Figure Skating · Level 5: Upper-Intermediate · Sub-level 5.1
Partnering
2 tests · 20 facts · updated 20 October 2026 · markdown
Skating as one: unison, holds, step sequences together and the first pair badges.
Each test below is ten questions on Insporta. The list under a test is what the questions check: one fact per question, with the source it was written from. Read it before the test, or come back from a wrong answer.
Test 1Skating as oneTake a test
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 · recall
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 · applied
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 · recall
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 · recall
Of the two combinations of difficult turns, one must be executed in a hold.
Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27 · recall
The pair team is awarded the lower level achieved by the partners.
Source: ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/27 · recall
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 · recall
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 · applied
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 · applied
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 · applied
Test 2Learning to skate togetherTake a test
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) · recall
The guide's pair team is one woman and one man, two women or two men.
Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021) · recall
For trouble synchronizing, the guide has one athlete count out loud.
Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021) · recall
Weak arm positions are fixed by keeping a firm position in the connecting holds.
Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021) · recall
Uneven spirals are worked on by stretching in the spiral position off the ice and practising.
Source: Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021) · recall
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) · recall
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) · recall
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) · applied
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) · applied
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 · applied
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.
- Special Olympics Figure Skating Coaching Guide (2021)9
- ISU Technical Panel Handbook, Pair Skating 2026/277
- ISU Communication 2788, Levels of Difficulty and GOE Guidelines, Single & Pair Skating 2026/272
- ISU Handbook for Referees & Judges, Single and Pair Skating 2026/272