Introducing S.A.M., The Skating Accommodation Memorandum
and the medical specialists determining the reasonable accommodations.
Testing Implementation By Courtney Fecske, PhD, CTRS
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he Adaptive Skating Committee for U.S. Figure Skating has been hard at work on new and exciting changes for skaters with disabilities! One new change we are enthusiastic about is the introduction of the Skating Accommodation Memorandum, or S.A.M. for short (with a playful nod to Snowplow Sam!). S.A.M. is meant to create equitable skating standards for skaters with disabilities, develop increased opportunities for skaters with disabilities to continue their skating growth, and support reasonable accommodations to do so. A skater with a documented disability may request exemption from or modification of certain technical rules on the basis that such rule penalizes them in the marking of the assessment and that such rule is peripheral to the skating skill to be demonstrated.
How it Works A Skate United Skater will complete the Request for Skating Accommodation Memorandum form, which can be found on the Adaptive Skating page within Members Only. This form should be sent to the Adaptive Skating Committee Chair. The Adaptive Skating Committee Chair will work with the appropriate team, composed of medical professionals and skating experts, to assess the documentation and provide the skater with an appropriate Skating Accommodation Memorandum to be used at U.S. Figure Skating sanctioned events, including but not limited to test sessions and competitions. The S.A.M. process will be collaborative and autonomous in nature with the team communicating with the skater/legal guardian to secure the most appropriate reasonable accommodations for each skater on an individual basis.
Competition Implementation Once a S.A.M. has been approved, if a skater is competing in a 6.0 event, the skater/legal guardian needs to notify the LOC during the competition registration process. The LOC will notify the Chief Referee, who will notify judges as needed on the panel, to implement skating accommodations. Officials do not determine accommodations, they simply implement what is stated in the S.A.M. Additionally, no information pertaining to the skater’s health or disability is ever necessary to be known aside from the skater/legal guardian
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If testing within the Skate United track or standard track with accommodations, the skater/legal guardian needs to notify the test chair at the time of test registration about the accommodation. The test chair will notify the judging panel of the accommodation that will be implemented. Similar to the competition implementation, no information pertaining to the skater’s health or disability is ever necessary to be discussed aside from when reasonable accommodations are being determined. Officials simply need to provide the stated accommodation for the skater. Should a test chair, LOC, or official have any questions these should be directly addressed with the chair of the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee and no one else. An example of how a S.A.M. could be used is if a skater is completing a virtual test and requires a break between moves in the field elements, a skater may seek approval to complete the test over a three-day period and execute two elements per day under the supervision of an appropriate proctor and within all other virtual testing rules. Another example of a S.A.M. accommodation could be as simple as requiring that a skater’s music be played louder.
Questions Please reach out to the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee with inquiries about the S.A.M.! The Adaptive Skating Subcommittee aims to recruit and support skaters with disabilities in their skating journey and strongly feels these rules will provide a strong foundation to do so. You can find more information about the S.A.M. process and forms in the members only area of the website along with a webinar explaining the new rules in more detail! www.usfigureskating.org The Adaptive Skating Subcommittee chair is Mary Johanson, who may be contacted at coachmaryjohanson@gmail.com If you have any Skate United specific questions you can email Courtney Fecske at courtneyjweisman@gmail.com Courtney Fecske, PhD, CTRS is a member of the Adaptive Skating Subcommittee and serves as the Skate United lead. Dr. Fecske is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at Indiana University-Bloomington in the School of Public Health and is also a former Team USA Synchronized skater and current official for US Figure Skating. She has founded and worked with adaptive skating programs and conducts research focused on examining the impact of participation in adaptive sports.
