iPod on ice?

[taijiya]

Santa brought me a shiny new iPod nano, and of course I want to take it skating with me. Any recommendations for how best to carry it while skating? I was thinking of an armband holder, but I'm very open to suggestions!

[Morgail]

I have the tiny iPod Shuffle. The armband is good, but the earbud wire just sort of hangs there, and I always seemed to catch it when I moved my arms.

The Shuffle has a clip attached to it (not sure the Nano does, but you might be able to attach one if it doesn't), and I usually just clip it to my pants/skirt waistband and run the wire under my shirt.

I find I have to be extra aware of other skaters when I wear it, though - it's easy to get lost in the music. :)

[AgnesNitt]

I tried armbands, and even the waistband, but neither was very good. The main reason is that the headphone wires tend to peskily get in the way. Either the heaphones go on the ice or get jerked to one side. I think the ipod is best at just below shoulder level with the wires shortened to keep them free of interference.
When I'm at the rink I can't do what I do when I'm gardening, which is to tuck it into my bra---just trust me, chainsawing back brush and headphone wires do not go together.
I wear a vest, I now have a half dozen bought at end of season sales. They each have an iPod pocket. This means the wires can be tucked away. I also have a place for car keys and cash in the pockets.

[katz in boots]

I have both clip on shuffle and a Nano 3rd gen. The shuffle I clip to my
t-shirt neckline, no problems.

The nano is trickier. My eyesight isn't what it used to be, so I want to be able to look at the screen easily, so I like it clipped to the waistband of my pants. I bought a plastic case and attached it to an ID tag waistband clip from work, which has an elastic extender so I can pull the ipod close to read the screen.

Only thing is, I learned pretty early on to tuck the ipod into my pants when skating, otherwise when I did a spin the whole thing flew out on the elastic :lol: Very silly.

[Rusty Blades]

I found that the earbud wire is long enough to run down inside my sating jacket and then have the MP3 player in my pocket - keeps the wire out of the way to.

[Sessy]

Uhm I'm not sure. I have an iPod shuffle (I think you can get them for like 35 these days) and I bellyflopped on top of it (it was on my waistband) out of a biellman once and it worked fine afterwards, although I did start carrying it on my neck after that. I think the safest thing for your nano would be if you were to get a shuffle for skating... LOL. A shuffle doesn't have a screen so it's not like that can break. It's basically just a pimped USB disk, a shuffle, and usb disks are pretty indestructable.

[sk8tmum]

Okay, surprised person here ... our rinks absolutely prohibit Mp3s and Ipods because of the safety factor. I can't imagine how many (more) accidents we would have if there were people who couldn't hear the solo music or skaters in transit ... thread drift, sorry, but, do you find it safe to skate with music on or others with music on?

[sk8_4fun]

Okay, surprised person here ... our rinks absolutely prohibit Mp3s and Ipods because of the safety factor. I can't imagine how many (more) accidents we would have if there were people who couldn't hear the solo music or skaters in transit ... thread drift, sorry, but, do you find it safe to skate with music on or others with music on?

Our rink also prohibits the use of music through head phones although I have seen people use them and get away with it. I woud be mortified if I got carried away and caused an accident

[Sessy]

Okay, surprised person here ... our rinks absolutely prohibit Mp3s and Ipods because of the safety factor. I can't imagine how many (more) accidents we would have if there were people who couldn't hear the solo music or skaters in transit ... thread drift, sorry, but, do you find it safe to skate with music on or others with music on?

I do. Everyone I know does it and we've not had a problem ever. Even during group lessons the coaches encourage students to bring their iPods so they can practice their programme during those lessons. We've had like up to 10 people on the ice practicing their programmes with the iPods and mp3 players in their ears - this was on the last group lesson before a testing session and club competition combined evening.

Of course the idea is that nobody has a right of way then, and everybody looks out for each other and if that means you miss a jump or a spin in your programme then boo-hoo, too bad for you. And you can't play the mp3 player particularly loud either, just enough to hear enough key points of your programme to be able to skate it. But I've never heard of any incidents with those things. They're even allowed on public sessions, I know of a few who practice their programmes on public sessions with iPods, myself included. Never heard of any problems. But you sure do have to have eyes on the back of your head... LOL. Which is why I pick the really empty publics when I wanna do that.

[mdvask8r]

Earbuds in both ears cause my balance to go haywire! 8O Not to mention the hearing/awareness concerns. I have found though, that I can confidently skate with only one side in my ear --- have not conquered keeping the earpiece in place when spinning!! Mostly I use it on uncrowded public sessions while choreographing for my low BS-level skaters.

[Mel On Ice]

a friend of mine got wireless earbuds for Christmas, says they are weird at first, but will be awesome to work out in.

Both clubs I have belonged to prohibited the use of walkmans and ipods on crowded sessions, and I have to agree. I have tried skating on a relatively empty open skate and was so distracted by the fact that my audio awareness of others was compromised that it made getting lost in the music impossible.

Problem is, my coach likes to see how relaxed I am when doing moves to certain songs (ex: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road) that she wants me to bring my nano to skate in. I'm already skittish being on the ice pregnant, don't need one more distaction.

[Sessy]

Earbuds in both ears cause my balance to go haywire! 8O Not to mention the hearing/awareness concerns. I have found though, that I can confidently skate with only one side in my ear --- have not conquered keeping the earpiece in place when spinning!! Mostly I use it on uncrowded public sessions while choreographing for my low BS-level skaters.

Try wearing one of those tricot head scarfs (hair scarfs?) and pulling them down over your ears to keep them in. Or get the kind of earphones that hook behind your ear.

[Mrs Redboots]

They are used at my rink; I've seen all sorts - mine (not an iPod but a cheap MP3 player) has a neck cord so it hangs round my neck; others use arm-bands (but if you are choreograping, doesn't moving your arm pull the headphones off?). Quite the niftiest thing I've seen, though, is a headband (as in, to keep your ears warm) with a little pocket for the iPod in it!

Second what others say about being aware of other people - if you have trouble, only use one headphone. I, personally, don't have a problem with that, but then, I tend only to use mine for dance, so I'm counting the rhythm aloud and we are doing a pattern anyway (I now have proper ISU music on it since the day it was the only music available and I had to plug it into the system, and oops, recreational dance music, YUCK!). I wouldn't just play random music while skating - it's always either stuff I skate to, or stuff I'd like to skate to!

[Rusty Blades]

I wouldn't use an MP3 player on a busy session or on a club session with youngsters but I skate a morning competitive session where there are rarely more than 12 skaters and everybody watches out for everybody else. Mostly you know the other skater's programs and know where they will be and when. I am also hyper vigilant when I am listening to music even though the program music is often so loud I can't hear my own player.

I also only use my player when I am working out choreography or trying to get the timing down for part of my program. My preferred solution (if nobody minds) is to tuck my MP3 player and a little FM transmitter in my pocket and play my music thru the rink's sound system. Nothing like being able to rewind, fast-forward, or repeat part of the music without leaving the ice 8-)

[RachelSk8er]

I have a shuffle I'll use on the ice, I clip it to the front of my pants and string the wires up my shirt. I've never fallen on it or anything, I only use it if I'm warming up or working on moves and it's a session that's not terribly crowded but the kids have on annoying music. Every once in a while if I hit up a public session during the day that's pretty much empty I'll use it for dances, too. I have the music I frequently use for skating all at the front of my playlist so it's easy to find on my shuffle (since you can't search for music or see what you're playing).

Sometimes I take my nano on the ice if I'm working on choreographing something but I'm typically off in the corner, and I either hold it in my hand or stick it in the pocket of my zip-up.

We're really not "supposed" to have on headphones on the ice either, but if it's not crowded or someone is working on choreography off in a corner somewhere, no one really complains.

[MusicSkateFan]

:twisted::twisted::twisted:
You put others in danger when you wear those things!
Part of watching for others in a freestyle session is using your ears to hear stroking, etc.

I tell people to take out the ear plugs and that they are more than welcome to use the sound system!

[Terri C]

While I do not have a iPod yet (gotta save $$ for AN!), I will not wear one on the ice once I do get one because of the safety issues involved.

[singerskates]

There are two reasons why I don't use MP3 Players or iPods. 1) It's not allowed. 2) Ear buds hurt my ears. And thirdly I'm usually skating on low traffic City Ice (ticket ice to everyone else) so I can have my music played up to 5 times if I want an hour. I usually play my music at least twice sometimes 4 times a session. Although I will have to split up time available to me between my freeskate and interpretive music.

I do find the wireless earbuds interesting. To bad they don't have wireless over the ear head sets that let sound in so that you can hear what is around you. My ears are just too small for ear buds.

[doubletoe]

Okay, surprised person here ... our rinks absolutely prohibit Mp3s and Ipods because of the safety factor. I can't imagine how many (more) accidents we would have if there were people who couldn't hear the solo music or skaters in transit ... thread drift, sorry, but, do you find it safe to skate with music on or others with music on?

They aren't allowed at our rink, either, although it's not always enforced. I find that often, someone skating to her music on an iPod gets a little too lost in the music and forgets that other people can't hear it and she doesn't have right-of-way. More than that, though, if you've got both earbuds in, it makes it virtually impossible to hear the blades of someone coming up behind you. For that reason, the only way I would ever consider using one would be with only one earbud.

[katz in boots]

Perhaps it depends on your rink and the skaters there. When there can be up to 3 coaches giving lessons, waiting to use the sound system, you don't get access except in your 15 minute lesson. It isn't enough to connect everything to the music and polish a program. I also find it essential for practising ice dance cos it's hard to practise if the music playing has a completely different beat.

In my experience, accidents happen with or without ipods. Some coaches play program music so loud I can't think, let alone hear other skaters. And everyone is working on their programs, so everyone is self-absorbed. If anything, when using an ipod I am even more watchful for other skaters.

[Mrs Redboots]

Perhaps it depends on your rink and the skaters there. When there can be up to 3 coaches giving lessons, waiting to use the sound system, you don't get access except in your 15 minute lesson. It isn't enough to connect everything to the music and polish a program. I also find it essential for practising ice dance cos it's hard to practise if the music playing has a completely different beat.I totally agree. We can usually get to play our music once during a practice session (and, of course, during our lesson), but it's not fair on other skaters to ask for more than that. Of course, if the relevant compulsory dance music is playing, we go for it.

And, of course, it depends on who has a competition when. If ours is next week and theirs isn't for a couple of months, I have no compunction about asking to use the music rather more than if they are competing tomorrow and we aren't doing so for another five months!

In my experience, accidents happen with or without ipods. Some coaches play program music so loud I can't think, let alone hear other skaters. And everyone is working on their programs, so everyone is self-absorbed. If anything, when using an ipod I am even more watchful for other skaters.I agree - and that seems to happen at our rink, too; the ones who use the iPods are the least likely to have accidents! Mind you, I've seen the only two skaters on the ice collide more than once..... neither with an iPod.

[Mel On Ice]

I can have my music played up to 5 times if I want an hour. I usually play my music at least twice sometimes 4 times a session.

I think I would hate being on your session. Five times - really?

[jskater49]

Okay, surprised person here ... our rinks absolutely prohibit Mp3s and Ipods because of the safety factor. I can't imagine how many (more) accidents we would have if there were people who couldn't hear the solo music or skaters in transit ... thread drift, sorry, but, do you find it safe to skate with music on or others with music on?

They are not allowed on our club ice for that reason.

[Clarice]

Sometimes I practice dance patterns just with a metronome hung around my neck. That way I can hear the music that's playing over the sound system, too. I'm pretty good at following my own beat, even if a conflicting one is playing.

[RoaringSkates]

Okay, surprised person here ... our rinks absolutely prohibit Mp3s and Ipods because of the safety factor. I can't imagine how many (more) accidents we would have if there were people who couldn't hear the solo music or skaters in transit ... thread drift, sorry, but, do you find it safe to skate with music on or others with music on?

I wear mine sometimes, but I only put one ear bud in, so I can both hear my music and what's going on around me. I never skate with both ears covered - that'd be asking for trouble. I need to hear the other skaters coming!

I only wear my IPod to hear my ice dance music. I don't use it otherwise.

[daisies]

They aren't allowed at our rink, either, although it's not always enforced. I find that often, someone skating to her music on an iPod gets a little too lost in the music and forgets that other people can't hear it and she doesn't have right-of-way. More than that, though, if you've got both earbuds in, it makes it virtually impossible to hear the blades of someone coming up behind you.

Total WORD. I can't stand it when someone is out there with something -- iPod, whatever -- even in just one ear, because they DO get lost in the music and they create a major hazard to everyone else.

When I practice my dances or am choreographing a program, I use a digital voice recorder with no earpiece. I hold it in my hand. It's the size of my palm and there's a little speaker on it, so I can hear the music without it booming out to everyone else and disrupting them. But it's far enough away from me, too, so that I can still hear everyone around me.

[looplover]

Today I saw a skater with earbuds in both ears do a hydroblade right into a kid - yep, she was doing this on a public session.

What frustrated me was that it's hard enough to try and avoid the kids in a public session when you just want to stay in one place and do a spin - I also had to watch out for this chick who was really doing a program at speed. And this was a somewhat crowded session! No skate guard. :roll:

I left...

[jskater49]

Sometimes I practice dance patterns just with a metronome hung around my neck. That way I can hear the music that's playing over the sound system, too. I'm pretty good at following my own beat, even if a conflicting one is playing.

I need a metronome around my neck for dance!

[sk8lady]

I used to use an armband but it kept slipping--I think it was made for giant muscular he-men.

I use one of these three things now:


lululemon pants--they have an ipod sleeve in the waistband
sugoi shirt (for snowboarding, I think)--there's a zip up pocket on the sleeve for an ipod
side pocket on my vest--gives me better access while I'm choreographing and keep having to restart the music


I've been run over or into numerous times by kids who are NOT wearing headphones of any kind, but are just so enthralled by their own skating that they are not paying attention. At least twice I was ice dancing with a partner and the kids STILL didn't see us--just oblivious.

I have NEVER had an accident while using an ipod. It is impossible for me to choreograph using an overhead sound system--it would involve repeatedly restarting the music and starting to skate at the same time-- so I can't do any choreography at the rink where they don't allow ipods. I've tried carrying a small portable player that holds an ipod and the overhead music is usually playing so loudly that it's impossible to hear it. When I was doing dance, I tried both this and using a hand-held electronic metronome and could not hear either one if the overhead music was playing. I finally gave up and just played the dance music repeatedly and everyone else just had to suffer with my crappy USFS dance music CD.

I really think it totally depends on the person. If you're paying attention you can avoid accidents even if you're wearing headphones. If you tend to get totally absorbed you will have accidents, or force others to avoid you, no matter what is on your head!