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00:00Thank you so much for taking the time to join our webinar.
00:14Danielle and I are excited to share the outcome of the competition capacity review that took
00:19place over the course of the past winter and spring.
00:23Before we begin, I want to recognize that we are joining today from our studio at the
00:29section office, which is located on the traditional unceded and current territories of the Coast
00:35Salish peoples, specifically the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.
00:40I encourage everyone to take a moment to pause and reflect on the lands that you're joining
00:45from today.
00:47As we start this evening, I want to first express my gratitude to those who spent a considerable
00:53amount of time and effort on the competition capacity review.
00:59Thank you to Laura Carr, Ethan Swinburne and Danielle Williams for their work on this project.
01:06I also want to thank the section staff, section board of directors and the region chairs for
01:12their insights as we completed this work.
01:19A key objective of the competition capacity review was to understand where growth has occurred
01:25in our events since 2019.
01:29Given the challenges that we experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic, we only included registration
01:36information from in-person events as part of our review.
01:40An analysis was then completed to understand year-over-year registration trends since 2023 and how these
01:49compare it to registration trends before the pandemic.
01:53As we anticipated, significant growth has been experienced in our events.
01:58Between 2019 and 2024, we experienced a growth of 18% in competition entries.
02:07Between 2023 and 2024 alone, there was a 14% increase in competition registration.
02:14The changes that we will be reviewing with you today aim to increase our competition capacity
02:22so that we are able to meet this continued growth in our sport.
02:28As you will see from the presentation, the changes to events are minimal.
02:34The changes that you will see will increase competition capacity and help ensure standardized event
02:41offerings throughout the section.
02:44We know from our registration data, the event entries outside of free skate events now account
02:51for 40% of all registrations.
02:54This means that we need to be able to provide opportunities to athletes to compete in other
03:00disciplines outside of free skate events.
03:04Entries in our star supplementary events such as showcase and elements events continue to increase
03:12and we do see upward trends.
03:15We are also encouraged by the growth of adult and synchronized skating and we need to create
03:21capacity for additional growth in these areas.
03:24Danielle, I'm going to pass it over to you to provide an overview of some of the updates.
03:32Thanks Brayden and before I get started, I just want to remind everyone if you have any questions
03:36during this webinar tonight, you can email them to bcytsection at skatinginbc.com and we will answer
03:42the questions at the end of our presentation.
03:45The first update for the competitions is the performance series.
03:50So it will include events starting with fall regional competitions.
03:53This is a change.
03:54In the past it only included winter regional competitions,
03:58but the change is to accommodate geographic isolated areas and to conclude with the virtual finale.
04:05The top two scores will form the total for the standings.
04:08Events to be included in the performance series are star five to gold artistic,
04:13individual and group showcase three and four,
04:16adult free skate, but it will not be included in the virtual finale,
04:20artistic and showcase, which will be included in the virtual finale and star four synchro.
04:27The virtual finale will be played out late March or early April,
04:30with the video deadline being during the week of March 9th, 2026.
04:35So this is important.
04:36We will put this date out so everyone is aware so that clubs are able to start filming their videos
04:41before they break for the spring or for the end of the season.
04:44Reminder videos can be videoed at any time and it doesn't have to be March,
04:50during the week of March 9th.
04:51They can do it in February or whenever suits the club for their club time.
04:59The next update is we have a new star solo dance
05:04series, so introduced to promote the development of solo dance discipline
05:09and to serve as a feeder for the podium pathway solo dance.
05:13It will include events starting with fall regional competitions and conclude with the virtual finale.
05:18Again, the top two scores will form the total for the standings
05:21and the events included will be star four five to star ten gold solo dance.
05:26So all the solo dance categories.
05:27The next update will be the super series, which also has the addition of the podium pathway solo dance.
05:40So as in the past, all free skate events commence at BC Summer Skate competition.
05:44The top three scores will form the total.
05:47Podium pathway, including juvenile, will conclude at the sectional championships in November.
05:52Podium pathway solo dance has been added to start at summer skate and also conclude at the sectional
05:57championships in November.
06:00Star free skate, excluding star seven and nine and pre-juvenile will conclude at super series final.
06:05Star free skate and pre-juvenile can accumulate points at the regional competitions as well.
06:12Brayden, would you like to talk to us about synchro and adult?
06:15Yeah, thank you.
06:16So there will be changes to our synchronized skating and adult competitions.
06:21So these changes are going to occur over two seasons.
06:26So during the current 2025-2026 skating season,
06:31adult events will not be offered at BC Coast regional events.
06:35Adult events will continue to be offered at the BCYT adult and synchronized skating competition,
06:41as well as at West Coast Challenge.
06:43And both of these events will be hosted in the lower mainland.
06:47Adult free skate, artistic, showcase and dance will be offered at Super Series Final.
06:53And Star Force Synchro will also be offered at the Super Series Final.
06:58During the 2026-2027 skating season, adult events will no longer be offered at the BCYT
07:05synchronized skating competition or at West Coast Challenge.
07:09And instead of offering adult categories at these two events, we are going to add two competitions,
07:16which will be hosted in conjunction with adult seminars.
07:20This will enable us to increase capacity at synchronized skating events,
07:26while also offering dedicated adult competitions in conjunction with adult seminars.
07:32Brayden, I think it's important to add here that adult free skate will be coming back to Super Series Final.
07:38You did mention that, but this is something we do want to highlight.
07:42Based on feedback we've received from the adult community,
07:44we will be offering adult free skate at the Super Series Final again.
07:47Very important to note. Thanks so much.
07:48So at Super Series Final, we will be adding group showcase categories three and four.
07:58We'll also be adding introductory pairs to VDI, Summer Skate and Autumn Leaves.
08:06So this will help promote the pairs discipline in this section,
08:09and it helps to enable coaches to teach skaters how to skate and perform together as a pair,
08:15before introducing more complex pairs elements.
08:19Danielle, can you provide us with an update on the changes that are going to be made to the regional competitions?
08:26So the regional competitions, to support the Super Series, the Performance Series and Solo Dance
08:32and developing disciplines, the below list, as you can see,
08:36is a core list of events to be offered at all regional competitions.
08:39So Star 1 to Gold Free Skate, Introductory Pairs,
08:43Star 5 Partner Dance, Star 5 to Gold Artistic,
08:50Star 2 to Gold Solo Dance, Showcase 1 to 4 Individual and Group,
08:56Star 3 and 4 Synchro, Adult Events, Free Skate except for the BC Coast Region,
09:02and Special Olympics categories.
09:05Optional events will include elements individual and team,
09:11Juvenile Pairs, Pre-Juvenile Dance, and Juvenile Dance.
09:15Creative Improv is no longer being available to offer at regional competitions,
09:20as this event is best suited for in-club and other fun events.
09:24This event is currently only offered at the Okanagan competitions and at Gold Nugget.
09:28In the BC Coast Region, Pre-Juvenile to Pre-Novice events were removed from the BC Coast competitions
09:39to increase capacity for other categories.
09:41This has resulted in many podium pathway skaters at this level entering star categories,
09:46particularly at Winter Skate.
09:49So in order to preserve the star categories for those skaters,
09:51it is recommended that Pre-Juvenile to Pre-Novice be accommodated during this time frame.
09:56The section is currently looking at hosting a competition in January or February 2026 for
10:01Pre-Juvenile, Juvenile, and Pre-Novice categories for these skaters who,
10:05after sections, would not have an opportunity to compete again until March.
10:08Also in the BC Coast Region, not all BC Coast Pre-Juvenile and Juvenile skaters attend sections.
10:18As other regions include Pre-Juvenile and Juvenile events at their fall regional competitions,
10:22it is proposed that the same be offered to coast skaters.
10:26Jingle Blades 2025, as sections is in the BC Coast Region, Pre-Juvenile and Juvenile categories
10:32will not be offered this year.
10:33In subsequent years, when sections is held in another region, it is recommended that
10:38these categories be offered to skaters not attending sections.
10:43Braden, can you talk to us about the changes coming to the star categories?
10:47Certainly. So we received a lot of feedback on how we can enhance the competition experience
10:54for our star athletes. So the intent of this change is to ensure that star athletes
11:00have a positive competitive experience and that they're being ranked amongst other star athletes.
11:06Therefore, athletes who compete at sectionals will not be able to enter star categories until
11:13after March 31st. There is one exception to this, and this applies to athletes who are competing
11:20in Pre-Juvenile and Juvenile events at sectionals. These athletes will be able to register in star
11:27seven and star nine events. And this is because coaches use these events to prepare athletes
11:33to compete in a short program, which begins in pre-novice in the podium pathway stream.
11:42The other thing that we are looking at augmenting around event capacity is looking at when we host
11:49events. So long weekends have posed challenges recruiting volunteers, and we're actively on work moving,
11:57we're actively working on moving section events off of long weekends when possible, and we are asking
12:05for the regions to consider doing the same. So to augment capacity at region events,
12:12regions who are experiencing issues with capacity have also been asked to find arenas with
12:19double surfaces. This will not impact region events where capacity is not an issue, nor will it
12:27impact region events where competitions have been awarded to clubs who only have access to a single
12:33surface. So just want to make that note as well. And on the piece around the long weekend, as you will
12:41note, we have had some success at the section level, moving events off of long weekends. And an example
12:48of that is West Coast Challenge, which has been moved off of the Family Day weekend in 2026. So we are
12:57making some gains in that regard. So we do want to answer your questions. This webinar is for you to
13:07understand that any changes that we're making to our competition offering. So please email your questions to
13:14BCYT section at skatinginbc.com. And Danielle, you are actively watching your inbox there.
13:26But I do want to take a moment to go over a few questions and that we can answer that have come up
13:37in advance. So we received some questions since communicating the changes around the podium
13:45pathway athletes and star events. So I'm going to take a bit of time to answer these questions. So
13:52the first question we received is, what is the rationale for restricting which star free skate events
13:59podium pathway skaters can enter between November 1st and March 31st? So as I mentioned previously,
14:06we did receive feedback from coaches that the current model does not create a positive competitive
14:13experience for our star skate athletes. And that's because the star athletes are routinely
14:20being judged amongst a combination of athletes from the podium pathway stream as well as from star skate.
14:27And so the intention of this change is to ensure that those star athletes continue to have a positive
14:35competitive experience and that they'll be ranked amongst other star athletes.
14:41So Danielle, do you want to answer this question about what happens if a skater
14:45competes at sectionals in pre-novice or higher event category and would they be eligible to compete at a
14:52super series star event?
14:54Yes, a skater who does not compete in pre-novice or higher singles event at sectionals is eligible to
15:00compete in any star category during the season. Skaters who compete in pre-juvenile and juvenile
15:05free skate categories at sectionals will only be eligible to enter star seven and nine free skate
15:09categories between November 1st and March 31st.
15:12So another question that we received is will podium pathway events be available at any super series
15:21competitions between November and March and will these podium pathway events be restricted to those
15:28who competed at sectionals. So other than sectionals in November and super series final in March,
15:37we do not currently host any other super series competitions and so all podium pathway free skate
15:45categories will continue to be offered at sectionals and super series final. Super series final podium
15:52pathway categories will not be restricted to those who will not be restricted to only those who competed at
16:01sectionals and as we mentioned we're really excited to announce today that we are going to be adding
16:08another event in January or February for pre-juvenile to pre-novice.
16:16So Brayden, for skater planning on competing at sectionals what are their competition options
16:21between November 1st and March 1st? Yeah so pre-juvenile to novice skaters in the podium pathway
16:28stream are in the train to train stage of long-term development and based on the new general training
16:34and competition guidelines athletes in this stage of development should be competing in two to four
16:40competitions in the fall and in winter. So skaters who compete in pre-juvenile, juvenile and pre-novice
16:48events at sectionals will be able to register in region competitions in the CNCR, Okanagan, Kootenay and
16:57Vancouver Island region. So as we mentioned previously we are going to be adding a new super series pre-juvenile
17:04to pre-novice event which will be held in the lower mainland and it will be open to athletes from across
17:12the section. This event is going to be held in January or February and it is intended to provide
17:19another competitive opportunity for pre-juvenile and pre-novice skaters who competed at sectionals.
17:27Are we getting any questions coming in? No we don't have anything coming in.
17:31We can wait a few more minutes. I think this project has definitely highlighted the capacity
17:45and the development opportunities in our section and hopefully it will help over the next couple
17:51seasons when we roll it out to assist with that. I'm really encouraged to see the growth in our events.
17:58I think it shows an interest in in skating and very excited to see the growth of many different
18:05disciplines outside of free skate as well. So I was really encouraged to see that when we we did this
18:11review. So if you do have questions that come up we're always here to answer them. Please send your
18:21questions to BCYT section at skatinginbc.com we're happy to answer them and if need be if we need to
18:32explain something a little bit further we're always happy to arrange a call with anyone as well to make
18:37sure that you get the information that you need. You'll also be able to consult this webinar. A recording
18:46will be also available on skatinginbc.com so if you do need to go back and reference a portion of this
18:52webinar you can do so at any time. And also the powerpoint that we went through today will also
18:59be posted on skatinginbc.com. Excellent. So with that I think we'll close today. Thank you again for your time
19:08and your commitment to our sport. We appreciate you taking the time to learn about these changes
19:15and I hope to see you at a rink in the near future. Take care.
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