How Skater Progression and Testing Work at the Saugeen Shores Skating Club

The Saugeen Shores Skating Club moves skaters through three main stages: CANSkate for fundamentals, Pre-Star for strength, speed, edges and turns, and STARSkate for advanced elements and standardized testing. Testing in the formal sense happens at the STARSkate level, where certified Skate Canada judges evaluate skaters against standardized criteria in ice dance, skating skills, freeskate and interpretive skating. The club describes its programs as serving everyone from recreational skaters to future hockey players to competitive hopefuls, so progression is best understood as a pathway rather than a single ladder—skaters enter where their goals and current skills fit.

The Three-Stage Pathway

CANSkate: Building the Base

CANSkate is Skate Canada's flagship learn-to-skate program, and the club teaches it in a progressive, group-lesson format led by Nationally Certified Coaches and Program Assistants. Skills build on one another rather than being taught in isolation, and the club offers both youth and adult streams. This stage has no formal test evaluation described on the site—the measure of progress is moving through the progressive skill set within group lessons.

Pre-Star: Strength, Speed and Edge Work

Once skaters "make it through the slippery side of the sport," the Pre-Star program shifts to group lessons focused on strength, speed, edges and turns. The club notes these elements are crucial for hockey players and figure skaters alike. Pre-Star also introduces basic jumps and spins for skaters who intend to continue into STARSkate, which makes it the bridge between fundamentals and advanced figure skating.

STARSkate: Advanced Training and Standardized Testing

STARSkate is open to skaters of all ages and continues from Pre-Star into more advanced elements. Members train in four areas—ice dance, skating skills, freeskate and interpretive skating—and progress through standardized test evaluations conducted by certified Skate Canada judges. This is the stage where progression is formally measured: skaters advance by passing tests rather than simply by completing lessons.

How Progression and Testing Compare Across Stages

Choosing the Right Entry Point

The club frames its programs around three motivations: fun, fitness and achievement. A family deciding where a skater should start can use that framing directly:

• New to skating or skating mainly for fun and fitness: CANSkate, in either the youth or adult stream.
• Hockey-oriented or ready to build power and edges: Pre-Star, which the club explicitly ties to hockey development as well as figure skating.
• Aiming at competitive or advanced figure skating: STARSkate, where the four training areas and judge-evaluated tests define advancement.

Because Pre-Star introduces jumps and spins specifically for those continuing to STARSkate, it functions as the natural preparation step rather than a separate track.

Practical Notes

• The club lists SynchroSkate alongside its other programs, so synchro is an additional option beyond the three-stage pathway described above.
• Coaches named on the site include Janet Dawson, Brittany Sanderson, Cathy Champagne-Baker, Tamara Fenton, Jessica Ronholm and Michelle Venne Wardrop.
• The site advertises spring and summer skating with a registration link, and registration and schedule details are handled through the club's Registration & Schedule page.
• Questions about placement or testing can go to [email protected].

For a skater's specific test level or readiness to move between stages, the club's coaches are the appropriate source—the website outlines the pathway and testing structure but does not publish individual test requirements.