Just thought - wouldn't it be great if blade guards had those little security tags in and rink entrances had detectors to remind skaters. I'm surprised that entrances don't have signs up, if only for competition.

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Skate Free

LOL- I can't ever imagine our rink get high tech enough for that sort of thing. It couldn't be in the doors though, or it would just go off as you fell. It would have to be right before the doors. Did you have a fall recently? EEK I hate seeing those falls.

I almost never wear blade guards, so it's a moot point to me.

At all the competitions and tests I have been to the ice monitor has been real good about "guards off everybody" right before the warmup, but the competition I went to this weekend one girl did fall and hit her head right before her warm up- poor thing. It happened at the Christmas show too, and this was a tot, and she couldn't figure out why she kept falling and just kept standing up and scooting further out until a coach grabbed her!

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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)

Those falls are nasty!! I just had some of the skaters at the rink TRY to get me to come out on the ice with my guards on...luckily, I have a pretty good memory since I always wear my guards...

But, for those instances when folks forget, it would be nice to think about some advanced warning system....like in the Detroit airport, "Please watch your step as you exit the moving walk"

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Skating Dreams

"All your life you are told the things you cannot do. All your life they will say you're not good enough or strong enough or talented enough; they will say you're the wrong height or the wrong weight or the wrong type to play this or be this or achieve this. THEY WILL TELL YOU NO, a thousand times no, until all the no's become meaningless. All your life they will tell you no, quite firmly and very quickly. AND YOU WILL TELL THEM YES." --Nike

It's a great idea, or even something built into the guard itself, though I don't know what. I never, ever wear my guard because I forget them.

That's one of the gate steward's jobs! At Bracknell one year, they had very sensibly put a large plastic box by the gate marked "Guards" for skaters to put their guards in. And the gate stewards, both there and at Oxford Seniors, are brilliant at reminding you.

I haven't done it yet! But very, very nearly at Gillingham RIDL last year - luckily Husband spotted it and yelled, just in time.

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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 the idea of having guard-detection alarms. I know a lot of our skaters take the guards off and carry them on the ice to put on the boards by their tissues and books. If they put the detector low, that would prevent false alarms.

Could also figure out who's been shoplifting...

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my husband gave me a good laugh one day he only skates on occasion and not seriously but he had his guards on i was in the middle working on spins and he got on the ice with his guards on and fell and he had never done this before what was so funny was that he didnt realize that he had the guards on and instead of taking them off and getting up he tried 3 times to get up with the guards on i saw him on the second try and tried to get to him as soon as i could to stop him he was totally clueless as to why he couldnt stay upright.

At my rink a sixty year old ice dancer (with 55 years experience skating) forgot to take his guards off last month, and for the first time in his life he fell on the ice because of the guards . I suppose the moral to that story is it happens to everyone eventually, if it hasn't happened to you, you just need to keep skating.

When I was at the Aspen Adult Skate Camp last summer I saw three women in an hour do the same thing. Altitude contributed I suppose.

I've developed the habits of always checking for my toepicks as I swing my boot across the threshold, and holding onto the gate for just a split second as my foot touches the ice. If I don't catch a missing guard with my first habit, I hope the second habit will make the fall less painful .

I always take off my right guard, step on the ice, push with the left foot, glide down the boards, take off my left guard. A few weeks ago, I got to the push off part when my foot that was pushing slipped and I did a weird hobbling/jumping/swimming arms thing to try and keep my balance. Glad to say I ddin't fall of put my left guarded foot on the ice, but I can't say I looked very graceful!

If they weren't so cheap, the makers would put a "traction device" (like sandpaper or studs) on the bottom of the guards so at least you wouldn't take a nasty fall if you forgot them.

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

hey....that is a good idea! I had a guard fall once and do not want to repeat that! hmm...sandpaper...

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Except that if you stepped on the ice expecting to glide, and then didn't, you'd quite likely still fall anyway...

Fiona

Or you could have little heat detectors.
When it detects a sudden drop in temperature explosive bolts would fire separating what's left of your blade guards...

For those of you that have seen http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BiwsJwepDE wouldn't it be funny if somebody did something similar making an entrance with guards on, only not falling and goofing for a bit doing slides & splits.

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Skate Free