Thought it might be fun to hear what odd questions all of you have been asked. Some people genuinely want information but most are at best mildly sarcastic!!

Here are some of the questions and comments made to me over the past 15 years regarding my skating. 'Are you going to the Olympics? You compete!!??? Can you do a triple axel? Are you on TV? Do you make any money doing this? What a nice hobby for you! When are you going to quit? (My usual response to this one is - when I die) Someone is reliving thier youth.'

These are just a few off the top of my head. What have you all heard?

From a 10-year-old savvy boy beginner: "You're too old!!!"

To which I replied: "Yes, very, very, VERY old. In fact it's a MIRACLE that I'm still skating at my age!"

My current favorite, from a 6 yr old boy after he showed me his stop, and I showed him 5 or 6 other ways to stop:

"You do those good! Everything you do is good!" Don't I wish!

Also a fave, from an adult student in her 40's on learning that I'm 60:

"I want to be like you when I grow up!"

I actually have never gotten any of the really stupid questions, maybe because I don't work in an office anymore.

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At least once a season, usually after I've taught them a "good" jump, a group lesson student will say "Were you in the Olympics?"

I do like the question "How old were you when you started skating?" (Started lessons at 18)

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From a work colleague:
What, your programme is only 1 minute 30 seconds!!

From an adult learner:
I want to be as good as you and do competitions.

From my son:
What...skate with my mum?!!!

I love it when people ask me how long I've been skating and I say, "46 years" (it seems like an eternity) - I'm sure they are thinking, "and you're that bad after 46 years?"

I've gotten the "triple axel" comments and the "are you a professional" questions a lot too.

The worst is when I go to a freestyle session at one of the rinks where I don't usually go and they ask me if I am paying for my child, or on a public session where they ask if I need rental skates (gah!).

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

I thought of another one!! Years ago I fractured my tailbone, a co-worker asked me 'Did you do it doing a triple?' I said, 'No, I was just kind of standing still and my feet slipped!' She rolled her eyes and said 'Oh'. She wasn't too impressed.

Little girl on club ice: "How old are you?" (No tact, these kids!)

Me: "57"

Her "Hoooooooly, you're older than my DAD!" (As if her Dad walked with dinosaurs!)

++++++

"Do you wear a tutu?"

++++++

(Knowing I have only been skating 1 year) "Can you do a triple Axel?"

++++++

But mostly, when my coworkers found out I was figure skating, the sound of the laughter was deafening!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

"How long have you been skating?" and I reply that I skittered about on frozen ponds as a kid, but really started learning when I was fifty - 7 years ago now.

"Are you a professional athlete?" Now how can someone say that when looking at me -- unless they consider the professional poker players on ESPN as athletes?

Sometimes the kids ask about the "triple axel".

When I skate at distant rinks, I often get asked where I'm from - usually in combination with question #1 above.

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Bill Schneider

They must be fools. We've seen your engineering skills first-hand. I'd be afraid of you hot-wiring my desk chair as retaliation!

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Oh, yes! That's a biggie being a male skater in a mostly female sport. One co-worker in particular likes to rub it in. Another, a gentle woman learning to play the violin in her 40's, is most sympathetic because of the similarities in the discipline required in our hobbies.

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Bill Schneider

Can you do that triple axel flip?

And the usual, did you go to the olympics? that only entails going not competing so i say yes but if they asked, did you compete at the olympics then it would be the obvious no

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Tim David's Website

When they ask "Did you go to the Nationals?" I hesitate since I DID skate at ISI's nationals. I usually answer "No, I skated the rec league." LOL I know they mean did I skate at the "big show" and it's not worth the discussion.

In fact, I think that it's good for them to find out that not every 'good' skater goes to the Nationals or Worlds/Olympics. Doesn't take anything away from your skating, but adds the realism that only a select few make it that far.

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My sympathy Bill. Being in the engineering & construction field for so many decades, none of my coworkers would do a double-take if I was up a radio tower, down in a trench, or jumped up on a bulldozer. My "other sport" is a shooting sport and nobody batted an eyelash. But the idea of ME in figure skates and a tutu left everybody in stitches

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

I have the 'Do you wear a tutu'? one lol! To which I answer 'Only for competitions!'.

Actually most of my friends/family/colleagues think it's kinda cool that I've managed to find a form of exercise I actually enjoy, instead of battling with the gym.

A couple of people have been like 'What, you do jumps and spins'?! I've tried to explain that yes, I do jumps and spins but they're not quite what they see on TV, but the reaction is largely 'well I can't even let go of the boards'.

Occasionally I get snide comments from idiots on public sessions - usually it's only chavs in hockey skates, so can't say it bothers me much .

S xxx

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There is a very fine line between "hobby" and "mental illness"

I get this reaction as well -- most of my friends can't believe that I manage to find time to skate at least 5 days a week for about an hour-and-a-half -- I'm really grateful to have some exercise that I totally enjoy!!

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

My 17 yr old daughter is currently studying for her UK Star gold award, and thinks it rather cool that her dad can at least stay upright (most of the time).

The most embarrassing question is when youngsters come up and ask me to teach them. I try and be gentle by explaining that only professional coaches can teach ...

The most amusing incidents are when other youngsters tell me 'hey mister, you're really good'. I normally reply 'nah, I'm just pretending ...'

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UK Passport (figure)
Bronze : PASSED 13-Oct-07 Woohoo
Silver: PASSED 08-Dec-07 Yippee
Gold: Backspin PASSED One Foot Spin ____ Toe Loop ____ Programme ____
The impossible is just a journey away ...

Yeah, I was watching a test session once (2 yrs ago) at my rink and a public session was going on on the other surface - it was a school holiday. A parent of a public session kid came up to me and asked what "this" was - I explained what test sessions were all about and she then gestured toward the rink window and asked me "which one is yours?" LOL! I told her I was actually there as a skater myself (and I don't have kids). She didn't seem too taken aback, but I thought it was funny she would assume I was a parent - and the kids that were testing (actually warming up) at that moment were between 10 and 12 - I was 33 at the time, and most people who meet me think I'm younger than I am - I couldn't believe someone thought I looked old enough to have a 12-year-old kid!

Usually when people in my real-world life - lol - find out I skate, they ask me if I skated as a kid. They're surprised that someone would pick this up as an adult.

I remember when I was in group lessons (just started freestyle) there was a really annoying man (a father of one of the kids who had decided to skate around in the practice area with his kid - it's allowed) who was watching me practice waltz jumps and half flips and kept following me around, asking me to do a triple axel (rather loudly, I might add).

And a cute comment/question I got recently from some kids I skate with:

"Can you help us figure out why the music player isn't working? We figured since you're older, you're better at these things." (it turned out that the speakers in the rink were turned off - the club pres went off to get the rink staff to fix the problem)

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

Yeps, I had that once and the kid was so entralled with my sit spin, he kept on closing in. I was 15 then and had a slow reflex on getting out of the spin, so it resulted with the kid having 13 stitches on his right leg.

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Tim David's Website

I've got another one! Debbie S. reminded me of it with the 'real world' comment. When I landed my axel for the first time I had a party to celebrate. My sister-in-law came to the party, she asked me if I had video taped my axel. I told her ,'no, I didn't. Why?' She said, 'So, those of us in the real world can see what you are doing' Needless to say I was insulted.

And...it still escapes me as to why it seems so odd to non-skaters that adults figure skate. Now, I don't mean to offend anyone, but... if I played golf or went bowling or took ceramics classes a few times a week no one would find that odd. Again, I wish I had a better back, I would like to play golf!! I used to bowl. I have my own ball and everything. But both those activites really hurt me. (Skating does too but not as much) As for ceramics I've never done that. So please, I don't mean to insult anyone who does any of these things.

When I passed my level 3 Skate UK, my boss (who up until this point had been interested in my skating) made some comment, on overhearing a conversation between my friend and I, about level one being falling forwards, level two is falling back and level three is getting up again If only it were, I would be on about level 8 by now!

Another friend once said, when I told him that I was wearing my boots indoors, that I shouldn't wear them indoors as I might twist my ankle!!! Ok so it is safer to wear them on ice than it is carpet?!??!??!

There must be more, I will have a think!

I can't believe nobody's said the obvious one yet!!

"Are you crazy??"

At least, that's the one I get all the time.

The dumbest one is when I told a coworker I was figure skating and their question was "ON ICE???"

There are times when you really have to bite your tongue to remain civilized!

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Oh, yeah, if I had a buck for each time I have been asked that, I would be able to pay for a lot of ice!

Also, I've been asked "What jump are you on?" and (rarely, when I run into a friend who skated as a kid who didn't know I skate now) "What test are you on?"

A mom helping out at a test session recently asked me who my daughter was (and I don't have any kids).

Sometimes, when I used to skate on public sessions, I'd do something kinda basic like three turns, and some of the little kids would say "Oooh, what was that?"

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Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

From a parent of one of my 137 Middle Middle School Students,

" I hear you are a figure skater......What's that all about?"

I said,

Do the Math!

40 yrs old+Male+Single+Clarinet Player+Band Director+Figure Skater= GAY!

I didn't really say that....I really wanted to!

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Why are you skating so slowly? Get out of my way!

If you skate faster, it makes everything look better!