Warm ups for various events

[Aussie Willy]

I am just doing some research on skating warm up times for a wide range of divisions (Synchro, Adult, Novice, Dance, Pairs, etc). I know the information for ISU events but just wondering what are the warm-ups for ISI events for the various levels.

Also for other countries or even events that are held at your local skating competitions, what are the general warm up times for events?

I am also looking at the risk of warm-up times. Is there a greater risk of injury for a shorter warm-up (around 4 minutes) than a 6 minute warm-up? The risks that come to mind for me are collision, falls, number of skaters on the ice, ice conditions but I am not sure that the length of a warm-up time would actually play any role in susceptibility to injuries.

Your thoughts or any information would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[ioana]

Am not sure about qualifying events, but adult silver warmups at several local events are 5 minutes & they can combine age groups as long as total skaters are still in single digits. We get judged in separate groups when we actually compete afterwards.

 

[overedge]

I've only competed in ISI adult events, and haven't done one for several years, but I think at the last one I did we got four minutes. But at some ISI events a lot of skaters in different events warmed up at the same time, and it took a lot of time to get through all those events. If that happened, then quite often the skaters in each of the last few events would get another minute or so to skate around before their event started.

I think the risk of injury is more related to the number of skaters on the warm-up than it is to the length of the warm-up. For what it's worth, in some adult competitive categories where the programs are short, like a minute and a half, the warm-up can be short too, like three minutes, and that's just not long enough for adults no matter how short the program is.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

At a lot of the USFS events and test sessions I've been to, if they start running over on time, they'll cut down on the amount of time in the warm ups, no matter what the rules say re: the amount of time for warm ups. I haven't noticed this leading to any injuries or anything else you listed on, although it can mean my performance isn't as great as it otherwise might have been.

 

[Aceon6]

I need a full half hour to warm up. I don’t need ice as much as I need 30 minutes of continuous movement. The last time I competed, I was scheduled 3rd in my group. The next event was already in the locker room and occupying every inch of stretching space. Despite jumping in place for 6 minutes, I was stiff as a board by the time it was my turn. It was USFS sign that I was getting too old for this.

 

[Willin]

For synchro in the US the warm-up time is 60 or however long it takes for the prior team's scores to be announced (with the next team allowed on the ice once the last skater of the preceding team is off. That means some teams get 60 seconds, some get 6-7 minutes. Not completely fair. When the last team's scores announced you have 30 seconds to get to your starting spots. While some teams do a short warm-up block, most now opt out of it or place it in the minimum 60 second time slot.

For lower level comps in singles it's usually a 4-minute warm-up for SPs and 6-minutes for the FS.