Practice Ice for Competition-Value

[DallasSkater]

My first competition is just 2 weeks away. Since I am a newbie to competitions, I am wondering about practice ice that is sold at a premium by the host rink. It appears that it will not be available on the day I would actually compete due to both surfaces are needed for the actual event! It is being offered at 3 times the typical rate of freestyle ice at this particular rink and likely 2 days before my actual performance. I already am familiar with the host rink and skate there at least 2-3 times per week. But I would not have access to the rink that week if I do not purchase practice ice.

Is it worth doing their ice for some reason? Am I missing an important reason due to my inexperience? How do you prepare the day of your competition? What am I missing? My current plan is to skate at another rink the day of the competition for a gentle warm up and then just be left with the 6 minute warm up when I get there. I just cannot see why the practice ice is so premium and why so many would not do what I am thinking I need to do.

Any other tips from experienced competitors will certainly be appreciated...Thanks!

[jskater49]

I personally have never felt the need to skate on the particular ice I will comepte on. I have lots of other things that freak me out - but not that - nor do I have any trouble orienting myself and the direction of my program.
Other people are different and find skating on the actual ice to be an advantage. The thing is, you don't know how it is with you yet. BUT, I have been to plenty of competitions where you paid good money to skate on a different rink for practice than actual competition so I think it's good to not get so dependent on being on that actual ice.

Now that I think about it, when my DD skated at Regionals somewhere (can't remember- maybe Duluth?) she had no practice at the actual venue, even the official practices were somewhere else.


I think it is important to get some practice ice, whereever it is. Personally, I get lost in different cities so I try to keep my travel to a minimum so I just practice at the competition rink. I got enough to think about than figure out where another rink is. But if that's not an issue for you - go for it.

j

[Rusty Blades]

I did my first ever competition at the Adult Championships in March this year and practice ice had been arranged on the competition venue for two day earlier in the week and a different rink the day before the competition.

I wanted every advantage possible for my first competition so, since the host city is at a higher altitude and I didn't know how that would effect me, I went out 5 days early to acclimatize and also booked practice ice for all 3 days preceding the competition.

For me, skating on the competition venue for two days was a great help. It gave me time to become familiar with the arena and the ice surface. Knowing where the judges would be, where the kiss & cry would be, the route to/from the dressing room, etc., all helped me feel at home there.

From my training I knew that I needed 48 hours recovery between a serious practice and competition so the skate the day before competition was just to stay loose.

I though there was always practice ice for competitors just before the competition??? We had 30 minutes of practice ice in the morning before our event in the afternoon.

[flo]

Skating on the ice I'll be competing on was very helpful when I first started competing, and I do it now if I can. The more experience I got, the more easily I went from surface to surface.

[techskater]

Rusty-That's usually only included for championships (Regionals, Sectionals, Nationals in the US) that an official practice (usually termed "warm up") is included.

If you are already familiar with the venue, then there really is no reason to skate practice ice there if you can get ice elsewhere. Most people use at least 2 practice sessions on an unfamiliar rink - one to run through their elements and one to "set" the program on the unfamiliar rink. For example, at Adult Nationals in 04, I skated one session on the 80 rink early in the week to get familiar with the arena setting and being able to not get turned around. I did no jumps but about 30 minutes of spins in various locales around the rink on that first session to figure out where I was coming out.

[chowskates]

techskater is right, if you are familiar with the venue, there's no need to be worried if you can get ice somewhere else for that week.

Unfortunately I usually don't get that privilege... since I skate at a rink tha tis much smaller than standard size, I usually need quite a few sessions to actually fit my program to whichever rink I happen to have to compete at!

[techskater]

That has to be a wild experience, Chow! I know it's harder to fill an Olympic rink than an NHL sized rink but with the right ice, not THAT much harder!

[Rusty Blades]

I know it's harder to fill an Olympic rink than an NHL sized rink but with the right ice, not THAT much harder!

LOL! I forgot about that! I had never skated on Olympic so an important part of my two practices on the competition venue was to figure out how to place my program so I didn't run out of wind before running out of music 8O

[TreSk8sAZ]

I agree with what everyone else has said. Generally, I only use official practice ice if I'm not familiar with the rink. I've found that depending on the hardness/softness of the ice, it can make a big difference on what parts of my program I focus on. (I've always had problems getting used to the Oakland rink when I go to St. Moritz, if I'm on the NHL side, whereas other rinks like Grapevine I have no problem.) Also, since I skate on an Olympic size rink, I often have to find where I'm running into walls and how to fix it. But if it's a local competition, or a city where I have skated before and know how the ice is going to react, it's not as necessary to pay the big bucks for official (or even unofficial at the rink) ice.

[Mrs Redboots]

If you're already used to the ice there, don't bother. Go the week before your competition, if you can, just to remind yourself what your programme feels like on that ice, otherwise don't worry about it.

[Skate@Delaware]

If you're already used to the ice there, don't bother. Go the week before your competition, if you can, just to remind yourself what your programme feels like on that ice, otherwise don't worry about it.
I agree! If you know what their ice is like, then don't worry about it. If it's not familiar to you, try to go before you have to pay more for it (even if you go on a public session just to gauge the softness/hardness of it).

I wish I'd done this at one of my earlier comps...the ice was MUCH harder than what I was used to...and my skates were skidding all over!!! Had I known it was harder, I would have sharpened them just prior!

[sexyskates]

Since you have already skated at the host rink and are familiar with it, you don't need to bother with the practice ice.
I have found that just visiting the competition rink and walking around is almost as good a preparation as skating on it. When I go to competitions I check out the rink the night before, to visualize my program, and figure out where the judges will be. I also decide where I will warm up and hang out before I perform (I like to hide out in a warm quiet area before my freeskate). I have found that doing a good off ice warm up is just as good, if not better, than doing practice ice on the day of the comp. If the practice ice is really early, I don't bother with it and just get my rest instead of skating. But you will have to figure out what works best for you.

[Sessy]

Before the one single competition I did, I practiced at an other rink. Is cuz the competition was at our home rink, so I knew the ice and the layout. I knew the ice would be rock hard, where it was really soft at the practice rink. It wasn't a problem at all.

[DallasSkater]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. It was helpful and validated my thoughts about it.
I will stick to using another rink. Will continue to skate at the actual rink as often as possible prior.

Yesterday in lesson, my coach had me simulate the competition by taking the ice for no more than a 6 minute warm up...then off the ice...then present on the ice immediately into program...Since there will likely not be a ton of competitors in my group...It is reasonable to think I will skate soon after my warmup.

I had skated 30 minutes earlier in the day...it will likely be about how I will skate on the day. Much to my dismay...the 6 minutes was just insufficient to warm up! eeek. My program was not that great.

My second attempt was just fine and skated at my best ability. I really think I should get to run the universe...and demand longer warm ups for adults! or maybe just me! giggle.

I will just do the best I can and chalk it up to experience! Thanks for your support!

[techskater]

Dallas- you should find an off ice warm up that works for you and simulates the time spent before skating your program normally so when you go out for your warm up (which may be even less than 6 minutes depending on the competition - it can be as short as 1 1/2 times the length of your program), you are warmed up and you are just getting the feel of the ice. It depends on what would work for you, of course. Talk to your coach about it...

[rf3ray]

Yeah I know what you mean I had a comp tonight. Its so hard for an adult skater, and the worse thing is like at practice everyone at the rink knows you can do the elements perfect, come competition time ...... WTF

You get the idea




Thanks everyone for taking the time to respond. It was helpful and validated my thoughts about it.
I will stick to using another rink. Will continue to skate at the actual rink as often as possible prior.

Yesterday in lesson, my coach had me simulate the competition by taking the ice for no more than a 6 minute warm up...then off the ice...then present on the ice immediately into program...Since there will likely not be a ton of competitors in my group...It is reasonable to think I will skate soon after my warmup.

I had skated 30 minutes earlier in the day...it will likely be about how I will skate on the day. Much to my dismay...the 6 minutes was just insufficient to warm up! eeek. My program was not that great.

My second attempt was just fine and skated at my best ability. I really think I should get to run the universe...and demand longer warm ups for adults! or maybe just me! giggle.

I will just do the best I can and chalk it up to experience! Thanks for your support!

[Rusty Blades]

Yesterday in lesson, my coach had me simulate the competition by taking the ice for no more than a 6 minute warm up...then off the ice...then present on the ice immediately into program...

You are lucky! My coach started the "simulated competition" thing WEEKS before competition in many variations - warmup or abbreviated warmup (3 minutes!), LONG wait or NO wait, and do the program as much as 3 times in a row (KILLER!)

There were only 4 other skaters in my group, I was LAST, and it took the judges FOREVER to tabulate everybody's scores so it actually ended up being nearly 1/2 hour between warmup and when I got on the ice - even longer than what we had practiced.

[Sessy]

Yesterday in lesson, my coach had me simulate the competition by taking the ice for no more than a 6 minute warm up...then off the ice...then present on the ice immediately into program...Since there will likely not be a ton of competitors in my group...It is reasonable to think I will skate soon after my warmup.

That's good. I got cramp on my first comp and fell from my bielman cuz I was last in the group and had no idea 6 minutes to warm up (then wait 15 mins) is so not doing anything to warm up.

[chowskates]

That has to be a wild experience, Chow! I know it's harder to fill an Olympic rink than an NHL sized rink but with the right ice, not THAT much harder!

Oh the difference between NHL and Olympic size is nothing...