Us Figure Skating has revamped its qualifying structure for the 2019/2020 season.  In the past skaters had to place top 4 in their respective regional championships to earn a spot at Sectional Championships (which ultimately leads to the US Championships). Skaters are now offered an alternative path to qualify for the Sectional Singles Final.

In addition to a top 4 finish at regionals, athletes can also earn a ‘bye’ to sectionals through the National Qualifying Series. The National Qualifying Series (NQS) is hosted at select summer competitions throughout the nation.  For a list of participating singles competitions please follow this link.

At those competitions skaters who qualify for the final round (or if the competition contains less than 24 skaters in the initial round) can compete to earn a personal best “total score”. This score is the combined total between their short program and free skate and will be used to rank skaters within their section as well as nationally.  NQS events are held between May 31^st, and September 15^th.

Athlete centered Skating encourages our qualifying skaters to participate in the NQS.  Please see below for a list of key steps you must take to register and participate within the NQS.  It is not enough to simply sign up for a participating competition.  You must follow the correct procedure to have your skater’s score registered and counted with the series.

1. Enter the National Qualifying series by the May 28^th You will enter through your members only account using the Event Management System. The cost is 25$ per event.  Athletes are not required to select their competitions at this point, only to register as an overall participant.
2. After registering through the Event Management System, athletes can then sign up for specific competitions. The location of the competition does not matter, skaters may skate outside of their own section. Since it is a personal best score that counts toward the skaters ranking the competition placement does not matter. Skaters may participate in as many events as they want.
3. Total scores achieved in championship final round will be entered into the NQS ranking and skaters will earn a sectional and national ranking. The skaters best total score of the season will be used to determine their ranking.
4. The top 6 athletes in each section will receive a bye and an option to compete at their respective regionals. All other skaters still have the opportunity to qualify through the traditional regional qualifying track.

Please look out for future blogs discussing in more detail the benefits and potential set-backs of this new qualifying series. Also look out for a more in-depth discussion of other major changes to the competitive structure including the Junior and Senior only Nationals, and the development of a National High Performance Development Team