Just thought I'd share something from last night's public skate that nearly had me pulling my hair out.

To set the scene: Imagine a rink filled with mini hockey goons zipping around and smashing into each other and a ton of people who have never skated before in their lives. (I call them the "brown or tan (depending on the color of the rink's rental skates) skate people" because they stand out a mile away in their badly laced rental skates, their ankles nearly dragging on the ice, toepicking their way around the rink)

Throw in a few teenagers practicing some freestyle on the sides of the rink because the center coned-in circle keeps getting invaded by kids cutting trough.

Enter a little girl... oh, about 4 feet tall, arms and legs everywhere, skating erratically and fast in the opposite direction of everyone else, backwards, forwards, weaving, almost losing her balance a few times and even falling a few times.

After nearly having to sit on the ice myself to avoid barrelling into her and watching as she almost went head-on with a few of the "never skated befores" who can't stop and can barely keep upright, I asked the skate guard to tell her to skate in the right direction because she was going to hurt herself and everyone else (I know that I, a good 110 pounds or so more than her, would have easily taken her out. And those hockey kids would have sent her flying if they bumped into her).

When I told some of the other adults I was skating with in the same session about this, they got all wide-eyed and said "Oh, no, that's (insert olympic skater's name here) daughter. I would never have said anything about her. You really shouldn't say anything." Apparently, her parents do a lot in the rink and, even though she can't skate very well, her father sometimes comes out to watch and teach her during public sessions.

My opinion was and still is the same... the kid was a danger to herself and to the other skaters, reguardless of who her parents are, and I was glad that the skate guard hounded her until she moved to the center circle to terrorize people. The other adults seemed to actually fear upsetting the girl's parents... I'd rather be kicked out of the rink than deal with catering to silliness like that.

The question is... is there ever a circumstance where you would agree with the other adults I was skating with?

I would not have cared if she was the President's daughter....I would have said something! Especially if she was as erratic as you stated.

I have seen someone skate as you have said, and mentioned it to the rink guard, who did tell me that the girl was a special needs girl. In that case it did make a difference and I was more aware of where she was from that point on. AND I was able to tell some of the other parent's (who were also very concerned).

Dangerous is dangerous. Just because she is so-and-so's daughter....I would hold her to even higher standards of behaviour.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

I would have told her and whomever the guardian might be.

After being a skateguard at my old rink I have developed a confidence to tell skater's who are endangering themselves and others.

Yes, most of the time it doesn't work out well. The parents get combative. "Umm hello? Your child will injure themselves! I guess you have the money to pay for whatever injury might occurr!"

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Tim David's Website

Navka/Zhulin, I presume? At least, that's what I would guess given your location and the size/age of the kid.

Anyway, regardless of who the parents are, of course people should say something. (Does your rink have a rule that everyone must skate in the same direction? That's usually the only rule that gets enforced at public sessions.) That being said, I have seen other dangerous behavior at public sessions that gets pointed out the guards and goes on unchecked even if the offender doesn't have famous parents. This is why I avoid public sessions.

But as far as this situation goes, do these other adults somehow think something bad is going to happen to them? Or are they just starstruck? After all, the rink guard wouldn't even know their names, and would also most likely not say anything to the manager or rink owner (nothing unusual about playing traffic cop). Even if the parents went up to the manager or rink owner, how would the complaint be tracked to the original source, and no random public session skater is going to be banned from the rink just b/c they pointed out a potentially dangerous situation to a rink guard.

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

Does anyone else see the irony in this?!

People are scared to say something because parent is an olympic skater?

An olympic skater of all people then should be well aware of the danger of this kind of behaviour on public sessions.

As Skate@Delaware says, it shouldn't make an iota of difference even it were the president's daughter. Hey, at least Bush would have the excuse that he's not a skater so doesn't know how hazardous rinks can be lol!

For what it's worth Emberchyld, you definitely did the right thing. Too many 'people in high places' get away with stuff because others haven't got the guts to stand up for what is right [rant over!]

S xxx

Yep, safety must always come first. Sometimes I'll just go ahead and say things to kids on the ice, without even bothering to say anything to the guards (who would have already done something about it if they cared). I will usually say something if a kid is skating backwards without looking behind him or if a kid is skating through the middle, playing chase, etc. and not paying attention to the flying camels happening in the middle of the rink.

Yes, you should and if the dad's there, I would tell him too!!! (Of course, phrase it in a way that to show that you're trying to protect the kid and you're looking out for the kid's interest. That usually doesn't piss off the parents. )

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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!!!

I would have tried talking with the child directly myself, in a very nice tone.

If that didn't work, then go the next step up.

Safety first.

It's good to know that sanity does reign... It was very wierd...

Debbie S.-- I'm not exactly sure who her parents are because they referred to the parents' first name and then I was so floored by the reaction that I didn't hear the last name clearly. The little girl is an adorable blonde-haired gangly munchkin-- if that fits the girl that you were thinking of...

And wierdly, the other adults weren't starstruck, but reacted with horror that I actually would say something-- they actually seemed afraid to confront the kid (and the subsequent reaction from her parents)! I do have to admit that I know nothing about the rink politics and frankly could care less as long as they keep having decent public skate and lesson times and the ice is good. I'm probably missing something, but I'm positive I'll survive not knowing!

Still, I just had to share this story with all of you!

I wouldn't have done anything, since on a typical public session thats normal behavior...sadly.

I used to like practicing on publics cos they are cheaper and sometimes empty. But there is always a young hockey boy whizzing around and not looking..and they usually aren't very good either...I've never had any trouble with read hockey players who have lots of control and watch where they are going.

I was on a public today and a girl totally cut me off going into an axel. I can't say i wasn't expecting someone to cut me off but she was heading right at me backwards, but i wasn't really upset since we don't have rules on publics and I guess by going on it you accept the possibility that other skaters wont be respectful towards you.

Regardless of whether that is "normal" behavior or not, the skate guard should always be telling people to be skating the right direction. You can't necessarily do anything about the erratic skating, since some people just plain can't skate, but you can tell them to go the right direction. It's a rule. You shouldn't have had to tell the skate guard in the first place!

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- Ashley

I can and do say something almost every public session I skate at. Especially when the "sled of death" is being irresponsibly used (is it ever used repsonsibly, I wonder?).

I always phrase it around how I would hate for them to get hurt, and that others might not be as good at taking evasive action or stopping. Mostly it has effect, but not always. And oddly enough when the parent is on the ice with them I often find the parent is 9/10ths of the problem.

In the end, I figure that if I choose to skate in a public session then I may not have much of a skate, or I may have a wonderful skate. I take that risk.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am

My feeling from this is that the kid is probably too young to understand the difference between a busy public skating session and a freestyle session. ie. the safety aspects need to be explained (along with concepts such as consideration for other skaters).

If the kid was in a lesson, you should talk to the coach. If the coach then doesn't listen, you should talk to the head coach or skating director.

If the parents are reasonable people, I'd politely discuss it with them - surely they don't want their kid either (a) getting involved in an accident, or (b) upsetting a load of people at the rink, or (c) growing up to be a cringe-making diva queen.

And if they have political clout in the skating world, it's going to be easier for someone who is not "under their influence" to mention it. Don't wait until something happens, so that you can say "I told you so"!!!

The best thing might be to find another parent who has a child who is friends with their daughter, and ask the other parent to mention it: "By the way, did you know that .... ?"

I broke my leg on a very crowded freestyle session. I can't say whether or not it was because I lost my focus but I can say that I was VERY busy watching out for everyone and did something I've never done before in a jump.

THEREFORE, with that experience ALWAYS fresh in my mind though it was 11 years ago now, I would say something no matter whose child it is. And if it's the rink owners kid and they get mad then I can either find a new rink or just pray.

Hope that helps.

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Careygram

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

Can someone tell me why sanity rains on this thread, but not on the Toddler on high free style thread?

Also, will someone please tell me why an Olympian would ever put their child out on a public session? Is there something I'm completely missing here???

I'm a "nothing" adult skater and would never put my child out on a public session. They are way too dangerous! Am I missing something here???

Where else does one skate? If the kid isn't a skater they can't go on a freestyle session. Would your rink have another choice? Ours has public, freestyle and hockey.

LTS might make sense, but I wouldn't start a kid in that until they show they want to skate- otherwise it's a lot of money and a potential commitment the kid isn't going to enjoy.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Believe me, Olympians can find decent ice for their kids; after all, they've earned it.

Maybe they want to be just like "normal" people...so the kid goes out on public ice; or maybe they realize the kid is actually not good enough for any freestyle session...or (heaven forbid) they are cheap and it's a cheap skate for them to pay for (most publics are at least half the price of freestyle and a really good deal if it's not too busy)!!!

Not all rinks have dangerous public sessions. At my rink, MOST of the sessions are perfectly fine for ANY age and even for special needs kids. However, I would have to have suffered a SEVERE blow to the head to skate on the Friday/Saturday nights and the Sunday Public skates!!!! Talk about chaos reigning!!!!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Hey! They gotta start somewhere...

The toddler's a LTS beginner skater. Where else is the kid gonna go to practice her skating if she can't go on ice dance or FS session b/c (as you said) they're also too dangerous for the LTS kid too? What do you think should happen if this particular kid is not allowed on the FS sessions? (Keep in mind, the kid needs to practice somewhere beyond the half hour skating school sessions to maintain/improve on what they're doing.)

We ALL started out skating at public sessions, hangin' on that wall and trying to take our first steps out on the ice, yours truly included. (I did so as a 9 year old once...) Should this kid be treated any differently from another beginning LTS kid just b/c the parents are Olympians in figure skating?

Okay, pretend said Olympians are reading this thread. Tell them where they can find decent ice for their beginning LTS kids?

(BTW: I just came back from a pretty near empty weekend afternoon public session where I ran thru my moves! The little 5 year old Wayne Gretsky wannabes are more dangerous than the beginning LTS skaters!!! )

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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!!!

umm heloooo...they can buy them private ice- surely they can afford it! Olympians dont practice on plain jane freestyles like us- they get private ice and usually at a heavy discount.

Ummmm... not if the kid is a LTS/beginning kid. It makes no financial sense to put a beginning kid on private ice just to skate around. (Where I am, private ice is about $300/hr. If it's where I think the kid is skating at, it's probably closer to $400-500/hr.) I doubt skaters would spoil a little kid like that!!! (There are better ways to spoil a little kid than that!)

Remember the elite skaters need the private ice NOT b/c they *can*, but because they have to! To them, this is their job and they need the privacy and quiet to concentrate on their program for a TV special or something. They really can't afford to have the distractions of fans bugging them when they're support to prepare for a competition that's gonna be shown in TV all over the world! (And of course, as with a lot of elite skaters, they do like to keep their programs "under wraps" to keep us rif-rafs from posting on skatingforums on what their program is gonna be and having their competitors get the scoop on their technical difficulty and upp-ing theirs to match or beat!)

Sure they make a lot of money but they also spend a lot of money to going to good gyms, costumes, makeup artists, hairstylist, travel, managers/talent agents, etc. in addition to private ice. A couple of million dollars these days don't go that far anymore these days. (Here in San Francisco, avg. cost of homes is about $775K! My home is worth a little under that.)

I'll give my Olympian skater (no names of course...but you locals can guess who it is...) as a good example. Yes, he does rent private ice, but I have seen him at coffee club sessions. (Of course, when he was on the ice, NO ONE ELSE GOT ANY WORK DONE!!! ) And I've heard from enough people about his being on the midday public session ice too! (And I missed him by a matter of TWO HOURS!!! WAAAAAH!!! )

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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!!!

Let's disregard the fact that the child has parents that are Olympic skaters....with them out of the equation, what would you say then?

I don't know about you, but just because the parents are Olympic skaters, doesn't mean the child warrants special attention or favors (let's not kiss-up or brown-nose, it's downright disgusting!)! Yes, it's nice to be related to someone famous and of that caliber, but let's not bend over backwards to accomodate her just because of that. On her own accord, she is just a child in a LTS program and needed to be reminded of the rules so she didn't get hurt. In that respect, she is just like other kids that "forget" and need to be reminded.

And, if they rented private ice....and the child skates on it (probably alone)...wouldn't that be boring??? It would be for me! Skating is also social and she might have had friends there also. And, as I said before, not every public session is killer. Hockey boys are far more dangerous in my book (and sometimes hockey dads are worse!).

Just my 2 cents worth.

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

A low-level freestyle session would be appropriate in the absence of any LTS practice session.

If it is, who someone thought it was mentioned earlier on this thread, then there is, in deed, a lot of low-freestyle available.

If it is the Olympians mentioned on this thread they can more than afford to buy their kid private ice.

If it is the Olympians mentioned on this tread, I hope they are reading this...get your kid off the public sessions! From the first post, it sounds like this little girl is an accident waiting to happen. Skating in the opposite direction of everyone else in a crowded public session--come on. The original poster did the right thing by saying something to the skate guard.

Moreover, Olympians are not "normal" people/skaters, and I for one would trade my "normalcy" up to be skating at that level any day! Only in my dreams.

And how, exactly, can they afford it? Many skaters at that level are struggling to afford their own training, never mind anybody else's. They don't get paid all that much for exhibitions, assuming they're lucky enough to get asked to do any! Our lot (who only didn't make the Olympics because we only got to send one couple this year) use the same teaching ice as everybody else, plus they have to pay for squad camp and travel to and from their events, and, and, and.... no way in the universe can they afford private ice for themselves, never mind for anybody else. I don't think even the Kerrs can afford private ice very often, if at all!

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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!

No, "celebrity status" does not excuse unsafe behavior!!!
Besides, if he's really all that then why have her skate during a public session?