Opinions regarding public session

[san]

I'm interested in people's opinions about the following. My rink, which is dual surface, is down to one surface for figure skaters this month due to hockey camp. Therefore, the freestyle sessions that usually are held on the second ice surface during the day have been canceled. There are still four freestyle sessions available early morning. The morning public session is still public session, but for this month on public session, people are allowed to skate their program run-throughs with music (one girl is out there with a prop), skate full dance patterns, etc. The public session has about 20-25 people on it, mainly regular skaters (as opposed to the general public), but there was a small group of summer campers from the community on there last week.

I have very mixed feelings on allowing the public session to be treated as a freestyle session. On one hand, I can see where on a temporary basis perhaps it's OK, but on the other hand the public session has become dangerous, with several near misses due to the program skating skater not watching where she's going but assuming she has right-of-way, girls doing backwards spirals, etc.

When I do skate freestyle sessions, they're never this crowded, so I don't know how they usually flow. For all I know, this is how it usually goes.

What are people's opinion on this? Am I just being cranky? Or is there a safety issue involved with turning public session into freestyle while still calling it public?

[sk8tegirl06]

This is always a tricky issue. I usually skate on public sessions over the summer because it is so much cheaper than freestyle and usually emptier as well. But then you get the random days where summer campers are there or little hockey kids trying to stand up. I've also been on the rink side as an employee, which has taught me the judgment necessary on public sessions to realize that doing spirals and camels are probably not a good idea with general members of the public skating around. (I will say I have been to "public" sessions where the only people skating are figure skaters with most in a lesson.)

Are the other freestyle sessions usually full? Are there skate guards/ice monitors out during public sessions? If it is a busy rink, the management can't really tell the skaters and coaches affected to just deal, for fear of annoying the parents/skaters/coaches. But at the same time the rink has liability issues to deal with. If the rink rules say no figure skating moves/jumps/spins/whatever, and someone gets hurt on a "public session" with back spirals/camels and full programs then the situation gets rather sticky.

[san]

Are the other freestyle sessions usually full?

Not the ones I've been on, but that's in general. Things are overly crowded right now b/c of summer.

Are there skate guards/ice monitors out during public sessions?

No, there are no ice monitors.

Usually the morning public session is pretty empty. It's busy right now b/c of summer and b/c of the canceled freestyles that usually take place on the other ice surface at this time.

Jumps and spins are allowed on public (regardless of how crowded it is), but program run-throughs with music are not allowed, even when the session is empty. The run-throughs are being allowed this month while the freestyle cancelations are in effect.

My thought is that if you need to skate your program this month, then come to one of the available morning freestyles that are held before morning public session.

[Skittl1321]

All of our public sessions are treated as freestyle too. Full program runthroughs, MITF lessons, freestyle lessons etc. Many skaters skate with props, do back spirals, double jumps. I've even see double axels on freestyle. It's up to the better skater to determine if it's safe for them to skate out there.

On uncrowded public, I'm fine with it. On crowded ones, I just go home. When I used to take lessons on public sessions, I lost my lesson fee, but would tell the coach I wasn't willing to skate that day.

Our rink has no ice guards during any type of session. If something happens on the ice you're lucky to find someone who works there to help. However, I've never known of anything other than extreme annoyance on both sides to be an issue when freestyle skaters use public sessions. I can't think of an accident related to the two groups.

Saying "if you have to skate your program this month come to morning freestyle" seems a bit crazy. A month is a LONG time not to practice, especially since a lot of competitions are going on right now (and for low level skaters these are the "important" ones). If this is what the rink has decided is okay, then it's a place to practice. Some people have jobs, or parents who can't bring them in the morning. Morning sessions aren't an option for everyone.

[san]

Saying "if you have to skate your program this month come to freestyle" seems a bit crazy. A month is a LONG time not to practice, especially since a lot of competitions are going on right now (and for low level skaters these are the "important" ones). If this is what the rink has decided is okay, then it's a place to practice. Some people have jobs, or parents who can't bring them in the morning. Morning sessions aren't an option for everyone.

I think crazy is a bit strong of a term. :D But at any rate, there are four rinks in the area--surely one of them has a freestyle session that would work for people. And program run-throughs are not being allowed on afternoon public, so there has been inconsistency in how this is being enforced. Edited to add: I just checked their website, and two afternoon freestyles were added this week. So there are options for practicing.

Yes, the rink has decided that this is OK, but in other rinks I've skated in over the years, the rink management has been much stricter. So I'm interested to hear that what I'm experiencing may be more common place than I realized.

What I find ironic is that when the public session is empty, I am not allowed to play my music and skate my program--I have to go over to the freestyle side to do that. Yet when it is absolute mayhem out there, people are allowed to skate full run-throughs, complete with umbrellas.

[sk8tegirl06]

My thought is that if you need to skate your program this month, then come to one of the available morning freestyles that are held before morning public session.

While this would be ideal, it is not always feasible due to working parents/coaches conflicts and what not. When you say morning freestyle, is it early like 6-7am? Which would put the morning public session at like 10-11am? If the rules are changed temporarily to allow programs, then I'm sure if parents could swing the schedule shift, they would do public session over freestyle. Less $$ and usually more time on the ice.

I would be very concerned about the props/umbrellas however. If the rink is that crowded, props again would be a huge liability.

[Isk8NYC]

I think that in a crisis, it's okay, but the rink would be smart to cancel one or two public sessions and turn them into freestyles for a week or two. The rink would make more money and the skaters would be safer. They're establishing a precedent in allowing the props' and sound system's use. *shrugs* Not the end of the world, but sure to create a conflict when a an ordinary skater wants to hear his music during the session next month. He (or she) can rightfully claim that the figure skaters were allowed. While the "special circumstances" should suffice, it can cause some hard feelings and loss of good will.

At our rink, before a competition or large test session, someone occasionally volunteers to play music monitor so that there's no time wasted waiting in line. It's a nice gesture that helps things run smoothly.

I really see this as a dangerous situation though because there are a lot of skaters who are clueless about what's safe to do on a public session with non-figure skaters. I've seen the back spirals, power circles, diagonal moves patterns, etc. being attempted and I shake my head. They're endangering themselves as well as the public skaters.

The rink would be wise to realize that their public skaters become their figure skaters and hockey players, if they're not driven off by reckless skaters on public sessions. That's not just figure skaters, it's also hockey players who dodge the crowd, race around and stop short repeatedly.

Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Hope the other ice sheet is back up quickly.

[san]

When you say morning freestyle, is it early like 6-7am? Which would put the morning public session at like 10-11am?

The morning freestyles were running from about 5:30am to 9am. Public was pushed out to 9:15am, running until 11:30am. They've added two mid-afternoon freestyles since then, in addition to the afternoon public.

I guess my main beef is that certain skaters don't watch where they're going, which is really an entirely separate issue than skating programs and doing back spirals on a crowded public session, I suppose. When I think about it, I think that frustrates me more than anything and is what makes the situation potentially dangerous.

[san]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster. Hope the other ice sheet is back up quickly.

I agree! I'm a Silver level skater, but I just don't move fast enough to get out of some people's way when they're barreling along.

the rink would be smart to cancel one or two public sessions and turn them into freestyles for a week or two. The rink would make more money and the skaters would be safer.

I wondered why they didn't do this. To me, that would make a lot more sense than turning the public session into a freestyle session while still calling it public.

[Isk8NYC]

I agree! I'm a Silver level skater, but I just don't move fast enough to get out of some people's way when they're barreling along. It always amazes me that some skaters MUST do such-and-such an element in exactly the same spot every time they practice. To me, flexibility is a key thing to learn. If someone's on your hockey dot, go around them!

There's a lovely adult skater who is working on moves up through Senior during a public session. She's long, lean, fast and strong on the ice, but when it's crowded and she attempts power circles and diagonal patterns, I'm scared for anyone in her path. I felt sorry for her, but I wasn't moving my student out of her way every five seconds, so she had to go around me last week. She does dodge well, lol.

I suggested that she check out the new Saturday morning moves/dance sessions since I've heard they were empty. Her reply was that no one's ever corrected her, so she'll just keep on using the public sessions. It was really crowded this week, so maybe she'll take my well-intended suggestion. She passed Pre-Prel and Prel MITF a few months ago with flying colors, so I'm wondering if she's testing again soon. I suspect she skated as a child and did figures, so she's knocking off the Moves tests. Very cool, in my opinion.

I wondered why they didn't do this. To me, that would make a lot more sense than turning the public session into a freestyle session while still calling it public.
Maybe they didn't think about it or they worried about losing public skaters permanently if they cancelled. As it is, terrified public skaters might leave anyway.

I wonder if an emailed suggestion to the rink manager might be productive? Worded nicely, with the estimated attendance/income, it might give the manager another alternative. I would suggest a few posted signs about the schedule change and a bulletin on the website, explaining the situation.

Is there any dead ice at the rink? Many of our house hockey programs take a hiatus at this time, so we have a bit of dead ice available. Maybe there's some time that could be used as a freestyle temporarily?

[AxelBaby]

Coming from someone who almost always skates on public session, I don't see anything wrong with using them as a freestyle practice. With the following disclaimers:

I ALWAYS make sure I know who is around me. I also pay extra special attention to the tot skaters. They just don't know enough to get out of the way, and sometimes they randomly fall over or change their direction without any indication.

I also ALWAYS respect the "person with a lesson has the right of way" rule. When our sessions are crowded the middle gets coned off for jumping and spinning. If there is someone in a lesson, even if they are just working on crossovers around the circle, I have learned that I simply have to wait my turn. There is always something else I can work on that won't get in their way.

I don't typically run programs on crowded sessions. If I have an event coming up I work on small chunks of it. Maybe footwork into a jump, or a transition into a spin. You simply have to be flexible in that situation.

The absolute biggest problem I see during public sessions is a certain number of adult skaters (and YES I am an adult skater too!) who, although they have been skating for YEARS, REFUSE TO TAKE THEIR EYES OFF THE ICE. This drives me BATTY! I can't tell you how many times these adult skaters have narrowly missed being sliced by my blade, of have actually run into me. This is not due to the fact that I set something up too close to them. I can be on the other side of the rink and they just do their cross rolls or whatever, not looking and run into people.

I always try to talk to some of the younger skaters who just may not know any better. It's as simple as telling them "when I am spinning it is hard for me to see you, so it's a good idea to try to go around someone spinning." In my opinion though, the adults should absolutely know better. There seems to be the mentality at my rink that says "I'm older than you, so I don't have to get out of your way." These are the people that are dangerous on public ice.

I think publics used as freestyles are plenty safe so long as everyone is responsible about it. As a more advanced skater you do have to take consideration of those people that can't move out of your way. It isn't enough to know where you want to land a jump or set up a spin, but you have to look around at everyone else's patterns before you set up, and even then be prepared to bail at a moments notice.

I must admit though, I can't wait for summer to be over so that the afternoon sessions go back down to a handful of people!

[Purple Sparkly]

I skate on public sessions at two different rinks. What I will practice generally will depend on how busy the session is. Sometimes I do spins, sometimes jumps, sometimes moves or figures. As a general rule, you aren't allowed to play your own music on a public session, but sometimes if it is not very busy, they will allow it. I usually try to yield to public skaters and will stop my pattern if they come too close.

What is sometimes more dangerous than figure skaters is the little hockey kids that will skate in one direction and look in another direction and dart around like they are the only ones out there. They also like to throw their gloves onto the ice, which is really annoying and dangerous.

[san]

I wonder if an emailed suggestion to the rink manager might be productive?

I actually did email the manager a week ago, politely voicing my concerns, and have not heard anything back. I also spoke to a supervisor at the rink, politely, and this person walked off in the middle of our conversation. So that's why I wanted to get input from people at other rinks--to see if I am way off base here.

I should clarify--jumps/spins/MITF are always allowed on public session at my rink. I test and compete, and almost always skate public. The change this month is that music/programs are being allowed, and the session has become utter chaos.

I agree that darting hockey players and small children with those EZ-skater thingies cutting through the middle of the rink are probably more dangerous that freestyle skaters in program. I get off the ice when there are conditions such as those.

But the public session has been so crowded and so wild this month that competitive novice level skaters are telling me to "be careful, it's crazy out there" when I walk into the rink.

Edited to add: I just heard back from the rink manager, and he said that they will not allow the conditions of the past two weeks to continue. Yay! The rink management is new, and I think they learned from the whole experience. Thanks to everyone for their feedback.

[Sessy]

I think allowing music is probably better than people bringing mp3 players and then still skating to them, except now audio-handicapped on top of it all.

Good to hear the situation is being handled.