Has weather affected your skating?

[Black Sheep]

I've missed a few practices already due to snowstorms and/or brutally cold weather. I was lucky to make my Christmas show on Sunday, even though it was zero degrees out and the parking lot was a mess.

[Stormy]

Despite it showing for two and a half straight days this past weekend, I was able to make it to the rink. Luckily, it's only 5 minutes away but the back roads still weren't plowed well. People still showed up to practice, and to come to Learn to Skate Saturday morning as well.

[niupartyangel]

I did miss a lesson this session because I was sick but i made it up...otherwise that is it. I am lucky enough to have the rink I take lessons at to be 15 minutes away from my house. There is also another rink right across the street that I attend for public skate just to practice in...however the coaching there is nt as good and the facilities are not as well maintained (i.e. bad lighting, ice not zambonied very well) which is why opted to stick with my lessons at the other rink after i moved to my house now.

my coach also missed a week because she had sinus surgery but she had this other coach teach me that day, so I didn't miss a lesson.

[Rusty Blades]

We had two days in the past month with temperatures so low that I couldn't warmup properly on the ice and battled calf cramps for the whole session. What do you expect when it's -30C with a -45C windchill!

[RachelSk8er]

It hasn't been too bad here in Cleveland *knock on wood*, I haven't had to miss any skating at all (my rink is 5 min from my house anyway). Probably could have whipped out the skates and gone skating on the roads the other night though...it was ICY.

I don't think anything will ever be as bad as when I was in school @ Syracuse. The rink on campus is on a road that is basically a huge hill. The rink is beautiful but the type with just metal walls on most sides (the rink is FREEZING COLD and most winter days, wind just whips at it all day making it even worse). There is nothing that screams dedication more than having to walk the half mile up the hill through a few feet of unplowed snow with drifts over your head (the day after a lake effect/Noreasterner double whammy) because your car won't/can't make it up that hill at 5:00 AM to make it to synchro practice. And the rink is so cold you can't even practice for more than 20 min without running into the locker room to warm up despite having on 50 layers. Oh those were the days.

[SkaterBird]

Between bad roads a couple of practice days, sick kids, sick husband, one of the kids sick yet again and sick me, I've been lucky to get to ANY practices in the past 6 weeks! I hope it isn't a harbinger of the rest of the coming winter.

[Black Sheep]

I don't think anything will ever be as bad as when I was in school @ Syracuse. The rink on campus is on a road that is basically a huge hill. The rink is beautiful but the type with just metal walls on most sides (the rink is FREEZING COLD and most winter days, wind just whips at it all day making it even worse). There is nothing that screams dedication more than having to walk the half mile up the hill through a few feet of unplowed snow with drifts over your head (the day after a lake effect/Noreasterner double whammy) because your car won't/can't make it up that hill at 5:00 AM to make it to synchro practice. And the rink is so cold you can't even practice for more than 20 min without running into the locker room to warm up despite having on 50 layers. Oh those were the days.

Good times. Good times. :lol:

RachelSk8er: Did you skate in the Columbus Holiday Open last Saturday? ;)

[jazzpants]

Well, it hasn't kept me from being on the ice, but it has impacted me health-wise. Tis the season for very achy joints and back pains for me, longer periods of warm-up time... and I usually "stock up" on chiro visits then... :twisted: (In fact, when I get back to San Francisco, I have a massage therapy session waiting for me to deal with those muscle and joint problems... :lol: )

[Kim to the Max]

It hasn't been too bad here in Cleveland *knock on wood*, I haven't had to miss any skating at all (my rink is 5 min from my house anyway). Probably could have whipped out the skates and gone skating on the roads the other night though...it was ICY.

I don't think anything will ever be as bad as when I was in school @ Syracuse. The rink on campus is on a road that is basically a huge hill. The rink is beautiful but the type with just metal walls on most sides (the rink is FREEZING COLD and most winter days, wind just whips at it all day making it even worse). There is nothing that screams dedication more than having to walk the half mile up the hill through a few feet of unplowed snow with drifts over your head (the day after a lake effect/Noreasterner double whammy) because your car won't/can't make it up that hill at 5:00 AM to make it to synchro practice. And the rink is so cold you can't even practice for more than 20 min without running into the locker room to warm up despite having on 50 layers. Oh those were the days.

Hahahah....Rachel, I understand...I skate at Tennity often...it's nice because it's under-utilized, but it is cold! Even a friend who played hockey commented that it was cold....

As for the original question....unfortunately, yes, the weather is affecting me being able to get to the rink....I missed my lesson on Friday because ice was cancelled because of the big snow storm, and I don't think I'm going to be able to get in much time while I am at my mom's house in Milwaukee....stupid snow! I was planning on going tomorrow (Christmas eve) and the 26th (day after Christmas), but with the weather reports the way they are, I don't think I will be able to go tomorrow (my mom has a thing about us driving in the snow....I'm 28....it's getting old because life does not stop because of a little snow....)...and then of course there is only morning ice the week between Christmas and New Years at my regular rink, Tennity (on campus) is closed, so I may need to head to the city rink for some mid-day ice...anything to keep up with working on my Novice Moves (coach wants me to test in February 8O)...

[skatingisheaven]

Yes, the winter weather has affected my skating a lot! It usually doesn't snow here in the winter, but this year we have inches and inches. There's so much snow that, while it's pretty and fun to play in, we can't drive anywhere, let alone the ice rink that's 30 minutes away! It's been about 3 weeks since I've gotten to go skating. I've missed lessons and practice. My axel just "clicked" too, and I was landing it from moving. Now I'm worried that I'll forget how to do it! I hate not being able to skate, it's like not breathing!

[katz in boots]

Yes, weather has affected my skating. It is summer in the southern hemisphere and our rink machinery can't handle it, the ice gets very wet.
Makes me rather tentative and unlikely to try harder moves cos I don't want to fall over and get soaked. :lol:

[RachelSk8er]

Hahahah....Rachel, I understand...I skate at Tennity often...it's nice because it's under-utilized, but it is cold! Even a friend who played hockey commented that it was cold....


Yeah I miss the free ice almost always to myself. And inside was pretty when the sun hit those glass blocks in the front. But at 5am when it's -20 with the windchill, that place is brutal! :)

RachelSk8er: Did you skate in the Columbus Holiday Open last Saturday?

Yup yup :) With my really lousy freestyle program! Ugh.

[sk8lady]

We had about a freaking foot of snow fall last Sunday and I finally had to authorize canceling our Sunday night ice, which about killed me since my coach had actually planned to come up that night to substitute coach and give me a lesson. So I missed yet ANOTHER lesson. Grrrrr.

[Mel On Ice]

The weather has kept me from 4 of 6 regularly scheduled sessions. The rink is over 24 miles away, through backroads and farms, rendering it nearly impossible to get to in this weather. I skated moves last Thursday, and the ice show on Saturday -- that's it for the last week.

[singerskates]

Yes, I missed the last 2 days of City Ice (ticket ice) the week before Christmas. Too humid the first day I missed (Thursday) and I was running late. And Friday, I drove to the rink only to find out that the parking lot which was covered with a foot high snow wasn't shovelled and the rink staff was still waiting for the snow removal to clear the snow when I called from a near by strip mall that had their parking lot cleared. And it was still snowing most of the rest of the day only to turn to freezing rain later in the evening. Nice weather, not. Windsor hasn't had this type of weather for a long long time.

[kayskate]

Two days of classes were canceled b/c of bad weather, so I missed out on teaching and making $. I also skate on some of my teaching days, so I missed that practice time too. This time of yr (holidays) I miss more skating b/c of crowds. Any given rink will be absolutely packed when the kids are out of school. I just hope it translates into more ppl signing up for lessons, esp privates.

Kay

[RoaringSkates]

I missed one Friday and one Sunday session so far, because they were cancelled due to weather.

On the semi-enclosed rink where I skate on Fridays, it can be hard to get really warmed up when the weather gets very cold. I feel it takes forever for me to find my knees. Once I do, I'm usually good, but it takes a lot longer than normal!