Skating Fridays

How To Start Trial Judging

Recently, I received a comment from Eva Bakes reader KL asking how to go about trial judging. There are lots of resources on the internet, but the information isn’t consolidated into one single place. Bear with me, as there are lots of things to share. I’ll do my best to be as comprehensible as possible.

The focus of today will be on trial judging for singles tests since that is the path I chose. I imagine the paths for the other disciplines and competition judging will be somewhat varied but follow a similar structure.

1. Decide what type of official you’d like to become – test judge (a person who evaluates figure skating tests), a competition judge (one who sits on a panel to evaluate skaters’ programs during competition), a technical specialist (the people who review elements and “call” them), a data operator (one who inputs the elements after the tech specialist “calls” them), a video replay operator, a referee, a music operator, or an announcer. I may be missing a few roles so apologies if my mind is blanking out. If you are a coach, your roles are limited – as an example, you cannot become a competition judge if you are an active USFS coach (this is accurate as of June 2025)
2. Determine what discipline you want to focus on – singles, dance, pairs, synchro. Then become intimately familiar with the rules (check out the latest USFS rule book)
3. Complete the interest form to become a judge. This will be submitted to the Sectional Vice President for approval. Note that you need to be at least 18 years old but do not need to have any knowledge of figure skating to get started (although being a skater is immensely helpful). If you are currently a skater or was a skater sometime in your lifetime, you may have different requirements to fulfill for your appointment. For example, you may qualify for an Advanced or Accelerated track depending upon the tests you have passed. I was eligible for the Accelerated track since I have passed my Adult Gold Free Skate/Singles test. As a result, I have fewer requirements than those candidates on the standard track.
4. Once you have received your approval to become a test judge, it is up to you to plow your own path forward. Mentorship is no longer a formal program, so you must reach out to clubs to see if they’d be willing to have you as a test judge on their (virtual or in-person) panels. I sent emails to local clubs and ones as far away as the west coast. My introductory email told them about myself and my desire to become a test judge. You can usually find clubs via their websites and looking at any links to their Testing pages. Often, there will be a link to the Test Chair’s email address. The other option is to go into the Members Only section of US Figure Skating and doing a search for a specific club and looking at the contact info for their board members. (Note that my link above requires a login to US Figure Skating). Another option is to visit Entry Eeze and search for virtual test sessions and contacting the respective test chair. 
5. After test chairs have agreed to let you trial judge, familiarize yourself with the test forms and all of the requirements for each test. You will also be required to complete several online webinars and other forms/affidavits online. You will need to fill out the Trial Judge Form (not the standard form).
6. Print out the test forms and get your pencils sharpened (and erasers ready). Watch the test and notate what you saw. It helps to have neat handwriting if you are filling out the forms by hand. Otherwise, there are online apps and resources available if you fill these out electronically for virtual tests. I started out doing these by hand, scanning my forms, and returning them to the test chairs. But it was too manual and time-consuming. I found that I could download the form to my phone, open it as a photo, and edit the picture by adding text to the fields. Then I’d save the photo and return it back to the test chair. Other judges use Adobe Acrobat (you may need to pay for a subscription if you go this route – my method is free).
7. Here are some tips for in-person tests:
   • Brings several pencils and at least one pen (the Judge in Charge will need to sign your trial paper by pen).
   • Bring your own clipboard and a stopwatch (you are not supposed to have a phone out during a test session)
   • Bring water and some snacks in case you get hungry (some clubs may offer you food and beverages)
   • Bring your own trial judge test forms (better yet – ask the test chair ahead of time if you need to bring your own forms or if they can print them out for you). Then fill out the forms as best you can before the test session starts. That means you’ll need to write your name, USFS number and “Prospective (judge)” under the Appointment section.
   • After the skaters finish their test and during the next skaters’ warmups, talk to the judges to get a sense of how the tests went. You will need to get the Judge in Charge’s signature (in pen) for your trial judge forms. They also need to overwrite your marks in pen. This is my favorite part of trial judging. I get to hear firsthand what the judge saw and how my comments and marks could have improved. If you are trialing virtually, don’t hesitate to reach out the judges on the panel ask them for feedback. Get as many different judges to sign your forms as possible. It’s always helpful to get perspectives from a variety of individuals.
   • Make sure you ask the test chair to make copies of your forms and give you a set. You will need to scan these later once you submit your application for appointment.
   • Ask lots of questions! I like to pick the judges’ brains to better understand how they would handle various situations.
   • Thank the judges for their expertise and especially thank the test chair for allowing you to trial.
   • Remember, as a trial judge, you are responsible for your own travel expenses and any incidentals. If you earn an appointment, clubs may reimburse you for travel. But as a trial judge, you have to pay for your own travel.
8. Keep track of your progress. This chart outlines the agreement percentages you need to maintain. I kept a spreadsheet that I downloaded from here (I altered the form a bit since it’s outdated and didn’t list the correct names of the tests or levels I needed) and listed the name of the skater, club, test, whether the test passed or got a retry and if I was in unanimous agreement with the panel, with the majority, with the minority, or with none of the panel. These statistics are important to maintain because your Sectional Vice Chair will be validating these once you apply for an appointment.
9. Once you have fulfilled all of the requirements, you can submit your application for appointment. Again, you will need to ensure you’ve completed all the online webinars, various forms, and have all of your signed trial forms. You’ll scan and store them in a drive somewhere and share the link on your application. Then sit back and wait. It can take up to 60 days to receive a reply, so be patient.

To give you an idea of how my journey has gone, I submitted my interest form in mid-February and began trial judging then. I was required to trial 30 total tests (with at least one from each Skating Skills test and one from each Singles tests up to and including Pre-Silver). I also had to trial two in-person tests. I ended up trialing 60+ tests and doing two in-person tests. Most of my tests were completed virtually and I was done by April. However, because I needed another in-person test, I had to wait until May to fulfill that requirement. I submitted my application in mid-May and am still waiting on results. One judge told me it took her 8 months for her Gold appointment.

I also met some extremely wonderful and generous individuals through this process. Several judges proactively offered (virtual) feedback and helpful tips and tricks. I became online friends with some test chairs and even got to meet a few in person. Remember, officials and test chairs are volunteers just like you. Be grateful for their time and expertise!

I know this has been a novel but I hope it’s helpful for someone else out there who is considering this path. It’s super rewarding, and I’ve had a blast so far!

Fingers crossed that I can share some good news soon. 🤞🏻😊

Additional resources:

• Becoming on Official (via US Figure Skating)
• Test Judging (via US Figure Skating)
• Search for Clubs (via Members Only on USFS; password-protected)
• Test Forms (via Members Only on USFS; password-protected)
• Trial Judge Checklist
• Trial Judge Facebook page (test chairs and club officials will often posts test sessions or competitions you can trial)
• Reference Info for Officials (via Sk8Stuff.com)
• Coaches to Test Judges (helpful for coaches who want to become a test judge)
• Guidelines for trial judging virtual tests

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