When we arrived at the rink this morning it was immaculate, and the ice had just been cut, but I was told that half an hour earlier it had been a very different story, and rinkside had been knee-deep in rubbish and the ice hadn't been cut. The ice was beautiful - I know who cut it and made a point of thanking him, because he really does do it seriously well.

Did you go today, and if so, was there any paper in the loo? There wasn't in most of the cubicles on the patch, but I did ask for them to be refilled - I expect they will have been.

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I didn't go today so can't answer your loo roll question, sorry!! I feared that today's public session may be just as difficult as yesterday's so skipped it. May have no choice but to go Sunday next weekend though because I'm out of town on Saturday.

Those are our rules as well.Works well for us and everyone understands the order.

As far as right of way rules on the rink's FS systems, we follow this, in order of priority:

1. Skater doing program to music.
2. Skater in a lesson.
3. All others.

And while we're talking about hearing devices... Casey ... no iPod's either please!!! They're DANGEROUS!!!

Terri C: Our rink is good about catching FS skaters that hasn't sign in at the front and pay their FS session! If you didn't sign, the supervisor on duty at the time will come out with pen and book to the loud speaker and CALL OUT skaters who didn't sign up for the session to get off the ice. This is especially true if the FS session is very crowded.

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

What is the best etiquette for "heads-up," "excuse me" type of situations when either you are trying to avoid a near collision, or some one wants you to get out of their way? What is the nicest thing to say?

Also, when you finally do have that collision, what is the best etiquette in this instance? Any thoughts about the best way to handle this?

Oh, by the way...I think the IPod thing happens alot when there is no etiquette for the music que. Before IPods, I remember putting my program on a tape and wearing a "Walk Man" ( wow, I should post this on the "Remember Thread...do you remember "Walk Mans!") because this was the only way I could ever hear my music, since it was total chaos at the CD player.

Uusally here people yell "Mind out!" But afterwards, "Sorry" is always appropriate, even if they should have been looking out more!

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Mrs Redboots
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I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

I like that: "Mind Out!" Since no one knows what that means in America, I think I'll use it and see what happens.

What I hate most are the divas who "eye-roll" you if you happen to be in their path, or worse, yet, they wiz by say nothing, as if you don't even exit. I've always found that round and disrespectful. It is always more polite to acknowlege someones' presence. Don't you think?

I agree with this approach wholeheartedly. I typically say "Heads!" or "Excuse me!" and then always apologize afterwards because more often than not if they weren't aware that you were coming, yelling out will typically startle the other skater.

When I have had collisions the very first thing I do is ask if the other person is ok. Typically they follow suit and once we're both sure we're okay we both apologize. At that point it really isn't about assigning blame as much as it's about making sure everyone's alright and it's clear that any oversight by either party was unintentional.

I had the most pleasant experience at the rink during an open freestyle. A young lady, well young to me, came up and asserted that she wanted to do her program and was about to start her music. She indicated that she wanted to be able to run through the entire thing without a problem of having to stop and avoid people so she was letting us know where she particularly needed space. She asked if we would consider altering our space a bit to better accommodate her needs.

My thoughts were just to reflect on the board talk recently and to think that this was just such a nice way to address it. We decided collectively that we would get off the ice for a few minutes to yield the entire rink to her. We then had the wonderful opportunity to watch her beautiful program. Later she came up to me and asked if I wanted some help correcting an issue I was obviously having with a new skill given to me that day. It was just so pleasant and thoughtful.

I think it was the fact that she demonstrated empathy in her approach and was so courteous. It further demonstrated that she not only possessed advanced skating skill but more importantly advanced social skill.

FrankR: You are just a nice guy.

Have a great day everyone! Hope to get at least one little practice in tonight!

That is VERY nice, but not always practical if the rink is full of people. If I hear music starting, I will look around to determine who is skating to it so I can watch out for them. And if it's a higher skater, I'll often just stand to the side & watch to really clear their way (I see lots of people do that too).

My pet peeve is coaches who have a small student who they keep in ONE spot the entire time--usually either a corner or at the side by the blue line or the red line. This is more an issue for dancers, since we are on a pattern & almost every pattern crosses those places. I don't mind if it happens once or twice, but if I'm working on a dance, I'm going to come through the exact same place every time, & no one seems to be able to figure that out. Usually after awhile of trying to skate my pattern & having to bail out over & over, I'll go to the coach & say, "could you just move 10 feet over this way? Then we won't be in each other's way anymore." Strange thing is more often than not they seem annoyed that I ask them to move. *sigh*

The good coaches keep their kids moving around, even the little ones, and then the little ones will learn faster how to move on a session and how to watch for others.

Or if you're in the middle of a lesson and your coach only has a certain amount of time b/c he/she is teaching someone else for the other half of the session. I'd be sort of annoyed if someone came over to me and asked me to get off the ice for possibly up to 4 minutes (for a senior-level program) - hey, I paid for the ice, too.

However, I (even in lesson) will usually (provided I see them coming and I'm not doing my program with the music playing) yield to dancers and to skaters practicing a particular moves pattern where they need to cover a certain area, and of course to skaters doing programs. I've been asked on occasion to move a few feet one way or the other when I'm practicing something in one spot (like my backspin). I have no problem with this - hey I can do a backspin anywhere, whereas a dance or moves pattern has to be in a certain place - I understand that. And when there is a high-level skater at the rink doing his/her program, people do generally move to the sides as the skater moves through their program.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

sometimes I wish some of the v. advanced skaters at my rink would do this When i'm working on spins I will do it in one place but then feel like i'm in the way when they start working on a particular part of their program or a pattern in that area.

I try to be very aware of what is going on all the time and now know which music belongs to who, but with the dancers I never have any idea which way they are going to turn next. So I will mostly just watch them when they get going cause I love all the fancy footwork.

A few people will shout 'exuse-me' occaisionally when there music is going and I don't mind this, but I had the experience a while back of a girl who was working on individual jumps actually stamp her foot at me because the landing of my jump was in her path? i'm sorry she might be more advanced then me but this just pissed me off.

I know what you mean. This doesn't happen often, I do my utmost to stay out of people's way, but there has been the odd occasion where I've felt a little intimidated.

S xxx

I think saying "excuse me" or "sorry" in an apologetic way is good -- this is what we do at our rink for the most part. Even if you're not sorry and it's not your fault, it's best to be empathetic towards the other skaters I think. We're all in the same boat, so to speak, one way or the other.

One time I overheard a teenager say to her friend, "Just run them over!" These were fighting words for me and I made sure that I stayed very close to them during that session so I could cut them off. this was during one of my more cynical periods.

On the other hand, I had a girl sit right down on the ice on her double lutz setup because if she didn't do something, she would have run right into me. To me, that was the height of surrender for a skater. I thanked her profusely afterwards while I apologized for having been standing right where she was setting up what was obviously going to be a double lutz. She was nonplussed and said, "There was really no other choice, no big deal."\\

But again, I'm not skating at crowded sessions or at a major training center, so it's hard to relate to at this point really. I used to skate at major training centers and the atmosphere was really different, although generally I found the skaters there to be pretty polite.

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Sheesh, I feel intimidated by the non-scary ones! I'm in awe of the better skaters, which makes long-forgotten shyness comes back. I get bashful, stay out of their way to the point of ignoring them, and know darn well that I'm being rude in the process - which is a shame, as they're a friendly bunch.

I'm on a mission to conquer it and act like a normal human being, but like the rest of my skating, it isn't consistent yet

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"Every revolutionary idea seems to evoke three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the phrases:
(1) It's completely impossible.
(2) It's possible, but it's not worth doing.
(3) I said it was a good idea all along."
- Arthur C Clarke

I will always apologize for being in someone's way when they are in their program or doing a pattern of some sort and I'm practicing, but if I'm in a lesson and they're not, I won't always move for them, or apologize necessarily but I won't get in their way on purpose, either. One of my pet peeves is when coaches are apologizing left and right for their adult students being in other skaters' way, when the other skaters are practicing, not in lessons. That sends a signal to the other skater that the adult is in the wrong, and that the (usually) kid skater is being put out. It's really one of my pet peeves.

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August 22, back on the ice!

I do understand what you guys are saying about not wanting to waste money for ice time. This woman did not ask us to leave the rink. I think my point was more about people being willing to find an equitable exchange. It is hard (though certainly not impossible) to be disrespectful when others are being so respectful. The woman in this example just approached in such an assertively appropriate way, her need was not only met but exceeded. I don't think most (including "wild teens" on public sessions) are intentionally trying to push frustration tolerance with other skaters. I don't think that just because a parent dresses their child in adorable outfits that may be premature for their level of ability that it deserves anything less than respect for the beautiful message behind such behavior. (BTW..I am available for adoption to any parent that would like to put that kind of time and energy into my future as a figure skater....I will wear whatever outfit pleases and would even consider the helmet for additional coaching sessions that I would not have to personally pay!...giggle)

I am struggling to understand what I see as narcissism in this sport among many. I see it in the coaching staff ...and even between different level of students in LTS programs. I was recently told an example by an extremely skilled skater that had opportunity to skate in a show that featured former Olympic skaters. The Olympic ones would not have but little to do with the elite local skaters behind the scenes. There is always a reason for people to segregate from other people. This just seems like a silly one. I vow to never be intimidated by someone that skates better than I do and I know that will always be a huge group of people....and I vow to never forget to be equitable. It makes total sense that a skilled skater needs room to practice...but it also makes sense that so does everyone else. It is so easy to go out of your way to meet needs for someone who goes out of their way for you. It gets complicated when it does not quite work that way.

Does anyone know correct etiquette for approaching judges for feedback after you have tested? Do you go to the ref first and ask if you can speak to a judge? What is the best way to approach them???

After the panel has left the ice and after you've gotten your copy of the judging sheets, it's okay to approach an individual judge directly and ask for feedback.

One time when practicing with a skating partner an adult skater came up and asked my partner to do a death spiral with her. She didn't know him or me and she completely ignored me. I see breaches in etiquette all the time but this was special!

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Careygram

January: Sure I'll compete, quick, send the application
April: I signed up to do WHAT??

Generally, you should approach the test chair or whoever is in charge of the test session (vice test chair or whatever) and ask them to speak with a specific judge or two because if you just approach the judge or barge into the judges' room, you can really create a BAD impression.

I saw this happen once, too, Careygram. It was at one of the competitions and a pair team was practicing together and this other woman skater just comes up to the man of the team and starts interferring--just completely ignoring his partner while talking to him--it was so rude! It's really good etiquette when you are approaching a team (dance, or pairs) to acknowlege both partners and treat them as a "team," both off and on the ice.

I wanted to mention something that I think would be good etiquette, too, and especially among adult skaters. Last year I moved to Baltimore, and was new to the entire skating scene down there. It was hard for me to be the new person, and most of the adult skaters were very welcoming and accepting of me. However, there was this one skater who wouldn't acknowlege me at all. I would say hello, and nothing was returned. I tried a few times to say hello to this person, but the greeting was never returned, so I just gave up. This skater continued to ignore my presence for the entire year, and I thought it was extremely rude and not good etiquette at all. Especially as adult skaters, and especially when it is either your territory, or home club, I think it is really important and a show of good etiquette to be welcoming and friendly towards newcomers. I try to be extra friendly when I see a new adult skater at a rink where I skate on a regular basis. My partner and I always go out of our way to meet the new skater, become friends, and help them to feel comfortable when they are new to the rink.

I like to give a big smile and say, "Hi!" I think it eases the tension a little.

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