A Word From Our President…

Becky Stump (MS, MG, MM, MTOI, CFF, CPD) is the President of PSA and resides on the east coast.

This season has been a very interesting one thus far for PSA. There are considerable changes ahead for our organization and for our membership. We realize it took some time to get the information out however it has been an incredibly fluid situation and we are committed to providing accurate information to our members. We will continue to communicate with you as we work through the many details that need to be addressed.

By now you should be aware that U.S. Figure Skating is in the developmental stages of empowering the voice of coaches through governance and to bringing coach development, education, and accreditation under their umbrella. This is a considerable change for both organizations. The evolution began when U.S. Figure Skating asked athletes what the most important influence on their skating journey was and the resounding answer was their coach. With coaches being so significant, U.S. Figure Skating felt their strategic plan going forward must reflect coaches, athletes, and officials working together to grow the sport.

We as PSA coaches have long appreciated the extensive influence we have on our athletes and the integral role we play in this sport. And now we embrace U.S. Figure Skating’s plan to finally give coaches a real voice in the U.S. Figure Skating governing structure and to help our coaches and athletes be the best they can possibly be. Together, we are working toward empowering coaches to have a greater impact on the future growth of figure skating.

So what does this mean for the future of our PSA members? For the past few months, leadership from PSA and U.S. Figure Skating have been working collectively as a team to ensure that the very best of the PSA migrates over to the new U.S. Figure Skating Coaching Membership.

Much has not been finalized at the time of this writing, however both organizations acknowledge the vital educational value our members have received through PSA programs over the decades. We know how much our membership values their PSA Ratings and Rankings and therefore the design team is working to ensure that the PSA Ratings our members have achieved will be transferred and recognized by U.S. Figure Skating. In addition, PSA has formed a team that is tasked with deciding where and how the PSA organization moves forward once U.S. Figure Skating fully takes on coach education and certification, etc. What this boils down to is that you, our treasured membership, will continue to benefit from reliable education and enjoy the endless ability to grow as a coach within figure skating.