I wouldn't be surprised. Over here in the Netherlands, many places ban all headcoverings except for religious ones to keep the extremist-rightwing and the hooligan gang more or less out. To them, wearing caps symbolises something, at least, it's forbidden at every school over here that I know and they're often prepared to get detention for continuing to wear it anyway.

Sessy, are you talking about banning of 'head coverings', as in caps and sun-shades only? Or are you talking about the banning of skater's safety helmets as well?

For the record, you can wear any crap you want on your head at most rinks in NYC. Hats, helmets, dead ferrets, small farm animals...just doesn't matter. But, you can't wear shirts over your swimsuit in the public pools. Go figure!
(Sorry, I was being immature there. At least I wasn't snobbish.)

As Yogi would say, this discussion is "deja vu all over again."



Maybe we could go back on topic now, before the thread gets out of hand?
Or, I could close the thread if there's nothing constructive left to post.

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I think that in usa, if rinks disallowed the wearing of "all head-coverings (which also includes skaters safety helmets)", except for religious reasons, then that rink would probably soon change their rules to accommodate protective head-gear, or be forced to close down. People have RIGHTS in the usa.

Is that due to a safety thing?

Ok...back to the discussion about protective gear.

Guess there's nothing left to say in this thread, other than to drift with the tides?
(2nd attempt to put thread back on track nicely.)

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Since there isn't really an OP on a "question" about padding (wast the question "should I wear it" "is it allowed" in the other thread? I'm unsure of where this thread was supposed to be going) I'm going to repost something that appears to have been overlooked.

What is your opinion of skaters wearing specifically bicycle helmets for ice skating? I doubt that parents have a bicycle helmet designated for skating, so I assume these helmets are also used for biking. Is this really a safe practice that we are encouraging the LTS tots to participate in? A bike helmet is made for one fall- and is supposed to be replaced after that. I see kids conk their helmets mutliple times a session. Is it negligent on the part of the rink to allow bicycle helmets? To not point out to parents that they are not made for multiple hits?

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And suppose it even does protect the head, what about the neck? I read somewhere those helmets actually increase the risk of breaking your neck. I mean that's about as important as the head is.

My opinion on bike helmets is like this. I believe that the elongated bike helmets are a complete no-no, since the elongated helmet impacting the floor of the ice could probably lead to serious neck twist....potentially very dangerous.

Whereas on a bike, the rider is probably going to fall forward, or to the side, but probably not fall backwards. While on the ice, falling backward could lead to something potentially nasty. So head-gear that is more rounded should really be used. As for bicycle helmets designed to be replaced after a fairly big impact, I think that it should be replaced after a big one......but for the little kids, to have a helmet that has been bashed around is probably better than none at all. The foam in there should still take some punishment. I also think that the profile/size of the helmet is important too. If the helmet is too large, with diameter that extends well beyond the head region......then that could also cause nasty problems with neck injuries. So choosing a helmet can be important here.

If you read what I had posted, you will see that I said there were helmets available for hire, for those children whose parents wish it. I am not sure whether people's private helmets are allowed, as I do not skate on public sessions.

The reason for the ban on head-coverings, incidentally, is public safety. Some people think it fun to snatch off other people's caps and throw them on the ice, potentially causing a nasty accident. Ditto if you were wearing a baseball cap and it fell off. And you aren't allowed in the rink with either a hoodie or a motorcycle helmet actually on your head, which is to ensure the safety of the rink staff. It is not that long since someone was shot during a public session, and we don't want a repeat of that, thank you.

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Thanks for clarifying that. When you wrote that 'the only head-coverings allowed are ones worn for religious reasons', I was just really interested to find out whether you meant what you wrote. By 'head-coverings', and while on the subject of protective gear, I automatically assumed that 'head-coverings' included skaters safety helmets, which would then be disallowed if 'the only head-coverings allowed are worn for religious reasons'. But I get what you're saying though.

Yeah....I'm certain that skaters safety helmets for adults will be allowed at your rink. No doubts at all. They'd get caught in legal issues if they banned skaters helmets.

I/'ve looked at kids wearing bike helmets and, while I haven/'t seen any studies, that is more or less the way it looks to me. I/'ve got a rollerblade/'skateboard helmet that I wear when I/'m feeling uneasy about what I/'m doing--as I have been these last couple of weeks since I bounced my head off the ice in a backwards fall during a ten fox lesson. Where I/'m at, other adults in helmets are occasionally seen. I used to wear wristguards pretty regularly, on the theory that my other hobbies needed the use of my hands, so if I disabled myself in a fall, I wanted to be able to paint while I was off work. However, I finally misplaced my last pair and haven/'t replaced them...

Rob

My (huge & thick) ponytail saved the back of my head once too!

As for me, I've never worn any type of padding or helmet, as a kid or an adult. My worst/most painful falls usually come from random footwork, spiral, or ice bump falls - and not jumps. However, I'm thinking of investing in some "axel pads" when I start really working on that jump & on doubles. And maybe some knee pads then too. Though what I should really get is elbow pads - I've bruised my elbows more times than I can count!

I sometimes wear a knee brace on my right knee (the one I dislocated last year). But I stopped wearing it all the time because I was afraid I'd get dependent on it, and because I couldn't wear it with a skirt & tights since the velcro kept catching on my tights. Now I only wear it when I know I'm going to work especially hard on jumps (and I'm wearing pants instead of tights).

That's funny, I can only wear a knee brace if I'm wearing tights, otherwise with the sweat, it gets stuck on my skin and then becomes a pain to get off. But I always wear pants on top anyway. Have you thought of just a sleeve type brace? I wear that occasionally instead of the real brace, it's some support, and there's no velcro or anything like that.

I generally only wear padding after I've been falling on my hip/knee a lot while working on doubles. I wear a thin gel pad (I think it's the skatingsafe one) that I put either on the right hip or right knee, depending on where I've been falling. I agree with Morgail that my most serious injuries (broken wrist, broken hand, concussions, tearing the hell out of my knee) have been from stupid things like falling on spirals, stopping, etc. Falls from jumps and such rarely hurt, even big doubles. The concussions have come from falling on footwork and falling on a layback, and I can't imagine how padding would have helped (even a helmet, as in a layback the extra weight on my head would have made it more likely to fall since the weight of the helmet would have distributed the weight unevenly).

I think the use of a helmet for moves or dance is a lot different than using it for intermediate/advanced freestyle or pairs. The weight distribution is a problem on jumps and spins especially, since you're almost top heavy. Padding, such as gel pads or the axel belt doesn't change the weight distribution and create a different center of gravity. Part of the problem is when you take the helmet off after training your body to have a certain center of gravity and go into competition, the jump may feel completely different and create a timing problem. I personally have never used a helmet, but I know an adult who had a concussion from a spin and she tried it for a day, but found it too difficult to change everything to take into consideration the weight (however slight a difference) in jumps and spins.

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Yeah......with the weight thing, you'd have to select a helmet that is light. And if you're a versatile skater, the small amount of extra weight won't affect your spins or jumps. It's not like you're wearing a ski helmet or motor cycle helmet etc. Basically, if you're going to wear a helmet or one of those 'hat' things, then it's necessary to choose the right kind and right size for you. And, if you train with a helmet for certain things that you're working on, eg footwork, then it doesn't mean you necessarily need to train with it right up to the competition. You can use it whenever you wish.

Yes, the sweat issue is really icky when I wear the brace under pants. I can get it off with some good tugging, but I have to wash the brace a lot. The thing I like best about the velcro brace is that it has a hard ridge that fits around the outside of the kneecap to keep the kneecap in place. But a sleeve-type one would give some support, and wouldn't snag my tights! And I suppose it wouldn't matter if I got dependent on that one since I could just put it on under my tights for tests/competitions. Good idea

are tailbone pads noticeable under a skating dress/ t-shirt skirt combo?

the thing I worry most about is falling in competition and not being able to go on...

but if the pad was really noticeable under a dress, I wouldn't wear it to competition.

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I don't think it would be noticeable under the dress/skirt at all - usually, people don't know I'm wearing one, unless I tell them (or they see me pulling it up a bit ), and I'm usually skating in leggings + very thin see-through wrap skirt . Like I said, mine tends to slip a little further down than I'd like to, but it's not like it's slipping every 30 seconds.

Like with all skatingsafe pads though, you might sweat under it, and *that* eventually can be seen through some types of fabric (cotton comes to mind). Lycra dresses should be ok, I'd guess.

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--renatele