Learn to Compete
Is your skater ready to try a new experience beyond group lessons? Consider learning about figure skating competitions in a friendly, positive atmosphere! Each spring, the Farmington Hills Figure Skating Club offers a Learn to Compete program for a limited number of skaters in the following levels: Snow Plow Sam, Basic 2 - 6, Pre-Free Skate, Free Skate 1 - 6, and Beginner Adult. Skaters do not have to be Farmington Hills Figure Skating Club members.
**Skaters are NOT eligible for this program if they already take private lessons. This is a bridge program that lets group class skaters try private lessons and a competition.**
Skaters receive five 25-minute lessons to prepare an individual routine for an affordably-priced Basic Skills figure skating competition. The skater's skill level is evaluated at the first lesson to determine the best competition level. In the next four lessons, the coach choreographs and teaches a one-minute program/routine to music that includes the specific skills required for the appropriate competition level. Skaters also get a Learn to Compete warmup fleece/jacket. The Learn to Compete program fee is approximately $275.
Most Learn to Compete skaters compete in the Summer Swizzle, a Basic Skills competition that the Farmington Hills Figure Skating Club hosts at the Farmington Hills Ice Arena in mid-June, but skaters can choose from other local competitions in the Basic Skills series. Competition entry fees are IN ADDITION to the Learn to Compete program fee. (The 2025 Basic Skills competition entry fee was $60 for the first event and $20 for each additional event.)
The deadline to register for Basic Skills competitions is about two weeks before each event; the competition schedule (i.e., the time your skater will skate) is generally available the week before the event. We do our best to lend skating outfits to Learn To Compete participants and to connect them with a club parent with competition experience.
On competition day, the skater's event takes about 30 minutes, but skaters need to arrive one hour before their scheduled skate time. Coaches are with the skaters before their events and provide encouragement and support as skaters take the ice.
After the Learn to Compete program, skaters are strongly encouraged to participate in additional competitions because they already have a skating outfit and a routine, and it is easier and MORE FUN to compete once skaters know what to expect at a competition. Participants arrange for additional lessons and competitions directly with their coach.
Skaters may participate in the Learn to Compete program two times.
To learn more about the Learn to Compete program, contact Coach Michelle Sibley (mssk8tr22@gmail.com), Coach Maria Phillips (mskate1919@gmail.com), or FHFSC (president@fhfsc.org).
To register for the Learn to Compete program, click here: [link available from approximately April - June]. There are no fees due until a skater is matched with a coach. The program fee can be paid by check (payable to FHFSC; $35 returned check fee), cash, or Venmo before the first lesson.
To register for the Learn to Compete program, click here: [link available from approximately April - June]. There are no fees due until a skater is matched with a coach. The program fee can be paid by check (payable to FHFSC; $35 returned check fee), cash, or Venmo before the first lesson.