Hey my friend is a professional ice skater so here are her responses
1. They are about 3 hours long, usually from 9-12 on a sunday. My friend does it from 4-7 on a monday and 9-12 on a sunday
2. I would have him shoot for the 2006 one, 16 is a bit too young for him to realistically enter the olympics. Eg she is going for the 2014 when she will be 20
3. The weight isnt an issue as long as you can balance the weight on the skates. Its more to do with physical fitness than weight. And no not really, no in her class anyways
4. Lots of leg scratches are common, cutting fingers when booting up. But the career ending one is a broken thigh bone/pelvis. A figure skater rarely gets over that.
5. Ermm... i'm not sure but in england there is the national association of Ice Dance. Which is sort of like where our olympians focus their aims towards. They have to own an Association Pin to join the society.
GRADING IN ICE DANCE IN THE UK
1 Star - 10 Star - Basics and Basic Jumps
Bronze - Tricks and stuff
Silver - More Jumps and introduction of dangerous jumps and skating