Non-skating friends

[niupartyangel]

So it seems that everyone here have supportive family members that cheer you on during shows and competitions or even just in regular classes. How about your non-skating friends, do they come support you in your skating endeavors as well?

[Clarice]

Non-skating friends? Do I have any of those?

Seriously, my friends seem to be kind of categorized - I have skating friends and musician friends, and they don't seem to overlap much (except for the guy who skates and plays bassoon). Both groups seem genuinely interested in my "other activities", but my musician friends don't come to my skating events any more than my skating friends come to concerts. My daughter has had groups of school friends come to see her skate in shows, though.

[RachelSk8er]

My non-skating friends always bug me about coming to see me, but I pretty much never compete locally and we haven't have an ice show. I did one local competition but it was my club hosting it, I was running around like a crazy person all day, was only competing my interp against 1 other skater, and didn't really want them to drag their butts 45 min to the other side of town and pay the $8 admission to see that. I've let them see videos of my synchro team that are up on You Tube, and one of my ice dance videos is up there too.

My family likes to tease and make fun of me, so I don't ask them to come any more. I met them for dinner after the above competition, and all they did was teased me the entire time because I got straight 1s but only against one other skater. My sister (18 and total tomboy) is downright obnoxious at competitions and my parents kind of egg her on. So I tell them not to come. At this point I've been skating so long that it's not like I'm doing anything they haven't seen (my dad and his business partner owned a rink when I was a teenager and my synchro team practiced there so he was at every practice, my mom was a team manager and only missed two competitions in the 10 yrs I skated synchro before I went off to college). They went to a few competitions the past few years when I was still doing synchro. They don't really get the whole adult skating thing though, especially since none of the girls I grew up skating with whose parents they were friends with still skate.

I took my boyfriend to one synchro competition in '08, but I don't drag him out of town with me now (cheaper to share a hotel room with other skaters), I go to get away and have a girls weekend and goof off with my friends, none of whom bring spouses. He'd just get bored being at the rink for a long time. When I'm gone for a competition, he palys poker or golfs with his buddies.

[Thin-Ice]

I don't tell my co-workers or family (except my husband) beforehand. I may mention it afterwards. And I don't want my husband there... because I'd worry about him being bored and having to entertain him, and competitions are my "me time". He used to come to all my competitions. The last one was 1998 AN. But I think he's secretly relieved I don't expect him to be there. And I don't let anyone (well, except my coach if she didn't go to a competition) see the videos. Skating is for me, not for the rest of the world.

I'm not sure what a non-skating friend is. I think I've been doing this so long that all my local friends skate. I don't get to see my friends who lvie far away often enough to make this even an issue, since our time together is dedicated to doing stuff together... which usually involves talking and eating ice cream or going for a walk... (not even going to the movies -- that would require focusing on something other than us) but something we are both involved in. I did consider taking one skating -- but she didn't want to go to the rink. I forgave her for that.

[alliegator66]

I nevr specifically hide the fact that I may have an event, but I don't make a big deal out of it. A few friends have offered to come see me, but I just tell them that I skate for 3 minutes but may have to be at the rink for a couple of hours and they would get bored. That has always scared everybody off :twisted:

[Skittl1321]

Many of my non-skating friends have come to watch shows or the competition I did.

A few have even gone ice skating on public sessions with me.

They all think it's really cool, and no one gives me grief about doing it.

[Skate@Delaware]

Non-skating friends? Do I have any of those?

Seriously, my friends seem to be kind of categorized - I have skating friends and musician friends, and they don't seem to overlap much (except for the guy who skates and plays bassoon). Both groups seem genuinely interested in my "other activities", but my musician friends don't come to my skating events any more than my skating friends come to concerts. My daughter has had groups of school friends come to see her skate in shows, though.

I have:
-non skating friends
-archery friends
-gym friends
-dance friends
-hunting friends
-shopping friends
-other mom friends
-school friends
and the best:
SKATING FRIENDS!!!!

There isn't a lot of overlap in my circles....I'm ok with that. I go to my competitions alone-otherwise I'd get too nervous!

[herniated]

I usually don't invite non-skating friends to my competitions. They seem to expect double axels and triple jumps out of me and I can't stand to see thier disappointment. It bugs me.

I've just started to invite a 'select' few to watch. A couple who works with us really love it. Thier daughter used to dance and go to competitions and they loved the whole process. And this weekend an old friend of mine who used to skate is coming with her husband and daughter. But they live like 5 mins from the rink.

[doubletoe]

A few of my non-skating friends understand and appreciate my passion for skating and they occasionally come to watch my competitions. I have other friends who pretty much change the subject when I start talking about skating because they just don't relate to it at all. Unfortunately, I find myself having less and less contact with those friends. . .

[Bill_S]

I don't even mention ice skating much to my non-skating friends. Few realize that I do it. I'm a closet ice skater I guess.

[flikkitty11]

[QUOTE=Skate@Delaware;391281]
and the best:
SKATING FRIENDS!!!!

I seem to be a little opposite here... my non-skating friends ARE my friends though when i was younger it was mostly the other way around. they come occasionally to general sessions but i like to keep skating and friends separate.

[Sessy]

So it seems that everyone here have supportive family members that cheer you on during shows and competitions or even just in regular classes. How about your non-skating friends, do they come support you in your skating endeavors as well?


Sorry, WHAT kind of friends? :twisted:
I only have one of those and it's my ex bf. I kept dragging him along to teach him to skate so he now positively hates skating.
My ex-roomies came to watch once or so, although I got them excited about bigger championships in our town more often though. They went to see the nationals for example.

[londonicechamp]

Well, I have

-close friends
-church friends
- work friends
-best friends (from either church or work)
- ice skating buddies

By far ice skating buddies are the best, as when I do something well during practice on ice, they do compliment me, which gives me an incentive to carry on.

londonicechamp

[niupartyangel]

I don't really have friends who skate, except for 1 who takes group adult lessons however she just quit (didn't sign up for the new session) because she got frustrated with two foot turns. I did tell her they take time though as with everything in skating. we still go to public sessions together time to time My other girlfriends go watch me once a year in our ice show even though they don't skate. DH, mom and mom in law also watch my ice show. Other than that I practice by myself or go to public sessions by myself which I'm fine with, because I get more work done. I'm guilty of spending time chatting if I'm with a friend, especially non skating friend!

[Skate@Delaware]

I have a best-friend who doesn't skate, although he (yes a he) has been to the rink and seen me skate. He doesn't know the difference between a choctaw or a salchow but he is fully supportive of my skating and tells me to be careful (yeah, right, but he is an EMT so I understand that part) and is sympathetic when things don't go well at the rink.

Some of my non-skating friends just don't understand why I spend all that time and $$$$ and I can't do what the girls on tv can do. :roll: Whatever. At least I can do more than they can do :twisted: (on ice, that is).

My husband has sadly turned away from ice skating since he broke his foot two years ago (and just after I spent over $800 on his new pro-flex boots and new blades too). He has no wish to skate any more. I say, his loss. But, it leaves me without an ice dance or pair partner. (and no, my friend has no wish to take up ice skating).

[Kat12]

I doubt it. In my current dance incarnation, I don't really have any "dance friends." But then, I don't have any friends in this area--all of my friends are friends from college and we're scattered all over the place.

I wouldn't even ask friends to come to a dance competition--my mom will come to them because she thinks them sort of fun, but I don't even ask the boi to come to the ones that are just a competition and aren't attached to the Highland Games, because they get boring even for me. Skating competitions would be different, though...because you only skate once, right, so I would think of inviting people to those.