Public sessions or not?

[debrag]

From either this Thursday or next I'll be taking my first ever lesson :mrgreen: Totally nervous as don't know what to expect but I'll get over it :)

Anyway I'll be having a 1/2 hr lesson & 1/2 practice. I am thinking of adding a public session to increase my skate time. Unfortunatly I don't have lot's of money to throw at this :( Luckly there is a 3 hr public session after my lesson which I need not pay for.

So the question is should I try and get in as much ice time as possible public or not?

What are the best public sessions around London? What level do people need to be at before they can use patch ice?

[Skittl1321]

I don't skate in England, so I can't tell you the level of patch (what we call freestyle here) ice over there but I can tell you that I skated on public ice for all my practices while I was in group lessons and for the first year I did private lessons. After a year of lessons on freestyle ice, I'm still a bit frightened by how fast the other skaters move! Here you really need to be able to hold your own before you can go to freestyle ice.

If your rink allows figure skating on public sessions (many won't at all, others just don't allow double jumps or camels, some- like my rink, have no rules) and your sessions aren't too crowded, I would definetly take advantage of public ice- here it is usually quite a bit cheaper.

As for ice time- I'd say get as much as you can afford and enjoy! So if you don't have to pay extra for the public session, at least try it out!

[Helen88]

At our patch (Alexandra Palace), you have to have a coach to have signed a form.

Public sessions...in general, avoid Friday evening and weekend sessions. They're an absolute nightmare.

[Ice Dancer]

I skate in the uk, although outside London, and when you first start out you have no choice but to do public sessions unfortunately. Some rinks leave out a coned area after the lessons so you can practice in peace, so fingers crossed they will do that there for you.

If it isn't too far away, Slough has some lovely reasonably quiet daytime sessions if you are able to get to them. They start at about 1:00-1:30pm ish.

Once you've got a few levels out of the way your rink will probably offer patch ice, which is specifically for free/dance practice, but until then you are generally on public sessions I'm afraid. I know how frustrating that is too!

[debrag]

Oh I know I wouldn't be able to use patch ice for a while.

I work office hours so can't do day time so it's evenings mainly, will only do weekend if it's with a club

My lesson will be before the public session as well as our practice time.

[Sessy]

So the question is should I try and get in as much ice time as possible public or not?

NO. You will only get yourself injured.

If you want to go to the public session that's fine, but take some drink with you, a bite to eat and a book. Rest for a half an hour or so with your feet out of the skates, then put them back again and skate some more.

Once you get tired you loose the fine control and the ugliest injuries happen.

[dbny]

My own theory is that the more time you spend on the ice, the better, even if it is not quality practice time. The only exception is for those public sessions that are just too crowded to be safe. You will have to be the judge of that yourself, as a session that one feels safe on, may be too chaotic for another.

[Mrs Redboots]

Depends which rink you skate at - some rinks let you on patch as soon as you are having private lessons, others require you to be having a lesson on that particular patch, and still others require you to have a certain level of skating - tests passed, and so on - before they let you on.

You really won't be comfortable on any patch until you are at least Skate UK 5 or 6, so even if your rink allows it earlier, it's probably inadvisable.

Meanwhile, yes, do practice for a good 30 minutes or so on the public ice after your lesson - when you start feeling you've had enough, though, get off and stay off! You don't want an injury, and there comes a certain level of fatigue at which you are a danger to yourself and other skaters!

Do let us know how you get on.

Oh, and if nobody has already said this - wear leggings or trackie bums rather than jeans; you want something that'll move with you and jeans, unless they are very old and soft, don't. Plus the first thing you'll be asked to do is to sit down on the ice - to teach you how to get up after a fall - and jeans stay wet for such ages; you don't want a cold bum for the rest of the day!

[kayskate]

Try the public. You said you don't have to pay extra for it, so stay as long as you are comfortable and leave when you are tired. Gradually, you will build up stamina.

Kay

[Isk8NYC]

Try the public. You said you don't have to pay extra for it, so stay as long as you are comfortable and leave when you are tired. Gradually, you will build up stamina.

Kay
This is great advice. Don't worry too much about staying as long as you can. Start slowly and work your way up to the longer sessions. Try to skate at least an hour or two each week, practicing what you've learned in class. It will help you get the most out of each lesson if you come prepared, having practiced.

[airyfairy76]

You really won't be comfortable on any patch until you are at least Skate UK 5 or 6, so even if your rink allows it earlier, it's probably inadvisable.

Although recently, I was a little outraged at my rink - a celebrity takes her very small daughter to patch for lessons, and she herself skates around (as in - forward) like she is skating on a public session, regardless of all the jumps and spins going on around her!

If everyone else has to have forms signed off by coaches, be of a particular level, etc. etc., why is it one rule for her, and one rule for everyone else!

Rant over . . . .

[BatikatII]

When I started learn to skate lessons the rink used to have a coned off area for half an hour before or after the lesson that you could skate on to practice and then the public session after that at a reduced rate.

I learnt in a mixed age group (of about 20 skaters ) on Saturday mornings as I hadnt' realised my rink had some adult only courses in the week.

Although the public sessions were very busy we could usually find a quieter corner in which to practice basics. At that stage they don't take up much room! And if there are a few of you, you can stake out a corner a bit better and help each other watch out for other skaters.

I think my rink requires you to be on the NISA passport levels before you can go on rink patch but most rinks have their own rules so you need to check with a coach. It's not really necessary while you are still learning the basics and patch can be very scary, so best to steer clear until you are competent at stopping and at avoiding other skaters.

When you do finally make it onto patch make sure you know the patch etiquette - basically if someone's music is playing then you must get out of their way. The quickest way to become unpopular on a patch session is to be one of those oblivous skaters who has no idea what's going on around them and/or hogs one particular spot all the time which may be just where someone has a jump or spin in their programme. Conversely, even a beginner skater who is aware of the other skaters and and gets out of the way when they should, is usually accepted quite happily.

If you are not paying for the public session then it's definitely worth using but but don't feel you have to stay on for the whole time and definitely take breaks. We used to do maybe 45 mins and then go have a coffee and then get back on if we felt like it. That was not all practice either - sometimes we would just skate with the flow chatting but it all helps to get you comfortable on skates.

[Sessy]

That was not all practice either - sometimes we would just skate with the flow chatting but it all helps to get you comfortable on skates.

Definitely!!!