Minimum Skills

Before participating in a scrimmage or bout, each skater must pass their Minimum Skills. High Tide encourages everyone to learn at their own pace, skills are assessed several times throughout the year. Skaters do not have to have any of these skills handled before skating with us. We go over basic skills each practice!

Basic Skating Skills

Endurance:

Skaters must complete 1 lap in 13 seconds, then 11 laps in 2 minutes, followed by 2 minutes of active and competitive engagement with a 4-skater pack. 

Transitions:

Skater can complete a 180 degree turn without breaking stride, ending in a stop, backwards skating, and a 360 degree turn. For a "satisfactory," skaters must complete a transition in both directions.

Backwards Skating:

Skaters must be able to complete at least four laps backwards, demonstrating the ability to change trajectory, maneuver, and adjust their speed while maintaining track awareness.

Knee Taps and Slides:

Skaters must be able to perform knee taps on both sides without losing their momentum or balance, recovering without needing their hands to get up. For a double knee slide, skaters must recover without significant interruption to their pace. 

Toe Stops:

Skaters should show control on their toe stops, maintaining balance and bouncing in place without much trouble. For an "satisfactory" in this category, skaters should be able to use their toe stops to begin a stride or a run, with several uninterrupted steps required for an "excellent."

Jumping:

Skaters must be able to jump or hop forward and laterally without losing their balance, over at least a 6" tall obstacle.

Weaving:

Skaters must be able to weave and maneuver at a relatively brisk pace through both a set of at least ten cones into a turn AND a moderately-paced pace line of moving skaters.

Contact Skills

Pushing:

Skaters should be able to push a receiving skater near their center of gravity with ample force to noticeably change their direction of momentum. Skaters must also use momentum from a forward push to accelerate their own pace.

Pack Skating and Communication:

Skaters must demonstrate communication with surrounding skaters during a pace line and during pack skating to alert them to incoming jammers, looking continually and using a loud, clear voice. In a pack of 4-10 moving at a moderate pace, skaters must demonstrate the ability to perform safe knee taps and slides at unexpected times in the pack. Pack skaters must avoid the downed skaters without going out of bounds, falling over them or causing unnecessary hazard.

Checking:

Skaters must perform repetitive hip and body checks delivered with legal blocking/target zones while skating at a brisk pace.

Taking Hits:

Skater responds safely to repeated heavy blocks without flailing or grabbing other skaters. If the hit knocks the skater off balance, they fall safely without sprawling and recover within 2-4 seconds.

Positional Blocking:

Skaters must demonstrate the ability to lean and push on an opponent with legal blocking zones to legal target zones while moving at moderate pack speed. Skaters must also plow within the confines of the pack to slow a targeted skater without tripping other skaters.


2. Recovery Tactics

Skater must perform the following falls safely, correctly and naturally. Skaters must be able to slide into knee contact with the floor, rather than crashing onto pads. Slides should be performed from a brisk pace without using hands or flailing arms. Recovery to a normal skating pace should be smooth and immediate, unless noted otherwise.

2.1 Knee Taps

  • Left.

  • Right.

  • Performs each knee tap without coming to a complete stop.

  • Taps a single knee without breaking normal skating stride.

  • Recovers from knee tap without using hands to get up.

  • Performs two consecutive single knee taps in stride, with low recovery.

2.2 Double Knee Slides

  • Knees do not make contact with ground at exact same time.

  • Returns to active skating within three seconds.

  • Recovers without using hands to get up.

  • Momentum used to initiate the slide is continued into the recovery to normal skating motion.

3. Balance and Agility

Skater must demonstrate the ability to perform the following tasks without losing balance, stumbling or falling.

3.1 Standing and Stepping from a Standstill, Maintaining Control of Wheels (not rolling)

  • Forward and backward.

  • Side to side in both directions.

  • Grapevine (first foot side steps, second foot steps across and in front of first foot, first foot side steps, second foot steps behind and crosses first foot) to both the right and left.

  • Shuffle (first foot side steps, second foot steps to meet first foot without crossing first foot, first foot immediately side steps in a hopping motion) to both the right and left.

  • Quick steps (both feet rapidly alternate in small steps, only one foot is on the ground at a time) in place and to the right and left.

  • Ability to balance on each foot from a stationary position at least 30 seconds.

3.2 Hopping

  • Hops over an object at least six inches (15 centimeters) in height without touching the object or losing balance, while skating at a moderate pace.

  • Jumps with both feet simultaneously, but does not have to land with both feet simultaneously.

  • Hops laterally at least 18 inches (45.5 centimeters) from a brisk forward speed.

3.3 Focus

  • Comfortably looks left, right, and behind quickly and unexpectedly while maintaining regular skating stride at a moderate pace.

3.4 Weaving

  • Maneuvers through 10 cones, each no more than five feet (1.5 meters) apart (not to exceed 50 feet or 15 meters), placed through the straightaways and track turns, in less than six seconds.

  • Weaves comfortably and briskly through a moderately moving pack of skaters without focusing on their own feet.

3.5 Transitions

  • Turns 180° without breaking stride, maintaining a moderate pace.

  • Turns clockwise and counterclockwise from front to back.

  • Turns clockwise and counterclockwise from back to front.

  • Turns 360° without breaking stride, from a moderate pace. Using two 180° turns in a row, without breaking stride, is acceptable.

4. Pack Skills and Interactions

Skaters must demonstrate the ability to perform the following skills legally, safely, and without losing

balance, stumbling, or falling, while skating at a moderate pace.

4.1 Whips

  • Giving and receiving arm whips.

    • Giving an inside whip, the initiating skater holds their right arm against their body, providing a hand as a “handle” for the receiver to grab and pull. The initiator does not attempt to pull from the shoulder. The initiator may use the left hand to push the receiving skater.

    • Giving outside whip, the initiating skater positions body with one foot extended in front of the other, and extends right arm to receiver. The receiving skater grasps the initiator’s hand with their own right hand. The initiator of the whip, using core abdominal muscles, not the shoulder muscles, pulls the receiver, transferring momentum to the skater being whipped.

  • Taking and providing hip, belt and clothing whips.

    • Consistently demonstrates the ability, judgment and timing to take a whip off another skater’s body or clothing without pulling the other skater off-balance.

    • Consistently demonstrates the stability to provide hip and clothing whips without getting pulled off-balance.

4.2 Pushes

  • Giving pushes

    • Pushes receiving skater near receiver’s center of gravity (hips or buttocks) with ample force to provide noticeable change in receiving skater’s direction of momentum.

    • Pushes are centered and even (does not turn receiving skater’s hips).

    • Pushes are parallel to the floor (does not push up, causing the receiver to be pushed off their feet, or down, causing the receiver to be pushed to the floor).

    • Maintains form and balance before, during and after pushing receiving skater.

  • Receiving pushes

    • Uses momentum provided from a forward push to accelerate and begins skating within two seconds of push.

    • Maintains form and balance while receiving push forward, to left and/or right.

4.3 Pacing

  • Adjusts to the variable speeds (decrease/increase) of a pace line while maintaining an arms length distance from other skaters without falling, tripping, overtaking or running into another skater.

4.4 Weaving Around Moving Obstacles

  • Demonstrates weaving through a single-file line of skaters, each an arm’s length apart, at a moderate pace.

4.5 Unexpected Obstacles

  • 4.5.1 Testing all skaters in a pack of 4-10 moving at a moderate pace. All skaters demonstrate the ability to perform safe knee taps and slides at unexpected times in the pack. Pack skaters must avoid the downed skater(s) without going out of bounds, falling over them or causing unnecessary hazard.

  • Demonstrates the ability to recover balance after bumping skates or locking wheels with another skater.

5. Blocking

Skater must demonstrate the ability to perform the following skills without fouling other skaters while skating at a moderate pace.

5.1 Taking Hits

  • Responds safely to repeated heavy blocks without flailing or grabbing other skaters. If the hit knocks the skater off balance, they fall safely, without sprawling, and demonstrate an ability to recover within two to four seconds.

  • Demonstrates the above in a pack situation, without causing an unnecessary hazard for pack skaters.

5.2 Positional Blocking and Leaning (aka frontal blocking or stall blocking)

  • Performs contact with good posture and without loss of balance.

  • Demonstrates ability to lean and push on an opponent with legal blocking zones to legal target zones while moving at moderate pack speed.

  • Demonstrate ability to plow stop in a pack without tripping other skaters in the pack.

  • Demonstrate ability to use a plow stop to slow another skater.

    • Must be no more than two feet (0.5 meters) in front of other skater.

    • Other skater must have demonstrated decrease in pace due to blocking skater’s positioning and/or contact.

5.3 Checks

  • Demonstrates the ability to perform repetitive hip and body checks delivered with legal blocking zones to legal target zones with moderate to heavy force while skating at a brisk pace.