# Partnering · Figure Skating Level 5: Upper-Intermediate

Figure Skating · Level 5: Upper-Intermediate · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/figure-skating/level-5/partnering/)

Partnering in Figure Skating (Level 5: Upper-Intermediate) on Insporta: 20 sourced facts behind 2 tests. Covers: skating as one.

Skating as one: unison, holds, step sequences together and the first pair badges.

## Test 1: Skating as one

- For pair jump elements unison comes first; in singles the first jump bullet is height and length. (Source: ISU Communication 2788, Levels of Difficulty and GOE Guidelines, Single & Pair Skating 2026/27)
- A solo spin skated with a significant distance between the partners is marked down for big distance between partners. (Source: ISU Handbook for Referees & Judges, Single and Pair Skating 2026/27)
- The pair stays together without breaks for at least half the sequence; a brief gap while changing holds is allowed. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)
- A combination of difficult turns may hold different turns for man and woman, but the partners must do them at the same time. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)
- Of the two combinations of difficult turns, one must be executed in a hold. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)
- The pair team is awarded the lower level achieved by the partners. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)
- The pair choreographic sequence lists oneness where the singles list has good clarity and precision. (Source: ISU Communication 2788, Levels of Difficulty and GOE Guidelines, Single & Pair Skating 2026/27)
- The turns follow on from each other edge to edge, by both partners at the same time, with continuous flow. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)
- Pairs need at least 5, 7 and 9 difficult turns and steps; complexity does not apply in pair skating. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)
- In D the two spins are far apart across the ice; A, B and C keep them close together. (Source: ISU Handbook for Referees & Judges, Single and Pair Skating 2026/27)

## Test 2: Learning to skate together

- Pair skating is two people skating in unison, in such harmony that it looks like genuine pair skating, not two singles. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- The guide's pair team is one woman and one man, two women or two men. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- For trouble synchronizing, the guide has one athlete count out loud. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- Weak arm positions are fixed by keeping a firm position in the connecting holds. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- Uneven spirals are worked on by stretching in the spiral position off the ice and practising. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- The badge 3 step sequence is a smooth combination of learned turns and steps over half the length of the ice. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- At the end of the Kilian pair spin both skaters push out onto a back outside edge. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- The skaters start apart with arms extended, cross back, step towards each other and take the Kilian hold. (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- The pair badges go from a side-by-side two-foot spin (1) and a two-foot pair spin (2) to the Kilian pair spin (3) and a side-by-side sit spin (4). (Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021))
- B stays together without a break for more than half of the sequence. A, C and D never stay together that long in one stretch. (Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27)

Sources: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27; ISU Communication 2788 (2026/27); ISU Handbook for Referees & Judges 2026/27; Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021). Original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Pair element rules and program requirements belong to Pair Skating Rules; level features and base values are season values and are not keyed.

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