Like on my previus rink I actualy got called gay and that tipe junk.

I'm not a guy but there's nothing wrong with being gay so there wouldn't be any insult in someone thinking that you are. Just tell them that you're flattered they think you have such great style (since gay people in generla far exceed straight people in terms of style and carriage) but that no, you are available to any ladies that might be interested.

The guys into hockey are just jealous that you don't have to put on padding that smells like shit and that you get to skate around with a bunch of girls in short skirts.

If someone calls you gay, just say "Yeah? Well you're so hetero!" Does that sound stupid? Okay, then so does someone calling you gay. Make them realize it.

PS: I really don't see why you'd make a "guys only" threads. Girls give good advice too, and there are only like...three guys on this whole board. Guys are the minority in figure skating, which is why you're getting the stereotype. But hey, if you're straight, you should be more worried about what the girls think anyways.

Does anybody actually care about what immature hockey players have to say?

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

I wouldn't worry about it, because some world class hockey players actually did figure skating first. It is super beneficial to have excellent skating skills in hockey.

You've seen some of those guy skaters in the pairs skating at the olympics right? I bet that one of those guys would be able to clobber any one of those guys that called you gay.

The whole thing is about personality and attitude only. Out of every group, there are the immature and nasty ones. Same with hockey players. There are the good ones, and then there are those that aren't too good. But these bad ones are probably the ones that will get clobbered eventually when they say the wrong thing to the wrong person.

Hubby was taunted when he started...

His response??

"Lets see... would I rather play with the other BOYS, ramming them from behind into the barrier?? Or would I rather play with the GIRLS????!! "



Its silly really, cos Ive seen it more and more times, that figure and dance skaters seem to have more strength and speed than the hockey players... well.. any hockey players Ive seen pit themselves against a dancing pair anyway.. Ive actually seen a hockey player knocked over by a pair of dancers in the middle of their routine cos he got in the way... it was quite hilarious..

__________________
--------------
-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

Not sure what speed the best figure skaters can do. But it takes a pro hockey player roughly 13.5 to 14 seconds to do 1 lap around the rink from a standing position.

But aside for chasing a puck around aimlessly, that's sort of the extent of their prowess.

"If figure skating were easy, they'd call it hockey."

yeah....I wouldn't go there, as in knocking each discipline, since they're different. Figure skating has it's own skills, and so does ice hockey. A top figure skater may not have what it takes to be a top ice hockey player, and vice versa.

And when you say 'extent of THEIR prowess', those are words coming from yourself.....you're not actually speaking for all hockey players, because that's not the way that all of them think.

And that comment about the hockey skater going around in 14 seconds. It doesn't mean that a 'hockey' player is faster than a figure skater, because some hockey players are figure skaters too, and vice versa. It means that a person wearing hockey skates might be faster around the rink compared to wearing figure skates. Hockey skates have narrower blades....so that might be something to do with it.

oops... didnt want to sound like I was knocking anyone with my comments..

Just wanted to mean the hockey players Ive seen taunting figures or dancers...

I am by no means bagging the sport...

Just the hockey players Ive seen who arent that fantastic, but think they are gods gift to the ice babes


Ive never seen a GOOD "pro" league hockey game... I dont even know if we have one in Australia..

__________________
--------------
-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

yeah.....no pro ice hockey leagues in australia at all. I know what people mean though, about some skaters that 'wear' hockey skates on ice in public sessions....thinking that they're really good. But these are often the skaters that actually aren't that good, and are just trying to show off to newbie skaters what they've learned. At the rink I go to, I've seen one guy in hockey skates that folds his arms while skating, acting as if he's really experienced on the ice....but he actually knows hardly anything. It's hilarious. You can often see how they skate....like cross-overs...the way he cross over but his inside skate doesn't do the cross-over push, and/or his inside skate lifts right off the ice....obvious signs that he's had no proper skating lessons or advice from experienced skaters. Even the way they stroke .... dead give-away.

Mostly the ones I see here in Scotland skating in public sessions in hockey skates are not even hockey players, and there the only ones Iv ever heard calling male figure skaters names.
My brother was a hockey player and another friend I have actually went to play in the NHL and neither of them would even consider insulting someone else, infact Im pretty sure they probably had gay guys on the team they played in here.
You probably find the ones who are worst are the ones who are not good enough for EITHER hockey or figure skating, it's the wannabes!

__________________
Keep Smiling!

I've heard this same excuse told by the hockey skate sharpener to different skaters at a rink I go to sometimes (that is, the bit about hockey skates being faster by design). However, I have come to the determination that it's a complete load of balogne, because I have yet to meet *anybody* on hockey skates who I cannot outpace on figure skates and have only encountered one who could nearly keep up. And that with 7' rocker blades too - 8' are supposedly faster.

I'm sure there are some really good hockey pros out there who could do it, but likewise there are really good figure skating pros who could probably outpace them.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve

It's no excuse at all. The hockey skates have narrower blades, and they also don't have a toe pick. You can't do the hockey starts with a toe pick, unless you want to do a face plant. Too bad that I'm not where you are. I'd definitely put you to the test against myself. Or some of my friends that are very very fast.

I suspect that figure skates might be faster over a longer distance 'race', since their blade may be longer and provide more stability. But for short distance sprints, I reckon the hockey skate will win out.

You know what I really love about public sessions, its watching the hockey show-offs dashing around racing and scaring everyone, I take great delight in over-taking them at a leisurely one stroke to their two or three.

I think that's because they're not really good/real hockey players. Real hockey players take off really really quickly, and pick up speed real quickly as well. The guys you see are probably novice hockey skaters. The thing is....very good figure skaters or very good ice hockey players can both skate very fast. Over short distances, hockey skate should win....they let you do quick hockey starts. Over long distances, figure skate might be expected to win due to the longer blade...perhaps slightly more stroking power and stability. Personally, I don't like undisciplined skaters of any sort on the public ice that terrorise and don't seem to have much respect for the safety of other skaters on the public rec sessions.

You are so right, I think I should have said session show-offs with hockey boots, and of course the odd one or two without.

Completely agree.

I'm on an 8.5' blade---I can go pretty fast (speed skater wanna-be)!!! I race my son a lot (he has played hockey for 3 years) sometimes I let him win . He is getting ready to take figure skating lessons-he said he'd "try" it for a bit. No one better call him names-he will take them out! Someone was teasing him at the rink once, so he skated in front of them and they had to veer off into the wall-he told them to leave him alone...they did. I don't normally encourage this type of behavior, but I do believe in standing up for yourself. He is 10.

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

Hi
Yea Ive also heard people calling me gay when i figure skate.
"Look at that gay guy".
It must be because its more unusual with guys figure skating.
Just like knitting maybe.

you know what...they are really jsut jelous of how you get to be with hot figure skating girls haha...don't even worry about it.

And if they keep bothering you, ask them to jump a triple axel and they will shut right up

I would never call a guy gay for figure skating, if anything I love it, b/c i wanna do paired skating one day.

I think it just boils down to attitude. The ones that do the name calling simply have bad attitudes..... either due to their upbringing, or just inbuilt in their own nature. Luckily not everybody is like that.

On my way into the rink the other day, I overheard one teen with hockey skates saying to his friend "I understand why girls figure skate, but why would a guy do it? I just don't get how their minds work". The temptation was to say "Well, they need huge strength, skill and control, and they get the adoration of most of the young girls on the rink!"

There was a male ice dancer of about the same age practising his routine at the time, and later helping a few of the wobblier girls get onto the ice safely. The two hockey boys then spent the next hour scaring the life out of them - charming. I know which one I have more respect for. I'd far rather be called gay by an ignorant person, than to be called ignorant by anyone.

I'm a believer that if you want to make it to the top in any sport, you have to be respectful to those around you. Hockey players and figure skaters share a common venue, so we run into each other a lot. I can't imagine a pro hockey player saying something like male figure skaters are gay, probably because they have an understanding of what it takes to actually propel yourself around the rink. Add to that the difficulty of jumps, spins, and controlled turns on one foot, and it's a completely different ball game. Hockey has it's difficultness too. Controlling the puck on a amll piece of wood, all the while trying to not let the other team take control of it. And forget being a goalie, having to face 90 mph shots, I'd flip out.

Actually, I"ve met a couple pro hockey players once (I'm a hockey fan, Let's go Rangers!) and when they found out that I figure skate, I think because they asked me what happened to my knee. I told them I had a skating accident, and not once did they even have the "figure skating is for sissies" look. ONe of them even said he didn't think he'd be able to ever get his butt in the air that high unless he was being hip checked by somebody. Couurse, they could have also just been being nice to their fans, but still.. You gotta respect each other.

It doesn't matter one bit if the blades are narrower - you can get dance blades that are narrower than either and they don't go any faster. If anything, the weight is less distributed over a narrower blade, so you'd dig into the ice more which would slow you down.

I don't know (or care) what hockey starts are, but I am quite positive that having toepicks does not hinder my acceleration ability in the slightest.

As for distance, the times I've set up a race with anybody it's been from one end of the rink to the other, or perhaps a single lap.

Like I said, I'm sure you could find some exceptional skaters to try to break the general rule. But there is nothing inherently faster about hockey skates.

__________________
Casey Allen Shobe | http://casey.shobe.info
"What matters is not experience per se but 'effortful study'."
"At first, dreams seem impossible, then improbable, and eventually inevitable" ~ Christopher Reeve