Suggestions on how to make best of Public Ice?

[sk8mommy]

I've sort of posted this question before, and basically I have come to the conclusion that I'm stuck with public skating sessions for now. I'm a beginner, but a not hanging-on-to-the-boards-and-falling-down-all-the-time beginner. I do pretty good and can maneuver around people, things and have really only fallen a couple of times (read further, though, I haven't had the opportunity to do too much risky stuff that might cause me to fall)

I feel like I'm in a catch 22 situation regarding practice time. The only option I have right now is to practice during public sessions, which have been very crowded at best and dangerous at worst. I can manage to practice forward facing stuff that doesn't require too much --- basically some simple swizzles and maybe one foot glides and stopping. But in my opinion, I would be risking life and limb to try any backward moves, as these sessions are full of kids who either do not know or do not care that there are others on the rink....except for the little hockey ninjas who cut in front of everyone going in every direction. I don't mean to sound harsh or like I don't like kids. That's definitely not the case. It's just I'm being told by most on this board and also by the rink personnel (on the phone) that I need to be higher level (still didn't get clarification what this means..was told my coach could tell me) in order to be safe on a freestyle session.

My question is this...how do I ever get to that higher level? I know that I need to practice at least 2 (3 is better) times a week to get any level of proficiency. If I'm limited to public sessions, I just don't see how that's going to happen. I am honestly too busy and worried during these sessions about everyone else (and there's a lot of everyone elses on the rink). At least during a freestyle, the number of people on the rink is limited, but that's apparently not an option for me at this time. So I guess what I'm asking is, how did you all progress from beginner to the point where you were safe for freestyle sessions? My rink says that there really are no "low" freestyles, so that's not an option. Any tips? I tried going to the center of the rink today, but even that was troublesome. There were 4 or 5 little girls in there practicing and I couldn't find a patch there that would be away from the crowds, but give enough room to practice even backward swizzles.

Help....I really want to skate, but it seems like so many other things I've experienced in life....it's hard to get in from the outside! Or maybe it's just my state. I live in Florida. Just kind of discouraged right now!

Kathy

[TashaKat]

Hi :)

I'm sure that we all can completely understand how you feel and it is about time that rinks addressed the problem, there must be more than enough people to fill a 'beginners' patch yet somehow they don't seem interested in accommodating them.

Just a few ideas:

Are there any public sessions that you could get to during the day or before work? These are often quieter and allow you to practise more than on the manic public sessions.

Is there a figure club at your rink? It's worth looking into and could be a way to get an extra practise in where you're not having to look out for everyone else and their dogs.

Do the group lessons have practise time before or after the lesson? Ours USED to have half an hour practise after the session (they changed it but that's another story). It may be worth looking at that option too.

Canvass other beginner skaters and put pressure on rink management to get a 'novice' patch for lower level skaters.

I was actually very lucky and got onto patches quite early and it did make a difference. At least the skaters on there generally knew what they were doing and could avoid the newbies :) You also get used to the programmes and the dancers so you learn where to avoid.

All the best

[doubletoe]

My question is this...how do I ever get to that higher level? I know that I need to practice at least 2 (3 is better) times a week to get any level of proficiency. If I'm limited to public sessions, I just don't see how that's going to happen. So I guess what I'm asking is, how did you all progress from beginner to the point where you were safe for freestyle sessions? My rink says that there really are no "low" freestyles, so that's not an option. Any tips? Kathy

What public sessions are you going to? Weekend public sessions are usually a lot more crowded than weekday public sesions, and the beginning and end of each session is usually less crowded than the middle. That's the case at most rinks I've been to, anyway. But assuming you are already on the least crowded public session times, all I can recommend is: (1) looking over your shoulder at all times while skating backwards, (2) only skating as fast as you can change edge or stop, and (3) being more assertive in your right to be taking up the space you are taking up on the ice.
As far as the last one, it's the difference between driving the freeway totally intimidated and driving the freeway with a sense of entitlement: Signal, look in your blind spot, then edge the nose of your vehicle between the front and back car in the next lane so as to tell them you are going into their lane, not asking permission to do so. If you go to the center of the rink and act like you belong there, people will start giving you more space.

[batikat]

I sympathise completely as I've been there too - practising only on weekend public sessions (basically I didnt' even realise at the time that there were public sessions in the week I could have gone to!!!! :lol: ) Now I can practice daytime sessions and these are usually pretty empty.

My friend and I used to look for the least used corners to practice turns and spins - there's always one somewhere. Other than that, you end up spending a lot of time watching the flow of people and sometimes you will suddenly see one end or the other seems pretty empty and if you get there fast you can practice maybe half a circuit of backwards before the 'flow' catches up with you again. Not easy.

Our rink was pretty good and did provide half hour practice sessions after, or before, group lessons, on a coned off quarter of the rink but of course with lots of beginners you still had to watch out. Now they have a half rink for a half hour (may even be an hour) on a Saturday morning which is better.

If you can go with a friend you can take it in turns and one practices while another acts as lookout/way clearer.

We also had club ice with practice time in between club group lessons and while these were always busy, at least people were aware of ice etiquette and the better ones would look out for you and hockey skaters weren't allowed.

The rink also used to have non-disco tea-time sessions (5pm-7pm)which were sometimes fairly clear especially if you got there early.

It might be worth your while to go in and observe a few freestyle patches at you rink and see if there is one that is generally less busy that you could maybe ask to go on. If you can make mornings before work you might find there is a time around 8-9am when the highest level skaters who tend to practice earliest have gone and the ones who are left are younger school kids and lower level which would be better ice for a newer skater to use. Depends of course, on how your rink allocates it's ice times.

High level patch can be worse for a beginner than a public session as you have lots of very fast skaters going in all directions, jumping and spinning and working very hard. It's not very safe for a beginner and not fair on the kids who are practising for competitions etc. to have to look out for beginners who may not be able to stop well, change their direction easily, or tell what they (or anyone else) are going to do next.

Hope you find something.

[EastonSkater]

Actually, if it's difficult to find sessions that are fairly quiet, then there's probably not much you can do about that. The only solution would then be to just try find out which sessions usually have the least number of people. Or if possible, go to a rink where there might be less people, like at a university ice rink during the weekdays. I don't know about florida, but I do know that at the uni of colorado, you could skate there on a full size rink all by yourself sometimes for a couple of hours with absolutely nobody else on the ice during the weekdays. And people didn't have to be students to skate there, and you could even buy semester passes, so you could skate as much as you want whenever the rink is open for public sessions - which is often many hours a day actually.

[sceptique]

I like doubletoe's advice about being more assertive - I think you should try to step over your fear and just turn around and try to go at least a lap or two backwards trying to not get distracted by the dashing kids - they will figure out that they need to watch out for you.

I practiced on weekend public ice until I started doing private lessons, which was when I already could do a waltz jump and two-foot spin. I think it helped me to learn to "switch off" and to focus on my skating and nothing else.

I still practice on public ice pretty regularly - normally during the 1st hour after patch time is over, and the ice is still not too crowded. It's also a great boost for you self-esteem when people come up to you and say "how do you do that?" or "you skate really well!" - because for public ice standards you will pretty soon be quite an advanced skater (i.e. someone who can go backwards and turn on one foot).

So please, don't get discouraged - public sessions are fun!!

[Skate@Delaware]

At my rink, freestyle is open to you if you are proficient in back crossovers (minimum requirement) or working with a coach. That being said, every drop-in session has been empty except for myself and one other person:?? . Perhaps you can find a dropin session that is very light and low-level that you could attend?

I also don't like public sessions because I don't like crowds (I also avoid the mall). However, the very ends are a good place to work on things, as is the center (usually-I'm going by what I've observed at my home rink and my 'summer rink.')

You might want to ask if you can attend the practice/warmup session that is after your lesson as well; or see about maybe attending another practice/warmup session another day of the week (either option may cost extra).

[flippet]

Definitely look for weekday public sessions. Many rinks will have a lunchtime session, which often contains just a smattering of working people on lunch, and the odd figure adult or child, and a few adult hockey skaters trying to get in some exercise. In my experience (two different rinks, one university, one regular, states apart), there's usually 20 people or less on these sessions, and they're often 'regulars'...so you all tend to get to know each other's patterns, and can stay out of each other's way.

If the busy sessions are your only option, then definitely assert yourself. If you're still shaky, get more forward experience before you try backward, so your knees are definitely under you. In theory, the center should be reserved for figure skaters/lessons skaters, but in practice, the guards/management are usually lousy about protecting it for this purpose. As long as that's the way it 'should' be at your rink, be agressive about protecting it for yourself. Yeah, you run over the odd child there, ;) but it's your space too, and you have a right to practice there. Like someone above mentioned, sometimes the corners/ends on a public session are fairly empty--the 'circlers' tend to cut corners, leaving the ends relatively free. Stake out an end and use it to swizzle back and forth, if that's what you need. Be the first person on the ice, and the last person off--you can often squeeze in a bit more 'empty' ice then, although at the end, it's pretty rough ice.

[jenlyon60]

My rink has or used to have group lesson "practice time" specifically for folks enrolled in the group lessons to practice for 30 minutes or so. I believe that anyone wanting to skate on that session had to show proof that they were in the group lesson program.

Separately, we have a lot of beginners (LTS types) who are allowed on our freestyle sessions, both with and without their coach. It's more or less okay with the coach, but it can quickly become a safety issue when you've got beginners on the same session as junior and senior skaters training for international competitions. The reaction time and knowing how to watch for the high level skaters and how/where to get out of their way isn't always there for these beginners. And while the high level skaters should be watching out for the beginners, sometimes it becomes very difficult to abort the set-up for a triple jump at the last minute.

[sk8mommy]

[QUOTE=TashaKat]Hi :)

Just a few ideas:

Are there any public sessions that you could get to during the day or before work? These are often quieter and allow you to practise more than on the manic public sessions.
I have 2 rinks in my area. The one closest to me has public sessions only on Saturday and Sunday. I would prefer to go to this rink before work (earlier the better....definitely need to be done by 7:30 am), but that time is reserved for freestyles. The other rink is about 40 minutes from my home, 20 minutes from my work. They have more public skating, mostly on weekends. They do have a public session weekdays M-F from 12:00 to 1:45, and I'm going to try that Weds. I've arranged my work schedule so that I can come in earlier and take a 2 hr lunch. That will allow for drive time and allow me about an hour to skate. Neither have any early public skates.

Is there a figure club at your rink? It's worth looking into and could be a way to get an extra practise in where you're not having to look out for everyone else and their dogs.

I think both rinks have clubs. How does that work? Can anyone just pay and join? Once a member, what are the benefits? I'd be willing to pay for this if it could get me some ice time (feel like I'm trying to "score" something illegal or something!)

Do the group lessons have practise time before or after the lesson? Ours USED to have half an hour practise after the session (they changed it but that's another story). It may be worth looking at that option too.

Unfortunately, no.

Canvass other beginner skaters and put pressure on rink management to get a 'novice' patch for lower level skaters.

Good idea....it will ultimately help everyone.
Thanks!

[sk8mommy]

[QUOTE=Skate@Delaware]At my rink, freestyle is open to you if you are proficient in back crossovers (minimum requirement) or working with a coach. That being said, every drop-in session has been empty except for myself and one other person:?? . Perhaps you can find a dropin session that is very light and low-level that you could attend?
I called the nearer rink to me and asked them exactly that...was there a lower level session that I could attend....she basically said that no, there wasn't, that they have "level seven" skaters practicing and doing camels and axels and that it would be dangerous for me. I have a hard time believing all sessions have level seven skaters and no low level, but whatever...I wasn't going to argue or debate with the lady I spoke to. I did ask her how I would know I was ready for a freestyle and she said that my coach could tell me.

[jenlyon60]

It's a catch-22. You want to try and prevent the very low level skater from either being injured or causing an injury, while at the same time, encouraging the skater to stick with things until they are not such a low level skater.

FWIW, I've seen several very close calls between high level and almost beginner skaters, and have been involved in one myself. In this case, my coach and I had priority [our dance music was playing and I had the "right of way" sash on, we came around the end of the rink, the coach was near the beginner and tried to get the kid out of the way, but the child fell too late for us to track around her. We ended up widening our dance frame so she was between our 2 sets of feet, but I skated over her glove not knowing if her hand was in there or not, until afterwards (I didn't see the glove on the ice). Luckily the fingers weren't.

When I'm in test/competition prep mode, we will keep going if our music is on and we have the right of way. Either I or my coach will try and yell to warn skaters we're coming through, but it doesn't always work.

[Skate@Delaware]

It's always a problem-you need extra time to practice but you work. You are not good enough/confident enough for freestyle sessions/public sessions with others zinging around, etc. Vicious cycle!!!!

As soon as I found out about the skating club, I joined. However, I confined myself to the corner and worked on elements there for some time until my skills/confidence caught up. I'm out in the middle now, zinging around everyone, but still don't like public ice!

I would ask your instructor or coach about the freestyle sessions, as there may be one that is lower level or less crowded. I find it hard to believe that ALL are level 7 (whatever that is). The woman may not even have known what she was talking about!

Too bad you didn't live near my rink :cry: as our freestyle session is under-utilized! And, at $7.50 for 1.5 hours, it's cheap! You hear that, Pat!!!

At least you can wiggle your work schedule (that's what I do). I skate on Thursdays during the day session and find sometimes I'm the only one there! When that happens, it's backwards skate time!

[sunshinepointe]

I almost exclusively skate on public sessions - always have and probably always will as a means to keep the cost of skating down.

On weekend publics, where it's crazy crowded I wait for "windows of opportunity" to do stuff. This cuts into a lot of free skating time, but I make due with what I have. Usually the middle of the rink is reserved for figure skaters, but this tends to get very crowded with the little ones trying to do skating moves when they really shouldn't, or with lessons - so I try to stake out a small corner and work on what I can.

You should also know that its very hard to skate on freestyle as a beginner too - this is another reason I stay away from freestyle at my level. When people are zooming by doing double jumps and flying spins I a) spend more time watching than working on my own stuff and b) get all tense because even though they know what they're doing I certainly don't and I don't want to run into them. I also dislike the attitude of some of the snotty skaters on freestyles. Not to say everyone is snotty, I just know a couple of "ExCUSE me!" types - like I take up SO much room and they can't go around :roll: .

This is just a test for you - you'll find ways of working around public sessions - if you can, aim for the early mornings which tend to be less crowded - or speak with the skate guards and get to be buddies with them so they cone off the middle and really enforce kids NOT skating through - I've done this as well and it works great. Consider yourself lucky - there are a lot of rinks that won't let you do ANY figure skating or skating backwards on a public session.

[EastonSkater]

I also dislike the attitude of some of the snotty skaters on freestyles. Not to say everyone is snotty, I just know a couple of "ExCUSE me!" types - like I take up SO much room and they can't go around :roll: .


That's right...exactly right. I think it all boils down to individual skaters and their attitudes. In public sessions, you'll always get 'problem' skaters, be they figure skaters or other types of recreational skaters. Everyone has probably seen certain individual snobby figure skaters in a public session that think everybody needs to give way to them when they skate in the direction opposite to traffic flow in preparation for a jump or something. And then there's the odd individuals in hockey skates that tear around the rink at high speeds through the crowd while forgetting that other skaters (either experienced or inexperienced) could somehow skate across the speed demon's path....an accident waiting to happen.

Maybe if skatermommy wants to practise backwards skating a bit before doing it on-ice is to grab a pair of PIC skates and practise on a concrete basketball court (wearing protective padding gear of course). Obviously, stopping technique on PIC skates is different, but at least you can do some backwards skating practice on them, and other things without having a bunch of people get in your way.

[b-al]

I would assume you are working a 9-5'er, therefore it makes getting to anything besides a public skate during your lunch break very difficult. I'm not sure where you are from, or if my assumptions are correct, if they are not, please disreguard them. A thought of mine, (if you know of any other skaters in your area, adults/beginners/or anyone that loves to skate) is approaching rink management and finding out how much they charge for an hour of ice. This can run anywhere from $100-crazy amounts, but if it's on the cheaper end and you can find some skaters to split the cost with you, my guess is the rink would gladly sell icetime to you, if they have it available. Perhaps early a.m., or the hour before public skate, or after. There is usually plenty of downtime at rinks and they would love the extra income. If it's to pricey, how about half-hour, and give up a resurface? If you have competitive skaters in your area, chances are there might already be early morning icetime, but I'm guessing you already checkied out the club ice situation. From the looks of your name, you have kids, so you would need a time around them, or if they are young where you could bring them
A simple solution would be to ask the skate guards for cones and put them around the center of the ice. You'll get the kids that are trying to be cool and go in and our of them, but they are few and far between and you won't have to be so tense about hitting someone. Good luck.

[Bothcoasts]

If you have no choice but to stick with crowded public sessions, definitely arrive at the beginning and plan on staying through to the end. The beginnings and ends are always least crowded.

I sometimes coach on public sessions and have witnessed way too many close calls among skaters, so some other suggestions I have are:

-Do forward skating on the long axis. Work on increasing the speed, push and length of each forward stroke. Push harder into the ice on each swizzle. If you're comfortable, begin working on forward outside and inside edges. Practice your dips. I love doing shoot-the-ducks and power pulls going down the long axis of the rink.

-Along the short axis, work on elements that require turning. There's usually a little more room here, so it's a good place to practice crossovers, both forward and backward if the rink isn't too crowded. Practice turns from forward to backward. Exaggerate your knee bend to limit your body's reaction to any surprise bumps.

-Go into the far corners of the rink--beyond the hockey lines--to focus on elements that require your full attention, such as backward skating, one-foot three-turns, full edges, etc. This area is rarely as crowded as the center, so it's a good place to practice. Just watch out for true beginners and the wall-huggers.

-Avoid going backwards down the long axis unless there really is only a handful of people on the public session. You can never predict what a child on the ice will do, and depending on your own comfort and speed, you may not be able to see the child and/or stop in time. I often see adults skating backwards inadvertantly hit a kid who has skated into their path that they didn't see. Granted, kids are even more apt to crash into someone while skating backwards, but their smaller size makes the accident less pronounced.

Keep in mind that rink public sessions will most likely stay crowded into March, due to the Olympics next month and the ensuing interest in figure skating. Crowds should taper off noticeably in the springtime.

[TashaKat]

I think both rinks have clubs. How does that work? Can anyone just pay and join? Once a member, what are the benefits? I'd be willing to pay for this if it could get me some ice time (feel like I'm trying to "score" something illegal or something!)


To be honest it depends on the club but is probably worth looking into anyway.

My first rink had a 'figure' club which was quite a small club and was mostly geared towards adult and novice skaters. We started with a figure patch although you could do 'field moves' as long as you a) kept inside your patch and b) didn't jump or spin. It worked really well. The second half was for free skating though there were a couple of dancers on there.

The second rink had a 'junior' (kids) club and a 'senior' club which tended to be more adults than higher level skaters. It started with a 15 minute warm up, you then had practise or lesson time and then there was a 15 minute session in the middle which varied from dance moves, field moves, artistic or just plain fun. Then there was a 15 minute dance 'interval' and the rest of the session was for lessons and practise.

It's worth asking how the clubs near you run, you aren't going to lose out and may even gain some extra practise time :)

I agree that you probably need to get more forceful in your skating but it's a bit of a chicken and egg situation ... you need to skate to get the confidence, you need to push yourself forwards to get the skating! Not easy, I've been there, I've been the little flower in the corner desperately trying to practise! The confidence does come with time, I promise :)

[Skate@Delaware]

Regarding clubs, my club had a fee for joining (like an admin fee) and then you bought ice time depending on the number of times per week you wanted to skate. Granted, right now we only have Saturday, Sunday and Wednesday ice times, but we are a relatively new rink (going into our fourth year).

Joining the club also got you "in" to the ice shows (if you wanted) although the part you got may not have been what you wanted (yeah, some kids wanted to be a snowflake but ended up being mice....)

[flippet]

I almost exclusively skate on public sessions - always have and probably always will as a means to keep the cost of skating down.

Yep--me too. I was lucky--I arranged my school schedule around the noon public sessions, which were $1, and skated those 4 days a week. With <20 people on the ice, it was really great practice, most days.


Not to say everyone is snotty, I just know a couple of "ExCUSE me!" types - like I take up SO much room and they can't go around :roll: .

Well, there's the truly snotty types that do this, but you do have to remember that kids who are training for a competition have a *set* program, with elements placed in specific places at specific times...and they really can't always go around you--it screws up their timing and muscle memory. (Referring to skaters with their music on, here--any others can certainly get off their high horse and go around.) Skating freestyles requires some give and take on both sides.


or speak with the skate guards and get to be buddies with them so they cone off the middle and really enforce kids NOT skating through - I've done this as well and it works great.

Yep! I have a friend who has totally buddied up with the teen guards and the rink manager, and she's so close now that they'll give her a call if they are grabbing some empty ice on a Friday night to fool around with sticks & pucks or something. They'll give her half the rink to use, while they mess around on the other half. (It's a university rink, has lots of empty ice.) That's pretty unusual, but it's definitely worth your while, in case some random public skater complains about 'that "dangerous" woman trying to figure skate out there'....the guards will likely be on your side, not the stranger's.


I sometimes coach on public sessions and have witnessed way too many close calls among skaters,

To veer slightly OT here....this has always bugged me--lessons on public ice, I mean. Yes, I know many rinks do this, but to me, public ice is just that--for the public. First priority to the average Joe, second priority to those practicing skills. Rinks/clubs HAVE (or should have) designated time for lessons, whether it's morning or evening or weekends, whatever. They shouldn't make the average off-the-street skater feel like they don't have the right to stumble around, or like they're always in some higher-level skater's (or coach's) way.

[LoopLoop]

To veer slightly OT here....this has always bugged me--lessons on public ice, I mean. Yes, I know many rinks do this, but to me, public ice is just that--for the public. First priority to the average Joe, second priority to those practicing skills. Rinks/clubs HAVE (or should have) designated time for lessons, whether it's morning or evening or weekends, whatever. They shouldn't make the average off-the-street skater feel like they don't have the right to stumble around, or like they're always in some higher-level skater's (or coach's) way.

To give a different perspective on this one... I teach at my rink, and that includes teaching private lessons during public sessions. To skate on a freestyle session, a skater must have passed (ISI) FS 3, which means they can do a salchow, a toe loop, a change foot spin, a couple of spirals, etc. So skaters who have not reached that level have no choice but to have lessons and practice on public sessions. OTOH, the rink offers public sessions 7 days a week, and multiple sessions most days, so there is lots of time available.

Sometimes I skate at another rink which allows basically anyone on freestyle, and it's downright scary; you have kids working on forward stroking and crossovers on the ice with senior-level competitors... 8O

[jenlyon60]

Dare I think that you are referring to the same rink that I was talking about? :roll: :roll: :roll:

Had to dodge a LTS private today who was working on a 2 foot glide with his coach. Luckily she knows the dance patterns and got him well out of the way before we came through with the American Waltz.

[Bothcoasts]

To veer slightly OT here....this has always bugged me--lessons on public ice, I mean. Yes, I know many rinks do this, but to me, public ice is just that--for the public. First priority to the average Joe, second priority to those practicing skills. Rinks/clubs HAVE (or should have) designated time for lessons, whether it's morning or evening or weekends, whatever. They shouldn't make the average off-the-street skater feel like they don't have the right to stumble around, or like they're always in some higher-level skater's (or coach's) way.

Fair enough! I should have clarified--the only students I'll work with on public sessions are beginners or those practicing moves that can be done in limited space (forward skating, glides, occasionally 3-turns, etc). A public session can be a perfect place for a beginner skater who doesn't take up much room to learn to skate. However, I make sure my students understand that other skaters have as much of a right to the ice as they do.

That being said, some coaches and students do dominate rinks during public sessions (I'm not specifically referring to the previous post, I noticed it after I'd written my own!). I was on a public session with a basic skills skater once when a competitive dance team told us to get out of their way because our presence kept forcing them to alter their patterns. However, their speed and set patterns made it impossible to judge when they'd pass by. I've also heard of a coach who brings multiple competitive teams to public sessions and has them do formations blocking the whole ice in order to intimidate the other skaters--they apparently stop when they have the ice to themselves.

Some skaters genuinely need lessons on public ice because they're not advanced enough for freestyle, others may seek public ice due to a preferred ice time and cost. Where or how can we (or rink managers) draw the line that distinguishes the freestyle from the public skater?

[crayonskater]

The daytime public sessions at my rink are not very crowded. When I first started fooling around on skates, I just went around in circles for a while and did crossovers on the corners. (It's not like time spent on basic stroking is wasted.)

A young woman who was skating then used to manage to practice her backwards skating by skating very close to the wall; if it's not a crowded session, people tend to leave a small berth by the wall. Helped her get her confidence up.

[quarkiki2]

I'm a 9-5 working mother, too. I skate on the crack-of-dawn Saturday AM freestyle. There are usually four-five USFSA preliminary and novice level skaters, a brand new to pairs team of preliminary freestylers, and a venerable ice dancer who leaves them all in the dust and me.

I know the patterns of their programs and get a good sense of what individual moves they are working on while I warm up before hitting the ice, so I have a general idea of where it's safe for me to practice my wobbly sctach and back spins and wrinkly turns and edges. I make sure I'm the last to leave before the ice cut and fly (for me) around the rink backwards when no one else is out there. The zamboni is usually pull on the ice at one end when I'm stepping off the ice at the other.

I'm hardly what you could call confident, but give me a six-foot area in a corner and I can practice almost anything. On a public session, I stake out a corner and make sure no one gets in there with me (except an occasional wall-hanger-on-er).

You just have to OWN that little slice of ice...

[slusher]

I changed my work schedule so that I could skate daytimes (I know, not an option for everyone)

At one rink you can go on a higher session it's okay if you have a coach with you the whole time, so I took an hour lesson on ice that was convenient for me.

I skated outdoors (alright, I'm in Canada, not Florida)

For a while I used to crash the Saturday moms & tots until someone realized that I didn't have any kids with me. This was a good place to practice backwards skating.

After a while I got good enough that I skate on regular club sessions with the kids. I still keep my work schedule though and fit in daytime ice because it's EMPTY! (and I don't have to listen to teenage angst of my club sessions).

[doubletoe]

I also dislike the attitude of some of the snotty skaters on freestyles. Not to say everyone is snotty, I just know a couple of "ExCUSE me!" types - like I take up SO much room and they can't go around :roll: .

For startes, I agree with everyone who said that the public session belongs primarily to the public, not the hotshot hockey skaters or figure skaters.

However, as someone else mentioned, the majority of the skaters on a *freestyle* session saying "Excuse me!" are probably not doing it to be snotty. You may think a skater could practice on some other part of the rink or that she could skate around you, but she is probably practicing a specific segment of her program, and there's no leeway when a jump or spin needs to happen at a specific spot on the ice, from a specific approach and with specific timing. This is why, when neither skater's music is being played, freestyle skaters will generally take turns getting out of each other's way if they are both practicing something that is on a set pattern.

Of course, if a skater's music is being played over the rink speaker system, that skater has absolute right-of-way. I nearly go insane several times a week when I'm skating my program and I have to abort more than half a rink length of footwork because there's a lower level skater practicing spins or crossovers in the middle of the rink, assuming she/he isn't in the way or simply not paying attention. Unfortunately, at least half of the skaters skating their programs have straight line footwork that goes right up the middle of the rink and cannot be diverted to "go around" someone.

[EastonSkater]

That being said, some coaches and students do dominate rinks during public sessions (I'm not specifically referring to the previous post, I noticed it after I'd written my own!).

Yep.....some coaches and students dominating the rinks during public sessions is a fact. I've definitely seen that. It makes the newbies think that the coaches and students have some kind of authority or given right to streamroll their way through and everybody needs to give way like they're an ambulance crew moving through traffic. I guess it's a tough situation because the students are paying for their lessons and the coach needs to perform and teach them something, and the lesson must be done during public sessions. But that's not really the public skater's problem. That's the coach and students problem. Usually, when coaches and students do that and bully everybody, I won't change my skating path for them. I'd rather give them a full hockey body check if they run into my path.

[flippet]

Some skaters genuinely need lessons on public ice because they're not advanced enough for freestyle, others may seek public ice due to a preferred ice time and cost. Where or how can we (or rink managers) draw the line that distinguishes the freestyle from the public skater?

I guess I've been 'lucky' enough to skate at rinks that have slated lesson times that aren't freestyle or club ice. It's rink/skate school ice. My university rink had group lesson times three or four days a week (for various groups), and one of those days was scheduled for adults, or the group FS1+ class. Since this session was not heavily attended, there were often a couple of private lessons going on as well. I remember a couple of sessions where the skating director was giving private speed/drills lessons to a hockey boy.

I also think that most beginning skaters, with very few exceptions, ought to be encouraged to take group lessons through the beginning levels. If this were done, you wouldn't have to worry much about beginners needing lessons on public ice--beginners take group, and once they're no longer beginners, they're ok to take lessons on low freestyles.

Maybe creating a low session, specifically for beginning private lessons (or adult group), would be a nice compromise, if the rink can swing it. I know that having the kind of sessions I skated on was really helpful, especially for some of the adult skaters who felt funny about taking group lessons with the kids at first. It doesn't address the problem of needing a public 'time slot', but that's life--not everything fits into your schedule, sometimes you have to alter your schedule to fit something into your life.

[icedancer2]

However, as someone else mentioned, the majority of the skaters on a *freestyle* session saying "Excuse me!" are probably not doing it to be snotty.

ITA!! Saying "Excuse me" is ever so much nicer than those who just say, "Watch out!" or "Get outta my way!!"

[EastonSkater]

ITA!! Saying "Excuse me" is ever so much nicer than those who just say, "Watch out!" or "Get outta my way!!"

I think that depends on the way that saying 'excuse me' is delivered to the receiver. Because there are ways of delivering the 'excuse me' in an arrogant style of way.

[Skate@Delaware]

ITA!! Saying "Excuse me" is ever so much nicer than those who just say, "Watch out!" or "Get outta my way!!"

I swear, I only say that to my daughter and her friend (who just happen to be right where I need to jump or spin) :P

[Kevin Callahan]

If there is any requirements for freestyle sessions in Frisco or Austin, I have yet to discover them. Perhaps it's my attitude. I walk in, I tell the person what I want, and I go out onto the ice and practice. I paid, it's my ice time. I'm not arrogant about my presence on the ice, but I am quite self-assured. I act like I belong there. Of course, my footwork and jumps (even if only waltzes) in a constant and steady stream probably help back up my serious attitude. I have never had anyone, skater, coach, cashier, or skate guard tell me I don't belong in the freestyle sessions. Besides, my lessons take place during freestyle sessions, so if they REALLY want to question me, they can argue it over with Tim.

[jenlyon60]

But sometimes the "excuse me" or "watch out" can come across sounding rude when not intended to, other than the skater(s) are moving along and breathing strongly.

I think that depends on the way that saying 'excuse me' is delivered to the receiver. Because there are ways of delivering the 'excuse me' in an arrogant style of way.

[froggy]

weekend public sessions can get pretty crowded, I usually find a corner and do my work there; as far as the middle coned off area is concerned some rink guards are better than others handling non-figure skaters skating through. I usually skate during daytime public sessions when kids are in school, the rinks are just about empty it's great! going to a freestyle session as a real beginner can be a bit dangerous like others have mentioned..wait a few months when you have a better feel of the ice, able to stop and turn more quickly, ask your coach when he/she thinks its a good time to skate on a freestyle...maybe try a lesson with your coach on a freestyle. good luck!

[jenlyon60]

Well, we had a case this morning with LTS practicing on Freestyle ice...

There were only about 8-9 of us total on the ice, plus a couple coaches at the barrier...

I was in lesson, and my coach and I were doing American Waltz, to the music. We come around the first corner and little beginner is standing there, nose to her toes. We manage to dodge her and finish the pattern, although we did do a verbal "watch out" as we skated near her. Took a brief break and put on music for the Tango. This time we get to about mid-pattern, where the lady does a back swing, and the same kid is planted in our way. So we pull out of the pattern and my coach tells the kid that she needs to watch out for the other skaters. Her coach gets upset and starts going on about not knowing the dance patterns and pulls the kid out of the way (I tried to tell the coach where a safe place was for her skater to be out of the way while our music is playing, but she doesn't hear or something). We pick up the dance midway and start the promenade, and as I come around the 2nd corner and stroke into my RFO swing, the same kid is in my way again. We aborted the rest of the dance.... we were both stressed out at that point, between the repeat warnings and pre-test stress (I am supposed to test both American Waltz and Tango at the end of the month.)

[Skate@Delaware]

Last week on club ice (where everyone was to have read the ice rules and signed that they understood-even the kids) I was running through my routine and right smack-dab in the middle were 3 girls-so I yell "MOVE IT!" to them and they scream and split! 'Cause they were just standing there chatting (against the rules).

But it's annoying when a coach and student pretend to not know the pattern! You are lucky, though. Our club banned the one and only ice dance pair from club ice (added a rule about 'no dance patterns allowed'). These are Gold-Level skaters who basically can't even practice on ice they have bought.

I worry about the little kids and camel spins8O I've seen that almost happen but it's been the spinner who has saved the little kid from a slashing.

[jenlyon60]

This is rink freestyle ice, not club freestyle ice, so I luck out there.

Normally after a few near collisions, the kids generally start to pay more attention. With a previous beginner, I did have to have a chat with both the child and her mother, to explain the importance of "watching out for the faster skaters" and that worked then.

In late spring and in Summer school program, they divide the freestyles up by level, but not during the fall-winter-spring.

The issue in this case was a "private lesson" LTS kid, not a kid in group lessons. Since she's most likely not in group lessons, she's probably not eligible to skate on the "basic skills" practice ice we have.

[Skate@Delaware]

We only have club ice and no levels-all together. Makes for interesting times! We are hoping that one day we will be able to afford higher/low level ice times, but for now we are limited.

There are the typical repeat offenders but talking to them does not good-either to the child or the mother (kid forgets, mother figures older/better skater should detour) as the child is very young....:roll:

The diva-princess skater girls we usually aim for :twisted: (just kidding!)

Most of the kids either hang out at one end (unofficially the "practice zone") or near the hockey box so our "advisor" can help them spin/jump between lessons. Our "advisor" is a medal-level skater from the 50's (he's almost 90 years old) and sits in the box and occupies the little ones. Actually, since he came to the rink, collisions and near-hits have dropped dramatically. Nice guy, even though he complains about how stiff the boots are today and the lack of footwork also.

[Mrs Redboots]

Husband and I were doing some drill or other in Reverse Killian hold this morning - changes-of-edge, I think - and a coach had a very slow adult beginner in the hockey circle, teaching him the beginnings of crossovers. So I thought we'd go round one side of them, and Husband thought the other..... luckily, we let go of each other before there was an accident.

The teaching ice is pretty quiet this week, with our elite couple at Europeans, but in my experience the less crowded a rink is, the greater your chance of collision with the other skater/s on it.

[phoenix]

But sometimes the "excuse me" or "watch out" can come across sounding rude when not intended to, other than the skater(s) are moving along and breathing strongly.

ITA!! I'm sure I sound snotty or angry sometimes when I call out an "excuse me"--and usually it's more that I'm panicking that I'm about to hit someone!! So it comes out more forcefully, not to mention that I'm breathing hard & probably trying to be heard above the music/noise of the rink.

[jenlyon60]

BINGO!

Not to mention that right now I have a certain level of pre-test angst... what with my nemesis 4-beat edge in Tango having decided to NOT return from vacation. And I've trained and had lessons on this particular freestyle session for 3 years (almost as long as it appears said kid has been alive, and definitely longer than her LTS coach has been at this rink).

If it happens again next week, I'm going to the skating director and having my say about mixing levels on freestyle sessions. This has happened on our afternoon freestyle sessions with the junior and senior level skaters, but since those tend to be more crowded, normally, the LTS coaches tend to chaparone their beginners a bit more.

IMNSHO, mixing levels ranging from LTS who are at the "can barely do a 1-foot glide" level up through intermediate-level dancers (Silver dances) and Junior/Senior Freestylists is an accident waiting to happen. (Then there's the "Learning hockey skills" boys in lesson on one of our afternoon freestyles each week...) I guess I shouldn't be complaining too much, since the previous 2-3 winters we've had to share the pre-7AM freestyle half-and-half with hockey skills, and they're not doing that this winter.

ITA!! I'm sure I sound snotty or angry sometimes when I call out an "excuse me"--and usually it's more that I'm panicking that I'm about to hit someone!! So it comes out more forcefully, not to mention that I'm breathing hard & probably trying to be heard above the music/noise of the rink.

[NickiT]

but in my experience the less crowded a rink is, the greater your chance of collision with the other skater/s on it.

This is so true! I'm surprised I didn't collide with myself this morning given I was on alone. Seriously though, it's amazing - there can be just two or three of you on the whole rink but it's guaranteed that at some point two of you want to be on the same piece of ice at exactly the same time! It's worse I guess because when there are so few we tend to be a bit blase and less cautious, throw in the added speed and hey, a near-miss regularly occurring!

Nicki

[jazzpants]

I changed my work schedule so that I could skate daytimes (I know, not an option for everyone)Yup! My primary coach originally had me skating on the Monday night public session a long time back. I had to switch b/c I was preparing for my moves test and I was freakin' out about the crowds. Eventually, I got a job that was close enough that I was able to skate midday public. Except for the occasional public school field trip [1], the only "annoyance" are the cones around the middle. (It is a public session, after all.)

But if my job was too far away, my primary coach was kind enough to move my lessons to mornings FS. And given how I am about skating mornings...I hope this time I STAY at my current job... :lol: :P

Note:
[1] One of the schools that had a field trip turns out to be my middle school! I certainly didn't get to do THAT on field trips!!! 8O Whatever happened to zoos, museums and parks??? Geez, I would have show those kids a thing or two about skating, since I was skating back then!!!

[sue123]

This is so true! I'm surprised I didn't collide with myself this morning given I was on alone. Seriously though, it's amazing - there can be just two or three of you on the whole rink but it's guaranteed that at some point two of you want to be on the same piece of ice at exactly the same time! It's worse I guess because when there are so few we tend to be a bit blase and less cautious, throw in the added speed and hey, a near-miss regularly occurring!

Nicki

I was in a lesson once during an uncrowded public session (freestyle ice is too expensive for me). I'm lucky because this ice time has maybe 3 other figure skaters, and a couple speed skaters. If you're working on something in the center of the ice, they're no problem. But this session was even more empty than usual. The figure skaters are all adult skaters, and they were at a competition I believe, so it was literally me and one other person. Not even the speed skaters were there.

So the other skater goes into the a spin the same time my coach has me doing a spin. I've never had a problem staying centered since I'm a much better spinner instead of jumper. The other skater though, woah. She went into a camel, and I was already in my entrance to the spin, when lo and behold, her camel started travelling out of control. My coach yells for me to stop. I nearly got spliced by a blade. And that was with 2 people on the ice.

I just need to say how much I love uncrowded public sessions. They are so much cheaper (at least where I skate), they don't bother putting out cones or having a skate guard since they know all the people who skate on the session. And then, there are times when I am completely alone on the ice. That is an amazing feeling because then you know that all the marks on the ice are from you.

[Skate@Delaware]

I just need to say how much I love uncrowded public sessions. They are so much cheaper (at least where I skate), they don't bother putting out cones or having a skate guard since they know all the people who skate on the session. And then, there are times when I am completely alone on the ice. That is an amazing feeling because then you know that all the marks on the ice are from you.
Our daytime sessions are only $2.50 and are typically uncrowded (unless there is a homeschooled group or school is out)-usually there are 5-6 on the ice (3-4 "regulars" and a few drop-ins). You tend to get very spoiled!

[doubletoe]

ITA!! I'm sure I sound snotty or angry sometimes when I call out an "excuse me"--and usually it's more that I'm panicking that I'm about to hit someone!! So it comes out more forcefully, not to mention that I'm breathing hard & probably trying to be heard above the music/noise of the rink.

Oh my gosh, that is SO TRUE, ROFL!! I often scream, "Excuuse MEEEEE!!!" where the "ME" turns into a shriek because I'm afraid I'm going to hit the person who just skated out in front of me 8O !

[doubletoe]

So we pull out of the pattern and my coach tells the kid that she needs to watch out for the other skaters. Her coach gets upset and starts going on about not knowing the dance patterns and pulls the kid out of the way (I tried to tell the coach where a safe place was for her skater to be out of the way while our music is playing, but she doesn't hear or something).

How nice of you not to say, "Well then, I suggest BOTH of you stand at the boards and watch our dance until you DO figure out the patterns." :twisted:

[phoenix]

I am often SO tempted to take a big black marker & draw my dance pattern on the ice!! I'm going to be HERE, EVERY TIME I come through! You'd think they'd figure that out after 5 or 6 times of me screeching to a halt inches from their feet, but apparently not. And this isn't just skaters, there are coaches out there who are just as oblivious. And the thing with dance is, if you'd just move 5 feet, you'll be completely out of the way. Why is that so difficult???!! :frus:

[EastonSkater]

I don't see why a skater should have full priority as if nobody else is on the ice. Sure, if it's a freestyle session, that's just fine. But to assume that everybody needs to give way in order for somebody to practise their performance routines etc, that doesn't sound quite right there. I don't recall that more experienced skaters should be any more special than less experienced skaters in a public session. I'm an experienced skater by the way.

[techskater]

If you are in the middle of a program or dance with music, it is customary and right that you should get the right away.

[jenlyon60]

I am often SO tempted to take a big black marker & draw my dance pattern on the ice!! I'm going to be HERE, EVERY TIME I come through! You'd think they'd figure that out after 5 or 6 times of me screeching to a halt inches from their feet, but apparently not. And this isn't just skaters, there are coaches out there who are just as oblivious. And the thing with dance is, if you'd just move 5 feet, you'll be completely out of the way. Why is that so difficult???!! :frus:

Know what you mean. And it's not like I don't do the Tango and American Waltz but once in a blue moon. I've been working on both dances for quite a while, and doing run-throughs of the Tango fairly consistently for a long while. And unless I'm sick, I've been skating on this particular set of freestyle sessions every Wednesday for the past 3 years.

[sk8pics]

I can sympathize with everyone over people being in the way, and how frustrating it can be. Happens to me a lot. But I have to say that even though I do skate with ice dancers from time to time, I don't know all the patterns. I try to stay out of the way, but it doesn't always work. And often it seems to me that that consideration is not returned by some people, sometimes freestyle skaters but often dancers. If they want me out of their way on their dance patterns, well, it would be nice if they moved for me when I am doing MY program. Sometimes it happens, but often it doesn't. If the dancers expect us to recognize their dance patterns, maybe it would be nice if they could recognize some of the free skating jumping patterns or moves in the field patterns. The only people who have run into me and in fact knocked me off my feet have been... ice dance coaches. :roll:

[sunshinepointe]

FWIW, when I mentioned "snotty freestyle skaters" I wasn't referring to people that had music on, or were in a lesson, or were even setting up a jump or something and were honestly being nice about it...I'm talking about legitimate snots on the ice. Prima donnas, if you will. There are more nice folks than brats on freestyle, and more nice folks than brats in general when it comes to skating but...for my own piece of mind I'd rather take my chances on a public until I get better. :oops:

[EastonSkater]

If you are in the middle of a program or dance with music, it is customary and right that you should get the right away.

Actually, for a public session, it's customary for the person in front of your skate path to have right of way, that's as far as I know. And that's provided everybody is skating in the direction of traffic flow chosen by the rink supervisor, and provided that the public skater in front isn't doing anything crazy like weaving around everywhere and suddenly shooting out in front of you from the side wall etc.

[sk8mommy]

I just had to update all of you on my experience today. I went to the rink that has the 12-1:45 public session....the same one I went to on Monday. But Monday was a holiday, and it was as crowded as a weekend session. Didn't get much practice, other than basic stroking and a few swizzles and short glides in then.

I am pleased to say that today was an entirely different story. I drove into the parking lot at about 12:30ish, and there were hardly any cars. I thought...I hope there's actually a session today!

I got inside, and sure enough...there was a session....only about 4 or 5 other people on the ice. I could hardly contain myself, but I quickly went and changed and got on the ice....what a difference! I had room to practice my backwards skating and swizzles and even was able to work on my one foot glide to the point where I was able to glide (only once, but hey..it's a start) almost the entire length of the rink on my left foot smoothly. I kept trying to get my courage up for crossovers, but something about crossing my feet makes me nervous that I'm going to get tangled up and flop on my face! Definitely a fear factor thing here! I'm going to face it next time though. I was planning on Friday, but now I'm so excited I'd love to go again tomorrow...heck I'd go right now if I could!

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you....and thanks for the suggestions...I think that there are some very good points you all bring up and that rinks could do better at accomodating the need of beginners to have some practice time that's not so crowded that it's counterproductive. I also will take the suggestion to be more assertive with my "slice of the ice". I tend to be a wallflower...and I'm always the one apologizing to others. Need to work on that....not that I need to be a b**** or anything, but I do need to stand up for myself a bit more. That may also come with time and experience on the ice.

BTW, a couple of things today....there was one guy skating who seemed pretty good...he was doing spins and jumps and spirals...but I could not believe he had headphones on the entire time! 8O Scared the bejeepers out of me and I did my best to keep one eye out for him. He was going pretty fast, and I'd just move to the other end of the rink or hang a bit off-center where he didn't seem to cross often. Geeessh...not very safe at all, IMO. Just to add to your point that uncrowded sessions have their dangers too.

The best moment, though, was when a guy maybe a little younger than me who was obviously a beginner stopped me and asked me "so, how exactly do you stop?" :oops: I gave him my disclaimer ("Now, keep in mind, this is only my 6th time on the ice....so take this for what it is worth") and then showed him how I do a snowplow stop. I also explained about thinking about pushing out with your heel(s), bend knees, and make sure you put your arms out and forward for balance. A little later, I watched him practicing it....it felt good to think that I've made enough progress in this short time to even appear to know what I'm doing.....that was the highlight of my day!:D

Thanks!
Kathy

[flippet]

Yaaaaay!!! :D

It's exciting, isn't it? And SOOOOO much better on uncrowded ice! And yeah, it is a great ego booster to be asked how to do something, even when you know that you only have minimal knowledge yourself.

As for the guy in the headphones...he may not be as dangerous as you think. I've skated with people (figure skaters) wearing headphones to 'walk through' their programs (i.e., not necessarily going 'full out', but still doing elements), or mapping out/choreographing a new one, and they're usually still pretty aware of what's going on around them. But on the other hand, I've also seen skaters who think they're better than they are wearing headphones, and that might get dicey. Tough call.

I hope you can continue to skate this session every week, and maybe more than once a week. It's going to be great for your skating and your confidence.

[Kevin Callahan]

I went during the day today. Halfway through it got crowded as school ended, but before that it was me, one elite (I guess) who apparently gets half-days because of her training, and a young couple on rentals.

[sunshinepointe]

I skate with my ipod and I have to say that I'm almost OVER aware of other skaters on the ice with or without it. At least with it I'm listening to good music....which reminds me, I need to dig that bad boy out...

[Kevin Callahan]

I skate with my ipod and I have to say that I'm almost OVER aware of other skaters on the ice with or without it. At least with it I'm listening to good music....which reminds me, I need to dig that bad boy out...

Since I rely on my ears to hear how much I scrape (helps me correct my edging), I don't think I'd want to take my mp3 player out on the ice with me!

[EastonSkater]

Since I rely on my ears to hear how much I scrape (helps me correct my edging), I don't think I'd want to take my mp3 player out on the ice with me!

Yep ... and if a fall-gone-wrong occurs, people could end up regretting when the device gets jammed between the body and the floor in the fall-gone-wrong. And fall gone wrong's can also mean somebody else causing it by accident when you're not expecting.

[sk8mommy]

I'm definitely sticking with this session! I'll just have to remember those Monday school holidays and plan to go those weeks on Tuesday instead.

Luckily, I have a bit of flex in my work schedule...not much, but enough that I can probably swing 3, maybe 4 practice days a week on good weeks, 1 or 2 on not so good weeks. This week is probably not the best, but I'm forcing myself to take the time. I start work at 7, take 2 hours for lunch (skating/travel) and am SUPPOSED to work til 5, but so far this week, it's been 6pm. I work in accounting and it's year end/audit time for us. I'm hoping it the break might also be a stress reliever, and so far it has been.

I should have clarified...the guy with the headphones did not appear to be particularly aware of what was going on around him...he may have been, but just didn't look like it to me.

I know every session won't be this way, but I definitely saw the benefit today of having the time and space to really focus and practice a few things. I went from barely moving on backward swizzles to almost being fluid with them by the time I left. Now to conquer the crossover....any suggestions for a fraidy cat?
Kathy

[jenlyon60]

re crossovers...

1. Remember to turn your shoulders and arms to face towards the center of your circle. Think of your arms hugging a HUGE beachball.

2. Bend your knees AND ankles. At the start of the crossover, the majority (all of your weight, if you are starting from a 1-foot glide on an outside edge) of your weight should be over the trailing foot (for CCW, your left foot; for CW, your right foot). As you complete the crossover, all of your weight should be on the new skating foot.

3. Try to keep your weight over the middle of your blade (i.e. well behind the toe picks).

[EastonSkater]

yeah...maybe if you're really scared of doing cross-overs straight away, then you could try skating around a lot and practise gliding around on 1 foot, keeping all the body weight over the middle of the skate. Then once you're good at gliding around on one foot, then you can practise gliding around on the other foot.

And when you get good at gliding on either foot, you can then try skating along in a straight line, with both skates on the ice parallel to each other. Then start to apply most of your weight over one of your skates (choose whichever one you want). So you're now 'almost' gliding on 1 foot (your primary skate), except that your other skate (the secondary skate) is still on the ice with not much weight on that secondary skate. Now keeping the secondary skate in contact with the ice, you can maneuver that secondary skate slowly (taking as much time as you want) so that it ends up right in front of the primary skate. Remember that most of your weight is still on the primary (gliding) skate. So you're basically gliding around on 1 skate (with a lot of weight on it), while your other skate (with very little weight on it) is positioned directly in front the gliding skate. So your skates are like two carriages of a train, one behind the other - where the primary gliding skate (with most of your weight on it) trails the secondary skate.

At this stage, you can then practise transferring weight from your gliding skate to the secondary skate. That is, transfer your weight from the trailing skate to the leading skate. This kind of exercise might help you get used to the feeling of balancing on 1 skate and transferring weight from 1 skate to the other, which is what happens in a cross-over move. Except that the cross-over move is just an exaggerated form of the whole exercise above.

[sunshinepointe]

Since I rely on my ears to hear how much I scrape (helps me correct my edging), I don't think I'd want to take my mp3 player out on the ice with me!

Well since I generally can't hear anything over the music being played over the loudspeaker and screaming giggling children (remember, I skate only on publics) I'll use the ipod to give myself some solitude.


Yep ... and if a fall-gone-wrong occurs, people could end up regretting when the device gets jammed between the body and the floor in the fall-gone-wrong. And fall gone wrong's can also mean somebody else causing it by accident when you're not expecting.

I have the little thing that attaches the Ipod to my upper arm, facing away from my body - if I manage to fall and land on that I think I have more things to worry about than the ipod 8O

[sue123]

re crossovers:

When I first started crossovers, my coach had me start with scullying. Basically, you're on a circle and your outside foot is kind of going in and out. Not really sure how to describe it. It never crosses though. Then, you move on to pushing out the outside foot, and then bringing it up to your ankle of the other foot. All teh while, you're still going around the circle. Then, when you;re comfortable with that, then you actually crossover your foot.

She still has me do that sometimes if I'm having an off day and am tripping over my own feet. It helps me.

[Bothcoasts]

Also for the crossovers, make sure you feel comfortable with a weight transfer. Do consecutive one-foot glides around the circle. If going CCW, practice a one foot glide on your right foot (which should be on an inside edge) and then switch to your left (should be on an outside edge).

On a different note, iPods and headphones aren't the only unique items--and potential distractions--on the ice. Recently, I've seen more and more people chatting on cell phones ...but what takes the cake are the parents who try to get on the ice holding a child in their arms/on their shoulders!

[mikawendy]

Yup, I recently saw a mom get on in rental skates carrying a baby! 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O 8O

An ice dancer I knew promptly got off the ice and summoned rink management. The woman hadn't even thought of what might happen if she'd've fallen and landed on her baby! And she wasn't very steady on her feet.

[VegasGirl]

Didn't read all the posts in this thread so I hope I don't repeat anything... but here are some suggestions from me.

Have you noticed other adults practising during public time?
If so maybe you could approach them and see if they would be interested in starting up an adult practise session. At our rink we have what they call coffee club three times a week (Mo-We-Fr) from 10:00-11:30 and it's basically just a bunch of us adults having fun. But some of us (including me) are also working on making our way up the "skating ladder", testing and competitions. I am one of those, I practise all three days and take a private lesson from my coach on Wednesdays. Works out great and on plenty of occassions it was almost like having private ice time!

We tried to start an adult class during coffee club as well but couldn't get enough people to commit on a weekly basis... but that would be something else you could concider starting up once you get a andful of adults together that are interested and ofcourse a coach that would be willing to hold a group lesson for you guys.

Speaking of coach, I truly believe that you should concider atleast taking some lessons. They are soooo helpful and invaluable to me!
you can certainly try to teach yourself but sooner or later you'll hit a road block where you just won't have enough knowledge to get the moves down correctly... and there's probably not much worse than learning to skate completely worng (or any sport for that matter)... hard to break old bad habits!

Good luck!

[sk8mommy]

Didn't read all the posts in this thread so I hope I don't repeat anything... but here are some suggestions from me.

Have you noticed other adults practising during public time?
If so maybe you could approach them and see if they would be interested in starting up an adult practise session. At our rink we have what they call coffee club three times a week (Mo-We-Fr) from 10:00-11:30 and it's basically just a bunch of us adults having fun. But some of us (including me) are also working on making our way up the "skating ladder", testing and competitions. I am one of those, I practise all three days and take a private lesson from my coach on Wednesdays. Works out great and on plenty of occassions it was almost like having private ice time!

We tried to start an adult class during coffee club as well but couldn't get enough people to commit on a weekly basis... but that would be something else you could concider starting up once you get a andful of adults together that are interested and ofcourse a coach that would be willing to hold a group lesson for you guys.

Speaking of coach, I truly believe that you should concider atleast taking some lessons. They are soooo helpful and invaluable to me!
you can certainly try to teach yourself but sooner or later you'll hit a road block where you just won't have enough knowledge to get the moves down correctly... and there's probably not much worse than learning to skate completely worng (or any sport for that matter)... hard to break old bad habits!

Good luck!

An adult session is something definitely to consider. Ideally, I'd like early morning or after work, so to avoid maybe a bit of travel time. But the lunch session will work for now. The problem with the area where I live is that many of the adults who would attend don't work (FL is basically one big retirement mecca....don't get me started on that one....it's getting a bit better, but still not the family friendliest state!).

I'm currently taking a group learn to skate on Sat am, but it's almost like private instruction as it's me and one other girl at my level with one coach who is also working with a higher level group. She switches off between us, which works well....gives us time to practice on our own and then she comes back to check progress and show us new skills or help where needed. Eventually, I'd like to get some private lessons, but this seems to be working well for me right now. It's a bit of a juggle time wise with 2 young kids and a full time job, but I've made this a priority, so I "just do it"
Kathy

[Sk8pdx]

I am glad you found a time that works best for you. It is a blessing for you to have a job that allows you to be flexible with your lunch hour and work schedule.

Regarding crossovers, something to do off ice is, find a staircase. Try going up the staircase sideways both sides (R & L). I paid close attention to how my hips lifted with each step & feeling how the weight is transferred. I also felt how my shoulders were counter to the direction of my hips (as if I were wearing an empire waist dress).

I don't remember where I saw this idea, maybe on the FAQ's somewhere but I found it really helped.:)

[flippet]

I'm currently taking a group learn to skate on Sat am, but it's almost like private instruction as it's me and one other girl at my level with one coach who is also working with a higher level group. She switches off between us, which works well....gives us time to practice on our own and then she comes back to check progress and show us new skills or help where needed. This is what my adult group lessons were like. I think the most we ever had at one time was four of us, and not everyone showed up every week (except me). When it's like that, you can often put off private lessons for quite a while, unless you want to compete. For crossovers: Bend, bend, bend your knees. You really want to SIT into these. When you think you've sat enough, sit some more. While 'sitting', remember to NOT bend at the waist. This can be really difficult, but if you bend at the waist, you'll pitch forward, and be on your toepicks (especially on back crossovers). Remember that there are two pivot points in your midsection--your waist, and your hips. You want to bend at your ankles, your knees, and your hips, but be very straight from your hips to your shoulders. (Not vertical, but straight.)

[sk8mommy]

Thanks for the tips. I did a lot of practice work on edges and pre-crossover skills today during my lesson. I was finally able to consistently find my outside edge on the right foot, which has been the hardest so far. I find that it's been a challenge to get the knee bend that I need, which is likely due to lack of strength. I am going to look at some exercises I can do to work on strengthening my legs and core.
I also did a lot more backwards skating today, probably about 1/3 of our lesson time...I'm getting better, but still real slow and awkward. Took a couple of spills today, doing crossovers...I'm still not over the fear thing, but I was able to get right back up and keep trying, which is an improvement for me.

I am really enjoying my practices and lessons. I am not a very patient person in my off-ice life, and I am finding that learning to skate is really forcing me to slow down, take one thing at a time and enjoy where I am now. At the same time, I have little goals in mind, but I really do not have a timetable (very new to me!) and my ultimate goal is to enjoy the process....guess what? I am! :D
Kathy

[VegasGirl]

What really helped me with my back cross-overs was backward stroking... have you worked on that yet?

[kayskate]

The best publics are during the weekdays when the rest of the world is at work or school. Just call me master of the obvious. If you cannot access these utopias, and have to make use of the evening, late afternoon, or (egad!) wknd publics; you will do well to work basic skating skills. If the rink allows spinning, in the middle, you will be forced to develop a great center. You will get quick and ambidextrous on your edges as you dart about avoiding ppl. Good luck. Been there done that. Have been doing in recently.

Kay

[Skate@Delaware]

Since I rely on my ears to hear how much I scrape (helps me correct my edging), I don't think I'd want to take my mp3 player out on the ice with me!
I'd rather use mine to drown out the sound of my scraping.........and the awful music playing............:lol:

Actually, I haven't taken it on the ice lately. I need to run thru my program this week tho'