination as a condition of continued appointment.

An individual wishing to appeal a decision of the Section Officials Committee shall submit in writing a request for appeal to the staff lead of the Officials' Assignment and Promotion Committee. The char of the applicable Section Officials Committee must be copied on the request.

Any individual wishing to appeal the decisions of the Officials' Appointment and Promotion Committee shall forward the request for appeal to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and must copy the applicable Section Officials Committee. The CEO will appoint a working group of three people, who are not members of the Officials' Appointment and Promotion Committee, to review and decide on the appeal.

In exceptional circumstances the Officials' Assignment and Promotion Committee shall have the authority to recommend the promotion of an official even if the requirements for promotion have not been entirely met.

The Officials' Assignment and Promotion Committee may take any action deemed necessary with respect to the promotion, demotion, or deletion of any official to ensure that the best interests of skating and Skate Canada are protected.

STAR 1-4 Event Assessors, Judges, Evaluators, Referees, Base Level Technical Officials, Technical Controllers, Technical Specialists, and Data Specialists

Data Specialists

The appointment and promotion of all data specialists shall be dealt with in the following manner:

The Section Data Specialist Committee will offer training clinics based on need in terms of location, discipline, and level.
The Section Data Specialist Committee will review for approval all introductory and level I applications. The Section Data Specialist Committee will communicate the decision directly to the candidate and if approved, to Skate Canada's Member Services Department. Appointment shall take effect immediately.

Skating Background

"Skating background" is referenced throughout this document. The "Skating Background" requirement for the specified levels of appointment is as follows:

Any two STAR 5 free skate, skills, or dance assessments; or
Any one STAR 6 or higher free skate, skills, or dance assessment.

Announcement of Appointments

Promotions as evaluators, STAR 1-4 Event Assessor to senior judges, invitational to section referees, base level technical officials, section level technical controllers, or section level technical specialists shall become effective on the date of approval by the Section Officials Committee.

Promotions as Skate Canada Challenge or Canadian Championship judges, referees, technical controllers or technical specialists shall become effective on the date of approval by the Officials' Assignment and Promotion Committee.

Promotions as introductory, and level I data specialists shall become effective on the date of approval by the Section Data Specialists Committee.

Promotions as level II or III data specialists shall become effective on the date of approval by the National Office.

Reappointment of Officials

Officials who are inactive longer than 24 months must apply to be reappointed by their Section Officials Committee. After review by the appropriate officials committee the official may be re-appointed to a level no higher than their previous level of appointment.

The Section Officials Committee may require additional activities for re-appointment if deemed necessary.

Procedure for STAR 1-4 Event Assessors

STAR 1-4 Event Assessors who are inactive for 24 months will need to:

Review rule changes with a learning facilitator or someone deemed appropriate by the Section
Monitor a panel or participate in a mock panel for at least 8 skaters, which may be from multiple events.

STAR 1-4 Event Assessors who are inactive for longer than 24 months will need to retrain as outlined in the requirements for promotion as an event assessor.

Junior to Senior Sectional/Regional Judges

Juvenile to senior sectional/regional judges who are inactive between 24 to 36 months will need to:

Provide at least two satisfactory reports of trial judging of events at the level to which they are seeking reappointment. For novice and senior level judges these reports should be on complete events (short/rhythm and free if applicable to the discipline). Please note, the short/rhythm and free segments may be from different events/competitions, however, a total of two short/rhythm and two free segments are required.

The Section Officials Committee may require additional activities for re-appointment if deemed necessary.

Judges who are inactive for longer than 36 months will need to follow the promotion procedures as outlined in the requirements for promotion.

Procedure for Referees

Invitational/section/regional referees who have been inactive between 24 to 36 months will need to:

Be re-appointed as a judge (following the procedure outlined above).
Satisfactory refereeing of at least one complete invitational event (one short/rhythm and one free) in the applicable discipline.

Referees who are inactive for longer than 36 months will need to follow the promotion procedure as outlined in the requirements for promotion.

Procedure for Technical Panel Officials

Base level technical officials and sectional/regional technical controllers and technical specialists who are inactive for 24 to 36 months will need to:

Pass the Skate Canada Phase I Technical Rules Written Exam for that discipline. This is completed online.
Successfully complete the Phase II Assessment(s) for that discipline;
- Singles must have a minimum of 8 skaters (short and/or free), which may be in one or multiple events.
- Pairs and ice dance much have a minimum of 4 teams.
- Synchronized skating must have a minimum of 3 teams (must be from Adult I, Gold, Open, Junior).

For sectional/regional technical controllers and specialists (all disciplines) the categories must be assessed using the level of difficulty scale.

Base level technical officials (singles only) and sectional/regional technical controllers and technical specialists who are inactive for longer than 36 months will need to follow the appointment procedure as outlined in the requirements for promotion as a base level technical official, technical controller, and technical specialist respectively.

Procedure for Data Specialists

Introductory, level I and level II data specialists who have been inactive for 24 to 36 months will need to:

Confirm that they have been previously trained in the Competition Scoring System (CSS) for CPC. If not previously trained in CSS, they must successfully complete a section clinic that includes instruction on computer applications
Successfully complete the data specialist workbook for the level (level I and II only).
Successfully assist at a minimum of one competition with satisfactory assessments from the chief data specialist (or alternate).

Procedure for Evaluators

Evaluators who have been inactive for 24 to 36 months will need to:

Complete one supervised trial evaluating session per discipline (actual or simulated), including a selection of tests from STRAR 6 to the level at which they are seeking re-appointment.

Evaluators who are inactive longer than 36 months will need to follow the promotion procedure as outlined in the requirements for promotion.

Officials Pathway

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Judge

The specific requirements for appointment to each level are summarized below. Each judging level is a pre-requisite to the ones that follow it. Where indicated, video exercises may be substituted for actual/demonstrated exercises as the Section Officials Committee deems necessary.

STAR 1-4 Event Assessor

Singles Judge

Pairs Judge

Ice Dance Judge

Synchronized Skating Judge

Challenge Judge - Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance

Canadian Judge - Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

Canadian Judge - Synchronized Skating

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

International or ISU Judge

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as an Evaluator

Evaluator

Diamond Dance Evaluator

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Skills or Artistic Coach Assessor

Qualified Skills and Artistic Coach Assessor

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Referee

Invitational/Section Level Referee

Regional Referee - Synchronized Skating

Challenge Referee - Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance

Canadian Referee - Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance

Canadian Referee - Synchronized Skating

International or ISU Referee

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Technical Official

Base Level Technical Official - Singles

Note: Candidates can do a Base Level Technical Official training and then a Section Level training right away without completing their Base Level phase II if it is recommended in their assessment. If candidates wish to officiate in between, they must do the phase II of the Base Level first.

Candidates can go on panel as long as there are two other Section level qualified individuals on the panel for practice before they complete their phase II.

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Technical Controller

Section (Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance) or Regional (Synchronized Skating) Technical Controller

Challenge Technical Controller - Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance

Canadian Technical Controller

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

International or ISU Technical Controller

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Technical Specialist

Section (Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance) or Regional (Synchronized Skating) Technical Specialist

Challenge Technical Specialist - Singles, Pairs, Ice Dance

Canadian Technical Specialist

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

International or ISU Technical Specialist

Examination: Written at the Canadian Championships.

Requirements for Appointment as a Phase II Technical Panel Assessor

There is a separate Phase II Technical Panel Assessor appointment required for each discipline (BLTO, singles, pairs, ice dance, and synchronized skating) and each position (technical controller or technical specialist).

Prerequisite: The prerequisites to obtaining a Phase II Technical Panel Assessor's appointment are:

Minimum section level qualification in the position of application (technical controller or technical specialist) in the respective discipline.
Satisfactory activity as a controller/specialist for at least two consecutive seasons in the respective discipline.

Criteria of assessment for Phase II Technical Assessor appointment:

Technical knowledge, communication, deportment and leadership skills of applicant.
The section will determine the number of candidates that will be appointed based on their needs.

Requirements for Appointment or Promotion as a Data Specialist

Please note, a new clinic and new assessment are required for each promotion being sought.